We all love our bikes, the acceleration speed, noise, wind on your chest etc. . . However, with the modern bike getting you from legal to illegal in a split second, is it luck rather than judgement that keeps your licence, or worse? The two week wait to see if a NIP (Notification of Intention to Prosecute) might drop on your doormat is a horrid feeling, stomach churning, guilt, sickening that momentary action could have a devastating effect on your wellbeing. How would you cope without a driving licence? do you need it for work, to get to work, go to Tesco, visit friends etc. We take it for granted, yet I’m sure it’d be life changing to lose it, let alone a fine, court appearance and future Insurance costs. With cameras almost everywhere and the new laser speed camera that can catch you up to 1 mile away! Your chances of seeing such measuring devices is no longer in your favour. Thoughts?
To answer the question it wouldnt effect my work and ive only just got my license after 40 odd years so doubt id miss it too much. I have been enjoying warm dry comfy motor vehicles very much though.
There's always public transport & bicycles. Whilst I love the buzz of riding my motorbikes, road riding them has lost much of it's allure over the decades. Over that time the performance of my bikes has increased in directly opposing proportion to the available opportunities for utilising that improved ability. So as a youngster I could (& did ) scream around everywhere, constantly pushing the available limits of my bikes, all without attracting too much attention. These days I'm tootling about, with my engine barely keeping up to temp', yet it's still a struggle to stay within legally enforced/socially acceptable parameters. I get more enjoyment using them away from the public highways these days As for the consequences of loosing my entitlement to drive, I'm fortunate that I have someone who I can rely on to chauffeur me about, and I quite like using my bicycle. Hth.
I'd be lost without my licence. My road riding is massively sensible these days. No need to go batshit all the time. I pick and choose my moments carefully. I tend to focus on other aspects of the road ride nowadays. I can lay it on the line and enjoy my bikes properly on track.
@ Red were talking car and bike, so I’m sure you’d miss one or both!? @ StM, no public transport will get me to work 35 miles up the motorway or the 135 miles to see my daughter, with any level of convenience really.
This is something i think about fairly often and I have found myself being drawn back to smaller bike that you can have fun with and use them while staying legal. Even my adventure bike is 170bhp it seems ridiculous. Next year will probably see much change for me bike wise I am thinking of getting rid and just having a supermoto in the shed. Lots of lanes around here and fun to be had at sub 50mph. Cars are the same. I have never had a fast car and just got my first, and I can really use it. It's nice to have, just a shame it's lost it's shine already. I will probably go back to a van or something.
Mmm, I’m considering two things. Sell the bikes and buy a bobber or similar, that won’t have you breaking the limits within a millisecond or buy a cheap sports car, say an MX5 for summer and or track fun, you can get a lovely MX5 for 3-4K Long winter to think.
I would be sacked likely if I lost my license as I need a vehicle to work, I have been very lucky that where I have been they have let me work using my bike, I have ridden everything from a 125 to the 1000cc. I sometimes miss my Fireblade but I love the practical power of the D675 but there are times I really miss my old SV650s. Since my accident last December a fracture was missed in X-rays and suffering with pain for some time but still riding my daytona really killed my body, two months ago I plead guilty for passing my driving test, partly for my hip and partly as I have a nearly 4 year old and nearly 2 year old girls and I needed to take some of the burden off my wife being the kids "taxi" Ended up with a little 2015 Peugeot 108 and I must admit the little car nick named the bug by my kids and been a pleasent experience being able to sit in a warm and dry car. This ended up letting me appreciate just how much fun you can have and be legal with less power, I doubt I will get a performance car (my wife may soon) but we use Admiral multi-car so we can drive each's other car. I am honestly curious about if there will be another Daytona after motor GP and I am liking the look of the new S1000rr so my bike instead of being a commuting tool and been put into my bit of fun bike and looks like the wife is going to treat me to a track day for Christmas. I tend to follow the law on the road (I do have little blats of fun where it is safe to do so) but I need my licence for Bike/Car not just to get to work but for the kids to, public transport is a shambles where I am, a 20 minute journey by Car/Bike would be an hour and a half on the bus! Cheers Richard
Worst is waiting for the dreaded letter to arrive, getting something with a HM gov badge on the envelope, only to be a tax/voting or other dvla communique instead... Think we’ve all been there and done this Steffy. While I don’t need my licence for work, it’s the realisation they do put people inside for certain speeds that really scares me tbh - I find myself riding mostly these days without particular friends (who go flat out on the m’way) or turning to something else for my kicks - getting into road cycling massively this year means I’ve done half the miles on the Daytona this year as I’ve focussed on getting fitter on the bicycle for events. When I have been out on the Daytona, it’s still shits and giggles, but on quieter roads and not during “peak bike times” when they’re actively out to catch you. I still dread the letterbox for a while afterwards though... Fwiw my old Honda NSR 2-stroke was an absolute hoot riding on the edge at “slower” speeds, but that’s still enough for points or worse... small can still land you in a lot of hot water - and I understand the Met will knock you off if you’re ragging your scooter!
being a petrol head, on 2 and 4 wheels, losing my licence would be a big blow to my fun time. but it would be a massive problem for my commute. while i can work from home a day or two per week, i am not sure i could do it every day, so would be faced with multiple changes of public transport and increase in time to get to work. Even if i had to change to a local job, public transport out of my town is minimal. i am always conscious of my speed and getting caught, especially up and down the boring M11 every day, but i still find myself settling down at some point over the speed limit and hoping that the car i am catching up to or pulling away from isn't an unmarked police car, especially at night.
I use to worry about my license when i had my daytona, now with a 2016 R1 I worry about a prison sentence. Joking aside, It's not camera vans or cameras that worry me now, it's dash cams, I reckon a good 1 in 10 cars i follow have one going. If i did happen to wonder over the limit and lose my license, I could survive and i'd certainly save a lot of money! I've got other interests that would keep me occupied for a while, it would be the insurance hike that would piss me off most i'd imagine.
Don't get me started on them Well not all of them, just the ones owned by twats that now seem to think they have some sort of right to shop you. Like they're untouchable or something because they have a dash cam. Oh wait, that is pretty much all of them
I’m a sales rep who needs to cover about 30,000 miles a year so I definitely need to keep my license!
I work in a garage so it's very important to keep my license. So I have toned my speed It helps the 765 doesn't have a bit of wind protection lol.
I now don’t ride on the road, just concentrate on track riding. I need my licence for work, so I sold my Ducati 1199 and got a supermoto so I couldn’t speed. I then found I went everywhere on the back wheel ! So for now road riding is a no go, just not worth it.
I keep looking at Ktm RC390’s and R3’s for the road, they’re both meant to handle really well and 40+hp is probably plenty enough to have some fun on.
Good thread and I dread driving in the UK when I'm over there, it's not the speeding as I play the game but its the ever changing bus lanes, yellow box areas that pop up. While I spend more time road / green lane riding, I tend to do it on the smaller bikes and get the speed fix on the track. A little 125 or 250 is big enough for the loose & muddy stuff and keeps you on your toes too I find.
Thanks for the replies people, I know it’s something that we all put to the back of our heads, probably because the reality is too much to cope with. Smaller engine Track days only Green lanes All food for thought over winter. Thanks.
I’ve been wanting a road legal enduro bike recently for green laning and maybe the odd enduro if I get on with it. That way the summer you can just do trackdays and the winter you can still ride. Small amount of roads but not likely to be a licence loser on a 250 enduro bike.
