Riding a 250cc C15 on a CBT licence

[Lester]

Hi,
I have a bit of an odd question.
Last year I brought my dads BSA C15 from him as unfortunately his health no longer allows him to ride it.
I went straight out and passed my CBT with the intention of gaining my full license asap so I could get out and start riding.
When I was at my CBT training I was speaking to my instructor who told me that there should be no reason why I could not ride my C15 on a CBT licence, as despite it being 250cc the power output was 11kw (the maximum power allowed on a CBT). Since then I have spoken to several people who have said this sounded feasible, so I phoned an insurance company (I can't remember which one it was now, maybe carol nash) and they thought about it for a minute and then transferred me to the manager who told me if I could speak to the DVLA and get an exception made, and then prove this to the insurance company then they couldn't see why not.
Since then I have tried to contact the DVLA on several occasions and never managed to speak to anyone that could help.
I was wondering if anyone in the BSAOC had ever managed to do this in the past or if anyone here could perhaps help point me in the right direction.
I know this is a bit of a long shot and I never would have considered it had my riding instructor not suggested it.
I still intend to get my full license as soon as I can, however the cost of the course (£975) is more than I can afford at the moment. This is why I was hoping this might be an option.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Sam Lester.

[Spaceman]

The Government web site seems to be clear on the subject: with a CBT you can ride a motorcycle up to 125 cc AND with a power output of up to 11 kW - it does not imply that you can ride a motorcycle if it is either up to 125 cc OR has a power of up to 11 Kw. That all said, you unfortunately fail on both counts because the C15 has a capacity much greater than 125 cc and it also generates a power of 15 HP / 11.2 kW.

Slightly ironic for modern learners because I passed my riding test on a C15 and in those days a learner licence enabled you to ride anything up to 250 cc. It was just 3 times round the block and a quick emergency stop after the examiner stepped into the road and you could then ride any sized bike!

[ducati2242]

True  i past my test on a 250 ajs but i can remember lots riding bigger motorcycles with a third wheel attached . Looked like it actually articulated up and down to allow for bike to tip over into corners . Cant find any photos and memory could be fuzzy but remember in the 70s seeing 750 fours , honda , with a wheel attached to the left that had no reason to be there other than to confuse the licence rules .

[Spaceman]

I vaguely remember back in my teens that you could surprisingly ride any cc sidecar outfit on L-plates - while I was limited to learning on a C15, the chap over the road rode a big A10 sidecar outfit on his L-plates. I guess as long as it had a third wheel attached, it was classified as a sidecar?

[BILL NELSON]

True  i past my test on a 250 ajs but i can remember lots riding bigger motorcycles with a third wheel attached . Looked like it actually articulated up and down to allow for bike to tip over into corners . Cant find any photos and memory could be fuzzy but remember in the 70s seeing 750 fours , honda , with a wheel attached to the left that had no reason to be there other than to confuse the licence rules .

That was the Sidewinder, wasn't it?
Hideous contraption, but there have been others & there's even plans to build your own leaning sidecar available.
Maybe 15 or 20 years ago I asked if anyone had done engineering stress tests on these things & there was so much shuffling of feet that Timpsons shoe repairs must have made a fortune afterwards.

[ducati2242]

[/quote]That was the Sidewinder, wasn't it?
Hideous contraption, but there have been others & there's even plans to build your own leaning sidecar available.
Maybe 15 or 20 years ago I asked if anyone had done engineering stress tests on these things & there was so much shuffling of feet that Timpsons shoe repairs must have made a fortune afterwards.
[/quote]

That was it a rather pointless sidecar that got past the cc rules for learners . Doubt they wont be legal now though .

[chaz]

chap I worked with never took his test , then when the 250 limit was introduced his two C11G's ended up being taken apart and put in the loft or on his wardrobe.
dont know what happened to them when he divorced!!

sidewinders were a means to an end, allowed you to ride bigger bikes but as was said above, not very safe.
many ex workmates (that survived) never took their tests, some 20 to 30 years later they started to take their tests and became "born again bikers"

[johnr]

sadly the law seems quite clear as its ''light motorcycles upto 11kw,(and a power to weight ratio not more than 0.1kw per kg) and 125cc''

[scousebantam]

Interesting thread, got to have an input, in "63" (1963) I passed my bike test riding an old Panther 600 with a sidecar chassis only.
Then I bought a 500 Goldie.
No complicated bike classes back then.

[Spaceman]

From what I can see, the 250 cc L-plate rule was introduced in 1960 and I assume that, prior to this, the rules were a lot more relaxed? As said, I was always astounded that I was limited to a BSA Bantam and my neighbour opposite roared around on a massive A10 sidecar outfit with L-plates fitted!

[scousebantam]

I don't think that there were any rules before that, my uncle drove for BRS on the big articulated lorries and I remember talking to him and he said that when he got his HGV licence there were no rules, he just applied for it.

[Spaceman]

While waiting for my MOT to be done last week, I had a read of Roy Bacon's book on 1960's motorcycling. He described the problems in the 1950's of youngsters being able to ride any size motorcycle before passing their test and causing mayhem in various places. The 250 cc L-plate law was brought in (actually in 1961) to try and stop this although it left the loop hole that allowed them to carry on by just attaching a sidecar.