🏍️ Why I Think the Current Licence Laws Are Killing the Motorcycle Industry
- Ben Grayson
- Nov 12
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 13
By Ben Grayson – Get Ben Riding
🚦 The Red Tape That’s Choking Our Passion
I get that the government feels it has a duty to stop us from killing ourselves (because that’s how they like to frame it), but in just my lifetime (I’m 42) I’ve watched the goalposts for getting a full bike licence move further and further away — making it more expensive, more complicated, and way more discouraging than ever.
When my grandad started riding, you basically rode around the block — and if you came back alive, congratulations, you could ride anything. Helmets looked like leather condoms and no one cared.
When my dad started, you could jump on a 250 on a car licence, do a quick lap around the block and you were sorted.
But as bikes got faster and traffic heavier, some structure made sense. Riders needed to learn not just control, but survival skills in a sea of distracted drivers.
For me, the sweet spot was when I took my test in 2000. A CBT cost around £80, gave you two years to see if biking was for you, and after a couple of days’ training you could ride anything restricted to 33 bhp for two years or until you hit 21.
Did we all buy ZX-6Rs, get a certificate of restriction, then quietly remove it? Of course. But today’s riders do the same with A2 limits — only now the hoops are smaller and more expensive.
💸 The Modern Licence Maze
Here’s how it looks today:
CBT – £150 on average (valid two years, not one).
Theory test – £23. Multiple choice + hazard perception; fail one part, fail the lot.
Mod 1 – off-road handling. Test fee £15.50; training about £150–£250 per day.
Mod 2 – on-road test. Training ~£150 per day, test fee £75 (weekdays) / £88.50 (weekends).
By the time you’re done, you’re roughly £800–£1,000 in, and that’s before buying any kit:Helmet £100 | Jacket £100 | Gloves £40 | Boots £100 = £1,300+ just to get started.
🤦♂️ The Bit That Boils My P**s
You can’t even take your test until you’re 19. Because apparently, we’re so much more mature at 19 than 18.
So what 19-year-old can afford £1,300 before they even think about insurance or a bike? I’m 42 and that still stings.
And after all that, you can only ride up to 35 kW (47 bhp) — basically what a tuned 2000-era Aprilia RS125 made.
Yes, the A2 licence came from the EU and yes, sticking with it made sense for manufacturers, but let’s be honest: the UK could have evolved it by now.
The result? Loads of A2-compliant bikes, but fewer riders progressing to bigger machines.
🧱 The Big Bottleneck
Back in the day, two years on a restricted licence meant an automatic upgrade. Now? You need another test — even if you’ve clocked tens of thousands of safe miles.
Most people just don’t bother. They either stay on A2 bikes or give up riding completely.
That’s hammering the big-bike market. Supersports are dying off. The average UK rider is around 55, and trackdays are full of old boys like me. The only young faces are racers — and they’re struggling too.
💷 The Real-World Cost of Getting Started
Even a humble 125 isn’t cheap.As a former dealer, I’d sell one for £2,700, and the average first-year insurance quote was £1,500+. Add the training, tests and gear — you’re north of £4,000 before you’ve even ridden a mile.
It’s no surprise small dealerships are closing left, right and centre.
🔧 My Take on Fixing It
1️⃣ Automatic upgrade: Anyone with 2+ years of proven A2 riding gets an upgrade to full A — retroactively for the last decade.
2️⃣ Age change: Let riders go for A2 at 18, DAS at 21.
3️⃣ Unified theory test: Combine car and bike theory — cheaper, more awareness for everyone.
4️⃣ Scrap Mod 1: Do all post-CBT training and testing on-road, where it actually matters.
⚡ What Would Happen?
A wave of used A2 bikes hits the market → boosts new-bike sales.
Lower costs → more new riders.
Short-term dip in A2 values → long-term growth for the industry.
More bikes → fewer cars, less congestion, fewer emissions.
Yes, accident stats would spike numerically, but per-bike ratios? Still far lower than cars.
🧥 Let’s Be Sensible About Safety
Make helmet, gloves and boots mandatory — stimulate the struggling kit industry while you’re at it.Push airbag tech and proper rider-ed instead of endless licence hoops.Reward good riders: insurance discounts for clean dual licences (car + bike).
Modern bikes already give us ABS, traction control, ride modes, radar — we’ve done our bit.
💭 Final Thought
Most riders are better drivers because we understand how vulnerable we are.
But between government greed and corporate box-ticking, the system is strangling the very thing that could solve congestion and emissions.
The motorcycle industry is a house of cards — maybe it’s time we knock it down and rebuild it properly.
If we want a future for motorcycling, we need to make it accessible again — for us, and for the next generation.
📊 Quick Facts
Stage | Min Age | Typical Cost | Duration | Power Limit |
CBT | 16–17 | £150 | 1 day | 50–125 cc |
A1 | 17 | £800 + | 2–4 days | 11 kW |
A2 | 19 | £1,000 + | 4–5 days | 35 kW |
DAS (A) | 24 (or 21 progressive) | £1,200 + | 5–7 days | Unlimited |
💬 Join the Conversation
Would you still start riding today if it cost you over £1,300 before buying a bike?
Would you still start riding today if it cost you over £1,300 before buying a bike?
0%Yes
0%No
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