Motorbikes - Owning one. The real experience?

[taxico]

dont worry abt costs for now. all u need to know that owning a motorbike in Singapore is a lot cheaper than taking public transport.

a honda phantom will not be priced anywhere near a goldwing... so public transport _might_ be cheaper in the short term...

but riding is awesome, and not as crazy as many make it out to be, especially if you ride defensively.

sportbikes tend to get more scrutiny by the traffic police and road enforcement offers, so be prepared to get pulled over.

[x9200]

sportbikes tend to get more scrutiny by the traffic police and road enforcement offers, so be prepared to get pulled over.

Is it so? I've seen a true variety of motorbikes pulled over (most often 125 hondas or similar) and never found out what actually one should do to be pulled over.

[Strong Eagle]

sportbikes tend to get more scrutiny by the traffic police and road enforcement offers, so be prepared to get pulled over.

I don't agree with this. Speeding will get you pulled over... and lot's of the 125's speed. Riding a 2 cycle buzzer with smoke pouring out the exhaust will get you pulled over. Riding like a 'carrot' will get you pulled over.

I ride with a bunch of big bike guys, and generally, I think they get more respect from the TP because they have to go through a lot of work to get the unlimited class license. And most of them ride more responsibly than the 125 cc guys.

[x9200]

I'd rather say you can get pulled over with any traffic offence (perhaps except going between the lanes and not using indicators) combined with a policeman operating in the right mode.

[taxico]

sportbikes tend to get more scrutiny by the traffic police and road enforcement offers, so be prepared to get pulled over.

I don't agree with this...

i got tailed regularly on my R1, and have been stopped many times for spot checks while on it.

there's no way i look like a skinny young local punk. i don't use a tinted visor, and except for its tires, my bike is stock.

when riding my noisy old 2-stroke vespa, i have never been pulled over. not even on the highway!

on sing roads, i ride my r1 as responsibly and defensively as my scooter, never aggressively.

but only on my scooter do i get to ride peacefully.

[Strong Eagle]

Well... I did get pulled over one Sunday morning on ECP... but the TP guy just wanted to know how fast my bike would go.

[bluenose]

I ride a BMW 650 here and it is ok....Singaporean car drivers are not the best and probably the worst I have come across, but they do not deliberately stop bikers filtering in traffic....which is regular in the UK!!!!
There are accidents and I have seen many, but my own feelings and experience here is that many of the motorcycle riders here are so unaware and are not bothered about there own safety...The amount of bikers that carry out lifesavers you can count on one hand!
They ride to work on autopilot and are so blind to what is going on around them....until they have a scare or an accident.

[curiousgeorge]

This seems to be the most recent motorbike thread, so I will post here.

I've read all the posts on converting a foreign license, and just wondered who has managed a full Class 2 conversion in recent months?

For myself, I've been here 14 months, a little beyond the 12 month conversion period...but my PEP says 13th March 2009 and the bike arrived April last year...so riding for 10 months on a big bike in Singapore and 12 years before that in the UK...wondering what my chances of full Class 2 conversion are...

[Superglide]

Like my former alter ego (on a different forum though) stated:


Just do it.

[Strong Eagle]

This seems to be the most recent motorbike thread, so I will post here.

I've read all the posts on converting a foreign license, and just wondered who has managed a full Class 2 conversion in recent months?

For myself, I've been here 14 months, a little beyond the 12 month conversion period...but my PEP says 13th March 2009 and the bike arrived April last year...so riding for 10 months on a big bike in Singapore and 12 years before that in the UK...wondering what my chances of full Class 2 conversion are...

Technically, you have violated the conversion period because the count begins when you get here, but you'll probably get cut some slack for pleading ignorant fool and using your PEP date.

Only the gods know for sure whether you can get an unlimited class. You can help your case with

a) Pictures and proof of riding an unlimited class bike in Singapore... like insurance and road tax paid in your name.
b) Evidence of riding in your home country (pics of you on your unlimited)
c) Evidence of riding or safety courses taken.

And... for my money, I'd do the conversion at BBDC.

[curiousgeorge]

Back again.

Just to let you guys know that a couple of weeks back I passed my Basic Theory Test at Bukit Batok Driving Centre. Due to the late test time, I couldn't convert on the day as the TP keep office hours there.

Finally managed to get back there today to fill out the conversion paperwork. 9.30am on a tuesday morning and the Traffic Police counter at BBDC was totally deserted. I strolled straight up to the counter, filled out my form and handed over my UK Licence, photo, passport, EP, and $50 of NETS payment.

I've been driving for 20 years, and 12 years ago I did my "Direct Access" course in the UK which allows you to ride bikes over 35Kw without a limited period (only available to people over a certain age, 21 or 25 I think).

I went prepared with my Direct Access pass slip, photos of all my bikes, all my road trips, my additional (off road) training certs, etc. I imported my bike here in April last year and have been riding big bikes in SG since then...But the lady at the counter didn't want to know about my bike or see any of my evidence...

...full Class 2 licence granted without me even asking! Nothing was said about my exceeding the 12 month period for conversion either.

Just to help with the anecdotes even more, I have a 50yr old friend who has been here 14 years already and he passed his big bike test in the UK in January this year. He came back here and applied for conversion...again they didn't even question why he waited 14years to convert! He got his Class 3, but they wouldn't give him a full Class 2 licence as he hadn't ridden for any time in the UK since passing his test.

He already bought a KTM SM990R and was riding it in Singapore on his UK licence....under the counter the assistant said "come back in six months and apply for full Class 2 to be added on the basis you've been riding here for six months on a big bike already". Go figure!


I have a humble blog about my exploits in importing the bike, and varioius trips out from SG to Malaysia. Hope its not against T&C to post a link http://f800gsrider.blogspot.com/

[Strong Eagle]

Good for you. And actually, the verbiage on the Singapore police site has changed regarding motorcycles. Seems like they will now grant on a case by case basis.

http://driving-in-singapore.spf.gov.sg/ ... ersion.htm

Information - Driving Licence

Classes of driving licence that may be converted

Foreign licence conversion is only granted for class 2B and class 3 qualified driving licences. Learner driving licence may not be converted.

Those who wish to obtain a class 4 and/or class 5 licence need to go through training and a prescribed practical test before they can obtain the Singapore class 4 or 5 licence. No direct conversion is granted for these heavy vehicle licences.

Conversion for a higher capacity or open category motorcycle licence is normally not granted unless there are documentary proof of training, testing, ownership of bigger motorcycle and insurance policy indicating that you have gone through proper training and testing regime and have had at least one year riding experience on the road.