Help with 1970s bike info
Discussion
Hi,
I am hoping someone can help me. I need to understand the rules around riding motorbikes in 1977.
What age did you need to be to get a licence?
Did you have to apply for a provisional licence first and do a test?
What would be a common bike for a teenage first time biker to buy at that time?
Thank you - I am researching a book and this would be really helpful.
I am hoping someone can help me. I need to understand the rules around riding motorbikes in 1977.
What age did you need to be to get a licence?
Did you have to apply for a provisional licence first and do a test?
What would be a common bike for a teenage first time biker to buy at that time?
Thank you - I am researching a book and this would be really helpful.
This is from memory, but a few friends had bikes back then so I think it will be fairly accurate.
You had to be 17 to have a motorcycle licence and while on a provisional you were limited to bikes of under 250cc. You could ride with L plates and weren't allowed pillion passengers unless they had a full bike licence. You had to pass a test to get a full licence but there was no time limit on when you had to pass the test. There was no CBT or any other mandatory training before you were allowed to ride a bike.
When you passed the test there was no "graded" licence; you could immediately ride a bike of any size (assuming you coulkd get insured).
You could have a moped licence at 16 and ride this without taking a test as long as you displayed L plates.
As for which bikes a new biker would be likely to have, something of 250cc would be what most people wanted to learn on and would also be suitable for a while after passing the test. The Yamaha RD250 was probably the most powerful 250 back then so was a popular choice. If someone only wanted a commuting bike rather than a more performance ride, the Honda CD175 was quite popular.
You had to be 17 to have a motorcycle licence and while on a provisional you were limited to bikes of under 250cc. You could ride with L plates and weren't allowed pillion passengers unless they had a full bike licence. You had to pass a test to get a full licence but there was no time limit on when you had to pass the test. There was no CBT or any other mandatory training before you were allowed to ride a bike.
When you passed the test there was no "graded" licence; you could immediately ride a bike of any size (assuming you coulkd get insured).
You could have a moped licence at 16 and ride this without taking a test as long as you displayed L plates.
As for which bikes a new biker would be likely to have, something of 250cc would be what most people wanted to learn on and would also be suitable for a while after passing the test. The Yamaha RD250 was probably the most powerful 250 back then so was a popular choice. If someone only wanted a commuting bike rather than a more performance ride, the Honda CD175 was quite popular.
What Douglas has said is quite correct, except you could ride a bke over 250cc whilst a learner if it had a sidecar
I knew someone who had a 500/600cc bike (British of course!) with a sidecar chassis with a wooden box fitted to it, there was no requirement to have a proper sidecar body.
I could never understand this as I once rode such a machine and it was very difficult to steer
I knew someone who had a 500/600cc bike (British of course!) with a sidecar chassis with a wooden box fitted to it, there was no requirement to have a proper sidecar body.
I could never understand this as I once rode such a machine and it was very difficult to steer
Becky writer said:
- You had to be 17 before you could get a provisional license? And then after the test that was a full license?
- I don't suppose you remember if you needed to supply a birth certificate to apply for a license?
One "quirk" back than was that a provisional licence was only valid for one year and had to be renewed (as a provisional) if you hadn't passed a test. You could apply for a new provisional licence each year though so not passing your test wasn't a massive issue if you didn't carry pillion passengers and were happy with a 250. Passing the car driving test gave you a motorbike provisional so you didn't have to renew the provisional every year. (I think the old paper licences had to be renewed every three years).- I don't suppose you remember if you needed to supply a birth certificate to apply for a license?
Strictly speaking, when you passed your test you didn't get a full licence but had a provisional licence and a "pass slip" which you converted to a full licence when the provisional was due for renewal anyway. For most purposes this was the same as a full licence (size of bike, carrying passengers) but a car provisional plus pass slip didn't allow you to accompany a learner driver as you could only do this with a full licence. I assume that you wouldn't be able to be a pillion passenger on a motorbike with a provisional licence holder as it would be the same restriction. Back then you didn't have to be over 21 and have x years driving experience to accompany a learner; you just needed a full licence.
Thanks to Max for the addition about bikes over 250cc with a sidecar.
As a slight irrelevant add on, I was 17 in 1972, and my first licence was a little red book, sadly lost to time now. We were also issued petrol ration coupons shortly after that, but were never used - they looked like wartime leftovers.
My first bike, after borrowing my dad's Honda 50 moped, was a James 197cc. One friend had a Honda 90, which was followed by a Honda CB250. Another had an Arial, possibly a Leader by memory.
My first bike, after borrowing my dad's Honda 50 moped, was a James 197cc. One friend had a Honda 90, which was followed by a Honda CB250. Another had an Arial, possibly a Leader by memory.
Going back a bit further:-
I passed my bike test in 1969 aged 16,
Anyone 16 or over could ride any bike under 250cc with L plates.
Even then, a 250cc bike could do 90mph, and some could just about nudge 100. (Suzuki super 6 two stroke)
Might be wrong, but as soon as you passed your test, you could go straight onto a 120mph BSA Rocket Three or Honda CB750K1 even at 16.
As now, the age for driving a car was 17.
There was no theory test as such, but as part of your riding test you had to know the highway code....stopping distances at a given speed, road signs etc, all pretty basic stuff.
I passed my bike test in 1969 aged 16,
Anyone 16 or over could ride any bike under 250cc with L plates.
Even then, a 250cc bike could do 90mph, and some could just about nudge 100. (Suzuki super 6 two stroke)
Might be wrong, but as soon as you passed your test, you could go straight onto a 120mph BSA Rocket Three or Honda CB750K1 even at 16.
As now, the age for driving a car was 17.
There was no theory test as such, but as part of your riding test you had to know the highway code....stopping distances at a given speed, road signs etc, all pretty basic stuff.
Becky writer said:
That's briliant thank you!
So just to check I have understood correctly.
- You had to be 17 before you could get a provisional license? And then after the test that was a full license?
- I don't suppose you remember if you needed to supply a birth certificate to apply for a license?
You could get your provisional licence at 16, when it covered 'mopeds', which in those days were 50cc bikes with pedals like the FS1E, AP50 etc, many of which would do significantly more than 30mph. So just to check I have understood correctly.
- You had to be 17 before you could get a provisional license? And then after the test that was a full license?
- I don't suppose you remember if you needed to supply a birth certificate to apply for a license?
So when you turned 17, you could suddenly ride a 250, if you could afford the insurance.
At some point in the late 70s or 1980 ish, the DVLA was on strike or something and you were allowed to ride if you had applied for a provisional licence, even if you didn't get the licence for weeks or months.
I don't recall what documentation needed to be supplied to get a licence.
Also I have a vague idea you could apply for a licence in person at a regional office back then?
At 16 you could ride a motorcycle under 50cc with pedals on a provisional licence obviously displaying L-plates. You could take your test on a moped but that would only allow you to ride a moped without L-plates and take someone on the back.
At 17 you could ride a bike up to 250 on a provisional licence with L-plates, if you took your test on it it allowed you to ride any size bike.
I was 17 in 1979 and passed my test and sold my Kawasaki S1C 250 and bought a Triumph 750. 250’s went down in price in the mid 80s when the 125 law came in.
At 17 you could ride a bike up to 250 on a provisional licence with L-plates, if you took your test on it it allowed you to ride any size bike.
I was 17 in 1979 and passed my test and sold my Kawasaki S1C 250 and bought a Triumph 750. 250’s went down in price in the mid 80s when the 125 law came in.
Metric Max said:
What Douglas has said is quite correct, except you could ride a bke over 250cc whilst a learner if it had a sidecar
I knew someone who had a 500/600cc bike (British of course!) with a sidecar chassis with a wooden box fitted to it, there was no requirement to have a proper sidecar body.
I could never understand this as I once rode such a machine and it was very difficult to steer
You could buy a thing called a sidewinder, this was basically a plastic hinged arm with a wheel at the end, this counted as a sidecar, the hinge allowed leaning on corners. My older brother had one on a bike way bigger than 250cc.I knew someone who had a 500/600cc bike (British of course!) with a sidecar chassis with a wooden box fitted to it, there was no requirement to have a proper sidecar body.
I could never understand this as I once rode such a machine and it was very difficult to steer
By the time i was 17 the rules had changed and you needed a full license for over 125cc, although the 2 part test was laughably easy.
Wacky Racer said:
Also, before 1973 there was no requirement to wear a crash helmet, many bikers didn't.
My Dad had a 50cc commuter bike he wore in his flat cap and he often picked me up from primary school. I just hopped on the back - loved it. He bought the cheapest helmet he could find the day before they became compulsory.
My sister was born in 1955 and could have ridden any bike up to 250cc on a provisional licence, but somewhere between 1971 and 1975 they changed the rules and I had to endure a moped for a year until I could have up to 250cc when I turned 17.
Took the test about 9 weeks later, went around the block both ways, stopped before hitting the examiner and gave the right answers to a few questions then I went home and took the L plates off - happy days, especially as I passed the car test the next day!
I didn't buy a bigger bike until some years later because I bought a car instead and couldn't afford both.
douglasb said:
Becky writer said:
- You had to be 17 before you could get a provisional license? And then after the test that was a full license?
- I don't suppose you remember if you needed to supply a birth certificate to apply for a license?
One "quirk" back than was that a provisional licence was only valid for one year and had to be renewed (as a provisional) if you hadn't passed a test. You could apply for a new provisional licence each year though so not passing your test wasn't a massive issue if you didn't carry pillion passengers and were happy with a 250. Passing the car driving test gave you a motorbike provisional so you didn't have to renew the provisional every year. (I think the old paper licences had to be renewed every three years).- I don't suppose you remember if you needed to supply a birth certificate to apply for a license?
Strictly speaking, when you passed your test you didn't get a full licence but had a provisional licence and a "pass slip" which you converted to a full licence when the provisional was due for renewal anyway. For most purposes this was the same as a full licence (size of bike, carrying passengers) but a car provisional plus pass slip didn't allow you to accompany a learner driver as you could only do this with a full licence. I assume that you wouldn't be able to be a pillion passenger on a motorbike with a provisional licence holder as it would be the same restriction. Back then you didn't have to be over 21 and have x years driving experience to accompany a learner; you just needed a full licence.
Thanks to Max for the addition about bikes over 250cc with a sidecar.
Re the most popular bike, nearly everyone I knew at the time had a Honda 250 Superdream at 17 with L plates. As soon as they'd passed their test, the goal was the Honda CBX (1000cc). It was perfectly doable if you had a reasonable job, on HP, and insurance wasn't a killer either (the HP company insisted you have comp cover, but no one listened and they got TPF&T.)
Suffice to say it didn't end well for a lot of them. Many written off bikes with no cover and being in debt to the HP firm for years. That's the ones who survived the crash.
It was a mad system. The test was go around the block, and do an emergency stop when you came back when the examiner stepped out into the road. He would be terrified and step out way too early, so you had no chance of failing. If you never made it back from going round the block, that was the only way to fail.
So basically we had loads of teenagers on 1000cc bikes who weren't very good riders at all. But thought they were.
Suffice to say it didn't end well for a lot of them. Many written off bikes with no cover and being in debt to the HP firm for years. That's the ones who survived the crash.
It was a mad system. The test was go around the block, and do an emergency stop when you came back when the examiner stepped out into the road. He would be terrified and step out way too early, so you had no chance of failing. If you never made it back from going round the block, that was the only way to fail.
So basically we had loads of teenagers on 1000cc bikes who weren't very good riders at all. But thought they were.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
Re the most popular bike, nearly everyone I knew at the time had a Honda 250 Superdream at 17 with L plates.
I did, in 1978. A Honda CB250T Dream.I passed my test and bought a Z400 - although I could have hopped on anything. Ultimately had a Z1100 which was my last bike.

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