GTS OWNERS CLUB

Bouncer · Sargeant Joined: 24 Jun 2007 Posts: 61 Location: Edinburgh

So I have my 125cc, i COULD SPEND 300 QUID AND GET AN a1 (sorry - full caps) OR I could 'lose' the plates but keep a spare set in the glove compartment.
The current set totally ruin the GTS's aesthetics, most 4 wheel drivers want to run me into a ditch, am I not better to hide the fact that most other road users see me as a L oser?
I'd rather pay a fine than be harrassed to death by a 17 year old boy racer in his exhaust with 'Corsa on the End' type car. I spend most of my time on the road pulling over to let them scream past. Don't want to be a speed freak just want to be allowed to go at 70 when the need arises.
I dont have a spare £300 to spend so I'd love to hear the thoughts of the 250 crew...

MikeHolland · Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 2:13 am Post subject:

I kniow what you mean about the aesthetics. I would love to find a better place for my rego sticker - it is below the number plate at the back.

But how long do you have to wear an L plate? Is it for a time or distance ridden? Put the scooter in the shed and ride a bicycle for 6 months or whatever? (just joking). I presume you are speed-limited for this period, so you can't speed away from the 4WDs. Use back roads on your route?

Anyway, it's just for a limited period. Then years of happy scootering!

Mike
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Vespa GTS250 Vintage Red

Innocenti · Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 9:22 am Post subject:

depends who stops you and how they feel remember if you have a accident your fault or someone elses you will not be covered by your insurance as you did not have your L plates on , and then the fine and repair bill could be more than you need to pass ur CBT.

or just crack on and see what happens Wink

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GTS OWNERS CLUB

LONDON LAMBRETTA CLUB

DARKSIDE

ITS ONLY A SCOOTER !!!!!

Bouncer · Sargeant Joined: 24 Jun 2007 Posts: 61 Location: Edinburgh

Few things: In the UK L plates means you are limited to a 14.6bhp powered bike until the A1 or A2 test is taken (and passed)- only then can those ugly 'come and run me off the road' L plates come off.
So time and speed are not an issue as such more the power output of the vehicle.
I have passed my Compulsory Bike Training so I'm above board and legal at the moment. I was thinking about carrying L plates with me should a bump or scrape ever happen whereupon I could slap them on to the scoot with my dying breaths in order to make sure that the insurance covers me Crying or Very sad

As it is I'm only covered for 3rd party fire and theft anyway so I'm guessing in those instances having the plates on would not help. If it's nicked L plates aint going to help. If it goes up in a ball of flames so do the plates Very Happy

idf someone else writes off the scoot then it's their problem not mine.
Just how twisted, skewed and blatantly wrong is my take on this?
The laws in Oz sound very different but equally annoying - I may have to suffer the wrath of the law but how my scoot looks is more important to me than keeping Bennetts happy (famous last words Rolling Eyes

).

Innocenti · Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 11:45 am Post subject:

go for it theres some OZ members on here chat to them Wink

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GTS OWNERS CLUB

LONDON LAMBRETTA CLUB

DARKSIDE

ITS ONLY A SCOOTER !!!!!

Sean · Joined: 29 Jul 2007 Posts: 16 Location: Hemel Hempstead

Rhoodman · Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 5:32 pm Post subject:

Personally mate, I'd keep the L plates on. If you don't have L plates on, then your insurance is null and void anyway, so you might as well not have any.

I've got a full license, and have been pulled over a few times to ask me where my L plates are - because some bobbies mistakenly assume all people who ride 'mopeds' must be learners. If you get pulled, which is likely, it's 3 points (and remember you only have 6 points under the New Drivers Act) and £60 fine. The bike test is changing next year, so if you can, I'd take it asap. I taught myself to pass, It's only £20 theory, and £50 test. Is it really worth it for £70?

Sorry, I'll get off my soapbox now... Wink

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Bouncer · Sargeant Joined: 24 Jun 2007 Posts: 61 Location: Edinburgh

Thanks Rhoodman - sage advice. I'll look into it asap.
As for our new member Sean, you are of course quite right - I'm a nutter! I'm mentally deficient with psychotic tendancies. Present me with a small child and I just ride right through em. Rolling Eyes

I'm afraid you got the tone of my post all wrong and your sanctimonious button and judgemental lever obviously kicked in. Wink

I still wear the plates, 35 years old, been driving a car for 17 years, a scooter for 2 - no accidents, no scrapes. I probably will sit my A1 test someday in the future but considering the amount of bikers out there riding massive sports bikes having passed a test decades ago that only lasted a few hours at the most - perhaps we should all sit this test - annually.
That way of course we would all be infallible and never drive badly again. Rolling Eyes

I've never been almost run off the road by a 17 year old in his souped up hatchback when I drive my car. Almost weekly I endure a near death experience at their hands when they see the plates on the back of the GTS. Yes I think the plates look ugly on a GTS and yes I feel they invite aggresive driving from aggresive drivers. Let me put it simply for you - I was only putting the idea out there for discussion - I was not inviting personal abuse.
Before I go off and cause an road accident - I think you probably are at least as selfish as me.
Or am I being a little presumptuous here? Razz

By the way - welcome to the forum - I look forward to your pearls of wisdom as and when you choose to share them with the rest of the club.

Sean · Joined: 29 Jul 2007 Posts: 16 Location: Hemel Hempstead

Firstly, I may as well point out that I'm looking for an argument just for the sake of it. I gave up stuff like that when I left infant school. I am sorry if you thought my post was a personal attack or some sort of abuse on you, as that in no way was my intention. Maybe an attack on the stupidity of your reasoning or logic and the fact you're asking for advice on how to evade or break the law on a public forum.

I do however speak from the perspective of someone who has had a family member knocked fifty feet into a field (by a driver who had been drinking), and took nearly half an hour to find and someone who has lost three close friends on bikes or scooters. So clearly I am going to be somewhat biased in my thinking. Rhoodman probably wrote how I should have done, but sometimes the emotion of a subject you feel strongly about get's in the way of being reasonable.

Yes my post sounds a bit righteous, as to me, yours does foolish. That's just our perceptions and not worth worrying about.

At your age and driving experience, I'm surprised the look of the scooter over everything else would be an issue for you. The fact that you have had no accidents or scrapes is admirable but in no way reflects on what may happen tomorrow.

I don't doubt for one minute that you avoid children and adults alike. Are you suggesting that every driver that ran over a pedestrian went out with the express purpose to do so? Things like that happen to someone, every day. And if you read what I wrote I did say "may".

You do have a point about people such as myself that took a test years ago. I still think what I went through is just slightly more taxing than a CBT and certainly not any less. Often it's our own mistakes that causes us death or injury, and hiding L plates in a tool box can never be a substitute for proper training, learning and ultimately, life saving experience. An aggressive driver will be right up your bum with or with out L plates. Believe me, I have them there, and I've not had L plates for nearly twenty years. Training may give someone the capacity to deal with these situations and possibly avoid them sometimes.

It may not have sounded so, but I wrote what I did with the best of reasons and intentions. I wouldn't want to hear of an injury to you, be that of yours or someone elses doing. Worse still, that you had causes anyone else damage. £300 is not an insignificant amount of money to many of us. If that's the price to help secure your future riding, or indeed life, then it's an investment worth borrowing.

Thanks for your wonderfully warm welcome and invitation to share my words of advice, but I do so very rarely. By the way, if you have read my intro and think I'm coming at you from God fearing Bible basher angle.....don't take too many things literally. Razz

Anyway, just do what you think is right. I'm sorry if what I had to say wasn't what you wanted to hear, but that's asking opinions from strangers for ya! Very Happy

dougl65 · Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 6:28 pm Post subject:

If you have a GTS 125 use it to do the test and you'll get an A2. It does 62.5 mph or more top speed and is DSA A2 categorised. That's what I did and I am now restricted for two years but I went ahead and bought a GTS250ie. I can only ride autos. I DID NO TRAINING APART FROM THE CBT AND PASSED MY TEST WITH ONLY ONE MINOR FAULT. Training is a con. Read the DSA books and do the hazard perecption test with practise from a DVD. Total cost about £100 for the theory test and practical test. I did download the motorcycle test routes from the DSA website and spent about two days riding all the routes. The test isn't difficult if you practise your OSMPSL. Just my tupp'worth. PS if you've been driving a car for a long time like me (23years) you have got some roadsense and just need some fine tuning to do this. I know several people who have just sat the test without going the training route and have passed first time. I'm 43 by the way and will be in Edinburgh (Liberton) for a week on the 20th of August and will gladly meet up with you for a coffee and talk you through what is required!!! Laughing

PS You can have my two DSA books if you want!! And do the test NOW it is about to become much more difficult from October 2008 http://www.takeyourbiketestnow.com/

NEIL_HUTCH · troop Joined: 30 Jul 2007 Posts: 26 Location: ROMFORD

its worth the dosh to pass and get trained to keep safe

Scootaboy · Inspector Joined: 29 Jul 2007 Posts: 225 Location: London

definately worth the time and money, if you're in london passmasters do a good one day course and test thing if you fail the test the first time - they point out all the little things you do wrong that can make you fail the test.

And as someone who was put in hospital for a week by an uninsured driver (plus 3 months outpatients, plus written off scoot, expenses etc etc etc) I'm with Sean on this one.

Bouncer · Sargeant Joined: 24 Jun 2007 Posts: 61 Location: Edinburgh

Thanks for the heads up guys - I'll get to work. I really appreciate your offer Doug - a little bit of encouragement goes a long way - I may well take you up on your offer when you are next in town.
My instructor for the CBT did actually say that it was pretty starightforward for drivers to pass the test - it's just the hoops they make you jump through these days that gets to me Mad

As for Sean I am really sorry to hear of your loss and I see where you are coming from - however let's not judge those so strongly who you don't even know.
There's nothing stupid about wanting to enjoy the aesthetic of a beautiful scooter without slapping big stickers on it. Even with these ugly plates on I could still kill myself or someone else in a second. Believe me there is never a moment when I'm on the road when I'm not fully aware of this fact.

Scootaboy · Inspector Joined: 29 Jul 2007 Posts: 225 Location: London

right forum fight over!

it's all peace an love now man, Wink

dougl65 · Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 9:45 pm Post subject:

I'm not the perfect rider by any stretch of the imagination. What my test showed is that I can ride safely to the test standards if I try. What is difficult is keeping that level of concentration all the time. And advanced skills such as safe filtering aren't covered. I spent a day on the scootersafe course (bikesafe and I know Lothian police do a course) riding with the Met traffic cops, and the police sergeant complimented me on my riding and hazard perception. In fact I used this day as an independent assessment to go for the test and it only cost £30! The first 10 minutes of my observed ride involved filtering along the North Cicular from the Ace Cafe to Hanger Lane gyratory with a fully liveried Police BMW in tow. Cars certainly got out of the way!!!

See here...

http://www.bikesafe.co.uk/Bikesafe/Bikesafe2000/scotland/scotland.html

Lothian & Borders Police, Motorcycle Section, Fettes Avenue, Edinburgh
Email: Bikesafe@lpb.pnn.police.uk
L&B currently hold the chair and secretary posts of Bikesafe Scotland

http://www.scootersafe-london.co.uk/