How to prepare for your bike licence

By Réhann Coetzee

From September 1991, a driver’s licence (or rather a rider’s licence) for a motorcycle fell under the K53 structure, an international standard.

Before 1991 the testing procedures for a motorcycle licence differed from one testing facility to another. The advent of K53, that was standardised and all licensing and testing authorities across the country test according to this.

Just like with a driver’s licence, there is a written test for the learner’s licence and a so-called yard test for the licence itself. Every testing ground has a designated area for motorcycle testing and they all have the same design and are all exactly the same size.

While you won’t need to do more than study to pass the written learner’s licence test, you will need some help to pass the licence yard test. You have to perform a pre-ride inspection before you can start the riding test and the testing official will grade you on that too.

The best advice is to go to a riding school that offers K53 tests. Invest in at least one lesson so that you know what to expect when you arrive at the testing grounds. The instructors will be able to tell you exactly what is expected of you and will have good advice on how to approach the test.

The pre-ride inspection is something you can learn by rote and you should put a little time into that too.

The K53 test is not very difficult, although it is not much of a test of your riding skills.