Motorcycle training: riding lessons, special rides and practical training

The standard list is short: eye test (officially recognised eye test centre, e.g. at an optician's – glasses or lenses are permitted), First-aid course (9 training sessions; valid for life – anyone who has already done it for the car doesn't need a new one), a biometric passport photo and your ID card. With that, you set the driving licence application at the authority – depending on the city online, via a citizens' registration office or directly at the driving licence office; the driving school helps with the filling out. Most important tip: Submit the application immediately, as processing often takes several weeks, and you are not allowed to take the theory test without an approved application. Theory lessons and driving lessons can already take place in the meantime.

Less than you fear – and that is precisely the plan. No one expects prior knowledge. The first lesson starts stationary: getting to know the machine, riding position, where the clutch, brakes and gear lever are. Then comes the first rolling at walking pace in a quiet environment – finding balance, metering the clutch, braking gently. Your instructor is with you by radio connected to you and securing every exercise. Typical progression: After 45 minutes you ride slow laps and wonder why you were nervous beforehand. Shaky knees are standard practice – motorcycle instructors start from scratch with complete beginners every week. You only need suitable protective clothing (ask beforehand what your driving school provides) and no prior skill whatsoever.

Upon initial purchase, the only statutory requirement is the 12 special journeys – all other training sessions depend on your ability. Honest assessment: Anyone who already drives a car and has a feel for two-wheelers often manages with one single-digit number of practice hours out; without any prior experience, significantly more is completely normal. These are empirical values, not commitments – and importantly: Taking longer is not a failure, but the normal variation in learning. Comparing yourself to others is pointless; what matters is that you are test-ready when you book your test – your driving instructor will assess that together with you.

The complete overview (FahrschAusbO Appendix 4), which hardly anyone knows:

• Initial purchase and Car extension: 5 rural drives, 4 motorway drives, 3 night drives (45 minutes each) – that's 12.
• Upgrade from A1 to A2 or from A2 to A with less than 2 years’ previous licence holding: shortened to 3 / 2 / 1 – so 6.
• Promotion with at least 2 years prior ownership: absolutely no mandatory training – only the practical test (§ 15 section 3 FeV).
• B196: no special trips – driver training has its own format.

Incidentally, the special rides aren’t just a tedious compulsory part of the course, but the sessions where most people learn the most – motorways and night-time riding on a motorbike are a world of their own.

Yes, in principle indeed – and that is a good thing: Rain is part of riding a motorbike, and the driving lesson is the safest place to get to know it. You learn things there that no classroom session will teach you: longer braking distances, gentler acceleration, caution on road markings and manhole covers, vision with an anti-fog visor. Your driving instructor draws the line at real emergency situationsstorms, gales, ice or heavy downpours – in these cases it gets postponed without any disadvantage to you. Practically speaking, this means: pack a waterproof suit (or ask about hire gear) and take the wet driving lesson for what it is – one of the most educational of your entire training. Anyone who has never driven in the rain under instruction will end up making up for that experience alone later on – a significantly worse option.

No – you are the norm. Respect for leaning is the most common fear in motorcycle training, and it deserves some good news: Physics is on your side. A moving motorbike stabilises itself; leaning into a bend is not a loss of control, but the stable riding position – the machine wants to Take the bend. The key is gaze guidanceYou steer towards where you look – so through the bend to the exit, never at the perceived obstacle. Good driving instructors build this up in small steps: first wide bends in a quiet environment, then tighter, then faster – the fear shrinks with every successful repetition. Tell your driving instructor openly that bends make you nervous: then exactly that gets more practice time – without judgment, that's what driving lessons are for.

Concern is widespread – although in practice the motorway is often the most relaxed special journey: no traffic lights, no oncoming traffic, everyone is driving in one direction. The procedure: your driving instructor plans a route with slip roads that are easy to see, you set off together – you in front, he by radio behind it. Practised is what defines a motorway: joining briskly and decisively (the motorcycle accelerates more than enough for that), maintaining distance and checking mirrors, overtaking lorries including crosswinds – and leaving via the slip road with a timely reduction in speed. After about ten minutes the pulse settles down; many dismount after the 4 mandatory motorway driving lessons with more self-confidence than after any other exercise. That is precisely what special drives are for: demystifying the big unknowns under instruction.

No. The entire training and the exam are heading down the driving school training cars – they correspond to the respective class (section 17 of the driving licence ordinance (FeV) explicitly prescribes this for the test vehicle) and are equipped with a radio. Having your own motorcycle during training is of little use to you: you are not allowed to practice with it anyway – no driving without a licence, not even in car parks – and your tastes often change as your riding experience grows. The more sensible order is: first driving licence, then purchase, with test sitting and a real driving feel. What you should get for yourself early on, on the other hand, is the Protective clothingThis accompanies you from your very first driving lesson and has to fit properly.

The following applies Code number 78If you take your practical test on an automatic motorcycle (e.g. a scooter with a variomatic transmission or a machine with a dual-clutch transmission), your licence category restricted to automatic vehicles – You are not allowed to ride manual motorcycles with that. Are you testing on a rotary converter, there is no restriction. That is why the vast majority of driving schools train on manual motorcycles – you learn the clutch and gear changes there right from the start. Unlike with cars (B197), there is no exemption rule for motorcycle licence categories. In short: if you want to keep all your options open, take the test on a manual machine – afterwards you are allowed to ride both.

The question that almost everyone asks themselves and hardly anyone asks out loud – the answer is reassuring: Topplers at walking pace are part of motorcycle training and are factored into driving schools' costs. The bikes are fitted with crash bars and can handle minor spills; they're insured anyway. You are usually only asked to pay gross negligence or wilful misconduct – not for normal beginner mistakes when practising. And more importantly: a topple says nothing about your later driving ability – that also happens to future test passers. At FAHRPLAN, this is solved very concretely: Our driving school motorcycles are equipped with crash bars equipped – if a motorcycle falls over at practice speed, as a rule nothing at all happens to it.