UK to French Driving Licence Swap - why have i lost categories?

Cars / Motoring / Insurance
21

I agree with you about clueless drivers to some extent - but that’s always been a factor - in my 20s I had a collision with a car that turned across my path without looking - the bike was a write-off but I was fortunately uninjured… I don’t think that’s changed, though there is more traffic on the roads than in the 80s.

That said, car drivers in the UK at least do receive better training nowadays than they used to - it was noticeable when I attended a speed awareness course some years ago that most of the attendees were old farts like me. :slight_smile:

As for the price of motorbikes - actually many of them are cheaper in relative terms (leaving aside the high-end exotica).

MCN looked at this topic last year. They found that modern bikes are often cheaper when prices are adjusted for inflation than bikes of 30 years ago.

A couple of examples that they quoted:

1993 Ducati Monster - £7500 new, or £14,943 in 2024 pounds. The equivalent current-spec SP Monster is £13,995 new, so almost a grand cheaper, and has lots of newer tech as well of course.

here’s another comparison which I will quote verbatim:

Sticking with naked bikes, let’s take a look at the latest Honda CB750 Hornet and compare it with the CB600F of 1998. A new Hornet back then would set you back £5245, for which you got a 97bhp, carbed four-cylinder roadster with budget suspension even for the time. In today’s money, £5245 becomes £9425, which means that, if anything, the latest Honda Hornet is over two grand less expensive than it should be.

Source: The true cost of biking: MCN investigates whether motorbikes really are getting more expensive

And that doesn’t take into account the budget brands like Royal Enfield, or the Chinese manufacturers who are turning out fairly decent machines at low prices.

Personally I think the prices for electric cars are where insanity kicks in! :smiley:

22

I live in the middle of nowhere - right in the pyrenees. Not much traffic at all. A small old motorbike wouldn’t cost much around here and it would be just for nipping to the shops or various errands. I agree about bad driving, but in my experience that tends to happen nearer the cities. Everyone knows everyone here - bad drivers would be called out. But do i need to pass any kind of test to ride a 125cc? That’s what i’m confused about. I’m sure i needed to years ago in the UK

23

I’m a cyclist btw, I would have noticed drivers endangering my life. In fact one reson I moved to this part of France is to keep riding safely. That is something I really couldn’t do in the uk (Bristol + surrounding areas)

24

If you had a UK motorcycle licence of any kind, the simplest solution is to get that authorisation added to your French licence, as discussed above?

Actually, looking more closely at the photos of your licences at the beginning of this thread, it seems you have A1 motorcycle entitlement passed through to your French licence, based on having passed the full “A” test in the UK in 2013. (and AM which is mopeds).

This lets you ride motorcycles and scooters up to 125cc capacity in France.

That may be sufficient for your needs. Because you didn’t get your A certification until 2013 (i.e. after 2006), you would have to attend a training course and take a test to upgrade to A2 (35kW bikes), and then after 2 years another test for full A if you want to indulge in a Ducati Panigale V4. :smiley:

But if a 125cc is sufficient, which it sounds it might be, then off you go to the nearest moto dealer! :slight_smile:

25

I had this argument with my brother-in-law, who was moaning about his expensive his bike would be to replace. A quick adjustment for inflation showed that, in real terms, it’s actually cheaper than his was.

I think we’re getting to that rose-tinted stage in life where we went to the pictures, had a fish supper and got the bus home with change from ten bob.

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26

Gave up motorcycles when I moved to London in the very early 2000s. Traffic in my quiet corner of the northern Home Counties had built year on year since the 1980s when I got my licence and the days of it being Volvo drivers that didn’t pay attention had long morphed into no-one paying attention regardless of what they drove.

London driving was concerning enough with 2 tonnes of steel around me, doubly so after 2010 when everyone had a smartphone and couldn’t bear to put it down for 5 minutes.

27

Agreed, I would never ride my motorcycle into central London. Having to go there occasionally in a car is bad enough.

The lower traffic density in most of France is one of the reasons why I am intending to move across La Manche!

28

Waves from Paris, but only when I absolutely must.

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29

There’s so much confusion in this thread so I will try and answer your question.

When did you exchange your licence?

Your A - 79(3) is only a 3 wheeled trike you never had an A licence, but you may have known this.

Your 125cc on your French licence can only be ridden with the 7 hour course as you did not have A1 on your UK licence.
Peut-on conduire un scooter 3 roues ou une moto 125 avec le permis B ? | Service-Public.fr

If you exchanged pre 01/01/2021 you would have been required to supply a medical if you wanted to keep C1/D1 etc.

If you exchanged after 01/01/2021 then UK grandad rights are not transferred.

We tried really hard to get this agreed but in the end the French said no.

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30

If you have a UK licence and passed a test for A, then A2 is not applicable.

If you passed your test pre <75 etc then I have a letter from the DVLA can be submitted whilst exchanging or submitted if you have lost A.

31

But it doesn’t work like that, if you passed A2 tomorrow you would have to wait 2 years before upgrading to A.

If you exchanged your licence and had held A for more than 2 years your A start date would be older than 2 years so you can immediately do the 7 hour course to reinstate your full A.

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32

Not in ours! Rural motorists who have been driving the same roads all their life are very complacent. And mountain roads are the worst, tailgaters and people coming road bends in the centre of the road are our least favorite behaviour. But generally very good with bikes (velos).

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33

I’m right on a Tour de France route… we have a constant flow of cyclists and cycle tourists, Raid Pyrenees etc. I think most people expect to encounter a cyclist on the roads. I don’t know of any bike/motorbike - car related accidents around here. The biggest danger is probably a drunk farmer. People do respect the cyclist. Not so much the noisy motorbikes hurtling down the valleys, but it’s tourism. TBH, the motorbikers are their own worst enemies and wouldn’t be surprised to see one going off the road somewhere.
In the UK cars and vans would actually ‘punish pass’ me, drive at me (even on Sustans shared road routes) where i’d have to duck under their wing mirrors. One nutter knocked me off my bike and threatened to run me over in Bristol City.

34

Thanks for the clarification Kim I didn’t spot the 79(3) addendum…

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35

Bizzare - i’ve never taken any motorbike tests (unless i did for a moped? - but i’m sure i had ‘L’ plates)… It was 40 years ago so can’t be sure but i never rode a 125cc. I certainly know that in 2013 i took no tests! That’s good news though, saves me the hassle of doing that then :joy:. I would’t need anything over 125cc. There’s no way i’d want to clad myself in leather and do long distance… long distance is to be done in lycra with zero motors and lots of visits to patisseries (fuel)

36

But did you have a trike then? What Kim said above seems to imply that you did.

I can’t see how you would have got a category A on your UK licence without taking a test?

37

At best you would have done a CBT test but it’s not transferrable.

If you want to ride your 125cc on your French licence you must do the 7 hours.

38

Thanks Kim, and fortunately I’m not old enough to have passed my test before 1975.

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39

Hi Kim - to go back to my original question - i’m the OP, and you are the Oracle of French motoring (i’m told)… I posted up my old UK Driving licence next to my recently acquired French one (top of the thread) - I’ve lost many categories and i’m not even sure what i can drive / ride now. Is it up to 3.5 tonnes van and up to 125cc motorbike? I’ve mentioned before that i have driven up to 7.5 tonnes before, i’m not sure if i’d ever need to again but are these things possible to reinstate? I’m 56. Thanks

40

I had a trike when i was maybe 2 years old… pedals etc

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