The cost of learning to ride a motorbike depends on how much training you need, what licence you want to get and where in the country you learn – see the flow charts below.
How much does it cost to do a CBT?
The basics are that CBT (Compulsory Basic Training) costs between £120 and £300, depending where you go and if you can get the training done in a day. If you’ve never ridden a bike before, doing CBT in a day is seriously tough, and though you can’t fail a CBT – you just need to get through the training – the instructors can only put you through to the second half of the training if you satisfactorily complete the first, which takes some people a while.
We’d recommend that complete novices bank on taking two days to make it less of a high-pressure experience.
How much does it cost to get a full licence?
Direct Access (which allows someone over 24 to go from novice to a full motorcycle licence over a few days) costs between £700 and £1800 depending on the location, time of year and your level of skill. Though technically you can cram all this training into a week, we’d recommend you space it out to give yourself time to absorb it all. Riding non-stop for three days is tiring enough for experienced riders, and for novices it can be so knackering that they fail the tests at the end purely through exhaustion.
The flow charts below are based around your age and what you want to do, so just find the right one for you and add up the costs as you go through the chart. We're just looking at the costs of lessons here, but of course you will need a helmet and some kit to wear during your lessons and test. For reviews of helmets and all the kit you could ever need, check out our comprehensive motorcycle product reviews.
Check out our selection of rider training offers at BikeSocial Membership
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