Us driving licence system & Enginge output reduction

[oml]

Hello fellow men,

over here in .de getting your motorcycle license is sometimes a bit complicated.
There are 3 categories, depending on your age while getting the license:
A1: is for 16-18 years old, and youre may only drive bikes with a maximum power output of 11kW and a topspeed of - i think - about 80 km/h (50mph)
Ab: (A restricted) is for 18-25 year olds, allowing to go all out on a 25kW - powered bike (the Kawasaki Ninja 250 would be a prime example)
A: the completely unrestricted class. You get it automatically after having Ab for 2 years, or being 25 while getting the license.

These laws (which idea is of course to prevent young people from driving to their graves by riding a 1000cc without any experience; something i do not completely disagree with) make it common to get your Ab, then buy a bigger bike then a e.g. 250cc and restrict the engine output by some manufacturer-provided kit for the two years.


The main question is:

Is there anything comparable in the US (how does getting a drivers license work there at all?) ?
Which preceeds the next question: Are downtuning-kits there as common as here?
Which preceeds the calculation of a propability of Brammo to getting something like a kit out on the market -
Which preceeds the time and financial calculations i have to do before aquiring one.


Or maybe it doesnt matter at all, cause the delivery times are so long that I am already in the posession of a A-class license then


Greetings

oml

[Gavin]

We are still the wild wild west.

For me, since I had a car drivers license, I walked into the dept of motor vehicles and took a WRITTEN motorcycle test and a short Vision Test. Passed both and I instantly recieved a Motor Cycle license. The only provision was that I had to take the DRIVING portion of the test within 6 months.

But basically I could ride any motorcycle at any time from day one.

I think it is sooooo relaxed and simple because the DMV thinks: It's a motorcycle...if they can't ride, well the only person they will kill is themselves.

There is also a Motorcycle Safety course that you can take and then you don't have to do the driving test.

It is likely too easy here...and maybe too difficult where you live.

Gavin


ps...nobody here does engine reduction...mostly the other way...people get a 49cc bike so they don't have to have a license and then kit it up...ha, I've seen a 49cc ruckus with a 400cc engine...crazy.

[protomech]

I'd object to your salutation, but the forum does indicate our male:female ratio is a little skewed.
http://brammoforum.com/index.php?action=stats

Licensing regulations vary from state to state. Most states have a multiple levels of certification based upon power, displacement, weight, or maximum speed.

In Alabama, you can obtain a B-restricted M certification at 14 years of age, which allows you to operate a motor-driven cycle displacing no more than 150cc and weighing no more than 200 lbs. A Zero MX seems like it would be okay.

At 16 you can obtain an unrestricted M certification after a very simple computer-based multiple choice test. No riding test is required, and the MSF basic rider's course is not accepted in lieu of the CBT.

California distinguishes between motorcycles, motor-driven cycles, and mopeds. Both motorcycles and motor-driven cycles require an M1 certification. Mopeds are restricted to < 2 bhp and must be capable of being driven by pedals (only if gas?). Mopeds require either a M1 or M2 certification.

[oml]

I'd object to your salutation, but the forum does indicate our male:female ratio is a little skewed.

Damn, thinking out a nice greating is such a hard job.
Therefore my best greetings to the approximately 0.2 females who visited and are yet to [visit] this thread :D


@ Topic:
Well, seems like no real chances getting a kit. But maybe the give out custom settings - given the technology it should just be a matter of adjusting value A and B.
As long as they cant produce that many bikes they can sell using the "you wouldve so many more customers overseas"-argument wont work that well.

It is waiting, then.

oml

EDIT: Missing word.

[Brammofan]

Welcome to the forum, oml!
I had to do a written test and a riding test (speed up to 30, brake within so many feet, serpentine around cones without putting your foot down...fairly simple stuff).

Maybe we should just limit it to men here in the forum.  Just kiddin'.   

[protomech]

If the forum required a faster laptime on a race course than Shelina, it'd be awfully quiet in here.

[oml]

If the forum required a faster laptime on a race course than Shelina, it'd be awfully quiet in here.

Isnt it awfully quiet already? :D

Im just sick of "gendering" (thats a denglish word here, it means to put every fucking e.g. job description, title etc in both male and female versions out there. Im not even sure if shit like that happens here too)
If I e.g. say dentist, i mean the person doing the job, it doesnt fucking matter whatever *it* has between his legs. It could be a robot, I couldnt care less. The name is merely an abstraction of an it.
It is the same with "men". Thats an abstraction, its the name of (not a strict!) subset of the set of menkind, or more abstract, sentinent beings.
(in .de we have the word "Mannen", which equals a mixture of men, vassals, troops, comrades, etc. There is no hint of males only though.)


-----


And why do we have less females here? Well, Brammo sells bikes, not shoes ;)

[FreepZ]

This is getting way off topic, but...

Using the words for both genders is pretty cumbersome. Happily, in English there is usually a word that can be used to label both male and female occupations. Examples:
o Air hostess/air host -> Flight attendant.
o Waiter/waitress -> Server.
o Police woman/police man -> Police officer.
etc.

The idea is that it's difficult to not make a huge number of assumptions about a person once you know their gender, so to be fair, we should keep gender out of the conversation.

[Deadly Silent Ninja]

If the forum required a faster laptime on a race course than Shelina, it'd be awfully quiet in here.

Why isn't Shelina in this forum? C'mon Brammofan, make it happen! Maybe we can have a monthly guest to come and answer a few (proper Brammo-related) questions. It would be a nice touch. And I already vote for Shelina to be the first guest. Steve-O and Eric could be the next guests. Of course Craig and Brian could show up eventually to let us know when we will actually see any empulses or pluses out there.

Back to the topic: In Virginia, I took the drivers' course instead of the test, but if you have a drivers' license, the written test is a breeze and the riding portion can be passed by anyone riding for more than a couple of hours.