I understand the laws and why they are there for you guys however I don't like the fact they make you wait. I think you should be able to take a second test for a higher powered one say 6 months later instead of a year.
Strongly disagree, a motorcycle is deadly and we don't have wide open or even well paved roads. You're already allowed a moped before you're allowed a car (you can get a 125 at the same time as you can a car). Keeping in mind on that basis I could pass a test, barely ride in the coming period, pass the next test and then be on the rode on a more powerful machine with very little road experience at 16 years old. You can skip the moped step though and go straight to 125 at any time after 17, it's not enforced, then you can pass another test to be allowed up to 33bhp and a certain power to weight, and I believe 2 years later you're good to go on whatever you can afford at 19.
At 21 years old with no previous motorcycle experience you are currently allowed to do a direct access test and be immediately allowed anything, this is however set to change to a more enforced stepping stone system according to the guy who I did my last test with and it makes perfect sense to me, at best something like 33bhp for a year or 2, then another step, before fully unrestricted with a test for each.
Seeing the way alot of young people drive around in 1L Saxo or similar and quite regularly injure themselves I would not trust these people on a moped let alone a 125 or more. It's a completely different road environment here, on a worrying amount of roads around the UK have a margin for error for motorcycles of absolute zero due to the combination of poorly maintained roads and classic British weather.
Example, this is about as good as roads in my immediate vicinity are of my home.
Dat guardrail yo, straight in to a valley of certain death or permanent injury if you're lucky and no chance of emergency response. The surface is full of potholes, the road can't accomodate 2 vehicles wide most of the way, every turn and often straight is blind and this is fairly typical for even fairly busy routes such as the A5 through to the Welsh border, which though an incredible driving road on a nice day is also insanely dangerous if you make a small mistake, it's a 60 mile journey from home to uni of 90% solid rock face or massive drops on at least 1 side of you. The laws need to accommodate people in this sort of environment as well as those in cities and towns who have much better roads and safety where the main danger is other traffic which hurts just as much whatever you're on.
Alot of people don't care for the technicalities of learning to ride well, both on the limit and off, they do what they need to pass and then move on. It's probably beneficial for them to have a small accident on a moped or 125 for a reality check, I had mine at 55mph at 17 and was in constant pain for almost a month as I was lucky to be on a straight, fairly wide and open road and wearing all the gear and I'm just left with a misshaped bone on my elbow. I could easily have been doing 75 or 80mph in the same situation on my current bike and have done some serious damage as I would have ploughed in to a moving vehicle on the other side most likely were the incident the same. The cause? Tiniest bit of oil on a wet, slick bit of road, I went near the brakes just a touch (traffic) and was immediately gone like black ice and was ejected and thrown across near the centre of the road. I used to think I was a decent rider then and I got caught out for one moment and I realised later that could have been game over had I had the money for a better bike which legally I was allowed. Thanks to that accident and my experience since, I now know I'm a good rider but I also know how quickly I could go to a dead one and that is a key quality young riders often lack regardless of how good they actually are.
I'd rather have way to strict laws then what may be considered 'fair', as a petrolhead I've always had much more knowledge then most comparable age drivers and riders particularly of the physics of how a vehicle will react and how as a pilot of that vehicle I can prevent danger or control it and I have some skill in the area thanks to practice in more controlled environments. Unfortunately most people just want to go fast with absolutely no knowledge of where the limit is.
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). If you're not desperate for personal transport, just wait until you can afford and are allowed something better in a 125. 
. The main thing for me is I have a strong interest in riding and driving, it's a hobby and a necessity. Alot of young drivers just don't care enough about what they're doing and are either far to confident or far to nervous aren't thinking clearly about the task. For someone my age (and gender) it's unusual for someone who likes racing and riding 'spiritedly' shall we say to also be so pro-safety but there's a time and a place for these things and it shouldn't not be a rushed learning process in my eyes. The more experience, the better.
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