How? Are they going to mandate sidecars or something?
Also how does the HP limiting work? Seems like messing with the engine mapping to such a degree can't be good for it..
The instructor has to be present on his bike.
For example, when I was learning (had I of owned my own 125) I could ride up to my instructors place of work or whatever and then he would take you out and follow you giving you instructions via the radio headset. He would make sure you were doing the relevant checks, sticking to the speed limits, riding correctly etc. All the things the test examiner will look for when he follows you on your test. But once the lesson was over I could just ride on home on my own. Effectively, most of your riding experience (for people who owned bikes) was gained on their own, the instructor only helped tweak it. I didn't have a bike though so I had to use one of the instructors.
Because of this, lots of people would get a bike, insure it, put L plates up and never do their test. They would just ride around forever on 125's (which means lots of people on the road with no formal training, which any other vehicle requires). As of next year, this will be illegal. You will only be allowed on the road when accompanied by the instructor on his bike.
I wonder this too. Is it a ECU thing? What if you buy a carbureted bike?
As for this, it's not the ECU thing. It's a physical kit,
as seen here, manufacturers supply them. My understanding is that it stops the throttle opening all the way up. Not the actually throttle handle you turn, it still has full range of motion, but inside the cable or whatever is stopped going all the way. I watched one get fitted but I'm not particularly mechanically minded.
Edit: So comparing my friends FZ to mine. When his hits about 4000 revs the power sort of drops off to an extent. It's noticeably sluggish at that point. Where as my own just keeps the power going as normal. As you can imagine this means when we take off it's not long before we reach a point where I start pulling away from him quite easily. He'll still get plenty of speed, just takes him longer to get there. It will be like a new bike to him when he get's the damn thing off.
Oh and the worst bit about all this legislation. If you pass your test in December 2012 for arguments sake you're restricted for two years no matter what. If you wait to January 2013 and then take the direct access you can ride unrestricted off the bat, and there is no option for fully licensed riders still in their restriction period to re-sit the test and go the direct access route. So you can imagine how frustrating it is for some people (my friend included) finding out he'll be restricted whilst a bunch of less experienced guys will come along soon and not be.
2nd edit: to add further to the ridiculousness, your bike is never actually tested by government officials or the police. So even though by law you need to have the restrictor and a certificate to say it's fitted, nobody would ever know otherwise. I guess the main reason is insurance, if the vehicle was crashed they would perhaps check and if the bike wasn't restricted then the insurance would be void.
We have yearly vehicle checks after the 3rd and 4th year from first registration in GB and NI respectively (
MOT test). To make sure vehicles are road worthy. The mechanics there could technically check it, but they don't, and couldn't if it was a new bike anyway.
