What is an A2 motorbike licence?

An A2 motorbike licence is the type of motorcycle licence you will need in order to legally ride an A2 motorcycle. Riders need to be 19 years or older and are restricted on this license type to 47bhp machines and under. The A2 license sits between the A1 “light motorcycle” licence class, and the fully fledged category A motorcycle licence.

If you hold an A2 motorbike license, you will be able to take the full category A motorcycle test once you reach 21 years of age and have held your A2 license for 2 years.

This is the only way for riders who are under 24 years old to access the full, unrestricted category A motorcycle licence and is known as progressive, rather than direct access.

How to get an A2 motorcycle license

To obtain an A2 motorcycle license, you must first be over 19 years of age. If you are 16 or over, you can only ride a moped. If you are over 17, you can also obtain a “light motorcycle” – or A1 bike license.

If you’ve already passed your A1 test and held the A1 license for over 2 years, you can go straight for the two-part practical A2 test. If you pass 19 and have had an A1 license for less than two years, you’ll also need a valid theory test certificate.

Otherwise, you’ll need a provisional license with motorcycle entitlement, and have passed the CBT and theory test.

The A2 test is taken on a bike of at least 245cc and between 20kW and 35kW (27-47 bhp). It comprises of two modules:

Module 1 - off road test (usually takes 20 minutes) - Done off the road (at a testing centre). Contains slow and high-speed manoeuvring, cornering, slalom and a figure of 8, plus controlled and emergency stops. You will need to demonstrate wheeling the motorcycle and using a stand. It’s about proving that you have proper control over the bike.

Module 2 – Road test examination (usually takes 40 minutes) - You will be followed by an examiner who will be in radio contact with you issuing directions and instructions.

You’ll ride in various road conditions (excluding motorways) and will be asked to perform normal stops, hill starts and angled starts. You will then be assessed for 10 minutes of independent riding, which is designed to assess if you can ride safely and make your own decisions.

You’ll also have to undertake an eyesight test, and answer ‘show me, tell me’ motorcycle safety questions.

Module two of the A2 bike test must be passed within 6 months of module one.

You can donwload a useful flow chart from the DVSA on how to get your A2 motorcycle licence here: A2 motorcycle licence flow chart.

What is an A2 motorcycle, and what bikes can I ride with an A2 licence?

Once you have passed your A2 bike test, you can legally ride any bike up to a maximum power of 47bhp, or 35kW.

In addition, the motorcycle must also not have a power to weight ratio exceeding 0.26bhp/Kg (0.2kw/Kg) – or put another way, a full 47bhp machine must weigh more than 175kg

You can either ride one of the many numerous machines that fit into the A2 category direct from the factory, typically small/middleweight machines such as a Kawasaki Ninja 400, KTM 390 Duke, Yamaha MT-03 and Honda CBR500r, or choose to restrict a more powerful bike to comply with A2 regulations.

If you go down the restriction route, it’s important to know that the original machine must not have produced more than 94bhp (70Kw) from the factory. You couldn’t, for example, restrict a Ducati Panigale superbike to 47bhp (or more accurately if you could, it wouldn’t comply with A2 regulations and you’d be riding illegally and uninsured).

Some motorcycle manufacturers also produce 94bhp versions of more powerful bikes direct from the factory, which can then be restricted further to satisfy the A2 requirements. Examples include Suzuki’s GSX-S950 – a sleeved down GSX-S1000, BMW’s F900XR (A2) and Triumph’s Street Triple 660 S. The power of these factory detuned bikes then needs to be halved by an additional restrictor kit.

A2 classification and motorcycle insurance

It is your responsibility to ensure your bike fully complies with A2 regulations before insuring your motorcycle and taking to the road. Your insurance could be invalid if you’re involved in an incident and your bike is not fully A2 compliant.

How much is A2 motorcycle insurance?

Because the range of motorcycles that can potentially be ridden on an A2 license is really quite vast, the same factors apply as with insurance for any motorcycle - no matter which licensing category it falls into.

Bike insurance brokers calculate their quotes based on numerous factors, including your personal information and the bike you ride.

Because all riders have different circumstances and no A2 compliant bike models are the same, your insurance quote is very particular and unique to you. There are no hard and fast rules that can be applied to decide which is the cheapest A2 bike to insure.

To find the right A2 bike insurance for you and your bike, it can pay to use a comparison service like Biker Insure. Because 25+ A2 motorcycle insurance quotes are compared, you could increase your chances of finding the cheapest A2 motorcycle insurance.

See how much you could save - get an A2 motorbike insurance quote today:

A2 motorcycle insurance FAQ's