Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment

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Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment
Tyson Jopson

Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment

Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment

Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment

Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment

18th pictures

Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment
Tyson Jopson

1/18
So easy? Well, for someone with no experience of two-wheelers, switching to the 125cc is more of a challenge.

Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment
Patrick Lang

2/18
In theory, none of this is a problem. Whoever gets the B196 driver’s license has to go to school once.

Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment
Patrick Lang

3/18
Of course, with the necessary distance to the (much younger) fellow driving learner.

Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment
Tyson Jopson

4/18
A question of posture – driving instructor Jorg Kreiselmeier explains how to sit properly on the moped.

Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment
Tyson Jopson

5/18
But before you start driving, there are a few technical tips about the work equipment. The chain, for example, should sag slightly, but not too much, otherwise it has to be retightened.

Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment
Tyson Jopson

6/18
The oil level can be checked in the viewing window. If the machine is upright, the peephole should be half full.

Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment
Tyson Jopson

7/18
You can tell whether a moped has ABS by the grooved plate inside the brake disc. No grooves – no ABS. Then caution is advised: a locking front wheel not only means inability to steer on a two-wheeler, it also means the risk of falling.

Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment
Tyson Jopson

8/18
Adjusting mirrors without an electric motor: Correct positioning requires a certain amount of tact.

Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment
Tyson Jopson

9/18
Direct your gaze forward – subconsciously, the orientation on the horizon line ensures the necessary balance.

Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment
Tyson Jopson

10/18
When idling, the slalom is a real challenge for coordination and balance.

Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment
Tyson Jopson

11/18
With a little more speed, it swings through the pylons much easier.

Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment
Tyson Jopson

12/18
Emergency braking should of course not be missing in any driver’s license.

Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment
Tyson Jopson

13/18
Extend your arms, relieve the rear wheel as little as possible. Here the body has to counteract the dynamic axle load distribution.

Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment
Tyson Jopson

14/18
If you follow the course of the curve, you can drive without any problems, because you go where you look.

Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment
Tyson Jopson

15/18
Of course, exercising in the parking lot is not enough. It also goes out on the streets.

Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment
Tyson Jopson

16/18
A 125 can do up to 100 km / h. This qualifies it as a commuter vehicle. Seen here: the Brixton Cromwell.

Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment
Tyson Jopson

17/18
It’s done after a total of ten hours of driving. Total costs around 650-700 euros. There is no need for an exam.

Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment
Tyson Jopson

18/18
It wasn’t that easy, and certainly a lot of practice is required – but spring is already eagerly awaited.

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traffic & business

Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment

125cc driving license B196 in a self-experiment
The roundabout as the final boss

Content of

Thanks to the new B196 driver’s license, drivers can now switch to light motorcycles easily and without a test. A self-experiment shows, however, that it is not entirely without it.

December 16, 2020

If men spontaneously decide to get a motorcycle driver’s license, then they have – it is said – mostly reached middle age, threateningly reduced hair and the resulting slight personal crisis that needs to be compensated for. How good that that doesn’t apply to me. On the one hand, I’m younger and, on the other hand, it works too “only” the license B196. Although the Federal Motor Transport Authority has recorded an increased number of aspirants between the ages of 45 and 60, but we are now simply ignoring that.

Briefly about the background: Since 2020, it has been particularly easy for drivers to obtain a driving license for 125 cc machines. You must have at least five years of driving experience and be at least 25 years old. Then it only takes a few driving lessons and a theory unit and you can legally get on a two-wheeler. Without any exam. Is it really as easy as it sounds? I tried it and got the rag “Experienced” – an experience report.


Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment


Patrick Lang

Go to school again? Theory lessons are of course also part of the B196 driving license – but in the form of a half-day seminar.

Why do tires have a profile?

When asked why tires have a profile at all, there is a tense silence. The learner drivers play “Official Mikado” – whoever moves first loses. I am sitting in the midst of 15 to 17-year-old candidates for a driving license and I feel justifiably out of place. To calm myself down, I place my car key on the table in front of me so that everyone can see it. “Um, for water displacement”, I answer hesitantly to put an end to the silence. Driving instructor Jorg Kreiselmeier nods benevolently and roars in a sonorous voice: “That’s exactly the case.” Good luck If I’m wrong about even one question, the car key will go quickly from the table to my pocket, I swear to myself.

Organizationally, it is actually quite pleasant. The theory unit takes place on a Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is therefore not a time obstacle even for working people. That’s a good thing, because with the new 125cc regulation, motorists in particular should discover the light motorcycles as a commuter vehicle for themselves. This reduces the traffic area used, along with the emissions. So actually not a bad thing. And how difficult can it be to drive such a small moped?


Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment


Tyson Jopson

It doesn’t sound difficult in theory. On the other hand, a moped shows that riding a two-wheeler has its pitfalls.

The first contact

RRRRRaaaWWRRR, crack. Stalled. This has not happened to me in the car for years, and now I sweat on my forehead under my helmet after just a few minutes. The radio in my ear is tinny: “Simply pull the clutch and turn it on again.” Sure, I can do THAT. The KTM Duke starts again. The first contact with the vehicle takes place in a park and ride parking lot (how appropriate actually). Starting off, braking and slalom are on the program. Fortunately not during rush hour, because I’m by no means ready for an audience.

For me as a passionate driver, operating a clutch by hand and engaging a gear with my foot feels like a grotesque maneuver from a parallel universe. After just a few attempts to start up, I feel something that feels like tendinitis. A circumstance that I of course keep to myself and continue to work diligently. The start-up succeeds only around 30 attempts later. Look ahead, not the instruments. The horizon line is needed for equilibrium – I remember the tips from the theory lesson. In fact, as is so often the case, if you don’t think hard about the process, it will work out much better.


Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment


Tyson Jopson

Slalom with idle requires a lot of coordination. At 30 km / h it is easier to swing around the pylons.

Final boss roundabout

Now that I have mastered driving a few meters straight ahead in dreamlike safety, striped pylons are lining up in front of me and want to be bypassed. Slalom at walking pace is quite a challenge for coordination and balance at first. With 25 km / h it is already better from the hand. After 90 minutes of physical and cognitive borderline experience, driving instructor Jorg tells me that everything is fine and that we can be on the road in the next hour. I smile uncertainly, but nod as if I wholeheartedly agree with him.

“Cut right turns, in left turns not too far in the direction of oncoming traffic.” In my head I repeat what I have learned like a mantra without suspecting that the real challenge will be a much more mundane traffic element. The roundabout – this is where everything comes together. Engage the clutch, downshift, lean into the curve, blink, look over the shoulder, and shift up again. Himmelherrgottzefixnocheins. What, on the other hand, turns out to be a real advantage of a multi-year car driving career is the fact that recording traffic situations does not take up too much of my awareness. Only then do I notice that I don’t seem to have to think about traffic signs at all. The trained mind processes this information on its own, so that I can fully concentrate on the physical here and now.


Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment


Tyson Jopson

Everything comes together in the roundabout: braking, shifting, accelerating, looking over the shoulder, as a newcomer it takes some practice.

The most valuable lesson

I find right turns easier somehow. They suit me more, I don’t know why – I don’t have any favorite corners in the car, so I like them all equally. In any case, this one left-hand bend in the country road really taught me to be afraid. Inspired by my newfound self-confidence, I turn up the gas. Makes a good mood. A little more is still possible. It’s crazy how fast 90 km / h feels on two wheels. And suddenly the road bends to the east. I brake, lean in and still notice: this is too fast. To call the whole thing a near-death experience would be very pathetic, but the following three seconds still feel like slow motion. The white striped edge of the road is getting closer, closer and closer. I can avoid the take-off with a few centimeters of leeway. “Just don’t get cocky. That was a little quick, no?”, it rattles in my auricle. Uh yeah That was it.


Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment


Tyson Jopson

Ten accident-free driving hours later there is the long-awaited wipe. The driver’s license can be extended by a cross.

If this experience from the third driving lesson has taught me one thing, it is not fear, but a healthy respect for the matter. Riding a motorcycle is really demanding. You do not do that “just like that”. Maybe after years of routine. Just because I move a lot of cars for work, sometimes even at the limit, doesn’t mean that the moped obeys me unconditionally. In addition to all the good and practical tips from the driving school, this is my most valuable lesson. So for me it now means: practice, practice, practice – and I’m really in the mood for that, because motorcycling is also a lot of fun. In any case, one thing is crystal clear to me: I get the right motorcycle driver’s license before my belly and hairline remind me of the approaching retirement.

opinion poll

Do you know someone who, thanks to the new driving license regulation, has got a 125cc??

Voted 5750 times

Yes, of course, myself!

Yes, I know someone who took advantage of this opportunity.

No, I don’t know anyone.


Driving 125: Driving license B196 in a self-experiment


Tyson Jopson / Patrick Lang

The most important B196 facts at a glance.

Conclusion

Switching from the car to the light motorcycle: thanks to the B196 driver’s license this is not a big deal in organizational terms and with a total of around 650 euros investment (without equipment) it is also affordable for the current account. But even those who have been driving a car for many years should not take the two-wheeler lightly. The driving technique is just as demanding on a 125cc and a completely different world than on four wheels. But if you understand that, you can have a lot of fun.

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