Learning to ride -- do it now or wait until spring?

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emperors6

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Hi all,

First time poster, long time lurker. So, I've finally gathered enough courage where I want to learn to ride. I was looking at the Ontario licensing rules and within 90 days of taking your M1 knowledge exam, you have to take your M1 exit road test. Hence, I've been thinking, should I begin the process now and get my M2 or wait until next spring and do it then? I'm worried that I'll spend time taking a driver instruction course (Humber, etc. and the rest), and then have my newly learned skills atrophy over the next six months. I wouldn't consider doing it without some kind of course since I really want the instructor feedback when learning as I have no people in my immediate social network that ride. Is there any advantage to doing it now or should I just wait? I'm thinking I'll have more time to do research on picking a first bike, and get some reading out of the way in the meantime if I decide to wait.

What are your thoughts?
 
emperors6 said:
within 90 days of taking your M1 knowledge exam, you have to take your M1 exit road test.
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That's not technically correct. I had my M1 continuously for 3 years :) You can "renew" it at the end of the 90 days. That way, come spring time when your ready for your M1 exit test there will be no waiting period, you'd get your M2 as soon as you completed the test :)
 
hpvchewy said:
That's not technically correct. I had my M1 continuously for 3 years :) You can "renew" it at the end of the 90 days. That way, come spring time when your ready for your M1 exit test there will be no waiting period, you'd get your M2 as soon as you completed the test :)
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Thanks for that piece of information, however if I'm going to wait I see no point wasting more money just renewing it every 3 months. I might as well take it in the spring. Anyways, you still haven't answered my main question. ;)
 
When buying a used bike, Fall/Winter months are the times to do it.
Problem is, if you haven't been on a bike before, you may not know whats right for you.
The course will give you a bit of experience and give you a feel of the type of bike you choose to ride for the course.
Make sure you do your research on insurance first as that is one of the main things that make or break your choice of what you want to ride.

If you're planning to wait to do your M1 in winter, make sure you pre-book early for the course as the first few months get booked fast and your M1 may not want to wait up ;)
Generally, courses start in late March/early April. Plan around that :P

If you take the test now, be prepared to take your M1 again during the winter. Otherwise, just take your M1 at the end of Jan or Feb.
 
I would wait and take your m1 in January or February like above said. Then in spring go for your m2. In the meantime/winter, you can get yourself familiar with riding techniques. There are plenty of good books to read.
You being a new rider, I wouldn't want to be learning how to ride/learn in october/November when conditions can be dicey, tires never get up to temperature, and cagers are less likely to be expecting you on the road. Wait it out. I did the same thing four years ago
 
Personally I waited -- I didn't see the point in writing the M1 twice if I wan't going to be riding until spring anyways.

With that said, if you could get your M1 now and slip the course in before end of season, that might be the best way to go. That way, your M2 to full M wait period seems shorter, plus you can take the course at any point after getting your M1 -- The only catch is you can't take the results into the M2 until after day 60 IIRC.
 
If you are in the group where insurance will rape you first year, you are better off grabbing your M1 and M2 in the same week (M2 through a course) then registering it 60 days later. You still won't have cheap insurance till 2015 but the longer you hold off getting an M class license, the longer it'll take for insurance to drop.
 
油井緋色;2079966 said:
If you are in the group where insurance will rape you first year, you are better off grabbing your M1 and M2 in the same week (M2 through a course) then registering it 60 days later. You still won't have cheap insurance till 2015 but the longer you hold off getting an M class license, the longer it'll take for insurance to drop.
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Yesh, the wait for the next licence stage will be less. if you start now. I couldnt exchange my NZ licence to a Canadian one when I got here, (so I had to go through the same program as everyone else - M1 M2, brfore M). I did my M2 in November when the temps were like they were now the year I did it. In the early spring I grabbed a previous year deal on a bike. :-)
 
I did my M1 and training in September, I then got my M2 after the waiting period. Come spring I got my bike and was ready to rock, insurance companies seem hesitant or charge astronomical rates for people with an M1.
 
Do it now while you have the motivation to do it. Far too easy to delay these things.
 
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