New to GTA | GTAMotorcycle.com

New to GTA

I

iass.oh

Member
Hey guys,

I moved this winter to Toronto and looking forward to good rides in the area :)

I come from France and had my motorcycle license over there. Latest bike I owned was a 2014 CB500F, perfect bike to begin with!

Successfully passed my M1 yesterday and now have to pass my M road test (as I have 2 years experience on my French license I'm allowed to skip the M2 phase).

I'm a bit confused to how this test will go.

Do I need to pass it through a driving school or using my own bike?

(Still to be bought obviously)

Any help will be appreciated :)

Cheers and see you around in the forums and IRL for a ride !
 
If you've skipped the M2 evaluation, then your current license should say M2 on it, If you also have a full car license it will say GM2.

In either case, you'll need your own bike.

The difference is that if you do it through the government, then you'll show up on your bike at the appointed time, and just ride through the evaluation. If you do it through a school, they'll first evaluate whether they can risk taking you on the road; if you have any riding competence, this should be easy. Next they'll take you out to practice your riding technique through something such as residential, business and highway. Someone will monitor and correct your technique as you go. Finally, they'll administer the same test as the government, but usually in a slightly different approved location.

Check elsewhere in the Laws/Regulations/HTA section on the sticky threads for some more info on the M2X evaluation.
 
Thanks man.

So I got full G license (in exchange of my French license).

And for motorcycle, they said I can go straight to M license as I could justify 2 years of motorcycle experience from France.

If I go with my own bike, I need to have it insured.

Wouldn't rates be higher for M1 or do they acknowledge that within 90 days you'll be in full M class?

Also, I heard that M1 get special plates. So I guess I would need to change them after I get the M class. Do you know if there any fees?
 
Plates are not different for any of the M levels (M1, M2, or full M).

For regular street motorcycles (not including diplomatic, dealer, manufacturer...), the only different plate is for limited speed motorcycles, which is a green plate and the bike identifies it as a limited speed motorcycle on the compliance sticker on the frame, and it will have a 50cc, or smaller, engine. The license classes for the limited speed motorcycles are LSM1, LSM2, and LSM.
 
Oh that's where the confusion comes from!

In France, your equivalent to M1 or M2 is limiting you horsepower wise. I mixed the 2 models in my head haha

Ok so get bike, get insurance, pass the M road test :)
 
iass.oh said:
Oh that's where the confusion comes from!

In France, your equivalent to M1 or M2 is limiting you horsepower wise. I mixed the 2 models in my head haha

Ok so get bike, get insurance, pass the M road test :)
Click to expand...
You got it.

Yes, we have a very basic system that let's noobies go out and crash race bikes on day 1, very short sighted.

Be prepared for insurance, i'd call ahead for quotes before you complete the sale.
 
Yeah I've spent the afternoon on that. I was looking at some 2011 FZ6, similar to what I had in France. Nothing crazy.

AllState -> need 1 year of insurance in NA
TD -> no M2, no insurance
Desjardins -> no M2, no insurance
Mitchel and Whale -> $4,662 yearly as I am considered a new driver.

Pretty sure the guy put FZ8 + M1 license in the system :rolleyes:

So it's kind of a loophole :

I need a bike to pass the M road test but I can't get insurance to get the bike to pass the test. lol
 
iass.oh said:
Yeah I've spent the afternoon on that. I was looking at some 2011 FZ6, similar to what I had in France. Nothing crazy.

AllState -> need 1 year of insurance in NA
TD -> no M2, no insurance
Desjardins -> no M2, no insurance
Mitchel and Whale -> $4,662 yearly as I am considered a new driver.

Pretty sure the guy put FZ8 + M1 license in the system :rolleyes:

So it's kind of a loophole :

I need a bike to pass the M road test but I can't get insurance to get the bike to pass the test. lol
Click to expand...
buy a ninja 300 or r3 and complete the test, sell it afterwards if you want to and get almost all your money back as they retain their used value well.

Depending on age and how they view your licence (m1? atm) you can expect 120-180/month

which brings me to my question;

you said you qualify to skip M2, aka test to acquire your m2? So in 3 months time you should be eligible to upgrade your m1 to m2. That should make it easier to find insurance.

you could also spend time explaining that due to your other licence the government considers you m2 qualified, but you`re just stuck waiting for the 3 month qualifying period. They may consider you m2, they do it similar here for people who pass their m1 exit test via weekend training course but are still waiting for the 3 month period.
 
Evoex said:
buy a ninja 300 or r3 and complete the test, sell it afterwards if you want to and get almost all your money back as they retain their used value well.

Depending on age and how they view your licence (m1? atm) you can expect 120-180/month

which brings me to my question;

you said you qualify to skip M2, aka test to acquire your m2? So in 3 months time you should be eligible to upgrade your m1 to m2. That should make it easier to find insurance.

you could also spend time explaining that due to your other licence the government considers you m2 qualified, but you`re just stuck waiting for the 3 month qualifying period. They may consider you m2, they do it similar here for people who pass their m1 exit test via weekend training course but are still waiting for the 3 month period.
Click to expand...

So, when you have at least 2 years of motorcycle experience in another country, Ontario allows you skip M2 as follows :

Instead of doing M1 -> M2 -> M you just go M1 -> M as if you already did your 2 years in M2. But abroad.

So I've called some riding schools and they told me the easiest path is to apply for M course + exam to get the full M license and a break from insurances. And rent a bike for the exam day.

Less troubles than buying a 300cc and selling it back in a couple days.

After that I'll need to re-open discussions with insurances to get a quote as an M driver, not an M1.

Hopefully that'll change the final number haha
 
iass.oh said:
So, when you have at least 2 years of motorcycle experience in another country, Ontario allows you skip M2 as follows :

Instead of doing M1 -> M2 -> M you just go M1 -> M as if you already did your 2 years in M2. But abroad.

So I've called some riding schools and they told me the easiest path is to apply for M course + exam to get the full M license and a break from insurances. And rent a bike for the exam day.

Less troubles than buying a 300cc and selling it back in a couple days.

After that I'll need to re-open discussions with insurances to get a quote as an M driver, not an M1.

Hopefully that'll change the final number haha
Click to expand...
It will, but M appears to result in almost no savings over M2.

Who are you renting a bike from? I hope the riding school provides the service.

So what happens if you don't get your M within 3 months? If you have the time to inquire with the Ministry i'd love to hear the answer. Because here M1 is a temporary licence that expires in 3ish months from issue.
 
Evoex said:
It will, but M appears to result in almost no savings over M2.

Who are you renting a bike from? I hope the riding school provides the service.

So what happens if you don't get your M within 3 months? If you have the time to inquire with the Ministry i'd love to hear the answer. Because here M1 is a temporary licence that expires in 3ish months from issue.
Click to expand...
What do you mean by savings ? On insurance ?

Both schools I talked to didn't provide the bikes. They mentioned GTA Exotics or through Kijiji.

Not sure about the 3 months thing. I'm guessing it would be back to taking M1 again then M.

Isn't it how it goes for M1 to M2 if you don't get your M2 in the 90 days ?
 
iass.oh said:
Hey guys,

I moved this winter to Toronto and looking forward to good rides in the area :)

I come from France and had my motorcycle license over there. Latest bike I owned was a 2014 CB500F, perfect bike to begin with!

Successfully passed my M1 yesterday and now have to pass my M road test (as I have 2 years experience on my French license I'm allowed to skip the M2 phase).

I'm a bit confused to how this test will go.

Do I need to pass it through a driving school or using my own bike?

(Still to be bought obviously)

Any help will be appreciated :)

Cheers and see you around in the forums and IRL for a ride !
Click to expand...
1) Get M1(done)
2) Schedule M exam at MTO. For this you need to being a safe bile that is insured.
3) Get bike for test. Buying will be difficult as most insurers won't take you until you have an M2. The other option is to use Rideer Share Riders Share to rent a bike. You can rent a 250-300cc Kawi, Honda or BMW for less than $100/day.
4) Shop around and find a competent insurer - get quotes on the bikes you like before buying one. My guess is that unless you're over 50 OR have more than 6 years experience you are best to choose a 250-300cc bike for at least a year, probably 2. Insurance on this size bike should be <$1000/year. A competent underwriter will provide needs based advice (hard to find when it comes to MC insurance), they will understand licence transfers from foreign countries and how to apply your experience and insurance continuity - otherwise you'll get the M&W experience over and over. TIP: if you have a car, a partner with a car, and home or tenant insurance, bundle everything together, many insurers in Canada are uninterested in MC only policies.
5) Buy the bike.
 
iass.oh said:
What do you mean by savings ? On insurance ?

Both schools I talked to didn't provide the bikes. They mentioned GTA Exotics or through Kijiji.

Not sure about the 3 months thing. I'm guessing it would be back to taking M1 again then M.

Isn't it how it goes for M1 to M2 if you don't get your M2 in the 90 days ?
Click to expand...
yea insurance.

Yes that's how it goes.
 
the license grade beyond M2 means little
good insurance history as a rider = lower rates

you can drive/insure a car in Ontario for 50 years
no tickets or claims

get a bike?
you are new

this is not an immigrant discrimination thing
we all live with this
 
As someone who does the M2 and M testing for a local school I would like to weigh in, if I may. As mentioned in the thread, licensing and insurance are really two different things here. While the ministry will allow you go straight to an M license, what the insurance industry looks at is riding experience in Canada or whether you have taken a riding safety course to get your M2. They don't really seem to care about previous experience outside the country. For this reason I have seen a number of people in your situation actually go through the process of taking a course to get their M2 and then either going to the ministry or a school for their full M strictly for insurance reasons. They have found they save more than the cost of the course this way in insurance and bike rental etc., not to mention the hassles you have already discovered in getting a bike to take your M test on with only an M1. A bit of a pain, yes, but taking a course in a subject you enjoy in order to save some money and hassle in the long run isn't the worst thing, in my opinion. On the upside, in your case you are not restricted by the normal waiting periods to upgrade since that is a ministry thing.
 
Two things you could do:
The first would be to check with the insurance companies/brokers that you're looking at to see if they offer a discount for having a course.
The second would be to check out the M2X courses, and ask for more detail as to how they approach teaching the course. The M1X (Gearing Up) tends to be much more structured and universal, but is aimed at beginning riders, and starting to prepare them to ride on the road. The M2X tends to be a more unique plan submitted to the government for approval, so they tend to vary from location to location and provider to provider.
 
Talked to a rep at Mitchell and Whale today.

He told me that I could go straight to M license and that by obtaining it through a driving course, it would help on the premium.

Also, he mentioned that the number of years of experience in France I would get credited on my license would come into play.

I will go to Service Ontario tmw to confirm that it is still the correct path to go M1 to M and that they will indeed credit me all my experience as they said in the first place.
 
iass.oh said:
Talked to a rep at Mitchell and Whale today.

He told me that I could go straight to M license and that by obtaining it through a driving course, it would help on the premium.

Also, he mentioned that the number of years of experience in France I would get credited on my license would come into play.

I will go to Service Ontario tmw to confirm that it is still the correct path to go M1 to M and that they will indeed credit me all my experience as they said in the first place.
Click to expand...
Go early lol. The lineups just crush your will to live.
 
AstroChimp said:
As someone who does the M2 and M testing for a local school I would like to weigh in, if I may. As mentioned in the thread, licensing and insurance are really two different things here. While the ministry will allow you go straight to an M license, what the insurance industry looks at is riding experience in Canada or whether you have taken a riding safety course to get your M2. They don't really seem to care about previous experience outside the country. For this reason I have seen a number of people in your situation actually go through the process of taking a course to get their M2 and then either going to the ministry or a school for their full M strictly for insurance reasons. They have found they save more than the cost of the course this way in insurance and bike rental etc., not to mention the hassles you have already discovered in getting a bike to take your M test on with only an M1. A bit of a pain, yes, but taking a course in a subject you enjoy in order to save some money and hassle in the long run isn't the worst thing, in my opinion. On the upside, in your case you are not restricted by the normal waiting periods to upgrade since that is a ministry thing.
Click to expand...
A bike exit course won't do anything for insurance -- all you'll get is beginner rates.

If you find a competent agent, they can get you credit for foreign riding experience as long as it's from an exchange country and you have proof of continuous licence and insurance. Unfortunately not many have the experienced and/or unwillingness to work on behalf of and experienced rider that is new to Canada.
 
iass.oh said:
Talked to a rep at Mitchell and Whale today.

He told me that I could go straight to M license and that by obtaining it through a driving course, it would help on the premium.

Also, he mentioned that the number of years of experience in France I would get credited on my license would come into play.

I will go to Service Ontario tmw to confirm that it is still the correct path to go M1 to M and that they will indeed credit me all my experience as they said in the first place.
Click to expand...
A rider's course is the faster path to your M, you can do that as soon as you can book it. If you have less than 2 years riding experience, it may also help with insurance rates. The big impact on rates is the number of years you have been continuously licenced and insured, it looks like you found a smart rep at M&W. Share his/her name with the group (not all their reps are willing and able to perform this magic.)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom