Twenty years old, A2 for two years, borrowing a restricted bike
You turn 20 in March, have held an A2 licence for two years and one month, and pass the A test in June. In July you borrow a friend's 689 cc bike for a two-week tour with a pillion and luggage. The registration certificate lists maximum net power as 35 kW and the bike weighs 193 kg wet. A sticker on the frame from the conversion kit says 'original 51 kW, restricted to 35 kW'. Your friend mentions that the restriction was done with a throttle stop and a remap, and that the certificate in the glovebox is the old one from before the conversion. Your pillion weighs 70 kg, luggage is 20 kg, the kerb weight is 193 kg and the maximum permitted mass is 400 kg. You have planned a 120 km motorway stretch and a mountain pass.
1. Work through the three A2 vehicle conditions for this bike: maximum power, power-to-weight and derivation.
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An A2 machine must satisfy three conditions at once:
- Maximum net power 35 kW. The certificate states 35 kW, so on paper this is met.
- Power-to-weight no more than 0.2 kW/kg. 35 kW ÷ 193 kg ≈ 0.18 kW/kg, which is under the limit.
- Derivation rule. The machine must not be derived from a bike whose original power is more than double the restricted figure, i.e. no more than 70 kW here. The sticker says the original was 51 kW, well under 70 kW, so the conversion is of a type that may be approved.
The conversion itself - throttle stop plus remap - is acceptable only if it is the manufacturer's or an approved kit and the reduced power is what is actually registered. Note also that once you have passed the A test and the licence is issued, you are no longer limited by A2 rules at all; but the bike as it stands, physically restricted, is legal for any category.
2. The glovebox holds the pre-conversion certificate. What does that mean for you, and what do you do before leaving?
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The registration certificate is the legal document, and the police at a roadside check read the registered maximum net power and the vehicle's identity, not the sticker on the frame or a friend's explanation. If the current certificate does not show the reduced power, then the machine as registered does not match the machine in front of you: the restriction has not been recorded, and you may be treated as riding a 51 kW bike in a category that does not permit it - with insurance consequences if there is a claim.
Before leaving, get the current registration certificate from the owner, and confirm with the workshop or importer that the restriction is documented in the vehicle register. Check that your own insurance or the owner's policy covers you as a rider. 'It's restricted, honestly' is not a defence, and an unrecorded conversion is also a problem for the owner at the next EU inspection.
3. Payload, pillion and a mountain pass: what do the numbers tell you, and how does the load change your riding?
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Maximum permitted mass 400 kg minus kerb weight 193 kg gives a payload of 207 kg. Rider with kit at roughly 80 kg, pillion 70 kg, luggage 20 kg is about 170 kg - legal, but with only around 37 kg of margin, so a top box, heavy riding gear and a tank bag can push you close to the limit. Check the pillion seat and footrests exist and that the machine is registered for a passenger.
With the load, set tyre pressures to the loaded figures and add rear preload as the manual prescribes. Braking distances lengthen, the front lightens under acceleration and steering is slower. On the motorway, allow bigger gaps. On the pass, 35 kW two-up on a steep grade is slow: plan to be overtaken, keep right, and do not let a queue behind you push you into a corner faster than a fully loaded bike can stop.