Learner Approved Motorcycle Scheme - effective 14 November 2005

The Learner Approved Motorcycle Scheme establishes a power to weight limit for novice motorcyclists.

R-Date licence holders (learners and riders with less than 12 months experience) are restricted from riding high-powered motorcycles unsuited to the learning process or capable of unnecessarily high performances and speed.

Motorcyclists gaining an R-Date licence or learner's permit from 14 November 2005 are restricted to riding motorcycles that have an engine capacity of up to 660 millilitres with a power to weight ratio up to 150 kilowatts/tonne, and are approved under the Learner Approved Motorcycle Scheme (LAMS).

Holders of an R-Date licence issued before 14 November 2005 can ride motorcycles with an engine capacity up to 250 millilitres or those approved under the Learner Approved Motorcycle Scheme.

The Learner Approved Motorcycle Scheme was introduced as a result of inadequacies being identified with the previous system of restricting novice motorcyclists to riding motorcycles with an engine capacity up to 250 millilitres. Engine capacity is not necessarily a good indicator of a motorcycle’s speed and acceleration capabilities. Advances in technology have increased the performance of some 250 millilitres motorcycles to the extent that it exceeds that of many larger capacity motorcycles.

The power to weight ratio of a motorcycle is the ratio of the maximum net power output of the engine to the motorcycle’s weight. This ratio determines the acceleration – the higher the ratio the faster the motorcycle can accelerate.

The department assesses the engine capacity, power and weight of motorcycles and issues a list of approved motorcycles suitable for R-Date licence holders.

A list of approved motorcycles is available from Rider Safe and Customer Service Centres.