In Darwin, you can’t ride a motorcycle without a valid rider licence – This is the Northern Territory R class licence.
These are the 3 stages to getting a motorbike licence in Darwin and the Northern Territory:
1st Stage – R class learner licence
This must be held for a minimum of six consecutive months before you can move to the next stage, the Class R licence.
2nd Stage – R class provisional licence or R class restricted licence
Provisional licence
You can apply for a provisional rider licence if you do not hold a licence of another class.
If you are under 25 years old you will be provisional for two years.
If you are 25 years old or over you will be provisional for one year.
Restricted licence
You can get a restricted rider licence if you already hold a full licence of another class – eg: C class driver licence.
You must hold the restricted rider licence for 12 months.
3rd Stage – R class open Licence
You can obtain your full open R class licence after completing your R class provisional and R class restricted licence period.
Novice motorcycle rider
A novice motorcycle rider is a person who holds an R class learner, provisional or restricted licence.
As a novice rider, you may only ride a motorcycle listed under the Learner Approved Motorcycle Scheme.
To get the list of approved motorcycles for novice riders go to the New South Wales Government’s Roads and Maritime website.
Motorcycles not on the list can’t be legally ridden by novice riders and there are no exemptions.
Learner approved motorcycles have:
- a maximum power to weight ratio of 150 kilowatts per tonne (kw/t).
- and an engine capacity not exceeding 660 cubic centimetres (cc).