With an A2 licence in hand, you may at first feel that the motorcycles you can ride (legally) are a bit restrictive… but that’s genuinely not the case at all. There are some outright mental motorcycles that you can ride that are limited down to the A2 compliant 47bhp.
This all came about with news that BMW is working on an A2-restrictable R18 - which to be quite honest with you, is one of the most bonkers A2 restriction ideas out there.
Or is it..? You see our line of thinking.
So that we’re all on the same page, in the UK at 19+ you can pass the full tests to earn a restricted A2 licence, and with this you can ride anything that produces a peak power figure of up to 35kW (47bhp) and have a maximum power-to-weight figure of 0.2kW per kilo. That’s the basic stuff to know about A2 limits.
But it does get a little more in depth. Larger machines can also be A2-compliant if they are restricted down to that aforementioned 47bhp/0.2kW per kilo limit, on the basis that it does not produce more than 70kW (94bhp) out of the factory. Restricting down a larger motorcycle is particularly popular with riders who want to buy a bike and ‘derestrict’ it to their licence limit whilst they go out and qualify for their full A licence. Therefore keeping the same bike and 'unlocking' more power as you go.
Have a watch of the video to find out which A2 motorcycles we think are the maddest, there is quite literally something for everyone here!
And if you’re just after our Top 10 A2 motorcycles (but you really should watch our video) here’s the list with linked reviews:
- BMW R18 (£TBC)
- Aprilia RS660 (35kW version) (from £10,150)
- Triumph Tiger 900 (from £11,500)
- Triumph Street Triple S (from £8,100)
- Triumph Trident 660 (from £7395)
- Yamaha Tracer 7 GT (from £9002)
- Kawasaki Ninja 650 (£7099)
- Ducati Hypermotard 950 SP (from £11,085)
- BMW F900XR (from £9830)
- Indian FTR1200 (from £12,295)
