Beginner motorcycles

In this post, I’ll list out some motorcycles that I think are suitable for beginners. This is purely from the experience I had looking for mine and only includes models that are fairly easy to find in Macau. Listed prices are for information and may be different the day you walk in the dealership.

Kymco Venox

Kymco is starting to be a well-known brand when it comes to scooters and motorcycles. I believe part of the reason must be because their prices are quite competitive when matching up against their Japanese competitors. They’re mostly selling scooters in Macau but I’ve spotted a couple of Venox as well and thought they looked quite good for 250cc motorcycles and I just felt a bit intrigued by this bike and did some research on it.
First off, Kymco is a Taiwanese company that has been manufacturing motorcycles and scooters for the past 45 years or so. It gives some confidence as I don’t think they would have been able to stay in business that long if they sold crappy motorbikes. You also get a 2-year warranty which is a pretty good sign.
The bike itself weighs around 175kg (which is not really light for a 250cc) and averages a consumption of 3.9 liters/100km (61mpg). Nice on the wallet. It also has 5 gears and sports a liquid cooling system, which I always recommend in Macau as it can get really hot and humid and I believe air cooling does not do such a great job in these conditions. Carburetor and fuel injection models are available, maybe depending on the country where you’re buying it.
I have had a look at this bike as I found one parked in the street once. It sure does not look like a 250cc and surely would not look out of place in a 900cc crowd. A couple of things disappointed me a bit, though, as I noticed all the “chromey” parts were actually made out of some kind of plastic. The silver paint was peeling off of them in some spots which didn’t really appeal me that much… At the same time, the bike only costs around HKD33,000, and other things, like that double exhaust, looked pretty mean.

Yamaha Vstar 250

The Yamaha Vstar 250 is also a 250cc cruiser like the Venox, built on the same type of engine (V twin) and allowing you to shift through 5 gears as well. Weighing a mere 147kg, it eats up the Venox on the fuel efficiency side with only 3 liters/100km (78mpg).
While I have not seen it being sold in dealerships (so I don’t know how much it would cost) I have seen a couple in the streets, among a pretty large number of its predecessor, the Yamaha Virago 250. I have also noticed the traffic police own these too, which means it must last pretty long and not break down very frequently. It also means an abundant amount of spare parts if you need to find one someday. There’s nothing much to say about that bike other than it could keep some of your money in your pocket instead of the gas station cashier, and it still looks nice, although you probably won’t have that “easy rider” feeling the Venox may bring you.

Kawasaki Ninja 250R

This is my most favourite motorbike of the whole bunch. I know of “experienced” riders who own other big supersports bikes who still bought a 250R as a second motorcycle. Yes… It is THAT good. Although it weighs 170kg, it handles like a charm in the traffic, the engine gives a good “torquey” response when accelerating or slowing down and it looks really good. Kawasaki really did a nice job designing it, and fresh riders can now own a 250cc motorcycle without looking like they’re riding a moped. It’s really sleek and has nothing to envy from his 650cc big brother.
Its parallel twin engine uses direct fuel injection and comes together with a liquid cooling system which is really helpful in summer when the temperature goes up to 35 degrees with 98% relative humidity. It also scores 3.9 liters/100km (61mpg) on the fuel efficiency test, which is pretty fair as this 250cc feels more like being 350~400cc.
The driving position comes in mid way between what you would expect when riding a standard bike vs. a sports bike. The seat is relatively low too, which mean even smaller riders are able to plant both feet on the ground when stopped which can increase one’s confidence.
I could keep going on and on about how great this motorbike is but I’ll cut the pet talk and go to the critical issue here: Its price. It does cost between HKD55,000 and HKD60,000. To tell the truth, I personally own this bike and it took me a while getting past the price tag, but once you drive it you know it was worth the extra money.

Other alternatives: Kawasaki ER-6n and Vulcan 500 LTD

For those of you who would like to start on something slightly bigger, I recommend these 2 motorcycles.
I’ve had the pleasure to test drive the Kawasaki ER-6n (classified as a sports bike but really seems more like a standard bike as you sit pretty straight up on top of it) and I almost fell in love with it. It seems it was designed especially for commuting, as it is equipped with an oversized rear tire that gives the bike good stability and extraordinary handling. I also liked the idea Kawasaki had of installing one single rear suspension directly under the seat as well as the large seat that ensures both driver and passenger are riding comfortably. Other bikes have the possibility of carrying passengers as well, but less real estate was spared for the passenger seat resulting in them having to fit in a tinier space.
The engine is a 650cc with liquid cooling and direct fuel injection. It comes with the standard 6 gears and weighs around 204kg, which sets the consumption at around 5.2 liters/100km (45mpg). I really enjoyed test driving it, it proved to be really handy and powerful and all… What did set me back? Its price, of course… Expect shelling out around HKD80,000 for that puppy.

Contrary to the Kawasaki ER-6n, I have not test driven the Vulcan 500 LTD… I haven’t even seen it once around here, but I have seen its 900 version quite often and I’m pretty sure the guys at Kawasaki will be able to order one for you if you would like to. It looks pretty nice for a 500cc cruiser, I like the oversized rear tire on that one as well and I have seen a lot of good comments about it all over the web. It seems that a lot of riders, from beginners to novices, find it to be a good compromise between looks, power, performances and money… A good bang for your buck as we say.
I have gathered some info around and this bike weighs almost the same as the ER-6n, sitting at 203kg. Being a 500cc compared to the 650cc of the ER-6n, I thought it would suffer a lack of power but riders had no complaints about this at all… Finding nothing bad about it, I decided to recommend it over the Suzuki S40 which, despite being affordable at around HKD50,000 (that’s cheap for 650cc), is nowhere near comfortable, not because of the seat or anything but mostly due to its engine that can literally vibrate your teeth out your skull (maybe coupled with poor suspension?). I can’t really say for sure how much the 500 LTD could cost around here but I’m betting on something around HKD70,000 as this is more or less the price for 400cc models.

Choosing your bike

After reading my last post, you must now have a good solid idea on what kind of rider you want to be seen as. Now comes the time when you need to go bike hunting, and I’ll give you a few hints on how to narrow down your choice to a manageable amount. One of the problems when purchasing a motorcycle from a dealership in Macau is that they have no demonstration model available. They may be scared you crashed during test driving it or just don’t feel like insuring one bike of each model they’re selling. So you’d better make some good research before venturing to the nearest dealer.

My first comment will be on the size of the bike… Before telling you “buy a small motorbike” I’d just want you to take some time and remember the very first time you drove a manual transmission car. Most people have some trouble as it’s something very new to them and they do not have the skills to handle everything that has to be handled while driving. Handling the clutch while shifting up and down the gears can be tricky and it can take a while before a new driver (or learner) finds out how to have a smooth transition. Same thing goes for braking and so on…

Now tell me… The first time you drove was probably at the driving school, right? Do you remember what kind of car they were using for the lessons? Was it a Lamborghini Countach or something more like an old Daihatsu Charade? If someone answered “Lamborghini Countach” you’re either a big liar or your brain is not functioning properly and you should seek medical help right now.

Take all those funny memories you have when you began driving a car and increase the difficulty a bit… I mean, a lot actually… On a motorcycle, you’ll only have 2 wheels and will have to worry about keeping that hundreds of kilos monster balanced properly as well as keeping those 2 wheels on the road… This is why I’d advise to “buy a small motorbike” to begin with. Here are a few facts I’ve experienced that may help you understand a bit more:

Fact #1: Big motorbikes are heavier
When I was still practicing to get the license, the school had me learn on a Suzuki S40 that weighs around 173kg (for 2009 models). While it doesn’t sound that heavy, I assure you that when the bike loses its balance and start tipping on the side, it takes a lot of strength to keep it from hitting the ground. It happened to me a couple of times and hurt my back once. Lighter motorbikes do not cancel that problem, but it makes it more manageable.

Fact #2: Big motorbikes accelerate faster
Yes, big bikes not only go faster than small bikes, they also accelerate faster. What do I mean? I mean you’ll only need to twist the throttle a tiny little bit to get a good punch out of the engine. Now imagine you actually make the mistake of twisting too much. What will happen is your body will be thrown backwards and you will put your best efforts in hanging on so you do not fly right off your bike. The only problem is you are probably hanging on to the throttle, and as your body is being pulled back, your gripping hand is probably twisting that throttle some more which causes the bike to go even faster and it becomes a vicious circle.

Fact #3: Big motorbikes brake harder
Big engines are usually paired with big breaks… They also have higher torques than smaller engines, meaning that if you go from full throttle to none, the bike will slow down really steeply which will this time push your body towards the front of the bike. That is a common mistake that beginner riders make when Fact #2 happens which causes a lot of crashes at low speed. They start too quick then stop too hard and we’re back to Fact #1 when they’re losing balance.

So that’s the first step you need to take in researching which motorcycle is right for you. Typically, I’d advise fresh riders to begin riding on something between 250cc and 500cc as they will usually forgive small mistakes easier than their bigger brothers (650cc and above). Of course, it doesn’t mean you can’t learn on a 650cc, but it just may make your experience a bit harder. A lot of new riders who decide to follow the hard path end up crashing their newly acquired bike in their first month riding it. Some will ride again after paying all the repairs, some others just get scared and store their bike away in their garage to never touch it again.

Another thing to keep in mind is you’ll be driving your bike around Macau where the fastest you can legally drive is 80km/h. You will never push your 650cc to its limits and will barely use its 4th gear and above, so smaller bikes should be more fun around here. So I’d advise all new riders to start on a small motorcycle first, learn stuff, get experience from riding and other riders, and once you completely master it and eventually get bored you can start thinking about getting your plutonium powered monster.

The fun part

Fine, we’re done with grinding those tedious lessons and are now getting to the fun part. Finding and buying a motorcycle!

First of all, you need to decide what kind of rider you are and which type of motorcycle would fit you best. Usually, you will have to choose between 3 main types of motorcycles, namely cruisers, standards and sports.


The first and I think most famous and recognizable type of motorcycles is cruisers. Why “most famous and recognizable”? Because Harley Davidson is a very famous world known cruiser brand that’s why. They’re usually fairly comfortable as the sitting position is in a more “laid back” style compared to standards and sports bikes… However, be aware your tailbone may feel sore after riding for a while. The cruiser’s design also allows less stress in your arms as all the commands are placed higher than sports bikes, avoiding your upper body to exercise pressure on them. While fairly stable at high speed, cruisers become a bit trickier to maneuver at lower speeds as they’re usually heavier than the other 2 types of motorbikes… And by the way, heavier usually means higher fuel consumption too.


Standards are much closer to sports bikes in design, although they do not require you to bend over that much when driving and usually allow you to still sit in an upward position. Standard bikes can be also referred to as “naked” bikes as they normally do not sport all the fancy fairings you may see on sports bikes, leaving the engine and other mechanical parts to the open, hence the term “naked”. Standards are all around type of bikes that have nothing to envy from cruisers or sports bikes and are usually the 1st choice among beginner riders, one of the best reason being (besides handling and comfort) it will be less painful when dropping the bike for the first time (no broken fairing or scratched paint = cheaper repairs)


On the opposite, sports bikes are usually not considered good beginner bikes as they’re not really comfortable to ride and a bit trickier to handle. They usually require the rider to be all cramped up with the head down low and the knees up high and are less forgiving when doing little mistakes. It’s true they look sexier and are usually more powerful, but a good rider on a small bike will smoke a poser on a big bike…


So take a good look and decide which kind of rider you are. Make up your mind and check my next post where I’ll be giving some advice on which bikes a beginner should consider buying as well as a list of good contenders.

The exam day

On the exam day, one motorcycle will be booked for you for basically the whole afternoon (my exam was in the afternoon, but I believe it should be similar if scheduled in the morning). You will be required to arrive about an hour in advance so you’ll have some more time for a final practice. Once the examiners arrive, here is how it will proceed.

At first, they will ask everyone to line up the same way as you were lining up when waiting for your turn to practice driving 8’s in the slope. The only different thing is they will arrange the order to their liking (I can’t remember if it was alphabetically or not). 2 or 3 examiners will observe you and make sure you do not commit any mistake while doing the “8’s in the slope” exercise. When you complete it (and hopefully pass) the examiners will ask you to go wait for the road trip. Those who fail the “8’s in the slope” will not be able to go.

Once everyone has gone through the “8’s in the slope” and the skimming has been done, the examiners will arrange the motorcycles by category. Usually 650cc are positioned directly behind the examiner who takes the lead, then come the 125cc and the 50cc in the end. While driving, you have to stay RIGHT BEHIND the lead examiner in a straight line. If you deviate either on the right or the left a bit too much to his liking, he will FAIL you. If you overtake him or another student, he will FAIL you. I know the left or right bit seems a bit stupid, why would I want to stay right behind him, what’s the problem in being in his wing a bit? I’ve asked the driving school guy but he just gave me the typical Macau answer: “Those are the rules made by IACM, I don’t make the rules, I just tell you how it is and don’t know the reason, I’m just teaching you how to get your license, once you pass you can do whatever you want on the road…” you get the idea… One last thing, if you can’t keep up and the lead examiner gets too much ahead of you, he will FAIL you too.

Anyway, once you start driving around there should not be any problem as you already know the route, just remember the following:

1. When stopped, always put your LEFT (and left only) foot on the ground.
2. Always keep your RIGHT foot on the brakes.
3. Always signal when turning or stopping along the road.
4. Never stop your motorcycle on a zebra crossing.
5. Watch out for pedestrians.

The first 3 points are quite obvious but let me develop a bit on 4 & 5. As I mentioned earlier, the examiners will arrange the motorcycles by category, which means there will be a fairly long line of motorcycles behind him, meaning you will have to anticipate when stopping. For example, if you’re 20 meters behind the lead examiner and he decides to stop 20 meters after a zebra crossing, that would make you stop right on top of it if you keep the same distance. You have to anticipate this and stop right before it, that’s all. Same thing goes for pedestrians, you have to stop even they’re not crossing the street yet… If they’re just waiting on the sidewalk or getting closer to crossing the street, you have stop and let them go first.

If you understand and execute all this well, you will be holding a brand new Macau driving license at the end of the day. If it was a bad day and you didn’t pass, well no worries, you still can re-take the exam some other time. Be aware that failure has a price though, as it will cost you an extra MOP2,280 to re-apply for the exam (price including 5 extra lessons).

The lesson itself

What exactly are you going to learn during those 25 lessons you have to attend? Well, the first thing you’ll ever do there are 8’s… What do I mean by 8’s? Well, check out the picture below and you’ll understand quickly.

Exactly, for the first few lessons (well… depending on how quick you’ll learn), you won’t be driving in circles but in 8’s. You can see the 8 shaped yellow track on the floor… This exercise basically teaches you how to maneuver your bike, how to tilt it the right way to turn left or right, how to position yourself properly and how to make the best use of the clutch. To perform this exercise, you normally won’t need to touch the throttle at all… The “teacher” will send you to the next exercise when you will demonstrate you can easily do those 8’s without coming out of the yellow track. As I had some experience driving, it took me about 3 lessons to train for the real thing that will be part of the final exam.




The “real thing” as I called it earlier, is basically the same exercise as the first one, except that you’ll have to make those 8’s in a slope… There’s no more 8 shaped track this time, only yellow boundaries all around the practice area and the “parking box” that’s located about half way up on the left side (it’s hard to see it in the picture). The sequence goes something like:
1. Position your bike at the lower left corner and wait for the signal to go
2. Go up the slope and stop in the “parking box” without touching the yellow edges
3. Do a “hill start” and make 3 8’s while going up and down the slope
4. At the end of the 3rd 8, drive back inside the “parking box” and stop
5. Do another “hill start”, then a U turn to drive your bike down the slope and out the practice area.
6. Stop your bike outside the parking area, on the lower right corner.

I know it sounds a little bit complicated; maybe the following sequence will help you understand.





Here are the dos and don’ts of this exercise:
1. Never cross the yellow boundaries
2. When stopped, always put your LEFT (and left only) foot on the ground
3. Always keep your RIGHT foot on the brakes
4. Never set your foot down when driving

Enjoy learning it and learn to enjoy it because you’ll be doing this for the next 20 or so lessons. “20 LESSONS!!?!?! I THOUGHT WE ONLY HAD 25??!?!”… Yes, I know, but that’s how it goes here in Macau, you don’t actually learn how to ride your bike on the road in the traffic. You’ll only get to go out of the practice range the last couple of sessions and for something like 10 minutes each time. It’s quite short but they’ll only show you ONE route only and that’ll be the one you will have to take during your exam… As it’s a pretty short one too, your road trips will be at minimal. Take a look at the following map to get some idea about the exam route.


View Macau Exam Route in a larger map

And that’s basically it… Of course, if you’ve never driven a motorcycle before, I believe you will also spend some time learning about the bike itself, like what the uses of different switches are or how to shift gears.

Things worth noting:
1. The pictures were taken in a pretty quiet day. It can get really crowded and you may have to wait for around 20 minutes before being able to practice on the slope, limiting you to 2 to 3 tries per lesson.
2. There is no water dispenser, drinks vending machine or convenience store nearby.
3. It can get pretty sunny, wear long sleeves if you easily get sunburns.
4. When you book your time for a lesson, you’re only booking the motorbike. It does not include someone to coach you for the whole lesson and it does not insure you will have space to practice.

A few months later…

You’ve finally reached the time to take your first lesson… If your case is similar to mine, you’ll probably have to phone the instructor first to book a specific time. His number should be provided by the driving school you’ve joined.

All schools have their practices taken at the same place. You will have to get to a “practice range” in the COTAI area, it’s the only one in Macau and it shouldn’t be really hard to find.

If you drive there (I know you don’t have your motorcycle license but you may be driving a car), the easiest way is to park in the Macau Dome’s parking lot. It is free of charge and within walking distance of the practice range.
If you do not own a car, I guess the bus is your best choice… Buses going to COTAI or Coloane should get you there, try looking at 15, 21, 21A, 25, 26, 26A bus routes. There are 2 bus companies in Macau, namely TransMac and TCM. Try checking their websites for info but it’s unfortunately all in Chinese. Here's a useful map I've prepared to help you find the location:


View Driving Practice Range in a larger map

When getting there, you’ll have to find a way to know where your instructor is… It can get tricky as all the schools are there and there’s no sign or anything to help out. The best way is to have a business card from your school and just show it to the first guy you’ll bump into… Of course, it’s even better if you can ask a girl ^^.

After meeting him, he will prepare some forms for you and ask you to go purchase some of those MOP10 stamps I mentioned in my previous post. You can buy a bunch of them at once, just do not forget to get them chopped every time you take a lesson as it will act as proof you took all 25 mandatory lessons.

At that point, the instructor should introduce your ride to you. Most schools (not to say ALL of them) use the very popular Suzuki S40 (Suzuki Savage 650 for older models). It’s a pretty reliable and pretty comfortable motorcycle which is probably the reason why it’s so popular among driving schools. It handles quite well too, although it’s a bit heavy and will not forgive the mistakes you may make while still in your first few days of practice… So if you tip it on the side too much, you’ll need some muscles to prevent it from hitting the ground or lifting it up once it’s lying on the asphalt.









A quick note regarding protective gear… The instructor will lend you a helmet every time you come to a lesson, you know, one of those 10 years old Calimero egg shells type helmets that was worn by 10,000 students before you.
So if you want to wear a proper helmet that fits your head, protects you in case of fall and smells funny only because YOU sweat in it and haven’t washed it for a while, do yourself a favor and bring your own.

Looking for a school now?

So you’ve read my last post, understood it, followed my advice and setup a budget…? I guess you’re ready to subscribe to a driving school then. It’s not really hard to find one, really, as there’s a plethora of driving schools in Macau. You can find a list over here.

I personally went to Escola Condução Sang Chung Wa (Address: Tak Fok Seaview Gdn Kam Keng Kok in Taipa. Tel: 2882 0655). I had no particular reason for choosing that one over another, it just happened to be near where I reside, which finally didn’t really matter as I never set foot over there after subscribing. At least I was able to find someone who spoke English which helped setting up my application.

I believe most of the schools more or less charge the same, and I know by experience they all practice at the same place and use the same model of motorbikes as well… I’ll tell more about practice sessions in another post.

So if you’re holding a valid Macau driving license, they should charge you as follows:

• Application to driving exam + all related paper works and documents: MOP1,100
• 25 lessons + rental of the motorcycle on exam day: MOP3,250
• Insurance: MOP90
• Total: MOP4,440

You’ll also need to bring your Macau ID card, Macau driving license and 6 ID pictures (size 1.5 inches, in color and with white background). In case you do not hold a Macau ID, you can apply using your passport and work permit (they call it a “blue card” here).

When submitting your application, they will take you to a doctor (included in the price) to check your sight and make sure you’re not colorblind.

One thing that is good to know in advance is that there will be quite a lengthy period of time between the day you apply and your exam. In my case, I applied in April and was scheduled for exam in November… A nice 7 months wait… So basically, although you’ve applied and paid, the school will advise you to wait and start taking your lessons around 2 months before your exam. And you’d better keep good track of time as the school will not contact you and remind you about it.

One more thing not shown above, a MOP10 fee is requested to use the practice range for each lesson taken. Basically, you’ll have to purchase some stamps and get one chopped every time you practice (or two, or three, depending on how long you stay) so it adds MOP250 to the total price, although it is not paid to the school but to IACM (Instituto para os Assuntos Cívicos e Municipais)

Remarks:

• The information/prices shown are up to date on posting day.
• The information/prices shown refer to “A type license for motorcycles of 650cc and over” application.
• The fee related to 25 lessons + rental of the motorcycle on exam day can be paid on application day or later when starting taking the lessons.
• Each lesson lasts 50 minutes.