[evmorg]

@lavo:
I ride a 250 Piaggio scooter to work from Gooseberry Hill a couple of times a week. It's very do-able but like tanguero says, an advanced rider course is a really good idea, given the lack of motorcycle/bike awareness of most Perth drivers. Peak hour traffic can be problematic if you're not on your game. It can be dangerous even if you're paying attention, 'cos often the car drivers aren't.

When I first got my license, I had a couple of spills due to being a) young and foolish; and b) young and foolish and overconfident. Luckily nothing that involved more than a week on crutches. Sorted me out a bit.

@Lutze:
As JW says, you need to get yourself a learners permit, do some lessons, take a test and there you go. Of course, you have to pay for the learners permit and for the test and for lessons. How many lessons you need is up to you and the instructor, I guess. You will only be licensed for up to 250cc capacity bikes for at least the first 12 months. After that, you can apply for an unrestricted license but again, you have to have the learners permit and take a test.

Having had my "L" class (250cc) license for 12 months (way back), I decided to get my "K" class (unrestricted) just in case I wanted to ride a bigger capacity machine. As soon as I started riding a more powerful motorbike (a Suzuki GSX 1100 was what I learnt on) I decided that was the way to go. Once you've ridden a bigger bike, a 250 seems just too slow and under-powered.

That said, I'm back to the 250 'cos I'm hoping that at some stage the missus will get her license.

Good luck on your quest.