last year, when my wife and myself were sitting having a cafe, we thought about what to do when getting a little older (again). At that moment, we saw a couple cruising by on a Chopper - and we both looked at each other and knew it was time to actually get a bike. Only - none had a license to drive such a beast. Note also, that I had read some books in the past where I had imagined myself driving a bike ... a special one - a Kawasaki Vulcan
That's when I started informing myself to take lessons. As I made my Driver's license when I was ~18 Years old, I had to pass through theory again. So I took the lessons etc. and when I wanted to finally pass the exam, first drawback ! My "European German License" could not be used to take the exam. I had to change it into one "European French License" first. That process took 3 months and I was absolutely not able to find out which papers were required. Called 5 different locations and checked various web sites. None was able to provide me really a listing of all require documents. When reaching the official place to request the license change, I was told there are still some documents missing. Anyway - having fixed that, 2 months later I was told I still had to provide them the number of points I may have on my German license, and 2 weeks later again, I was requested to pass a health check. In the end - after 4 months of struggling, I could finally pass the theory exam. Total time of the first exercise, 6 months ...
Then came the driving lessons. I had 2 exams to pass here. One showing if I was able to actually control the bike, including tests in Slow driving, fast driving and excessive braking as avoidance of obstacles at elevated speed. Passed that exam 2 months after the theory.
Last week on Thursday, I finally got my last exam where my driving/cruising skills were to be evaluated. What can I say - I also passed that exam on the first try (as all others BTW). So - from now on, I can get out there and look for a bike, and I can call myself a Biker !