86 years of age may seem like an unlikely time to get a motorcycle licence. However, Tony Norton, a pensioner from the UK, does not think so and is probably the oldest person in the country to have managed to pass the current A2 tests, after just a few weeks of study.
86 years is just a number
According to his colleagues at MCN, this 86-year-old retiree had enjoyed the world of motorcycling and sailing throughout his life, although he had always had a nagging itch to ride a motorcycle. That is why, after the death of his wife in 2019, Norton began riding a 125 cc.
He explains that: “I spent 16 months trying to figure out how to take care of myself without my wife doing everything for me. Then I thought, now what? Do I sit on a couch with a blanket around my knees watching TV during the day? No way.”
And continues: “People sometimes ask me what’s on my bucket list. I tell them there’s only one thing, and this was before I started riding: I want to be licensed for going 160km/h on my 100th birthday. The first thing I did was buy a bike, a Yamaha YS125, then I realised I needed a CBT to be able to ride it, which I passed a year later.”
Concludes: “I was told to go away and buy a motorbike, which was one of the most sensible things anyone has ever said to me, because I hadn’t even ridden a bike in 20 years and your sense of balance just goes away. After riding the YS125 for a while, I realised it was too tall for me, especially as I fell over three times and ended up in and out of the doctor’s to get my leg fixed.”
Norton passed the A1 theory test in November 2022 and completed the practical test a few weeks later. Later, after the rookie period, he began preparing for the A2 to be able to drive a Honda Rebel that he had purchased.
During this time he also owned a Z650 and a Z300, which he modified to make it more manageable for the A2 practical test. Now, at 86 years old, he rides free with his objective fulfilled, proving that, sometimes, age is just a number to assimilate in our minds.
