Hi, i am an international student residing in Spain and will stay for at least a year from now.i have a NIE. i have a US and other driving licenses but none EU. i am 37 and want to buy a moto.i was told that i need a Spanish driving license and no insurance company will insure anything i buy unless i have a Spanish driving license and once i get it(after paying 900 euros)i can only ride up to 250 CC bikes and cant ride anything more till after 2 years( that is soo ridiculous)
is there a way to avoid all that? or just convert and proof that i have been driving and riding since 20 years.i live in Barcelona.
cheers

Only holders of an EU license can swop it for a Spanish one without taking the test (there are also exceptions for some South American countries,  Maybe you can get an exception as a student - the best thing to do is go to your local Traffico with all of your papers and enquire - or do more research here as well
http://www.dgt.es/portal/
and probably this page
http://www.dgt.es/portal/es/oficina_virtual/conductores/canje_permisos/?tit=Can