plates, gas, the man and everything else

Hi Yall,

New here so I'm looking forward to meeting everybody. I've got a few questions for all your knowledgeable selves out there. In a few months my buddy and I are flying into China to kayak for a bit.

1) How much should I expect to pay for gas in Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan and Tibet? Any clue on the price of gas in Nepal and norther India?

2) Im not worried about being too specific, but what are some brands/models that would be the cheapest buy that can take a 4400km trip while pulling a kayak trailer situation. Basically it won't be just a person and a bag. Also, if you could attach to the best of your knowledge the price of the bikes.

3) How many spare liters of fuel should we expect to strap on?

4) How many blow outs do you guys go through on long journeys?

5) How much should I expect to pay for a full face with black out or reflective visor? (Not that the tinting matters much if Im pulling a large colorful kayak)

6) On that note are there many police in the Himalaya and other remote areas? Besides the flight in we will be out of any manner of large cities and even towns for that matter.

7) My plan is to go to a dealership in Chengdu or Guiyang, have our translator buddy register the new bike in his name and then write me a bill of sale so that it's now in my name. Should this work? Is his insurance that comes with the sale transferable to me as well? Im going to be pulled so much because of the kayak in the back I'd like to have as much in order as possible. Also, do plates come with the purchase of a new bike or do you have to go through a process to register with the man to get those?

Thanks a bunch in advance guys. Let me know if anybody is in Chengdu or Guiyang and we could meet up once we arrive. Just to say hello and what not.

Later!

Bradford

Hi Bradford,

Welcome to MCM, interesting questions you have.

1) How much should I expect to pay for gas in Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan and Tibet? Any clue on the price of gas in Nepal and norther India?
About $.95 US cents per liter

2) Im not worried about being too specific, but what are some brands/models that would be the cheapest buy that can take a 4400km trip while pulling a kayak trailer situation. Basically it won't be just a person and a bag. Also, if you could attach to the best of your knowledge the price of the bikes.
Search the site... many choices, but you can't pull any kind of trailer with either a car or motorcycle in China, it's illegal.

3) How many spare liters of fuel should we expect to strap on?
Gas is pretty easy to find throughout much of China, maybe a small 5 liter can to be safe.

4) How many blow outs do you guys go through on long journeys?
Maybe one or two, a spare tube and small bicycle pump should take care of it.

5) How much should I expect to pay for a full face with black out or reflective visor? (Not that the tinting matters much if Im pulling a large colorful kayak)
How much is your head worth? :lol8: From $20-$100 USD

6) On that note are there many police in the Himalaya and other remote areas? Besides the flight in we will be out of any manner of large cities and even towns for that matter.
Police everywhere, almost impossible to get into that region, even without a Kayak. Regular military patrols along the way as well.

7) My plan is to go to a dealership in Chengdu or Guiyang, have our translator buddy register the new bike in his name and then write me a bill of sale so that it's now in my name. Should this work? Is his insurance that comes with the sale transferable to me as well? Im going to be pulled so much because of the kayak in the back I'd like to have as much in order as possible. Also, do plates come with the purchase of a new bike or do you have to go through a process to register with the man to get those?
Insurance will come with the bike, but if you get stopped without a license, could be big trouble.

Sounds like you are an adventurous soul, and I don't mean to put you down, but motorcycling and kayaking in those areas without the appropriate guide and permits is probably not going to happen. Good luck with your quest, sounds like a whole lot of fun.

Cheers!
ChinaV

Probably better solution to avoid unwanted attention is to get an beaten down JinBei or bigger MianBao and stuff everything in - with 20-30k RMB you should get something working out for such an trip. These MianBao's going nearly everywhere where the bike would go and every mechanic allong the way can fix them.

Regarding the Trailer issue:
I have seen a trailer last week. Pulled by a car though... It was a first for me as well. :eekers:
It had Yunnan A Plate for Kunming and the plate was same as the car pulling it. It was even on the Dali-Kunming Expressway.
And the best the trailer carried two very muddy Quads :thumbsup:

Yo Bradford,

In addition to the already excellent advice given....

1) Fuel stations are easy to come by in China... as long as you're allowed to be there.

2) Are you planning on towing a Kayak with a bike? I can definitely see that being problematic. How woudl you get the Kayak to China? What you going to say when a cop pulls you over (which they will with that setup). Getting a microbus, also called Mianbaoche (breadloaf car) is a good idea. I had one for a couple years and they are fantastic...but more expensive

3) I imagine if you kayaked some of the rivers in the Himalayans for any great distance you'd probably end up dead at some point. Many/most of the rivers there move fast enough to carry extremely large boulders and often walled in by cliffs leaving not too many places to shore up. Not sure exactly what your plans are but generally people who fall into those rivers die.

4) Contact member LH1953. He lives in Chengdu and is quite knowledgable about the area. If you're looking for bike and photo supplies while there, you can check out:
http:///www.carlparker.com/chengdu/

CC

Thanks guys!

Tons of great advise. But the whole not able to pull trailers is really getting to me. Is this really law? It's certainly crazy enough to be one. Hmm, yep I definitely was planning on getting pulled a lot as it is. I really don't want to drive but it is looking like that might have to be an option.

Is it harder to cross borders with a car than on a bike, papers wise? As in Tibet into Nepal.

Is registration with a car a bigger deal than a bike or is it all kinda the same?

How easy would it be to find a sidecar situation and then flop the kayak onto that? I am not looking for a Chang Jiang as the regulations not to mention price are way more than what I'm interested in.

Do you guys know what an average price for a reliable but beater van would be? Do they get alright gas mileage?

And in reference to the kayak we are flying them over there disguised as "surfing equipment". I appreciate the concern Carl, but that is exactly why we are headed to China! We are looking for previously unrun and unknown rivers and creeks of the Himalaya. The best way to describe what we are looking for is to attach a picture from a trip last year in Patagonia.

Attachment 1326

Kinda bad picture but that red thing on the lip is my kayak. The purpose is to shoot a film, so we are after the biggest stuff we can find. Anyways, thanks again for the info. You guys have been extremely helpful.

Oh and we just bought our tickets. We are arriving in Kunming on the 23rd of April. Anybody around? Lets meet up!

Bradford

Hi Bradford,

I'm based in Kunming, but will be in Europe when you arrive...

Anyhow regarding Kayaking in Northern Yunnan:
http://www.lastdescents.com/aboutus.html

And thats what might happen...http://www.gokunming.com/en/blog/ite...rland_19662007
To judge from your picture seems you know what you are in for!

One used Car Markets in Kunming is here:
+25° 1' 49.56", +102° 39' 12.96"
Another one here:
+25° 0' 22.36", +102° 42' 30.99"
Be aware that the coordinates based on the Google Earth Satellite Pictures. That doesnt match not 100% the map, there is a certain offset to the satellite picture!