Soon to be :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stormxlr

Hello :D I am a soon to be biker on Chinese soil! Probably the youngest member of this forums :deal: Just 17 right now, will be getting my driving license in Shanghai, as soon as I am 18.
I own a small ebike ( dont really want to break any laws so decided just to wait till 18) for 2 years now, a 49cc vespa ripoff :wheelchair:
Ive been dying to get a real motorbike for years now, especially since I visited Italy and saw all the beauty of Ducati monster 1100 or Harley-Davidson Night Rod T_T.

So I am planning to take driving lessons here in SH (if i can find em in English) Then go ahead take a test and look for a bike of my dream:clap:. If I get accepted to the university of my choice i will be living in Ningbo and as i hear its a real nice place for cruising outside of the city. My family lives in SH so i would be trying to visit em every once in a while, as I know its really fast via Hangzhou bay bridge like 3 hours or something?
Anyways im looking forward to meeting expat and chinese bikers here and learning more about riding in PRC.
BTW Im thinking of getting a 350-400cc Cruiser bike for everyday and between citys travel ? Any suggestions or advice's ?

Gidday Stormxlr.
Glad to read that you've been practising riding on a escooter or similar so that when the day arrives and you are fully legal and licensed accordingly, you'll have some riding skills under your belt which you can employ pretty much of the bat, because believe you me, you'll need every one of those skills.

A couple of pointers, be aware that Ningbo does have a blanket motorcycle ban in force, so depending on your intending place of residence, you will need to consider where you will live/work/study etc. All these aspects will have an impact on your ability to own, license (plate) & ride your motorcycle. Secondly, you'll need to confirm whether being here on a X (student) visa will allow you a). motorcycle riders license b). legal ownership of any petroleum powered vehicle c). insurance related age restrictions. While China is one huge country and there is meant to be one rule of law, in reality each town/district/city/zone/province has at it's core a little empire which rules with some self governance autocratically with all rules interpreted and then applied with some degree of incompetence. And that can vary on whim depending on, weather, wind, tone of voice, style of dress, smile, smirk, fragility, competence or lack there of, and anything else that takes one's fancy.

Ningbo has many hidden gems for exploring, with lots of mountain vistas to be had, some of which are 20-30+ km no exits.
As for a cruiser style bike, you might like to consider a Regal Raptor DD350 cruiser style bike which has a MSRP CNY22000 plus taxes, insurance etc. Had a look at one just a few weeks ago 350cc inline twin, water cooled, with hard tail look (has horizontal monoshock rear), and while it's not my kind of ride, it seemed fairly okay, plus it can be legally plated providing all the above criteria are met. 100% Legal HD, Ducati will be at least triple digit sums... starting at an easy CNY110000 plus.
Lastly, I've done Ningbo-SH-Ningbo many many times, over the years... you can forget about the use of the HZ Bay bridge or any of the expressway in Zhejiang it's completely off limits for motorcycle use. Realistic times for Ningbo-SH is 7 hours one way. I've often done the return trip the same day by motorcycle.