How to get a Chinese Motorcycle License

Hi NZBrakelathes -

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THERE IS NO motorcycle ENGLISH test - I was smart and asked for something special and luckily was allowed to do it thus far. Trust me this wasn;'t easy it took my wife and I around 50 hours to manage to get 5 places and no guarantee of more etc etc etc
Cluster Fark of rules and restrictions - if you have never lived here you CAN'T understand how simple things become so FARKING complex.

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Oh yeah - at least I've been here long enough to know a China day when it rears it head - ha ha - So I'm off to Wenzhou on 7th Feb so I'll keep you informed how that goes. Basically I'm just gonna go to the police station there as that is what the driving licence authority said is the first thing I have to do ........ maybe I can book a date for a test (in English .... if it exists !) ..

Hi Richard,
the reason why you are banging your head is there is mixing up of information. There is an English test for Automobiles only. There is NO English motorcycle test. In Shanghai a few years back IF you had a foreign license that had both Auto and Moto you could just take the Auto English test and they would throw in the moto qualification with the Chinese licence. Now they refuse to do this and you have to take the Auto English test AND the Chinese Moto test to get both. Wenzhou will be a failure unless you have contacts or a 黄牛 with their local licensing authority that can get your Chinese test results "faked". Sure take a try but plan a trip to Chengdu and just get NZ to help you...
btw I don't know NZ but based on history on this site seems like best way. I used a 黄牛 in and around the same cost.

Correct Chengdu for me and many others you do the English car test and they throw on free the bike class based on the foreign license
No ENGLISH motorcycle test in CHINA now only car test.
I've managed to help a few thru the CHINESE motorcycle test for zero tho

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Originally Posted by Zhonghao

Hi NZBrakelathes -
Oh yeah - at least I've been here long enough to know a China day when it rears it head - ha ha - So I'm off to Wenzhou on 7th Feb so I'll keep you informed how that goes. Basically I'm just gonna go to the police station there as that is what the driving licence authority said is the first thing I have to do ........ maybe I can book a date for a test (in English .... if it exists !) ..

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Waste of time as you've got no place of residency for living there, also maybe just maybe your visa is Shanghai work and living only counting you out as well.
Might depend on if you still got a valid tourist visa of 60 days or more of stay?
If I do a license from nothing in Chengdu you need a visa and police residency form both legit for living working here, if converting I'm not sure if the visa is or isn't an issue but people can register and stay at our home etc as my wife owns the house.


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Hey - thanks for all the input guys ! It's looking more and more like a trip to Chengdu. My wife is from Wenzhou and she has a brother living there that can help me with a 'temporary residency permit' . However my work permit and current residency permit is all from Shanghai so don't know what this means when my details 'hit the system' ! My wife is the one whom called the driving authorities there but I am now thinking that 1) they misunderstood and the test is for the car or 2) They did understand and the test is still for the car but I can transfer the licence as a full licence with the bike thrown in on top.... 3) Nobody understood anything and I'm just going out of sheer persistence ! ha ha - well find out soon enough.

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Originally Posted by Zhonghao

Hey - thanks for all the input guys ! It's looking more and more like a trip to Chengdu. My wife is from Wenzhou and she has a brother living there that can help me with a 'temporary residency permit' . However my work permit and current residency permit is all from Shanghai so don't know what this means when my details 'hit the system' ! My wife is the one whom called the driving authorities there but I am now thinking that 1) they misunderstood and the test is for the car or 2) They did understand and the test is still for the car but I can transfer the licence as a full licence with the bike thrown in on top.... 3) Nobody understood anything and I'm just going out of sheer persistence ! ha ha - well find out soon enough.

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Your work permit or issue place of visa has nothing to do with the DL.
The temporary residence of the place where you want to get the DL issued is necessary.
When you have a foreign motorcycle license you do (at least in BJ) the standard car test and get a C1D if you applied for it.
I have several new riding mates just coning in 2017 who did that.
Only doing a Chinese motorcycle license seems to be impossible nowadays for laowais.
But also there is a work around via a Korean international license that can be done in English. ( also proven by a friend in 2017) He just had then to do the standard car test in BJ.

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Hi ShuBen - That all makes sense - so it seems the most likely story is that I will go to Wenzhou and make sure I apply for a C1D licence so I can get the motorbike simply added to the car licence which should be in English. The difference between Wenzhou and Shanghai hopefully will be that this is taken as a single test in English .... fingers crossed then. Regards - Richard

Careful ShuBen
I'll outline my case
His visa states he works in Shanghai
He managed to get police residency for in Chengdu and mentioned he works here (already illegally)
He applied to do bike only license which is only in Chinese yet I found a solution legally
He was rejected the application due to visa issue area or work area or what ever being Shanghai
This case wasn't for license conversion but a from scratch situation
Both might or might not be different and might depend where or who you ask etc
All above is stated facts in Chengdu


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Hello everyone,

First of all, thanks a lot for posting so much useful information here. It's a good starting point for me, and I think, for everyone else looking into this subject a little further.

However, I feel necessary to present my situation, as it's a little different than what I read here: I am a Romanian national, with a Romanian (EU) driver's license. I have both CAR and MOTORCYCLE categories and I've obtained them in 2005 (if that matters in any way). I can add an IDL on top of that, as I somehow feel the translation might be a little of an issue (I wouldn't imagine there are too many Romanian-Chinese authorized translators).

I'm planning to travel to China this autumn or next spring, depending on how I manage to sort out other personal and business issues in the meantime. My target city to start with would be Chengdu, as it's the big city that is closest to the mountains, and also not very far from the desert, both areas which I'd like to visit. I'm hoping to get a motorcycle driver's license, purchase a local motorbike (BTW, any recommendations?) and then ride around for a couple of months. If possible...

And here's the (somewhat elaborate) questions list:
- is it possible for me to obtain the temporary residence permit required for a driver's license on a tourist visa? or must I get a more 'special' visa?
- since I have both car and motorcycle on my current DL, do I still need to do any tests 'in Chinese only', or will it be more like a formality?
- how is it with purchasing a motorbike? possible or not?
- my passport expires in July 2019. In these conditions, would it be possible to get a 6 Month visa at the beginning of 2019 and then based on this do the aforementioned actions? Or would it be better I get a new passport before attempting anything?

I think that's it for now...

My greatest appreciation for any useful information!

Thank you!

Start of with getting a new Passport IMO

Definitely get the new passport first.

1) Short term Lisc - You can't get a local DL based on just a Tourist Visa - has to be some kind of working visa or resident visa to process a local DL. Only short term option would be to get a AAA International Lisc while you are in Europe before you arrive (good for up to 1 yr I think and pretty cheap).

2) Moto Lisc - Even with a full Car and Moto Lisc you will still need to take the test - it will be offered in English if you're in a major city. Standard is for them to offer it as a computer test of 100 Questions from a pool of 1,500 potentials. You can download and study the Questions and answers in advance but there is no actual textbook to study. When I took the test the questions for both the Car and Moto tests were the same - not sure why they bothered making me take the test twice. You have to score a 90% or better out of 100 to pass.

3) Buy a Bike - To buy a bike you will definitely need a 1 yr resident or work visa - basic requirement to officially OWNING property in China.

4) Definitely get a new passport NOW before you do anything with Chinese Visas or attempt to get a DL here. Waste of time an money to add any PRC Visa to a passport with less than 1 yr validity.

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Originally Posted by Chinasam

Definitely get the new passport first.

1) Short term Lisc - You can't get a local DL based on just a Tourist Visa - has to be some kind of working visa or resident visa to process a local DL. Only short term option would be to get a AAA International Lisc while you are in Europe before you arrive (good for up to 1 yr I think and pretty cheap).

2) Moto Lisc - Even with a full Car and Moto Lisc you will still need to take the test - it will be offered in English if you're in a major city. Standard is for them to offer it as a computer test of 100 Questions from a pool of 1,500 potentials. You can download and study the Questions and answers in advance but there is no actual textbook to study. When I took the test the questions for both the Car and Moto tests were the same - not sure why they bothered making me take the test twice. You have to score a 90% or better out of 100 to pass.

3) Buy a Bike - To buy a bike you will definitely need a 1 yr resident or work visa - basic requirement to officially OWNING property in China.

4) Definitely get a new passport NOW before you do anything with Chinese Visas or attempt to get a DL here. Waste of time an money to add any PRC Visa to a passport with less than 1 yr validity.

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Thanks for the answer, but as far as I read throughout this topic and others:
1) I read everywhere that International DL is not recognized in China. And I also read that if I get a 'short term license' based on that, it's not valid outside the city where the temporary license is obtained, is that correct?
I also read somewhere there is no temporary DL for moto, only for rental cars, which combined to the area restriction, makes it utterly useless...or did I get something wrong here?
2) Good to know the test is in English for moto, too, thanks!
3) Buying the bike doesn't need to be too "official" ... even if I can buy a bike registered on somebody else and some paper proof I did not steal it is fine for me. I find it hard to believe than moto dealers looking for easy money would not find a way of making this work..or am I wrong in my assumption here?
4) I'll get the new passport, thanks!

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read everywhere that International DL is not recognized in China

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You are correct.
But IMO would still be helpful if you don't or can't get a Chinese DL C1E.
Not sure if the temperory Chinese DL you can get at the airport is only valid for that city.
But it would only be valid for the same length of time as your visa.

Yes most people would only get a C1 car only at the airport, but I see no reason why you can't ask for a C1E car and bike.
Just tell them your here to road test motorbikes?
Bike not in your name.
No big problems here except for speeding or traffic fines.
Also when you go to sell it could be a problem.
And don't forget after 3 years it needs to be inspected.
So you need the legal owner to be a close friend.

1) Temp Lisc - Legal is a very relative term in China.... If you can show a legal outside Lisc and you also have the official International Lisc, then most cops won't bother you. The real key is not to do anything stupid that would make them want to give you a ticket. Now if you do get into a real situation and cause an accident, then you are likely to pay an even larger fine or they scream at you more, but ultimately the Lisc itself won't make a difference. You just are not gonna get much in the way of a short-term lisc in China without a real Visa. I have heard of guys that get a temp lisc for riding their bike FROM Europe through parts of China - but it is mostly a lisc for their bike to be on Chinese roads, not for them as a driver.

2) Buying Bikes - If you DON'T have a legal DL here in China you will be very hard pressed to get a shop to RENT you a bike for more than a few days. They don't want to take the risk if you get caught and they lose the bike as penalty. Maybe a small local place will sell you an overpriced USED Chinese bike / Scooter, but that is hardly worth the trouble.

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Read at the bottom you need to have a translation of your home country DL as well.

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Originally Posted by prince666

Read at the bottom you need to have a translation of your home country DL as well.

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And it also says in RED "Operation of rental cars only" :-(

Yes you are correct but the guy only asked for car ?
See my point
Until someone goes and say Hi mate can't drive a car but ok on a bike.
Then we will know if you can get a C1E.?
Until then we are ALL PISSING IN THE WIND ?

[QUOTE=raduop;87532]Thanks for the answer, but as far as I read throughout this topic and others:

<snip/>
3) Buying the bike doesn't need to be too "official" ... even if I can buy a bike registered on somebody else and some paper proof I did not steal it is fine for me. I find it hard to believe than moto dealers looking for easy money would not find a way of making this work..or am I wrong in my assumption here?

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It's all based on your situation, but just to share what I can about buying...
I'm in a small outer suburb of a central city (Zhengzhou), and they couldn't care less about licenses or registrations for small, such as <200cc bikes.
Of course, they might change that some day, or you might go somewhere else that does care, so legal is smart.
But I am the 4th or 5th foreigner to use the same Sundiro Honda shop and another used a Wuyang and they only need to talk about price. None of us had a license, and none of us had a problem. They even stamped all the spiffy Honda papers so that it looks pretty official. There was simply no discussion of registration.
(although I've read in here it will be tough to sell to a private party since it's unregistered and so they can't transfer the registration)

I wrote somewhere before...

IF you plan on doing foggy things (gray area) things. for license and bikes, you need to think of the worst that can happen and are you ok with the consequences.

Many of the advice here is for very small problems like getting stopped at a check point or traffic tickets. If you hit someone, or are hit or crash into property (damage) you need to be aware of the amount of cash you need to fork out. I had a friend who had a diver on the street jump in front on him and said her head hurt... he had a "rental" and when all was said and done he had to paid 15k in hospital expenses and 5k to the lady for her suffering and police were essentially just there to broker a "deal". He was not illegal but police just said they will not help either side and impounded all vehicles and took both sides IDs and visas until either they rectified it or police would start "charging procedures".

This was in Shanghai.

Thanks everyone for the useful info!

Maybe I'd need to clarify some more things: my wish is to ride mainly through rural areas, mountains and desert. Through cities, I will only ride when absolutely needed, otherwise park at some accommodation and use local public transport or taxi.

The idea behind having a license and bike registration was so that I don't get bothered too much on checkpoints or if they catch me riding to fast, or other minor things like these, which could escalate badly if the officer has a bad day and I can't show any other papers beside my passport and original license. Granted, if they have a really bad day, I suppose no papers could really save me, but it's good to have them nonetheless, I reckon.

The idea behind some insurance would be to have it "just in case". I was, for example, involved in an accident in India in 2015. The police were really friendly and helpful, once I presented them all the papers and they were all in good order. That's the sort of situation where an otherwise cheap and almost negligible insurance can make a big difference. I ended up with a busted knee that had me limping for a few weeks, but I suppose that' another price that one sometimes needs to pay for riding a bike and not being too careful at it.

All in all, I don't have too many concerns, I just want to avoid the things that, starting from minor traffic "incidents", could land me in a really bad situation.

One more thing, any info where I could check what kind of bikes would be found on the market? A dual sport would be nice, as I suppose the mountain roads aren't exactly fit for superbikes..Also service network for the brand is something to consider, as the bike will need servicing from time to time.

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I wrote somewhere before...

IF you plan on doing foggy things (gray area) things. for license and bikes, you need to think of the worst that can happen and are you ok with the consequences.

Many of the advice here is for very small problems like getting stopped at a check point or traffic tickets. If you hit someone, or are hit or crash into property (damage) you need to be aware of the amount of cash you need to fork out. I had a friend who had a diver on the street jump in front on him and said her head hurt... he had a "rental" and when all was said and done he had to paid 15k in hospital expenses and 5k to the lady for her suffering and police were essentially just there to broker a "deal". He was not illegal but police just said they will not help either side and impounded all vehicles and took both sides IDs and visas until either they rectified it or police would start "charging procedures".

This was in Shanghai.

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Very true....

The only way is fully legal on everything??

I just love when the police stop me, and I am fully legal.
I just smile and ride off, lol

Hi Raduop

Are you looking for as new or 2nd hand bike?
And it was asked before??? whats your budget

Also, you say "mountains and desert" on road or offroad "Dirt Roads"

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Originally Posted by prince666

Hi Raduop

Are you looking for as new or 2nd hand bike?
And it was asked before??? whats your budget

Also, you say "mountains and desert" on road or offroad "Dirt Roads"

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New or second hand - doesn't really matter, as long as it's registered. Budget was not asked before, but if I think of a 'disposable' bike I'd say 2..maybe 3K€. I'm pretty sure I could get almost any Chinese bike with this.
I'm thinking of roads and unpaved/dirt roads. I don't really think of riding through rivers or on goat trails.

Maybe a bike like this one?
https://www.motorcyclistonline.com/5...hen-motorcycle

I was also looking at this one, but it's too heavy for me (it's even heavier than the KTM 950 I have at home, and even that one seems a bit on the heavy side for me). Then there's the price, which is rather...pricey..
http://bikereview.com.au/review-2017-cfmoto-650mt/

็Hi Back again.

My mistake about asking about your budget was in some other post.


Had a look at both your bikes links.


Now if you are just thinking about riding for days out say 300km and back or maybe a few days out, then the RX3 is not a bad bike to have.
Now if you are thinking of riding more over China, Yunnan, Sichuan, Hainan provinces then you really need bigger then a 250cc.
Why? because there is a lot of shit stuff to get to the very nice stuff?
That said then you really need to ride on the toll roads to get to areas you really want to be in.
That brings us to the CFmoto 650 MT?

Its only 13 kg more than your KTM back home and a lower COG.
with a good low seat height.

I did a 70.000km ride on a CFmoto TR-G in 6 months from China to London and back taking in all the EU countries.
The bike was great no problems, except for when I got back into China when I would of like something a bit less KG (TR-G is 245 kg}.
I decided to try the MT next, Had the bike riding in China for only 5 months and already have clocked up over 30.000 km.

Apart from the street tyres which are very good, you need IMO for China 80/20 or a 50/50 tyre.
So I fitted a set of Perilli MT60.
Great tyre for China on a bike like the MT but mileage sucks?
Now I am on a set of Perilli Scorpion Trail 2.
Which are more 80/20 tyres and I have only clocked up about 4k on them, but so far there look like they could suit my needs?

Now with the MT, I have when riding on the toll roads and when I needed to get to another province quickly I have on more than one occasion clocked up over 1900 km in a day.
Would the RX3 be able to keep up that pace?

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Like all high-performance four-stroke 250s this counterbalanced motor loves to rev—6,000 to 9,000 rpm is its sweet spot. As long as you keep the crankshaft spinning near redline you’ll manage highway traffic without much trouble. I rode hundreds of interstate miles WFO and nothing metallic flew out of the crankcase.

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Until you have to stop. The front brake—not very strong to start with—fades fairly easily. In addition, a strange grip-and-release feel develops under light application. It felt as if the disc surface had varying levels of friction and the disc gets coated with a dark munge. I managed to burn the disc clean by dragging the front brake like a maniac, and the problem went away for a while. I suspect better brake pads will be a huge improvement up front. Oddly, the rear brake has none of these issues

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MT sells for 38.800 RMB without the Shad boxes on the back?

I fitted the CFmoto Alliumium rear boxes with the side crash bars and a few led lights.
So depending on what you are looking to do then my money is on the MT.

Rode the MT on loads of bad roads with potholes and dirt tracks, the bike is ok, the only limiting factor is the wheel sizes (17')
You need to sit on one or even better get a test ride.

P.S. 1 other point to note the report on the MT is from OZ so that bike was "Lam" model and the Chinese ones are a full 72 HP.


link to ride to the uk. http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjg3MD...zp.8253869.0.0


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https://s19.postimg.cc/ddirat1kj/OI002559.jpg




https://s19.postimg.cc/sm8ooaslf/OI002514.jpg

The MT IMO is comparable to the Honda CB500X and the Kawasaki Versys 650, which I have owned both before, but here in China both these bike cost over 100% more and you are very limited to where you can get the bikes serviced.
Also, you need to consider the cost of "Parts and replacement items"
In this case, the MT wins hands down?.
6 years ago in I said on MCM "I would never buy any Chinese bike again".
Things mover on here in China and CFmoto IMO has moved on more than any other Chinese Manufacturer in terms of overall improvements to a bike to the nearly level of the Japanese 4.
I said NEARLY lol.

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Originally Posted by prince666

The MT IMO is comparable to the Honda CB500X and the Kawasaki Versys 650, which I have owned both before, but here in China both these bike cost over 100% more and you are very limited to where you can get the bikes serviced.
Also, you need to consider the cost of "Parts and replacement items"
In this case, the MT wins hands down?.
6 years ago in I said on MCM "I would never buy any Chinese bike again".
Things mover on here in China and CFmoto IMO has moved on more than any other Chinese Manufacturer in terms of overall improvements to a bike to the nearly level of the Japanese 4.
I said NEARLY lol.

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Well if it's going to be a bike, it will HAVE to be a Chinese bike...always better to buy or hire local...other recommendations beside the MT?

So my conclusions so far are:
- not really necessary to get residence and full DL, it should be possible to get a temporary car and MOTO DL at Chengdu airport; this temporary DL together with an IDL should be good enough to drive anywhere
- it should be possible to obtain the bike from some dealer (easier rent than buy??)
- any of this failing, there's still the backup option of car rental

Did I get it right?

Thanks and regards!

Just got back from the registration office. Lady said you have to have been registered to your current residence for at least three months?! Never come across that rule? Anyone else encountered this or am I getting fobbed off?

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Originally Posted by affanice

Just got back from the registration office. Lady said you have to have been registered to your current residence for at least three months?! Never come across that rule? Anyone else encountered this or am I getting fobbed off?

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Go there again. That's bullshit. If she still make trouble check out her clerk number and name and complain.

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Like you I have never come across that rule before?

Just go back in 3 months time?

Really? I'm all for making complaints against the awful bureaucratic system, but I was under the assumption she has me by the balls? Motorbikes have just been legalised in Xi'an so perhaps it's a new rule? Is a pain though.