New Member: Beijing next year!

Hi All,

My wife won a grant to go to Beijing for 14 months September, and I'm going to try and join her for as much of that as I can. Part of the deal was that I could have a motorcycle while we were there, but the more I look into it the more complicated that seems to be.

I've read quite a bit about the license requirements and all that, so I think I know what I would need to do on that end. What I'm curious about is the requirements for the bike itself.

How do you make sure a bike is properly registered?

Are there special rules about having motorbikes in Beijing?

Is there a buyer's guide for bikes in China (or specifically, Beijing?)

I watched the video of the bike gathering on the main page, and it mentions something about hoping the rules change for bikes in Beijing and downtown (I think thats what Sabine says). What was she talking about?

I'm a beginning biker (I just took the MSF training course here in the States last year, and that's it!), and I probably can't get a bike here when we are trying to sell all our stuff to move to China, so this whole idea might not work out, but the idea of the adventure of it has got me hooked.

Thanks for any advice you might have!

CantD,

There's a good amount of info on the forum that answers many of your questions. As is usual protocol, we ask members spend some time searching the posts to see if those questions have already been answered.

Luckily for you Beijing has probably the most dense community of xpat riders in China so there's plenty to learn!

CC

Fair enough CC but I must say I have done a good few searches myself to no good result! You have to get the keywords just right and know how to use tags. Also the login fails a lot in this and keeps asking for a re-login and the security 'image verification' can be crap too, experience tells me this can be off-putting mate.

Hopefully some of the Beijing dwellers and old hands will be patient enough to repeat themselves for this guy?

Also most members on this forum really don't post or chat a lot compared to other forums, just seem to stick to a very specific thread or interest area ( I have found myself that sometimes valid questions get overlooked); so responses to these introductory posts are a good way to get folk interested and participating.
Just my opinion not a criticism.

So welcome to the newcomer Mr. CD - Mr. Crazy Carl is right, the depth of information and the help you will get here can be great, but you do have to work for it because many newcomers just ask the same old questions and then disappear ... maybe do some broad searches then join in and reactivate old threads with specific questions and also remember you can PM folk and get individual help.

Some of the guys even meet up and do rides and help each other with bits and pieces, even making parts and accessories. If you have an hour to spare and decent Internet for pics, read the many pages of Mr. Pfaelzer's 'my new JH600' thread in the 'dirt and dual sport' section and you will see this working brilliantly.

I am not in China myself, just have a cheap little chinabike which is good value and fun and a life line at present as the car is bust. I have learned heaps from taking time to read through old threads. Good luck.

Yeah, welcome to the forums and hope you enjoy. Regarding your questions, I don't have a clue and.... sorry to say this but they are very uninteresting and even if I would have a clue I might recommend you to seach the forums ;( and do myself something more interesting things than answering to uninteresting question. Why to do uninteresting things if answers are around already? xD No reason for that I might argue.

I agree with Jape that here is silent and I have to squueze the brake lever all the time and be carefull with the throttle or else suddenly the ratio of posts would go 5/1, me posting 5 times and someone else posting once that is. Also when posting here I almost feel guilty each time doing it since it seems people in forums these days are very strick "stay on topic" extremists where relaxed chatter is considered to be an offending sin. Gief the Usenet back! Don't fear the trolls!

Cantdecide, welcome to here. What I would do is to research established motorcycle tour companies in China, take an organized tour, and in the meantime, have established contact with the numerous ex-pats currently in China who are members here on mychinamoto. You will get all sorts of advice from them, probably much of it conflicting, before you have set foot in your new residence, but if you have a tour set up, you could at least get out and ride legally before deciding if owning a bike is worth it to you while you live in China. Without having ever been there on a visit or living there myself, it seems there are many, many ways to go about getting on a bike, but if it was me, I would seriously suggest a tour to see if it is even worth it in the long run!

Hey guys, I'm totally ok with the RTFM / search the threads response. I've actually been doing that as well, but I thought I might as well introduce myself and see if anyone had anything specific or obvious I might have missed.

I found this post which explained a bit about the Jing A and Jing B plates, as well as a bit about the common bike sizes. I'm still a bit confused by that thread, are bikes larger than 250cc completely illegal in China, or do they fall into a different category?

Anyway, thanks again, I'll keep searching the forums.

Hi Mr. CD. I surched the threads for you. here you can find more information to your questions:

• Forum
• Riders and Riding
• Ride Prep and Making Tracks
• Validity of Chinese driving license in foreign countries

• Forum
• Riders and Riding
• Regionals
• Asia
• Getting a motorcycle license in Xinjiang

• Forum
• Riders and Riding
• Ride Prep and Making Tracks
• Legal issues, clarifying the law in China

• Forum
• Riders and Riding
• Ride Prep and Making Tracks
• Temporary driving license...really only for cars?

• Forum
• Riders and Riding
• Ride Prep and Making Tracks
• ZMC's Attempt to get a Chinese License Blog

maybe it is really a good idea to make a special topic for this always incoming 1st questions. :rolleyes1:

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Originally Posted by moilami

Yeah, welcome to the forums and hope you enjoy. Regarding your questions, I don't have a clue and.... sorry to say this but they are very uninteresting and even if I would have a clue I might recommend you to seach the forums ;( and do myself something more interesting things than answering to uninteresting question. Why to do uninteresting things if answers are around already? xD No reason for that I might argue.

I agree with Jape that here is silent and I have to squueze the brake lever all the time and be carefull with the throttle or else suddenly the ratio of posts would go 5/1, me posting 5 times and someone else posting once that is. Also when posting here I almost feel guilty each time doing it since it seems people in forums these days are very strick "stay on topic" extremists where relaxed chatter is considered to be an offending sin. Gief the Usenet back! Don't fear the trolls!

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I feel: this is a very arrogant answer....... MCM members are living all over the world, time difference is up to 20 hours, so "chatting" is not very easy. every question has a right to be asked and hopefully finds an answer.
we all have our jobs to to in the "outside world" and why should we blubber to everything? for example, I am not a dirtbike rider and I am no mechanic, why should I post there? so, I also, always, stay to "my topic".

Maybe in the 'intro' section the 'sticky' thread method could be applied to some topics such as raised here that arise again and again? My only negative statement was that I have personally found my own searches to be erratic, sometimes inappropriate and time-consuming when the login request keeps repeating.

Internet forums can be weird! Language difference, time-zones and cultural background and generational differences often lead to misunderstanding. I used to argue a lot on forums, you get to feel proprietary about a forum you go to daily and even the arguments can be fun; nowdays I usually just ignore things I construe to be personal, mistaken or useless - and sometimes I am sure people apply that reasoning toward me!

But its funny how forums are so remote and impersonal in someways and intimate in another - a post can be unanswered and you can feel slighted, and then another post shows folk are in fact reading if not answering. The other side of that coin is you can answer helpfully at length and not get a response or thanks. Nature of the beast and the world today. I guess it is choice of course as much as mood and time.

Sorry I really don't understand what you meant after reading your post three times. In case you think I was blaming someone you got it wrong. I know perfectly well people have their jobs, kids, hobbies, old socks, warm beer and what not. What I meant with "chatting" was relaxed discussions where OT and stuff is not a sin. Haven't seen here yet people accusing of "derailing" or "hijacking" when very enjoyable discussions has taken place. In Usenet you never heard those words because the technology behind it allowed easily the threads to begin to live their own lives, and none "owned" much less wanted to "own" the threads.

The modern forum stuff is very alien thing to me. It is like gathering somewhere and discussing things, untill then at some point someone says "hey, even though I don't need to read what you wrote and even though there are people who want to read what you wrote, what you wrote was still not exactly related to what I wrote here, so you did it wrong, don't do it anymore." It is like "Ahh... I see a control freak here", or in case there are many of those "Ahh... I see many control freaks here". And people watch that happen and become worried to write anything else than strictly "on topic", effectively ruining the relaxed chatty flow. Some think that it is better, and if that is the way people think forums should be, fine, so be it. It is not really my problem, it just makes me miss the good old Usenet.

Jape, the fine old Murphy's law has been adjusted to Internet communications. Like this:

1. If there is a chance for misunderstanding, then it will happen.
2. If there is no chance for misunderstanding, then misundestandings will happen for sure.
3. If what you wrote can be understood in several different ways, it will be undersood in the worst way possible.

Etc. In this thread is a perfect example of those laws happening bi-directionally with Sabine.

It is hilarious and actually shows among other things how self-important we all are. I am however not that bothered with it. Hell, I think it is good! Without it I might still speak with the same old people in the same Usenet groups xD Dunno though would it be bad, but at least it is fun to meet new people every now and then.

So the conclusion is? I have mine, it is called "relax ppl" xD

I decided to post a thread from another valuable forum that I participate in, that might answer some of the OP questions. http://www.mychinamoto.com/forums/sh...3421#post13421 (mods, I may not have posted this is in the right/correct forum so please feel free to move it and make it a sticky if you wish).

Bikerdoc, that is fantastic information, it really should be a sticky at the top of a forum!

What is special about Hebei plates that would want to make people fake them?

What is special about black plates?

I'll try and post some of the other links I've discovered that are useful to that thread as well.

It looks like for me the biggest issue with riding legally in China will be the residence permit. My wife will have a student visa, which gives her a residence permit, but I don't think the visa extends to me, so I would most likely have to visit on a tourist visa, which won't get me a license. Alternatively, I guess I could try and get a work visa.

"CantDecide" indeed.

Hi, and welcome first - well in advance

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Originally Posted by CantDecide

Hi All,

My wife won a grant to go to Beijing for 14 months September, and I'm going to try and join her for as much of that as I can. Part of the deal was that I could have a motorcycle while we were there, but the more I look into it the more complicated that seems to be.

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I hope it wasn't your wife who agreed on the part of the deal :lol8::lol8:
Honestly, it would be very helpful to know on what kind of assignment your wife will be in BJ. If you don't want to disclose it publically, feel free to PM me.

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Originally Posted by CantDecide

I've read quite a bit about the license requirements and all that, so I think I know what I would need to do on that end. What I'm curious about is the requirements for the bike itself.

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If you talk about the driver's license, there are 3 levels for bikes. "F" is for the small two wheel bikes 50cc or so max displacement. "E" id for the ones above and "D" for the three wheelers. If you stay on a residence permit, have an overseas dl, you are entitled to do the computer exam and subsequently get a license as soon passed.
If you are referring to bike registration, only legal bikes can be registered. Most of the bigger bikes - I am talking 250 cc and above - in China are illegal, with no or faked plates, counterfeit paperwork and without insurance. Most probably one in a hundred bikes is a legal one and this indicates how much authorities as well as riders care about regulations.:bs:

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Originally Posted by CantDecide

IHow do you make sure a bike is properly registered?

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Find a trusted source to confirm or have the registration (plate) number as well as the engine number to perform a web check yourself.

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Originally Posted by CantDecide

IAre there special rules about having motorbikes in Beijing?

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One China law: Every village different rules.

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Originally Posted by CantDecide

IIs there a buyer's guide for bikes in China (or specifically, Beijing?)

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Many wish ther was one, but mostly you have to rely on someone you know, trust or better both :naughty:

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Originally Posted by CantDecide

I watched the video of the bike gathering on the main page, and it mentions something about hoping the rules change for bikes in Beijing and downtown (I think thats what Sabine says). What was she talking about?

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Everyone who takes recreational riding serious, hopes for the better, not only in Beijing but all over the country. Currently I don't see any reason why there should be any improvements on this subject - there are more serious issues for the gvt. to think of, really :eekers:

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Originally Posted by CantDecide

I'm a beginning biker (I just took the MSF training course here in the States last year, and that's it!), and I probably can't get a bike here when we are trying to sell all our stuff to move to China, so this whole idea might not work out, but the idea of the adventure of it has got me hooked.

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What is the MSF :confused1:

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Originally Posted by CantDecide

Thanks for any advice you might have!

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:deal:

Generally it will depend on how much you want to spend for a bike and if you go for legality or, what some feel an adventure, for the dark gray area.

P.S. :riding: is great up here around BJ

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CantDecide

It looks like for me the biggest issue with riding legally in China will be the residence permit. My wife will have a student visa, which gives her a residence permit, but I don't think the visa extends to me, so I would most likely have to visit on a tourist visa, which won't get me a license. Alternatively, I guess I could try and get a work visa.

"CantDecide" indeed.

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Breathe easy, CD. As a teacher or student your wife will be on a residence permit, and you as spouse are eligible for precisely the same permit. Having the residence permit is essential for both the chinese driver's license and registration of any bike. As a spouse your permit technically will not allow you to work, but you'll discover that, as TexasAggie put it in a similar context last week, "The easy is impossible and the impossible is easy."

I think you'll enjoy your experience here.

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Originally Posted by euphonius

... As a teacher or student your wife will be on a residence permit, ...

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As a real teacher, yes. As a student she'll be on a student visa, which, afaik, doesn't come with the spouse bonus.
However, the bike is not the problem, just reg it under another name (if it is a 200cc one, you'll have to do that anyway). In BJ you can get a temp dl in less than an hour, unless you are colorblind.

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Originally Posted by CantDecide

It looks like for me the biggest issue with riding legally in China will be the residence permit. My wife will have a student visa, which gives her a residence permit, but I don't think the visa extends to me, so I would most likely have to visit on a tourist visa, which won't get me a license. Alternatively, I guess I could try and get a work visa.
"CantDecide" indeed.

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If your wife is on a 'student visa' sorry to say she and you will not have a residence visa and therefore will not be able to legally get a drivers license. If your wife though gets a legal legit visa as a teacher then she will get a 'temporary residence permit' which is a must for getting a drivers license aside from other things. You will have a accompanying visa as the spouse.

I thought students started out with 'X' visas, and these are converted to student residency visas/permits. Also that teachers and other company workers start on 'Z' visas and these are also transferred to residency visas/permits too?

ZMC888, I think you are right. All official references (from various Chinese consulate sites) say the X visa is good for 3 months, and the student should apply for a residence permit within 30 days of arrival.

As for spouses and children of students, there's not much about this online, but there are some references. Highlighted in red below, for example, is one that says a person entering on an X student visa can apply to their consulate for entry by their spouse and children. You probably need to get your marriage license translated and notarized to provide as "authorization".

Can't hurt to ask!

http://www.worldti.com/visarequirement.html

Student visas are generally issued to applicants who intend to study in China for more than 6 months.
1. One completely filled out Visa Application Form for the P.R. China (Q-1).

2. Two recently taken 2X2 in. photos showing entire face without a hat on ( both ears must be seen). Only color photo is accepted. Do not crop your photos to fit into the photo box, simply staple it on the photo box in the application form. We do not recommend clients printing their own photos, photos taken by a FedEx Kinko's, UPS Store, Walgreens or Wal-Mart is recommended.

3. Original passport with at least 1 blank visa page and valid for at least 6 months beyond the date of application. Worldti.com can help you add more visa pages or renew your passport.

4. A visa application form for international students (JW-202) issued by the Ministry of Education of China, and an admission letter with proper school seal are required.

5. A Physical Examination Record for Foreigner (Q-2) filled out and signed by a doctor.

6. An applicant born in China (including Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore) who is applying for a Chinese visa with his or her new passport (without prior Chinese visa on it) is required to submit his or her Chinese passport or last foreign passport. If passport is not in possession, applicant must send in a notarized affidavit stating how the passport was lost.

7. A child of Chinese descent and born outside of China who applies for a Chinese visa for the first time is required to submit his or her Birth Certificate and current Passport. One of his or her parents' Chinese passport with Alien Card (Green Card), or current non-Chinese passport are also required. Notarized copies are accepted.

8. If the spouse or children of the applicant are going to China to live with the applicant on a long-term basis, they are required to submit authenticated (by the China Consulate) Marriage Certificate or Birth Certificate to prove their relationship with the applicant. Authentication service please see authentication.

9. Student Visas are generally valid for 3 month. Applicants should apply for residence permit from a local county level Public Security Bureau within 30 days after entering China.

I must correct my post above concerning the eligibility and applicable visas allowing one to apply for and gain a Chinese Drivers License. We contacted the city drivers licensing dept/bureau today and we were told that provided the visa (any visa category) provides and allows for 90+ days of continuous stay inside PRC then one can apply. This would therefore exclude someone holding a 90 day F visa though that allows only a 30 day maximum stay.

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the discussion, its good to read the help and advice. My wife actually was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to do some research on a legal issue in China. She'll be traveling on an X student visa, so she will get a temporary residence permit. What we've read is that accompanying family members used to be able to get an X visa too if you applied at the same time, but that these days family tends to get 'extended tourist visas' instead.

Bikerdoc, what city are you in? What I don't know is if a long term tourist visa qualifies for the drivers license. From what bikerdoc says, it sounds like maybe a 1 year tourist visa might work.

Anyway, we are getting a registered copy of our marriage certificate and all that, so we'll see what happens I guess.

Also, someone asked what MSF was... sorry I should have explained, "Motorcycle Safety Foundation". Basically its 2-3 hours of classroom instruction and then 8 hours of practice in a parking lot. No street time, etc.

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Originally Posted by CantDecide

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the discussion, its good to read the help and advice. My wife actually was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to do some research on a legal issue in China. She'll be traveling on an X student visa, so she will get a temporary residence permit. What we've read is that accompanying family members used to be able to get an X visa too if you applied at the same time, but that these days family tends to get 'extended tourist visas' instead.

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Well things change with China visas quite frequently, especially when some major event of national interests occurs. Olympiks 9<sp> on purpose!) and the SH expo are two events that have resulted in China Visa changes albeit temporarily.

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Bikerdoc, what city are you in? What I don't know is if a long term tourist visa qualifies for the drivers license. From what bikerdoc says, it sounds like maybe a 1 year tourist visa might work.

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Ningbo. I'm not sure either about the long term L visa, but based on what I found out the other day, I'd say its possible, but the question is... just how likely will it be? No matter what, just make sure you can be as legal as possible, as the rules are getting a little stricter with more enforcement when it counts against 'foreigners' In other words don't take the proverbial "awh don't worry about it -she'll be right attitude, as they don't worry if your a foreigner" because they can & do.

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Also, someone asked what MSF was... sorry I should have explained, "Motorcycle Safety Foundation". Basically its 2-3 hours of classroom instruction and then 8 hours of practice in a parking lot. No street time, etc.

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No worries, when your all done and get yourself here, the reality will differ a lot to what you learn there. While riding defensively is still needed, do you need to be a little aggressive here too. Even though there are 'rules' it's still a little bit like a free-for-all... ;)

Hi guys, well we just found out that I'll have to come to china on an L-visa, and according to the visa company we spoke to today that definitely means a driver's license is out of the question, which really stinks. My only option I guess is to get a job with a Chinese company so I can get a long-term work visa. We're still in the process of cleaning up here at home, so I can't worry about it to much right now, but I was really looking forward to riding next year, and the "rewarding us with punishment tour" thread is really making me jealous. :)

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Originally Posted by moilami

Yeah, welcome to the forums and hope you enjoy. Regarding your questions, I don't have a clue and.... sorry to say this but they are very uninteresting and even if I would have a clue I might recommend you to seach the forums ;( and do myself something more interesting things than answering to uninteresting question. Why to do uninteresting things if answers are around already? xD No reason for that I might argue.

I agree with Jape that here is silent and I have to squueze the brake lever all the time and be carefull with the throttle or else suddenly the ratio of posts would go 5/1, me posting 5 times and someone else posting once that is. Also when posting here I almost feel guilty each time doing it since it seems people in forums these days are very strick "stay on topic" extremists where relaxed chatter is considered to be an offending sin. Gief the Usenet back! Don't fear the trolls!

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Also some idiot said some wrong key words and got this site banned in China.Sorry.So since then I think there is less new people coming to this site from within China.Also you have to be careful what you post as I worry that someone is watching me?

Yikes, I didn't know the forum got banned. I don't think I said anything inappropriate though.

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Originally Posted by CantDecide

Yikes, I didn't know the forum got banned. I don't think I said anything inappropriate though.

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I think it wasn't really banned but somehow hosted on a server, IP range or the hell knows what which had a ban. CC could answer it for sure.

http://www.mychinamoto.com/forums/sh...ew-Rider-Guide

http://www.mychinamoto.com/forums/sh...ming-Yunnan%29

http://www.mychinamoto.com/forums/sh...rcycle-License

Those will get you started.

Sounds like your wife will be able to get a foreigner residence visa which you require to get a chinese motorcycle license.Can you get this visa?

I don't know if Beijing or China is a good place to learn to ride a motorcycle but I know someone else who learnt to ride a motorcycle in Xinjiang and said he is a better rider now he is back in the States.

Thanks for the links, I've read most of them already, but I re-read them all the time in case I missed something. :)

No, my wife will probably get a residence permit, but it sounds like I won't. The best I can hope for is a 1-year multiple entry tourist visa.

I was hoping to get some time on a bike here in the States first, I have a friend who offered to help out, but right now without the visa I'm pretty much stalled.

Dear CantDecide,

There are more ways than one to skin a cat. Your wife can ask her institution to help you find a full- or part-time job on a one-year contract. If nothing else you can teach English. With a one-year contract you should qualify for a residence permit independent of your wife's employment. If you and your wife are like most newcomers to China, one year will pass very quickly and you'll both be feeling like you are just getting started and your employers will be happy to have you extend for another year or more. I came initially on a two year assignment, then changed employers, which led to a year in Hong Kong, folllowed by three more in Beijing, followed by four in Taipei, followed by two more in Beijing, followed by, um, er, well, yeah, let's see, yikes -- seven years in Shanghai. In fact, I recently marked 20 years since my 17 May 1990 arrival in Beijing.

Yes, China can get under your skin.

good luck!

Hi Guys,

Well, I still haven't solved my visa-for-license problem, but the time to depart for Beijing is almost here. I'll be in Beijing on an L-visa for 3 weeks over the end of August through beginning of September, and then I'll return to Beijing 'full time' in January.

I think I'm going to try to solve the visa problem for when I return in January, for now I haven't worried about it.

Anyway, I'm excited for my first trip to China, motorbike or not!