Hi from Shanghai

Newish rider from Shanghai.

Interestingly enough, had never known about this site, even though I get asked bike questions all the time.

Bought a TZM150 with Jiangxi plate licenced to myself, insured, legalish - paperwork all good etc a few months ago, but still need to complete my E licence.

Thats been in process for approximately 3 years now, mostly because I just can't get up on the weekend to go drive to the training place in hongkou at 7am.

I have finally been to one lesson though, and the bike training centre guy was like - just take the test when I want, so probably get that done this month finally ;)

Its my first bike - i thought I'd get something small engined.
I've been up to the parts market in putuo for bits and pieces (oil, battery etc), but i probably need to do a bit of maintenance on it before I do any trip longer than a few minutes.

As I still need to get my license, not riding it yet.

Bike pic here -
(yes I know about the small oil leak)

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4123/...5cbb2e86da.jpg

Should probably add that I've been in Shanghai for a while now, ahem. (well longer than most of you), so I do know all the rules and regulations *quite* intimately. Looks like I wrote most of the english language stuff about motorbikes that's available online about Shanghai's rules ;)


http://www.mychinamoto.com/forums/%3...M150%22%20/%3E

Hi Shanghailoz,

Welcome to the forum! Congrats on the TZM, i rode one last year and great fun on it! Any idea why shanghai has so many of them? In Ireland i hardy ever saw any, it was all NSR125 and RS125 over there.

Hope you get your license soon so you have a few months to enjoy your new toy before it starts to hurt and your fingers fall off!

Since you seem knowledgeable on shanghai laws, any idea what the rule is for >50cc bikes? I'll be moving there soon and won't be able to ride my XTR everday anymore, so i'm starting to look at alternatives. I saw these engine kits on taobao and thought it could be quite fun to mount one onto my downhill bike. Would i get stopped in minutes? What if i turned the engine off and just cycled past the pigs?

http://w2.myzcm.com/2009/04/%E8%B0%A...A3/new0001.jpg
http://w2.myzcm.com/2009/04/%E8%B0%A...A3/new0002.jpg

Good luck and maybe see you around!

Felix

I've never seen those motorized bike kits used in Shanghai, but I would guess that you'd be ok.
Mostly as they wouldn't consider it something to bother with.

If its out of the realms of normal stuff, its too mafan (troublesome) to deal with.
You might get a talking to, but as long as you don't cause an accident you should be fine.

I'd also try not to refer to the police as "pigs", they're usually quite reasonable people here; there is very little attitude compared to the west. There are some police who act like prima donna's, but most of them will be helpful, rather than asshole.
Generally you'll want to smile, be nice, feign ignorance, and speak a little bad chinese, then you'll be fine. Its the people with attitudes that get to have issues.


As to why so many TZM's - They're made in Thailand, its an Asian model, so quite a few in the market.

> 50cc needs a licence.
< 50cc doesn't need a licence, but gas powered <50cc are illegal inside Shanghai.
LPG is legal, but they are phasing out by 2012.

Lots of electric bikes around though, although they mostly are psuedo legal. Most of the nicer ones don't have the correct papers, so get registered in Suzhou. This has been ok for the last few years at least. Too many people use them, so too much uproar about changes.

They will roll in something at some point, when that comes, we'll deal with it.

In China its all about shades of grey. Sometimes its impossible to be "100% legal", so you do as much as you can get away with.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by felix

Hi Shanghailoz,

Welcome to the forum! Congrats on the TZM, i rode one last year and great fun on it! Any idea why shanghai has so many of them? In Ireland i hardy ever saw any, it was all NSR125 and RS125 over there.

Hope you get your license soon so you have a few months to enjoy your new toy before it starts to hurt and your fingers fall off!

Since you seem knowledgeable on shanghai laws, any idea what the rule is for >50cc bikes? I'll be moving there soon and won't be able to ride my XTR everday anymore, so i'm starting to look at alternatives. I saw these engine kits on taobao and thought it could be quite fun to mount one onto my downhill bike. Would i get stopped in minutes? What if i turned the engine off and just cycled past the pigs?




Good luck and maybe see you around!

Felix

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by felix

Since you seem knowledgeable on shanghai laws, any idea what the rule is for >50cc bikes? I'll be moving there soon and won't be able to ride my XTR everday anymore, so i'm starting to look at alternatives.

I saw these engine kits on taobao and thought it could be quite fun to mount one onto my downhill bike. Would i get stopped in minutes? What if i turned the engine off and just cycled past the pigs?

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Felix,

I think you are seriously misoverestimating the enterprise and drive of our Shanghai men in blue. Depending on where you choose to live, you may actually find your Galaxy to be highly useful here, subject to some simple precautions regarding route selection.

As for the frankenschlycle kit you've posted, Shanghainese have nothing if not a sense of (misplaced) propriety, and I think on that thing you'd probably be laughed off the streets long before you were hauled away. There are many, many, many svelte choices of power-assisted locomotion available.

LIKE THESE

OR THESE

So when DO you touch down in Shanghai, and have you sorted out where to live? MotoKai and I are both in Jing'an District; he's near Zhongshan Park, I'm near Shanghai Station.

cheers!

Hi Guys, thanks for the replies!

Shanghailoz fear not, i am always very polite, patient and diplomatic with the police here. And i speak chinese when appropriate. Don't read too far into me calling them the pigs, that's just what we call them back home...

I was also thinking that hiding behind grey areas could be the way to do it. I have a bike driving license so i can't get into TOO much trouble. I was thinking to buy one of these bikes and mount the engine onto it.

http://img05.taobaocdn.com/imgextra/...!259994432.jpg

I think it would have a super classy vintage look. The bike + engine is only around 1000 kuai so it's not a huge risk. I was looking at those engine kits because it might be a discreet way to stay petrol-powered in shanghai. I'll see when the time comes!


Euphonius,

You really think my Nanjing registered, very loud XTR can be an everyday commuter for me in shanghai? I was under the impression i might get away with it a couple of times but eventually i'd just get caught. Or i'd get stopped so often it would just be more hassle than it's worth.

I'm always inclined to favour petrol power over electric, for a bunch of different reasons. If i do need to go electric though, i already know what i'm getting!

http://81.images22.51img1.com/6000/y...a91476c876.jpg

The move will probably happen around end of october, to be confirmed. I too will be looking for a place in jingan, on the french concession side of it. I'll be working on anfu lu.

I would be up for getting an old Pigeon retrofitted with an engine too. They sell them on Xiang Yang lu still, +- 400rmb.

The XTR wouldnt be a daily commuter. Shanghai policia do regular check / stops on bikes all the time. For a legal bike with out of town plates, its a 200rmb fine, make sure you have a valid drivers licence, or its also a possible 10 days in custody also. So yeah, you'd get away for a few times, but more hassle than its worth.

PS, you guys have your districts wrong.

An fu lu would be xu hui qu.
Zhong shan park area is chang ning qu

I'll hazard a guess - you're going to work at Enoteca?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by felix

Hi Guys, thanks for the replies!

Shanghailoz fear not, i am always very polite, patient and diplomatic with the police here. And i speak chinese when appropriate. Don't read too far into me calling them the pigs, that's just what we call them back home...

I was also thinking that hiding behind grey areas could be the way to do it. I have a bike driving license so i can't get into TOO much trouble. I was thinking to buy one of these bikes and mount the engine onto it.


I think it would have a super classy vintage look. The bike + engine is only around 1000 kuai so it's not a huge risk. I was looking at those engine kits because it might be a discreet way to stay petrol-powered in shanghai. I'll see when the time comes!


Euphonius,

You really think my Nanjing registered, very loud XTR can be an everyday commuter for me in shanghai? I was under the impression i might get away with it a couple of times but eventually i'd just get caught. Or i'd get stopped so often it would just be more hassle than it's worth.

I'm always inclined to favour petrol power over electric, for a bunch of different reasons. If i do need to go electric though, i already know what i'm getting!

http://81.images22.51img1.com/6000/y...a91476c876.jpg

The move will probably happen around end of october, to be confirmed. I too will be looking for a place in jingan, on the french concession side of it. I'll be working on anfu lu.

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Here's another electric that looks pretty stunning to my eye...

http://euphonius.smugmug.com/Motorcy...04_jJxLu-M.jpg

I met this kid up in Shenyang, where he was using it as a taxi. I'd love to know what that is. Tough little mother; not a Honda despite the label.

Will be great to have you in town. Will have to start organizing weekly Bike Night.

As for the question of using the Galaxy here: there are thousands of guys blasting around on mislicensed or unlicensed scooters -- so many in fact that the police seem not to see them at all. I get stopped on occasion on my JH, but only when on restricted avenues like Changshou Lu or Huaihai Lu, never anywhere else. A noisy dirt bike? You'd be more of a rarity, but I don't think you'd have chronic problems as long as you stay to smaller streets. Once you are out into the 'burbs, no worries at all.

Maybe a petrol-powered scooter is the way to go. Have a look at my post about my muffler installation. You'd have to work hard to outfarkle some of those guys, but their scoots are rockets.

So you thinking of leaving the XTR in Suzhou?

cheers

Er, Isn't that just the same exact bike he posted?

"... they're usually quite reasonable people here; there is very little attitude compared to the west. There are some police who act like prima donna's, but most of them will be helpful, rather than asshole.
Generally you'll want to smile, be nice, feign ignorance, and speak a little bad chinese, then you'll be fine. Its the people with attitudes that get to have issues."

it is always up to them to decide so acting low is key

"I was also thinking that hiding behind grey areas could be the way to do it. I have a bike driving license so i can't get into TOO much trouble. "

dear Filex, when you fear getting caught, before get on ride, always carry a pack of really nice foriegn brand of cigarette, so when they decide to stop your XTR, act low then in appropriate time, impress them by invite them try the gift. and speak to them Chinese, they will laugh and you will be out of trouble. It only works for foreigners, lol.

Thanks for the police advice. Cigarettes are a good idea, i tried before but only had my usual Double Happiness with me, they weren't impressed....

Those bikes are not the same. The one i showed is a copy of the Honda Ruckus (50cc). In china it's called a Zuma (祖玛)

http://www.honda-motorcycles.info/mo...nda-Ruckus.jpg

The one Euphonius posted is a copy of the Honda Big Ruckus (250). Although they are different bikes, they're also called Zuma over here. Here's one on taobao.

http://plugbike.com/wp-content/uploa...nda-ruckus.jpg

The chinese copies of these bikes come in all engine sizes and also electric versions, customisable up to the tits of course.

Finally, i won't be working for Enoteca, i'll be in a swedish company called Lelo. I know anfu lu isn't in jingan, i just meant i'll be living in jingan!

Bike nights sounds great!

Felix,

There's also a storefront dealer in Jiaoji Lu selling the Sachs Madass 125 for about 8k rmb. Not a bad little ride at all. Somebody even POSTED ONE FOR SALE in MCM back around the turn of the year. Never heard more about that one...

I see plenty of these Madasses around town, usually beneath a foreigner's ass.

Wow, that genuine Honda Ruckus would be a blast.

what's with this Zuma/Zoomer outfit? their link comes up empty. the girl's kinda cute, though...

cheers

I do love those madass too, but if i'm going to go through the whole registration and getting legal torture, why not just stick with the XTR?


To get back to the little engine kits, here is what i had in mind to try and reproduce:

http://derringercycles.com/images/bike.jpg

Pure class...


PS: i think you got your links a bit mixed up there!

I know you like petrol, but then there's THIS....

http://images.gizmag.com/hero/boschdrive.jpg

And THIS

http://images.gizmag.com/hero/blacktrail-5.jpg

And THIS

http://images.gizmag.com/gallery_lrg/conway-1.jpg

And THIS

http://images.gizmag.com/hero/8403_23110760253.jpg

Wow, some of those are pure sex! (you a gizmag fan at all?)

I do prefer petrol for its convenience (1 minute to fill up, as opposed to 8 hours), but also don't think ebikes present any improvement for the environment, considering battery disposal and how electricity is produced. But that's a different discussion...


Forgot to add, I don't know why that zoomer link doesn't work. It never did.

There's a million of those bikes on taobao though, just type 祖玛 in there and watch the results roll in. Lots of them in Shanghai too.

What you mean how electricity is produced?

Thats such a straw man argument.

Power stations can't turn on / off at whim, they're running whether we use them or not. Hence cheaper electricity at night in an attempt to get people to use more, otherwise its wasted.
Mind you, in Shanghai at 40degree's, I'm sure not much gets wasted even at night in summer time.

Battery tech does need improvement - mind you thats improving too. We're always 5 years away from a big breakthrough, but there are some promising battery tech's around the corner.
I keep an eye on that from a stock market perspective, always good to know which small China company is in theory going to jump up in price.
I made some decent change on CBAK a few years ago ;)

I don't see how that's a straw man. Ebikes need electricity (and lots of it), electricity in china is made almost entirely by burning coal. You have to factor this in, ebikes don't run on magic. They do pollute, just not in the city, which i do agree is good thing.
Then there's the batteries, which are toxic to produce and become toxic waste at the end of their short life. Try to imagine the amount of batteries that must be lying in dumps around here, it's terrifying.

I'm really not against electric vehicles, they probably are the future. I just don't think that the ones we have now are a very viable way to save the planet.

Its all OK lads, the USA is killing off tens of thousands of innocents in the third world while looking for OBL and many other countries are killing ethnics with impunity while UN etc. looks the other way. No carbon footprint anymore for those poor dead sods so a few dead batteries and a bit of ebike pollution can be balanced against that too.

A multi-trillion dollar war still going on against a country or two, spewing chemicals and depleted uranium all over the place to balance a few thousand and a couple of buildings? Sigh. It is all shit and a bit more don't matter much, so enjoy.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by felix

http://derringercycles.com/images/bike.jpg

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This looks absolutely gorgeous! Did you ever get around to making your motor-bicycle then? You see a lot of tricycle-cart things going around with petrol engines built onto them, they never seem to get pulled over by the police.

hi jetzki, no i never got around to it. I figured it was gonna get taken off me by the police at some point so i didn't bother. I still want to though, so might give it a shot when i move to xi'an at the end of the year, the rules are slacker out there than in shanghai.

cool bike ,hope you enjoying

nice of you to join us klwheels, tell us more about yourself please