Bike Gear in Shanghai

Hey all,

Just figured I'd share some info I collected yesterday. I was on my way to the Qiyi shop on Wenshui Dong lu (the one recommended to me in my presentation thread by Euphonius www.qiyi.cc/ ), stopped on the way at the BMW shop (alos Wenshui Dong lu) and discussed a bit with the manager there as they had a lot of bikes in their showroom, contrary to the other times I went there.
I was looking for boots and he showed me some french ones, the brand is Soubirac and the model Tarmack, black, in strong leather. He didn't have my size so he drove me to the distributor, a nice shop in an apartment, selling on Taobao : http://shop59608066.taobao.com They have Schuberth helmets, a very nice selection of leather jackets, cases, back protections, etc. I saw in their shop the quality of the leather and was impressed. I didn't know we could find those quality stuff in Shanghai.

The manager of the BMW shop then drove me to another shop, I would say a more standard bikes shop. Forgot the address but their taobao account is http://shop35292903.taobao.com .

Figured it can help the current and new riders in Shanghai to buy their equipment...

Nice sleuthing, Fred. Thanks for posting.

Taobao may be sh*tlisted by the US Commerce Department for tolerating (encouraging) pirated stuff, but it's an awesome resource in a country where the only other way to find stuff is word of mouth or sheer serendipity.

You mentioned in your other post that you're planning to get naked and oily at a Honda shop. You've decided what to buy? Somehow I thought you'd bought a bike already.

cheers

Quote:

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Originally Posted by euphonius

You mentioned in your other post that you're planning to get naked and oily at a Honda shop. You've decided what to buy? Somehow I thought you'd bought a bike already.

cheers

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Oh well, believe me, I would have so loved to have it already... But China being China...
I had to go several times to the Honda-Sundiro shop on Zhongshan lu / Wuyi lu, as they didn't know they coudl register the bike and the plates with my chinese name, they absolutely wanted me to give them an ID card of a Chinese, any Chinese...
I had to teach them myself how to do, so now they know but it's again a new delay as they didn't start the process to get the plates.

The bike is at their shop though, saw it, started it and checked it yesterday, it felt goooood ! But I won't have it until next Saturday (not this week, next week...), I was pretty pissed yesterday at their shop... They certainly never had a foreign customer before, which I find very surprising considering their location, or maybe they already registered many bikes and plates under Chinese names for foreigners...

So yeah, I'm still on foot, and believe me it gets annoying very fast when you can even touch your bike but not ride it... TIC...

PM'd you.

Thanks for the taobao links Fred. I'll defo be checking them out. You did well to get in friendly with the manager of the BMW shop. Haha.

Don't worry mate, you've done all the hard work now. Only 2 weeks to go....

Since this topic is about buying motorcycle gear... there's a great website called getgeared that has all kinds of riding gear and accessories at phenomenal prices, and there are often loads of specials going on. I've used them and bought a jacket, trousers and a pair of boots and got them into China without any issues. The quality of the gear is top notch, and the service I received was A+ I know it's not inside China, but since I have 3 sets of jackets. trousers and as many pairs of boots I wanted to get some alternative stuff that would work well on all of my rides, particularly my maxi scoot.

Nice tip, doc. you've jogged my memory about a similar site in the US, called motorcyclecloseouts. I've no direct experience with them, and don't know how they'd do getting stuff to China, but I've got friends in California who rave about the deals they've gotten there.

Have you had anything shipped into China in the wake of the Shanghai Expo? Not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I've been hit with import duties for stuff based on the declared value, and the duty was collected by Fedex or UPS, who then returned a few days later with a government fapiao. Brave new world, and not a particularly welcome one...

cheers

Quote:

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Originally Posted by euphonius

Nice tip, doc. you've jogged my memory about a similar site in the US, called motorcyclecloseouts. I've no direct experience with them, and don't know how they'd do getting stuff to China, but I've got friends in California who rave about the deals they've gotten there.
Have you had anything shipped into China in the wake of the Shanghai Expo? Not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I've been hit with import duties for stuff based on the declared value, and the duty was collected by Fedex or UPS, who then returned a few days later with a government fapiao. Brave new world, and not a particularly welcome one...
cheers

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Hey Eu... :D
I've only had medical books (nearly 20) sent from UK & USA which were received via Abebooks and their sellers several months back, and had no issues other than one cheaper text never arrived (this was the only copy the seller had so they refunded me) - no duties at all though. I'm awaiting another text to arrive at the moment, so am interested to see what the situation will be this time though as I'm aware that Chinese Customs are cracking down and applying duties on things they never used to, though admittedly the value of the text is like US$1 while shipping is US$15 (not bad for a 2009 text). Also agree with your aforementioned changes of late, and others likely to be implemented, don't offer much appeal... so it's a matter of time before I seriously vacate these lands. Just trying to finish of my last psychology paper to take out my fourth degree, which ironically will join the others unceremoniously banished to my certificates collection folder (bursting at the seams) instead of taking pride of place on my office wall - framed in all its glory. Seems I'm a slave to the inner workings of academia... though I digress.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by euphonius

Have you had anything shipped into China in the wake of the Shanghai Expo? Not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I've been hit with import duties for stuff based on the declared value, and the duty was collected by Fedex or UPS, who then returned a few days later with a government fapiao. Brave new world, and not a particularly welcome one...

cheers

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I can help you with that question : I just had a lot of riding gear delivered to me in a big box, from France. I used this store (sorry only in French I guess : www.icasque.com ). Because the delivery address was abroad, all the prices were without VAT for me. When the box arrived in China, it was clearly opened by the customs, closed with "EMS" tape but nothing was missing and no import taxes whatsoever !

So it means I got all the gear (Bell helmet, Spidi back protection, Spidi gloves, intercom system and Spidi knees pads) without VAT, which, considering the total price, was a really really nice saving.

Maybe I was lucky, I don't know...

That's a happy ending indeed. Are you referring to the European VAT, or China's VAT?

Looks as if all you need now is a bike!

:lol8::lol8::lol8:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by euphonius

That's a happy ending indeed. Are you referring to the European VAT, or China's VAT?

Looks as if all you need now is a bike!

:lol8::lol8::lol8:

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Oooh, you're just rubbing it in, huh ? ;-))
I'm refering to the French VAT, 17%.

An update for Shanghai :
The Qiyi shop opened a new store on Pubei lu, Minhang, same street as the BMW, Benelli and Suzuki shops. The Manager didn't really "open" it yet, but I went there and bought plenty of stuff for my GF last week.
They're specialized in Spidi stuff (leather and mesh jackets, pants, back protection, gloves, protection pads for knees, shoulders, elbows, etc.), but they also have a nice selection of helmets (AGV, Caberg, Schuberth, etc.) and boots (Xpd).
The address : 231 Pubei Lu, just at the corner with Guilin lu, near the ICBC Bank.

Hi fred thanks for this info! Nice to know there's a good bike shop not too far from me! (i'm in xujiajui)

Do you happen to know if they sell the HJC flip-up helmets, or if don't know do you have their contact? I wanna get one for my gf and wouldn't mind supporting local efforts!

Felix,

Here's the website run by Qiyi Motorcycle Accessories aka 上海骑翼摩托车用品有限公司, run by Simon Wang aka 王俺云 (Wang Anyun).

His original shop was way up in Hongkou district in Wenshui Lu.

cheers

Euphonius beat me to it ! I didn't see HJC helmets, but I wasn't looking for flip-up helmets anyway.

Just a precision, because Euphonius wrote "His original shop was..." : the Wenshui lu shop up north is still open, I went there last week too. I don't think they plan to close it, they just have another one now. ;-)

Simon does not carry HJC modular helmets at Qiyi. But that Chemichen shop up in Xincun Lu near scooterville has several models in most sizes.

cheers

Cheers guys! This is all useful stuff.

Yeah i know they have it at chemizhen and jioaji lu, i just didn't wanna bother going out there!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bikerdoc

Since this topic is about buying motorcycle gear... there's a great website called getgeared that has all kinds of riding gear and accessories at phenomenal prices, and there are often loads of specials going on. I've used them and bought a jacket, trousers and a pair of boots and got them into China without any issues. The quality of the gear is top notch, and the service I received was A+ I know it's not inside China, but since I have 3 sets of jackets. trousers and as many pairs of boots I wanted to get some alternative stuff that would work well on all of my rides, particularly my maxi scoot.

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I contacted them and they said £150 to deliver a box (can hold a helmet, jacket and pants) to china. 10-15 days by DHL, thanks for the info bikerdoc. The deals are fantastic

A hundred fifty quid seems bloody expensive. I'd suggest you spend a bit of time in Taobao, as there is a surprisingly huge amount of quality stuff in there. Presumably either imported by hobbyists who also hate crappy Chinese stuff, or purchased out the back door of the Chinese factories that make the "quality" stuff you'd buy in the UK or US. And though you'll pay a premium for these things, it'll almost certainly cost you less once you factor in the shipping.

Try a comparison. Find some good deal you like in getgeared, then search for it in taobao. most international products include the name and/or model number in english in the taobao listings, so they are not hard to find.

Yes, there's some risk that the "brand name" product in taobao is a fake, but you can generally tell a good dealer from a bad one, and a "too good to be true" price from a reasonable one. I try to locate sellers that are here in Shanghai, then ask if I can come inspect the product prior to purchase.

What specifically are you looking for?

cheers

Quote:

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Originally Posted by euphonius

A hundred fifty quid seems bloody expensive. I'd suggest you spend a bit of time in Taobao, as there is a surprisingly huge amount of quality stuff in there. Presumably either imported by hobbyists who also hate crappy Chinese stuff, or purchased out the back door of the Chinese factories that make the "quality" stuff you'd buy in the UK or US. And though you'll pay a premium for these things, it'll almost certainly cost you less once you factor in the shipping.
Try a comparison. Find some good deal you like in getgeared, then search for it in taobao. most international products include the name and/or model number in english in the taobao listings, so they are not hard to find.
Yes, there's some risk that the "brand name" product in taobao is a fake, but you can generally tell a good dealer from a bad one, and a "too good to be true" price from a reasonable one. I try to locate sellers that are here in Shanghai, then ask if I can come inspect the product prior to purchase.
What specifically are you looking for?

cheers

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Euph makes some good points. Especially useful is the comparison idea, along with the advice that much of the riding gear is being made in China, so often what one buys from overseas, having been made here is also likely to be available here too if one knows where to look. That's where perseverance and using taobao comes in really handy. The other point Euph made was pricing, as is often then case, going for cheap or "too good to be true" pricing will often lead to dissatisfaction or inferior products, and when applied to motorcycles one doesn't want to find out just how inferior that might be when the time comes and the product is being put through such a real life test - with your life/limb at stake.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bikerdoc

Euph makes some good points. Especially useful is the comparison idea, along with the advice that much of the riding gear is being made in China, so often what one buys from overseas, having been made here is also likely to be available here too if one knows where to look. That's where perseverance and using taobao comes in really handy. The other point Euph made was pricing, as is often then case, going for cheap or "too good to be true" pricing will often lead to dissatisfaction or inferior products, and when applied to motorcycles one doesn't want to find out just how inferior that might be when the time comes and the product is being put through such a real life test - with your life/limb at stake.

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Question for China guru's, though I don't know if this question has an answer. Just how do you figure out the true price? Seriously, I've haggled down prices to 1/10th asking price sometimes, and I left wondering what the real price is... maybe I could never know.

i need the whole lot man (for two) . helmets, jackets, boots, pants, back armour, some underwear i think. dont know how it'll be wearing the same jacket and pants for three weeks lol. Will scope about taobao now but the shipping cost i didnt think was that bad considering the quality and price of the actual pieces. Like i would get these three things

A22401115545 ALPINESTARS Hydro Sport Drystar Motorcycle Boots Waterproof Fluo
Size: 45
£133.29 £26.66 £159.95
20866856 PROBIKER Motorcycle Jacket PR-09 Air Gry
Size: 56
£129.16 £25.83 £154.99
H67660104 HELD 6766 Sakai Motorcycle Trousers
Size: L
£99.96 £19.99 £119.95
Subtotal £362.41 £77.48 £439.89
VAT £77.48

Total £464.88

+£150 shipping = £514. thats almost 5500 rmb in my house in 15 days or less

Thought it was reasonable after looking in qiyi's shop. Will do taobao now

Well corporal_clegg, let us know how you get on with your comparison to equivalent products on taobao. Just want to add that you need to be cautious and be prepared to make provisions to pay tax on the items you plan to import into the country. While there's a chance the items may avoid tax and customs duties, better to factor it in so if you go that route and get hit with the extras - it won''t be a total shock. You might like to ask the overseas seller to provide you with a padded invoice with a much lower value on the goods purchased. Chinese customs will base the duties etc on that ;)
I've experience of this surprise first hand on motorbike accessories a group of us bought from a dealer in the USA. Fortunately we had a much lower declared value on the goods bought - just in case, and thanks to gawd we did.

Also it's better to have the goods (if you buy from overseas) delivered to your home address rather than a business, as this will likely cause customs to apply the applicable duties etc. It has to be said that there has been a tightening of the application of duties/taxes which now includes many items that never used to attract said taxes/duties.

Dear Bikerdoc and Clegg,

Good point about import duty. For years and years I was never tagged for import duty on shipments into China, but since middle of 2010 I've been hit with stiff duties on inbound items, even those shipped to my residence. Fedex and DHL will arrive with a tax invoice and expect to collect the cash from you on the spot. If memory serves, the duty was in excess of 10% of the shipper's invoice price. The Fedex or DHL guy then asks if you'd like a receipt; if so, the return with it a day or two later.

Ouch.

Yea import duty be damned. The last link in the first post gives the shop at this address 上海市普陀区新村路433号. Pretty good selection. Price are great, better than getgeared. Enough so that you don't know for sure that theyre fake (could still be i assume) but not as much as in the QiYi shop. Think I will get my gear there but unsure of the quality. The stuff feels better than at the motor market but still don't know for sure that it's real. Motor market's class btw. Even if your not into bikes, full of weird curiosities and really traditional chinese stuff. They were making the little rice-in-leaf packets for the dragon boat festival right beside the shop for miniature cruisers and teeny-tiny dirt bikes. Nice lock shop too. Will be there to trick out my new bike asap

Glad you found at least some of what you were looking for here in Shanghai. That shop in Xincun Lu is excellent. Bought a nice helmet there recently, and saw they had lots of good clothing and boots as well as locks.

Do spend a bit more time in Taobao, and don't be overspecific in your search terms. For example, search for "alpinestars 靴子" and you'll see whatever alpinestars boots are available, though perhaps not the specific model you are looking for. ChinaV recently found a great pair of waterproof boots, and I think he got them out of Taobao. search button is your friend.

Don't be in too much of a rush, and you'll find lots of decent stuff around.

cheers!

In order to revive a bit this thread, and because the cold weather definitely hit Shanghai those past days, a small update on bike gear in Shanghai : yesterday I went to the Spidi shop on Pubei lu (same owner as the one on Wenshui lu, Hongkou District) (http://www.qiyi.cc/) to look for winter gloves, as I was in the process of losing my fingers with the summer Spidi Zeta gloves, even with silk gloves under them...

Ended up buying the Motoinfinito Alaska gloves for RMB 690 : http://www.motoinfinito.com/collezione/guanti/alaska/
I did not know this italian brand before, but I must say that I was pleasantly surprised with the quality.

Did 50km with them, I still need to get the feel for them, as they're obviously much thicker than my summer leather gloves. But in return it makes me ride slower as I'm more focused on the feeling of the throttle and levers, so it may be a good thing. :icon10:


BTW, even if it is OT : I found those hand warmers in Decathlon last weekend : http://www.decathlon.fr/15-paires-ch...d_8159094.html
Put them in your gloves (they're thin patches), they can only be used once each, but they're keeping your hands warm for 5 hours. I did not use them as it would be a waste for 20km, but I plan to test them ASAP.
The pack of 10 is sold 25RMB, so it's quite cheap if you plan some winter touring. :icon10:

Nice winter glove find, Fred. Thanks for posting.

By the way, do you have hand guards on your bike? Though the best of these are designed mainly for protecting hands from brush and protecting your levers when the bike gets dropped, they also play a key role in keeping your hands from freezing in the cold by deflecting the direct flow of air around your hands.

Looking forward to hearing how the MotoInfinitos hold up in cold and/or foul weather.

thanks again!

Jeff, did you know this brand before ? I ask because I didn't, and their website is rather.... minimalist I'd say.
Good luck trying to find some reviews of their gear on the web too, I only managed to find a few.

What do you use for winter in terms of gloves ? How's the feeling for you on the throttle ?

I do not have hand guards yet, but I'm definitely planning to. I'll go to the Yamaha shop to see if they can fit the YBR 125G ("dirt" version) hand guards on the 250, otherwise I'll use the links in the thread you mentioned.

Dear Fred,

This is my latest glove purchase, which I got from the guy who makes them, Helmut Klockner at Helimot in San Jose, California. They are the nicest, most comfortable gloves I've ever used. But they are not waterproof, and perform best in cool weather rather than cold. So I don't really know what I'll be using this winter.

Attachment 5935

Like I said, I'll be keen to know how things go with the MotoInfinitos! No, I had not heard of this brand before reading your post.

cheers!