Motorbike ride in China: informations for italian biker

Hellò, my name is Maurizio and i live in Italy.
I'm the owner of a scooter Vespa PX 125 cc( over 100.000 km in Europe) and since 2008 of a Suzuki DR 350 that in 2008 and 2009 i've driven from Italy to Central Asia: Uzbekistan, Kazhakstan, Turkmenistan Khirgyzstan.
In 2010 i've driven a Royal Enfield in India and this summer a Yamaha tXT in South Africa, Namibia and Zambia.

One of my dream is to can drive a motorbike in China: i've visited your country in 2005, Shangai, nanning, Chengdu Lasha and Beijing, but with trains and plane.
Enter in China with the own bike i know that is difficult, but possible. The problem is the too much high cost: in general i know that you've got to buy a kind of "tour", with a chinese guide that follow you with a bike, following a planned route. This is out of my budget.

In 2009 i was at the border between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and i meet 3 french bikers, riding 3 chinese sidecar . They told me that they bought them in China, and after it was possible drive through China, without guide and just using the international licence of driving. At the border with Tajikistan they had'nt any kind of problem with custom. Everything was fine cause they are the owners and the sidecar wehre bought in China. They showed to me sidecar documents written in Chinese and Russian.

It is really possible do this ? For me is really really cheaper buy a fly to China and buy a little bike instead drive my bike from Italy to China: at the arrival in China i must spend money to send back my bike in Italy. For a ride like that i can get 30 day of vacation, not more. One way in 30 day is possible, go and back no.

Thanks for any kind of information or contact

Momi

http://i41.servimg.com/u/f41/13/01/39/46/hpim2310.jpg

I bought a motorcycle in China and left it there since 2007. Till now, I am still riding it around China and not yet get tired about it.

So are you asking can you buy a bike in China and ride it through China and back to Italy in 30 days or Buy a bike in China and just ride around China in 30 days.

By the way Momi in Chinese is cat.Maybe you might try He Momi while in China.

China is a massive country and very mountainous, if you didn't want to take the Enfield out of India or bring your bike into India why do you want to take a bike into or out of China? Most Chinese 250cc singles would easily be able to hold their own with an Enfield, and be more reliable and be as easy to sell.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by damo

By the way Momi in Chinese is cat.

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I thought it was Mao (猫)?

Momi,

Obviously, your idea is to come to China with 30 days of vacation, buy a bike, ride across the country, and then sell the bike and fly home. It's a great idea, however there is one problem. The people you met in 2009 lied to you. It's not OK to drive around China on an international drivers license, what they did was completely illegal, and they were lucky they didn't end up in deep shit.

China doesn't want you here as a motorcyclist, and they could give a shit about your dreams of discovering this beautiful country via motorcycle. You have two choices:

#1 Spend a huge amount of cash with a reputable tour agent.

#2 Do it illegally.

Don't count on much help from people on this site if you want to go with option #2, the subject has been beat to death over and over and over and over again.

Good luck!
ChinaV

Momi read this link:
http://www.mychinamoto.com/forums/sh...rcycle-License

This means you need a license legally. It doesn't mean what you want to do cannot or even shouldn't be done.

Hellò guys: i've travelled in China for one month in 2005 and the last of idea that i want to consider is to do something illegally: i just wrote what they had told to me. I'm here to verify. I don't know if you live in China, or Hong Hong, if you are chinese or foreign people that works in China.
I just know that buy a guided tour is out of my budget.
What i can do is buy a ticket fly to China, buy a little but stron dirty bike and come back in Italy overland.
I subscibed to this forum just to get informations and contacts.
I don't own a Royal Enfield, but a Suzuki DR 350cc: i've rented the Enfield to can travel in India, cause the shipment of my bike was too much expensive.
What i wrote is just what this french bikers told me: that's all ? True, false ? I don't know, for this reason i'm writing on this forum. I'm just searching for a way to can drive through China, without a guided tour : not possible ? It will reamain a dream.
Any further suggestion will be appreciate.

Momi

P.S.
Momi is my nickname. Since i was 3 years old, my little brother ( at the time 1 year old) had difficulty in pronounce MAURIZIO (my name) and so he began to say MOMI and this remain my "name".
Travelling i realized that for a lot people Momi is easier to remember and say than Maurizio:icon10:

Maurizio, with an international driving license you can ride in Hong, Kong and Taiwan, but not mainland China.

French bikers are wrong, an international driving license is not enough, you need a Chinese motorcycle license to ride in China legally. It sucks, but that is the law. However what would happen if you rode without a Chinese driving license? The worst that could happen is that they impound your bike, fine you and put you in a detention center for 7 days. However there is almost 0.1% chance of that happening outside of a very big city like Shanghai. You could bring your Italian Euro license and translate it into Chinese, and bring an International license, as they would be better than nothing and might help.

China is all about money, if you have that then you can pay any 'fine' you might get...usually.

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Originally Posted by ZMC888

Maurizio, with an international driving license you can ride in Hong, Kong and Taiwan, but not mainland China.

French bikers are wrong, an international driving license is not enough, you need a Chinese motorcycle license to ride in China legally. It sucks, but that is the law. However what would happen if you rode without a Chinese driving license? The worst that could happen is that they impound your bike, fine you and put you in a detention center for 7 days. However there is almost 0.1% chance of that happening outside of a very big city like Shanghai. You could bring your Italian Euro license and translate it into Chinese, and bring an International license, as they would be better than nothing and might help.

China is all about money, if you have that then you can pay any 'fine' you might get...usually.

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Ok..this was more or less my idea: you always can find a way..with money: but what can happenend at the border China-Tajikistan ? Or probabily is possible "agree" with border police in the same way ?

I'm sure you can "agree" with the border officers, sometimes, other times you cannot, trying to make an "agreement' has some problems.

To enter China, maybe it's impossible, unless you put the bike in the back of a truck or use a guide company.

Leaving China is probably much easier, your paperwork can't be in order because if you are not a resident in China the bike will not be in your name, and you also won't have a Chinese motorcycle license, but not many people have 100% correct paperwork in China. So you might never be able to leave with the bike......on the other hand it could be easy. Also riding a motorcycle without a license could see you fined/deported/imprisoned, but this is very unlikely.

Dear Momi,

Is your job portable? Or can you take an extended leave?

Here's what you should do:

Sign up for a teaching job in China that gives a visa of six months or more, spend a few months teaching Italian or some other skill that you have, get your license and and a properly plated bike, learn a bunch of Chinese language, meet a bunch of friendly Chinese people, fall in love with a beautiful Chinese girl, eat, drink and be merry (married?), ride with or without pillion to your heart's content.

Then, when love turns sour, pack your panniers and head for Tadjikistan. :dirtbike:

Cheers!

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Originally Posted by euphonius

Dear Momi,
Is your job portable? Or can you take an extended leave?
Here's what you should do:
Sign up for a teaching job in China that gives a visa of six months or more, spend a few months teaching Italian or some other skill that you have, get your license and and a properly plated bike, learn a bunch of Chinese language, meet a bunch of friendly Chinese people, fall in love with a beautiful Chinese girl, eat, drink and be merry (married?), ride with or without pillion to your heart's content.
Then, when love turns sour, pack your panniers and head for Tadjikistan. :dirtbike:
Cheers!

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Now there's an idea. <thumbs up>

hi Momi, and welcome to MCM.

Many of the replies you have had are from foreigners living and working in mainland China, who are motorcycle mad after all the unofficial name of MCM (MyChinaMoto) actually MCM stands for Motorcycle Central Madness. That's us, and you are now included!

OK, the advice you are getting here is on the money, what the French guys told you was incorrect. :bs:

Firstly, 30 days is way too short, but since you have been in China in 2005 I guess you are aware of that. Motorcycles are banned from most (not all) expressways which will slow your journey immensely, though you'd see and experience more the real China off them.

To drive/ride a vehicle on public roads in mainland China, you will usually require a China issued drivers license. There are some exemptions, but they don't apply in your case - nor mine. Getting a drivers/riders license requires you to be in the country on something more than a L visa for 30 days, unless you go through a approved guide who will have the connections required to get you a legal drivers/riders license. You might be able to get it done in some places, but connections is what you'd need.

:eekers:
The international drivers license referred to often is a misnomer as it is actually an International Drivers Permit (IDP), and only becomes valid when used in-conjunction with the drivers license of the country where both were issued. The International Drivers Permit is not a drivers license, and cannot be used on its own. Providing just a IDP without the applicable drivers license, is the same as driving unlicensed in many jurisdiction even those where IDP's are valid.

If you don't get a legal Chinese drivers/riders license, then you will likely find it difficult to have any motorcycle you buy in mainland China, registered in your name, notwithstanding, that in many parts of China you are required to have an official Chinese name in Chinese characters to get a drivers license and legally own anything of value that needs to be approved with some regulatory body.

:deal:
Importing a motorcycle either temporarily or permanently, is doable, but rather complicated and in the case of the latter, rather expensive - I know as I'm importing a new XT1200Z at the moment. If you want to import a motorcycle temporarily then you can do so on a Carnet (like a vehicle passport for temporary import with financial bond posted as collateral) but it's complicated and you will have to hire the services of an officially approved agent or guide in mainland China. No way round that one.

:wheelchair:
You mention you have neither the financial resources nor the time, so it seems that unless you can strike some kind of deal with someone (either privately or a motorcycle dealer) you might like to consider getting a job in China (maybe as a language tutor) or save some more money, or just keep dreaming until the day when China opens more... it's not a question of if, just when.

Another way is to use the services of a motorcycle tour/guiding company like Asia Bike Tours or Adventure Bike Tours or Motorcycle Tours and also check Horizons Unlimited which you said was out of your budget. But I post the links here as other voyeurs might find it useful.

Good luck.
:scooter:

Ok now i know what you want to do.

The license well there are people in Xinjiang that have/are riding in Xinjiang with no license.The rest of China would probably be the same. Wouldn't recommend it but people do it.

Quite a few Japanese riders rode through Ti bet this last season. I'm betting they didn't have a license but then maybe they did.

I heard there are Europeans riding through China and exiting out of Xinjiang some make it with there bikes some don't and have to sell there bikes in Xinjiang but that is only what i was told from some Chinese people who live here.So I can not base it on personal experience.

Can you ride through China and back to Italy in 30 days.That would be one extremely rushed ride.
I think riding across China in 30 days would be doable but rushed you will have to factor in breakdowns Chinese motorcycles are not the most reliable but they can be fixed easily.

You can not ride a motorcycle even if you have a Chinese motorcycle license on the toll roads/highways you will have to ride on the back roads.Your average speed will be low.

Navigating will be difficult well in Xinjiang it will be.No road signs in English here.Correct maps are hard to find Google maps are basic at best many many roads missing.But you have done many adventure rides so you should be OK.

I would think your best option would be to fly China and buy a bike and ride to Kashgar sell it and fly home.Not that I am recommending riding illegally but it can be done just depends how bad you want to do this trip.

I would recommend not stopping at Urumqi and continuing further on to Kashgar the scenery is just incredible.Big mountains big deserts.Nothing like you will see in the rest of China.

Drop in and see me if you make it.That's if I'm still here.I am presently living in Xinjiang.

As for the name Momi a cat chose to live with us and I would just call it cat my wife got fed up with me calling it cat and named it momi she told me it was Chinese for cat.I probably didn't get the full translation right.

Hell no.
No need to change your name.

This might help http://advrider.com/forums/showthrea...light=xinjiang

I am not saying they all work out this way.

http://www.adventurebiketours.co.uk/china.htm
Seems these guys managed to do something

I worry though. The problem being that if you pay a company, they pay the Chinese g'ment lots to allow the bikes through. Then the g'ment get used to that income and never want to allow bikes to legally enter independently.