China to Spain, May 2012

Attachment 6445Attachment 6447Hello everyone,

my name is Daniel,
I'm preparing a trip from China to Spain riding a Shineray Long March, i will leave Xingjiang to Kazakhstan in the beginning of May. And them Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Greece, Italy, France and, finally, Spain.

I want to ask if someone will leave China to Kazakhstan arround May, or if someone will be riding arround Kazakhstan in this date. I will go alone and I would enjoy to ride, at least a part of the trip, with another riderAttachment 6445Attachment 6446Attachment 6447


Thanks,

Daniel

G'Day,

The French speed jockey might be going a similar route: http://www.mychinamoto.com/forums/sh...UFFIAC-MICKAEL

Hi Daniel,
That's a really ambitious trip you've got planned. I can see you're riding a Shineray bike (with some very cool luggage) in China in one of your pictures, but you list your present location as Spain. Wondering where you are right now and what kind of preparations you've made. Please keep us posted as to the details.

Dear Daniel,

I share Nuhaus's curiosity. Looks like the Shineray has a Guangxi plate.

If you already own the bike and have legal registration, a valid license and a valid visa, you are far, far better prepared for this journey than the other 99% of riders who come to MCM with ideas like this!

Details please!
cheers!

So, were you and Carl separated at birth?

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Originally Posted by david3921

So, were you and Carl separated at birth?

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Hello David,
every laowai in China are the same hehe

Hello Nuhaus, hello euphonius,

The bike has Guangxi plates, 桂 N is from Qinzhou钦州。 Everything is legal. I left Guangxi to Yunnan 2 months ago and I'm now in Guizhou, amazing average of 80/100 Km per day. In China is ok but my preparation for an international travel like this is not good, I have no idea of mechanic maintennance and my english is poor. If i find a partner i will feel safer, i dont want to have a mechanic problem in the middle of Kazakhstan and be eaten by wolves...
The bike is ok for its price, but Attachment 6500i had one problem during the travel, the front suspension started to loss oil. I had to stop travelling few days and they send me a new one from the factory. In this image we can see the suspension lossing oil.

cheers


i want to say too that i think in this forum we can find a lot of useful information and experiences
thanks

Hey, that's my bike. I'll be following you, I'm looking forward to see how the bike fairs outside China. Post your route maybe you'll be passing by someone from MCM to help you out with mechanical stuff. For the local Chinese mechanics, if it's not burning, it's fine. . Knowing the bike, I'd say you'll be having mechanical problems for sure, but nothing that can't be fixed provided you're prepared.

Is it a stock bike from the factory? Good luck man. We're all looking forward to your updates.

Daniel, i rode Central Asia last summer, 4 of the stans (kazak, uzbek, tajik and Kyrgiz). Met a few riders and drivers coming from europe through Iran. If you plan to drive up to Astana i can put you in contact with someone who can do your bike a good check up. I assume you will leave through Kashgahr and into Kyrgiz, not sure if any other borther crossing open for private traveling with vehicle. Check in advance so you do not have to turn around. Central asia is amazing. Kazak main concern is police and bribes. For the rest you should be fine. Watch for traffic though since they drive like crazy. Myself i am as well planning to eventually ride to europe when China is done for me. For the time being i am planning a Beijing - Lhasa to get started..... Safe travel. Santiago.

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Originally Posted by Santi

Daniel, i rode Central Asia last summer, 4 of the stans (kazak, uzbek, tajik and Kyrgiz). Met a few riders and drivers coming from europe through Iran. If you plan to drive up to Astana i can put you in contact with someone who can do your bike a good check up. I assume you will leave through Kashgahr and into Kyrgiz, not sure if any other borther crossing open for private traveling with vehicle. Check in advance so you do not have to turn around. Central asia is amazing. Kazak main concern is police and bribes. For the rest you should be fine. Watch for traffic though since they drive like crazy. Myself i am as well planning to eventually ride to europe when China is done for me. For the time being i am planning a Beijing - Lhasa to get started..... Safe travel. Santiago.

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Dear Santiago,

Now THAT's what I call a brilliant first post -- filled with useful information and offers to help! Welcome to MCM, Santiago. You new to Beijing, and to China? What brings you here? What, if anything, are you riding now?

Did you post any ride reports of your zheigestan/neigestan adventure? Would love to read more about your Central Asian exploits.

Welcome again, and cheers!

Hello Santiago,

Thank you very much for your help an offering me your contact in Astana, I apreciate it a lot. Kazakhstan will be for sure the most complicated part of the travel.

I'm in Guizhou province now, i will be arround here one month, them i will go to Chongqing and send the bike by train to Wulumuqi. My idea is to leave China from ALaShan阿拉山口岸 in Xinjiang to Druzhba, Kazakhstan. Them, i will tell you the names of some cities, go up to Koryk, Aktogay, Akshatau, Nikolskiy, Shalkar, Beyneu. Crossing the centre of the country direction Aktau. Did you pass arround some of those cities? I see most of the trip in kazakhstan will be in very small and non-asphalt roads. My idea is to use the tent and camp at night.
Since you have experience travelling in Kazakhstan, i would like to listen your advices. I guess it wil be vary hard to find petrol stations.
In Aktau there is a ship with an anarchic timetable going to Baku, Azerbaijan. Do you know someone who had token that ferry?

I wish you the best for your trip to Lhasa.
Again, thanks.

Daniel

Hello slabo.
Thanks a lot for your advice.
I guess the problem with the chinese mechanics is similar to the problem with chinese hospitals... if you come in walking by yourself, mei wenti.
I bought the bike from the factory. They sended it to Guangxi.


You have a cool bike.

Keep in touch

Daniel

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Originally Posted by 兼必奥

Hello slabo.
Thanks a lot for your advice.
I guess the problem with the chinese mechanics is similar to the problem with chinese hospitals... if you come in walking by yourself, mei wenti.
I bought the bike from the factory. They sended it to Guangxi.


You have a cool bike.

Keep in touch

Daniel

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Indeed we do have an cool bike, except for the wimpy engine. wow .. they're still making the old dog! I also got mine from the dealer. Alright, can we have more detailed pics of your bike? I want to see if anything changed. How fast can it go on a flat road (measure using GPS because the speedometer is off by 40)?

Other than the leaking shocks, how are you finding the bike so far?

Cool, you have a bike to suit the job, you are legal, you know where you are going and a realistic idea of how long it will take. This is surely an example for other riders, to not name names. Wish you had a better quality bike with over a 400cc engine, on the other hand the cheaper the bike the easier the border crossings will be, no doubt. I look forward to new posts, good luck!:thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by 兼必奥

Hello slabo.
Thanks a lot for your advice.
I guess the problem with the chinese mechanics is similar to the problem with chinese hospitals... if you come in walking by yourself, mei wenti.
I bought the bike from the factory. They sended it to Guangxi.


You have a cool bike.

Keep in touch

Daniel

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Daniel!
Glad you have your new bike :D
I'm looking to buy the same bike and I had no idea they still made those.
Can you please give me your contact for the factory?

Thank you!
Mike

Daniel, my experience in Kazak accounts only for all the southern area. Petrol and cheap boarding was not an issue. I am not familiar with the border crossing you mention but once un Urumqiui i suggest you confirm if it is open. The area of Kazak you mention is desserted and if you plan to take dirt roads you need to be well prepared to navigate. Are planning to take a gps? It was extremely helpful for us once out on e dirt. It seems you could be there during August and then it is HOT. One thing we did struggle with was to find water on a regular basis (specially Tajik) so if you stick to offroad then stock up GAS and WATER. I. A hot summer day we were downing average 3-4liters of water per head so keep that in mind for your stocking if you camp out. Camping should be no issue but i recommmend you go for guesthouses when you can, they are cheap - max max usd10/night- Consider taking the southern route to the Aral Sea instead. Almaty is an amazing city, the area is much more developed than the center of the country. About the boat no clue since we went into Uzbekistan and all the people we met were coming from Iran and Turkmenistan. Let me get in contact with my friends there and ask around about your route. Best. S.

Hi daniel,
Me and my girlfriend are trying to get the same model bike in kunming right now. Our idea is, like you, to drive back to europe as soon as possible. At the moment were having quite some communication problems but we should be fine :) Im just wondering how you have registered the bike, on your own name? I know alot about bike mechanics and would not mind aharing the adventure. Cheers!
Bart

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Originally Posted by bartez88

Hi daniel,
Me and my girlfriend are trying to get the same model bike in kunming right now. Our idea is, like you, to drive back to europe as soon as possible. At the moment were having quite some communication problems but we should be fine :) Im just wondering how you have registered the bike, on your own name? I know alot about bike mechanics and would not mind aharing the adventure. Cheers!
Bart

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Hey Bart!
I just bought the Long March in black with the orange/red gas tank. It looks AMMMMMMAAAAAAAAZING!!! I had to leave it in Dali (which is where I bought it) and paid 11,800 which includes the cost of registering the bike, insurance, and tax.

The reason I left it there is because at the end of the bike registration and licensing process the police, who assured me that my current visa/passport was OK to get the above, but the end my 1 month tourist (L) visa was not ok and I need to go to HK to buy a 6 month business visa. With ANY 3 month visa you can get a drivers license and with any 6 month visa you can register the motorcycle in your name. This is all information I've gathered from my experience, and just to confirm, I don't have my drivers license or motorcycle registration yet! I've done all the paper work and testing for them but the only thing stopping me is my short visa.

:D

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Originally Posted by michaloonie

Hey Bart!
I just bought the Long March in black with the orange/red gas tank. It looks AMMMMMMAAAAAAAAZING!!! I had to leave it in Dali (which is where I bought it) and paid 11,800 which includes the cost of registering the bike, insurance, and tax.

The reason I left it there is because at the end of the bike registration and licensing process the police, who assured me that my current visa/passport was OK to get the above, but the end my 1 month tourist (L) visa was not ok and I need to go to HK to buy a 6 month business visa. With ANY 3 month visa you can get a drivers license and with any 6 month visa you can register the motorcycle in your name. This is all information I've gathered from my experience, and just to confirm, I don't have my drivers license or motorcycle registration yet! I've done all the paper work and testing for them but the only thing stopping me is my short visa.

:D

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For applying for driving license you need to have 90 days left on your visa, that's something else than a 3-months visa!
For registering a bike in your name you need to have 180 days left on your visa, that's something else than a 6-months visa!

On the day you get your 3/6-months visa a few days have already gone by, normally the new visa 90/180 days starts counting from the application date.

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Originally Posted by Barry

For applying for driving license you need to have 90 days left on your visa, that's something else than a 3-months visa!
For registering a bike in your name you need to have 180 days left on your visa, that's something else than a 6-months visa!

On the day you get your 3/6-months visa a few days have already gone by, normally the new visa 90/180 days starts counting from the application date.

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That's strange because the police in Xiaguan ASSURED me that was not the case. They said it is dependent on the length of time your visa originally permitted you to be in China for and not the amount of time left on the visa. I will call them back to reconfirm.

They issued me a car drivers license which I only had to do the computer test for and then when proceeding to apply for my motorcycle license they said OH! You need to wait for one year before applying for your next license in China! So I cancelled the car license and now I'm just going for the motorcycle. I've spent every day for 3 weeks either in one of 3 police/traffic police offices and the motorcycle dealership... EVERY DAY!!

Even for the drivers license I am sure they counted if I still had 90 days left on my visa. A friend of mine just had to postpone getting his drivers license for car because of this rule, he will have to wait till he gets a new 1-year work visa. The "need to wait 1 year before you can do your next driving license" rule is correct indeed.

So it looks like in Xiaguan they only know half of the rules. Seems like you've been already lucky that they even let you apply for a drivers license on a 1-month visa! Maybe you will be lucky registering the bike in your name too over there. They are defenitely not applying the correct rules over there, perhaps the mail pigeon carrying the new rules hasn't reached them yet.

Good luck!

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Originally Posted by Barry

Even for the drivers license I am sure they counted if I still had 90 days left on my visa. A friend of mine just had to postpone getting his drivers license for car because of this rule, he will have to wait till he gets a new 1-year work visa. The "need to wait 1 year before you can do your next driving license" rule is correct indeed.

So it looks like in Xiaguan they only know half of the rules. Seems like you've been already lucky that they even let you apply for a drivers license on a 1-month visa! Maybe you will be lucky registering the bike in your name too over there. They are defenitely not applying the correct rules over there, perhaps the mail pigeon carrying the new rules hasn't reached them yet.

Good luck!

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So if I understand it right, to register a motorbike on your name you need a one year visa. For me that means, like michaloonie, to go to Hong Kong and get one there. Thats quite some fuss for a registration. Does anyone know anything about the other options like registrating the motorbike on some elses name? How does that work out on border crossings? Our main goal is to get to europe on any way, which by my experience is best on a motorbike :) The shineray xy200gy-7 looks perfect for the job! The dealer in kunming offered me one for 14,700 incl registration :S I see in dali its much cheaper, did you have to wait the 2 weeks ordering time?

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Originally Posted by Barry

Even for the drivers license I am sure they counted if I still had 90 days left on my visa. A friend of mine just had to postpone getting his drivers license for car because of this rule, he will have to wait till he gets a new 1-year work visa. The "need to wait 1 year before you can do your next driving license" rule is correct indeed.

So it looks like in Xiaguan they only know half of the rules. Seems like you've been already lucky that they even let you apply for a drivers license on a 1-month visa! Maybe you will be lucky registering the bike in your name too over there. They are defenitely not applying the correct rules over there, perhaps the mail pigeon carrying the new rules hasn't reached them yet.
Good luck!

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Interesting.... I'll look into it further. It's such a frustrating thing to have to deal with.. I have a nice bike waiting for me in a dealership. The police told me I could go ahead and buy the bike because the license and registration would be no problem. I feel sorry for this country.

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Originally Posted by bartez88

.... I see in dali its much cheaper, did you have to wait the 2 weeks ordering time?

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The dealer actually has no idea how long it takes till he gets the bikes - they told me 4 weeks, after a week or so he called me very excited that everything is there.
Do you deal with Mr Li, or Zhao Feng?

There's no point arguing about this stuff guys. Rules are ignored more than followed, this is China! One of my (foreign) friends has a license because he teaches the daughter of a senior Gong An officer. This was only about a year ago in a 3rd tier city! Plead/beg/pay/manipulate for what you can get. The rules may be fully enforced, or they may not be, just depends where you are and who you talk to. Sometimes if you live in BJ/SH it appears that the rules are strict and straightforward as they might be in a western country, but I assure you, this is not really the case.

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Originally Posted by andre555

The dealer actually has no idea how long it takes till he gets the bikes - they told me 4 weeks, after a week or so he called me very excited that everything is there.
Do you deal with Mr Li, or Zhao Feng?

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Looks like im dealing with Zhao Feng (赵峰), any experience with him?

@ZMC888: Your right on that one, but its defenitly nice to know other peoples experiences before jumping into the deep end and buying a motorbike in a country youve never been before.

@michaloonie: Keep us updated, im very curious how it will go. Any idea when ur heading back to dali?

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Originally Posted by bartez88

Looks like im dealing with Zhao Feng (赵峰), any experience with him?...

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He is a lazy bastard - you have to push him hard to get things done, and have some cigarettes handy to keep him going...

For the price of the bike - 14.700 incl registration sounds much too expensive, registration fees and cost (inc Tax) should be less then 2000 + bike at around 8800 - so the Dali pricing is much more realistic. The rest is just foreigner surcharge.
Check with slabo he mentioned somewhere how much he spend 2 years ago registering his GY7 in Kunming / Anning

Btw thats was the way to register in Kunming 2 years ago:
http://www.mychinamoto.com/forums/sh...unming-Yunnan)
Depending on your schedule just DIY

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Originally Posted by bartez88

The shineray xy200gy-7 looks perfect for the job! The dealer in kunming offered me one for 14,700 incl registration

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Insane price for a not so great bike.

Cheers!
ChinaV

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Originally Posted by ChinaV

Insane price for a not so great bike.

Cheers!
ChinaV

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What do you recommend then? I know the price is very high, there must be better deals around. ive been trying to contact the factory as well, but I only got chinese speaking people on the line.

@andre555: how or where can I contact Mr Li? I read the post about DIY registration, very good info, but then you need the 180 days visa or a "friend" where you can register it on his name. I was thinking to put in on the dealers name.

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Originally Posted by bartez88

@andre555: how or where can I contact Mr Li? I read the post about DIY registration, very good info, but then you need the 180 days visa or a "friend" where you can register it on his name. I was thinking to put in on the dealers name.

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One of the numbers is Mr Li:
http://www.mychinamoto.com/forums/sh...ng+li+shineray

He is at the Shineray/Honda shop on the southern end of the shops. They are affiliated with Zhao Feng and his special "Shineray *bling* Stuff" shop, so you need to trick them to restart the discussion.