Hi! Riding school in China
hi,
Been living in China for several years, been riding on an e-bike for quite some time.
Have long wanted to get a motorbike in China but face the following difficultiy:
Don't have a drivers licence in my own country (for car or motorbike).
I've found a school in HongQiao district (http://www.shjtpx.com/)
that apparently offers both the lessons, practical driving experience and the examinations. If not ok to post links mods feel free to delete (i'm not advertising).
A few questions if i can:
Is it possible to just get an E licence without the car licence? I.e don't need a C1E licence.
Can this be done on a temp residence permit which only has 60 days left validity? I will be getting a new residence permit in July however that'll be valid for 6 months.
That's basically all the questions I have. The price for the licence seems quite cheap for just an E licence, 1500rmb (might be added costs I haven't taken into account), so i'm happy about that.
Also apart from that for a beginner bike i was thinking the YBR250. I'm guessing the engine will be of good build quality, but the rest of the bike not so much. I'm open to suggestions about other bikes, but id rather not go above 250cc on my first bike. Also the bike has to be one of the ones that can be legally registered here.
My main concern bike-wise is seat height, don't want to look like a giant on the bike or to be uncomfortably crouched. I'm 6'1 exactly. Some sites say the seat height is 805mm, others 780mm. So i'm not quite sure how heigh the seating is. What would you veterans recommend seat height wise for someone who is 6'1 will longer legs average for torso?
Thanks for any advice :) Mods feel free to move this if it is in the wrong section.
Re: Hi! Riding school in China
Quote:
Originally Posted by
apoftelbrau
hi,
Is it possible to just get an E licence without the car licence? I.e don't need a C1E licence.
Might not be possible to get anything as test according to a few people cannot be taken in English at the moment, worth trying, and yes, I had a friend who took the entire MC test in China, not car.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
apoftelbrau
Can this be done on a temp residence permit which only has 60 days left validity? I will be getting a new residence permit in July however that'll be valid for 6 months.
I believe you need 90 days.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
apoftelbrau
Also apart from that for a beginner bike i was thinking the YBR250. I'm guessing the engine will be of good build quality, but the rest of the bike not so much. I'm open to suggestions about other bikes, but id rather not go above 250cc on my first bike. Also the bike has to be one of the ones that can be legally registered here.
YBR250 is a great bike for a beginner. I think they call in YS250 now, but pretty much the same thing. I'm 6ft and the YBR250 wasn't unduly cramped for me.
Re: Hi! Riding school in China
Hi and welcome
If this is going to be your first ever motorised bike (not Inc Ebikes) then I would recommend you start with a little bit smaller then a 250cc this is just my 2 cents
90 days is the min, most province ask for 180 days visa ???
Good luck and keep the forum updated with your progress please
Re: Hi! Riding school in China
Seems odd that a car driving test can be taken in English but not a motorbike exam... i'll ask the school about that. Would take a ton of extra effort to learn the questions themselves and not just the answers. I'm only hsk 4 level. With effort I could pass it even if it is in Chinese. From a google search it appears it is available in English.
The 90 day visa isn't a problem, just means need wait a month. Might as well go in to the school anyway and pay for some exam prep/study materials and just take it slow.
Are there any 250cc legal bikes here that have a higher seat height than the ys250? Specs say 800mm, aren't most bikes very similar in seat height to that despite engine displacement? There's confidence from being able to put my feet flat on the ground, but i dread not just being crouched up on it but looking like a giant on a tiny bike ;)
PS Anyone know of a book/source either online or offline that has the motorbike exam bank of questions? Google isn't helping.
Re: Hi! Riding school in China
Quote:
Are there any 250cc legal bikes here that have a higher seat height than the ys250? Specs say 800mm, aren't most bikes very similar in seat height to that despite engine displacement? There's confidence from being able to put my feet flat on the ground, but i dread not just being crouched up on it but looking like a giant on a tiny bike ;)
PS Anyone know of a book/source either online or offline that has the motorbike exam bank of questions? Google isn't helping.
Hi
If you need a bike with a much higher seat high then you need to look at a dual sports bike which will in it design have a much higher seat.
Try "Drive in China " App https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/driv...486138822?mt=8
Re: Hi! Riding school in China
Quote:
Originally Posted by
apoftelbrau
Seems odd that a car driving test can be taken in English but not a motorbike exam... i'll ask the school about that. Would take a ton of extra effort to learn the questions themselves and not just the answers. I'm only hsk 4 level. With effort I could pass it even if it is in Chinese. From a google search it appears it is available in English.
The 90 day visa isn't a problem, just means need wait a month. Might as well go in to the school anyway and pay for some exam prep/study materials and just take it slow.
Are there any 250cc legal bikes here that have a higher seat height than the ys250? Specs say 800mm, aren't most bikes very similar in seat height to that despite engine displacement? There's confidence from being able to put my feet flat on the ground, but i dread not just being crouched up on it but looking like a giant on a tiny bike ;)
PS Anyone know of a book/source either online or offline that has the motorbike exam bank of questions? Google isn't helping.
Ive been to that school, you'll need a proper resident permit that is given to you in shanghai, it's the one where they put it in your passport. If you hold a student visa or work visa then you can get one or any other visa that gives you full residency unlike the tourist or business visas that just get your temporary one.
As I say, I've been to the school and wore that shitty T-shirt, they're the typical idiots who don't know anything and no you can't do the test in English. So if you have the above residency permit and you're good at memorising, get studying. If you don't have the above residency permit then don't waste your time. I spent the majority of 4 hours messing about with health checks to be told I can't do it.
Re: Hi! Riding school in China
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Joshmakesnoise
Ive been to that school, you'll need a proper resident permit that is given to you in shanghai, it's the one where they put it in your passport. If you hold a student visa or work visa then you can get one or any other visa that gives you full residency unlike the tourist or business visas that just get your temporary one.
As I say, I've been to the school and wore that shitty T-shirt, they're the typical idiots who don't know anything and no you can't do the test in English. So if you have the above residency permit and you're good at memorising, get studying. If you don't have the above residency permit then don't waste your time. I spent the majority of 4 hours messing about with health checks to be told I can't do it.
I have the residency permit, it is a residency permit but says temp, just it will expire 31st of June. Is the 90 day rule true?
Shame it can't be done in english, i wonder if other schools allow it to be taken in english or if that is a universal rule for the exam across Shanghai. Thanks for your reply. I'm also wondering if i can get a list of all the questions and answers from them straight away (for a small fee) so that i can start studying up.
As far as bike choice, the XTZ125 does indeed have a much higher seat. Thing is, isn't a bit odd to be riding a dual sport bike in Shanghai? There's no off road here. Apart from commuting around shanghai on the bike, i'd like the occasional long distance trip out of Shanghai. Way out of my field of knowledge, but can a custom seat be put on the ys250 to add a couple inches to the seating height?
2 Attachment(s)
Re: Hi! Riding school in China
Quote:
Apart from commuting around shanghai on the bike, i'd like the occasional long distance trip out of Shanghai.
Then you need a dual sports bike you will encounter some very bad roads when you leave SH trust me .
Now the seat if you need more high then why not just have the seat recovered like in the picture
Attachment 17123
Attachment 17124
Re: Hi! Riding school in China
Quote:
Originally Posted by
prince666
Then you need a dual sports bike you will encounter so very bad roads when you leave SH trust me .
Now the seat if you need more high then why not just have the seat recovered like in the picture
Attachment 17123
Attachment 17124
Great idea.... actually did this for my e-bike. Was fun to watch them shape the foam then you get to select from a large range of different finishing material. On the e-bike i had them replace the front and rear forks which gave me a lot of extra height overall on the bike (can that be done on a moto without messing up the handling/safety of it etc?). 2 extra inches from that would be great (and hopefully not look weird :) )
I'll take a look at the bike over the weekend, im sure i'll be able to sit on it in the store. Last time i went to a bike store i saw a lot of hondas, they were so small that they looked a bit like toys.
I'll keep the thread updated, will visit the school soon and start when i get my new visa next month.
Basically final question for now: what is considered a normal seat height on a sport bike for someone around 6 foot 1? I guess it also depends on where the foot pegs are but a rough estimate would be nice. TY.
Re: Hi! Riding school in China
Quote:
Basically final question for now: what is considered a normal seat height on a sport bike for someone around 6 foot 1? I guess it also depends on where the foot pegs are but a rough estimate would be nice. TY.
I would say for you about 850mm to 900mm
Have a look at the link you can use a make of bike to check riding position and can change the riders details to see what suits you best
http://cycle-ergo.com/
1 Attachment(s)
Re: Hi! Riding school in China
Hi, have done some more research. Apparently the moto exam can be done in English.
First i need to go to a place to get an application form and have a health check. Line 1 in the poster:
Attachment 17131
Then I go to a place called xinzhuang centre to do the computer test. After passing that, go to the riding school to get practice and finally pass the riding exam which takes about 3 months.
Seems quite straight forward. I'm not sure how big the question pool is for the E licence only exam, some say just 100 but i think they are confused about that. Unfortunately i don't have an iphone so hoping to find an android app to help me learn the questions and answers. By far the hardest part will be finding an up-to-date pool of questions for the exam. Have no idea if it is entirely separate from a car exam, or if its a mixture etc.
Are there any 250cc bikes legal here with as above poster mentioned, seat height 850mm to 900mm? The dual sport bike is a bit of a turn off for me personally. Also just because the seat is higher doesn't mean i'll be any less crouched on it. Is it possible to get some kind of foot peg lowering device attached to the YS250?
First time going to the riding school... confusing experience. Lady was asleep at the counter, just pointed to a sign on the wall in photo above, and said something like 'very difficult for foreigner to get a licence, if u don't understand chinese can't pass written exam'. Doesn't put me off, i expected that kind of welcome. Apparently the training isn't done on a real motorbike but some kind of semi-automatic bike which you just press on a pedal to change gear, so once i actually have my bike i'll have to learn how to ride it off the roads in some training area. When i first got my e-bike i just spent a bit of time riding around the basement parking of my complex, very soon i was not just comfortable with it on the streets but upgraded it to be way faster ;)
Just to make sure, i'm not here on a tourist or business visa, my passport gets a 6 month 'temporary residence permit' twice a year stamped in it.
For my own protection, going to mount a camera on the front and rear of the bike. Have been in a low speed crash (less than 10kph) and got raped by the woman for compensation. I honked before passing her several times, plenty of room on the left to pass her, then just as passing she veered left into me, her handle bars hitting mine making us both crash.
Of course, me being a foreigner, she feigned injury, went to hospital etc etc. At the police station she produced more than 2 dozen fapiao's, including in-patient hospital treatment, taxi fares, meals (yep, meals), clothing fa piaos. Time taken off work letter. Not going to rant but she wasn't injured at all, not even a tear in her pantyhose, and she rode her own e-bike to hospital.
The funny thing was (she got 6k from me in the end!) was that she also wanted to sue me for post traumatic stress disorder, and when i told her she's extorting me, she asked the police to make a court case for libel. I was cut in the crash, bloodied jeans, so i asked her to pay for new jeans to which she replied 'i won't unless you have a fapiao for your jeans'. Suffice to say i got no compensation, but learnt that having a camera is essential here. Might not do much legal wise since this is China, but at least they can't outright lie and say the age old 'ta kai tai kuai le!'. The back wheel of my bike ended up 40cm from the front wheel of hers, so i must have been passing her way too fast ;)
One interesting law i learnt from that experience, is that, no matter who caused the crash, the vehicle behind must take 60% responsibility. So i joked with some friends that there must be people out there who purposefully crash their bike every day, knowing that the poor sod behind them has to pay more in damages. It's profitable.
Re: Hi! Riding school in China
Quote:
Originally Posted by
apoftelbrau
Hi, have done some more research. Apparently the moto exam can be done in English.
First i need to go to a place to get an application form and have a health check. Line 1 in the poster:
Attachment 17131
Are there any 250cc bikes legal here with as above poster mentioned, seat height 850mm to 900mm? The dual sport bike is a bit of a turn off for me personally. Also just because the seat is higher doesn't mean i'll be any less crouched on it. Is it possible to get some kind of foot peg lowering device attached to the YS250?
Just add some extra foam to the seat of the YBR to raise yourself up a bit. Or go for a dual sport, they will definitely be more comfortable. Higher seat, longer suspension travel = more leg room.
