A bit about me ...

Hi Folks

Its great to have joined a community of bikers in China. Just a bit about me:

I'm a South African, living in Chongqing (China's bike heaven I'm told), with my wife, and been here since August 2007. I've lived in a couple of other interesting places, Ulaanbaatar, Vilnius, Cali, Bath, Francistown, Durban, Howick and I started life in Mombasa. :blink:

I have a bike history: Started on a Yamaha 175 back in '75, I soon seized it and realised 2 strokes were not for me, then a Honda XL 250 Motorsport, Honda 400 Supersport, Honda 750 F1, Honda XL 175, then a couple of years break, then a Suzuki GS750, then another Honda 750. Nothing since 1990! Its difficult owning a bike when you're a nomad. My favourite was the 750 F1 :clap:, although I also loved the XL 250. :thumbup:

I've been really disappointed that I won't be able to get anything bigger than a 250 here in CQ, and that freeways are off limits to bikes. I would have thought that the Mayor and his team would have been a bit more supportive of the bike industry here. :angry:

I'm hoping to do a bit of off-roading and exploring around CQ and maybe down the 3 gorges, together with my wife, so I hope a 250 will be up to it. I weigh in at about 110Kgs without any gear. Because we have so much rain I was thinking of getting a 250 scooter, in the hope of keeping my feet dry :biggrin:. Got to wear a tie into work everyday.

Hi Chinggis,
This isn't only a bike community for people in China, but more of a place where riders of Chinese made motorcycles from all over the world can meet and exchange their ideas and experiences.

You can always look at the JH600 or the JH600 with sidecar.

Lots of Chinese factories also make a copy of the XL 185. Enjoy the site and welcome!

Hi Supersignet

Although I haven't managed to get to any dealers yet, I've been told that the authorities (police?) will only licence bikes 250cc and smaller. Who makes the JH600? Even though I live in CQ I really know very little about the bikes in China. I'm looking forward to getting my first set of Chinese wheels. I've asked the wife about a sidecar but she declined.:biggrin: I don't know if a sidecar would suit me exploring around CQ anyway.

Have a look around the site. You'll probably be able to find the information you've been looking for.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chinggis101

Hi Supersignet

Although I haven't managed to get to any dealers yet, I've been told that the authorities (police?) will only licence bikes 250cc and smaller. Who makes the JH600? Even though I live in CQ I really know very little about the bikes in China. I'm looking forward to getting my first set of Chinese wheels. I've asked the wife about a sidecar but she declined.:biggrin: I don't know if a sidecar would suit me exploring around CQ anyway.

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JH600 is made by Jialing in CQ. You can contact Crazy Carl to get the factory contact. I will be there tomorrow late afternoon. I may be able to help you with translation, if required. Carl also has my China mobile.

Chinggis,

The JH600 should be suitable for your touring just about anywhere. It's a matter of getting on and actually riding...it should have plenty of power for both you and your wife.

Let me know if you want to meet up with or contact Franki. He's a proper stand up dude.

Franki,

Good luck on your ride this week! The weather here has been excellent for riding the past few days and the roads up to JZG are perfect for the JH600.

CC

Franki and CC

Thanks very much for offering to help me connect with the factory and the info about the bike. Unfortunately I won't be able to get there at the moment.

It does sound like the bike I'm looking for, I hope the Chongqing authorities will licence it.

I decided to have a stroll down memory lane today and had a look at couple of old Hondas, especially the CB 750 F1 and the XL 250 Motorsport. Well
apart from the fact that they look dated now, I see that they are considered 'classics'. I realised that I really am an 'old fart'. A grumpy one at that.:biggrin:

Love those strolls but for now you got a new experience coming around the corner...600cc's of "What have we here?"

Ride whatever bike you can: It makes more lanes for later strolling!

:clap:
CC

You sure have a wise head on those young shoulders.:biggrin:

There's nothing a person needs to know that the ancients couldn't tell you.

It's all big circles and we are stuck a line! :blink:

CC

So how come you went from Big bikes to small bikes? Did you go back to the end of the line or do the ancients believe you get a better view of life going slower?

I went from big bikes to small bikes largely because I saw other people doing it and not complaining about it. Not only were they not complaining, but were happy to have the freedom and opportunity to independently travel at all. If it's possible for so many people - really a majority of the world's riders - then why not me?

Then the question is: Which ultimately places the greatest limitations on your experience? You or the machine?

CC

I've been spoilt. Far to spoilt. Having the freedom to travel is a wonderful thing, which is why I'm wanting 2 wheels again. But its the grunt, gotta have some grunt.

Well there's all kinds of considerations to make when getting a vehicle. These small engines work well for travel in China where the people tend to be smaller and lighter as well as have bad roads which makes high speed travel unnecessary and dangerous.

Grunt is good too and while 600cc is big by current Chinese standards, it's really not so big as to be extremely fuel inefficient. My personal gripe with larger bikes on bad roads is the extra weight and size. Picking up 150kg fully loaded 150cc in the mud is bad enough but I can't (and don't want to) imagine lifting over 200kg's of bike in mud or water riding solo! :blink:

The experience you'll have discovering China's country-side by moto will entirely change your idea of China and what you're doing here. Have fun on the JH600 but most importantly see some new stuff and take some pics!

CC

CC I think we're talking different things here. I quite agree that picking up a fully loaded 600 will probably break more than the bank, and the camel's back won't need a straw. The question is however, would you/me or whoever be riding a fully loaded 600 in places where its likely to fall over.

A smaller, lighter 200 is much better for doing the kind of bush trail where falling over/off, sliding down slopes, getting stuck in soft sand is part of the fun of the trail.

I certainly don't see myself doing that kind of trail on the 600, well not at this stage anyway. I'm already getting ahead of myself and thinking about a trip up to Ulaanbaatar, Lhasa, or Urumqi in a year or two. The question is, would I survive with my spine intact on anything less than a 600 and what's the likelihood of me riding over 'falling off' terrain going to those destinations.

Falling over only has a little to do with the places and more to do with the rider. A complete idiot on a perfectly good road can still fall over right? Good roads does not equal an accident free ride.

As far as the road conditions go in the places you've mentioned, They get better every year but yes many of the roads in Western China are "fall-off able" roads if you don't have some extreme weather riding experience and know how to navigate long stretches of trails or destroyed road surfaces.
The mountain passes out here average between 4300 and 4700m/asl. There are many passes and most of the roads are broken as you approach the tops, esp on passes with steep switchbacks. The weather at altitude can be anything at anytime, regardless of what the valleys look like.

Franki got caught on a 4,300m pass in a snow storm just west of Chengdu one time on the JH600. You might want to ask him what happened.

I think you're right, we are talking about different things. :biggrin:

CC

Franki is a very experienced rider in China and he travels long distance on tarmac roads mostly therefore a 600cc is plainly justified for him.

You live in SW China so the grasslands and the mountains will be certainly your primary playing fields, you want to ride the dirt and muddy roads, you have no or little experience riding in China, a light bike is a preferable choice. After one year you can always resell it.

I have a 400 Yamaha XJR and this is just useless here, few roads to enjoy it and speed is reduced because of the many hazards.

I feel it is somewhat unfair that you tease me with tales of high adventure in SW China. OK, seriously, I'd be the first to admit several things, I haven't done much off-road stuff on 2 wheels for a looong time, so the likelihood of falling off on a dirt road is much greater in my case than most of you lot. I also have little to absolutely no idea what its like riding outside the city, off the beaten track. That pleasure awaits me. But unlike Franki I'm not going to be riding all over China for long distances, especially over mountain passes, at this stage anyway.

I am genetically predisposed to learning by the 'bump your head method' so it is likely that there will be the odd 'falling over' experience in my learning curve. However over the years I've started to learn that I'm not indestructible and will tend towards caution until I feel comfortable with a) the bike and b) the road/track/surface.

Anyway, thanks for all the input.

Learning the hard way is probably how most of us on here do it. Not trying to be discouraging, just the opposite actually.

I'm sure you'll choose the ride most suitable for your interests and find the happy medium. The most important thing is to get out and do it...and take pictures! :clap:

CC

P.S. - Did I mention take pictures? :biggrin:

Hi there folks

I've been offline since July, sorry to have been away for so long. I've been kind of disillusioned about not being able to own a JH600 as a foreigner, and I don't have the energy or time to learn 1500 questions to get a bike licence.

The good news :thumbsup: is that I think I'm still going to be able to get a set of wheels, albeit an electric scooter, which I understand I don't need a licence to ride. It's not a JH600 but at least it's better than walking :riding:.

I have some pics and will do a thread on a quad I rode in South Africa in July:thumbsup: and the dealership that was very helpful and lent me the bike. However that will have to wait until I return to China after New Year.

Chinggis, I don't really understand you on two counts.

First is: why do you think getting a license will be hard or even necessary?
While I except that you should really have a license, some Chinese cops consider a western license to be fine. If you have protective clothing, insurance and the bike is legally registered what harm may really come to you? Also I know a few people that have done a Chinese license and were given all the answers to the questions! As well as this Chinese road law is just based on western road rules so you should be able to answer any translated question anyway.

Second is: Why do you feel you need a 600 single?

All the proper roads I ride on in China a 250 4 cylinder bike would be the quickest. (such as a Ninja 250 which isn't legally available) Because it's fast and light. People need to get away from the idea that bigger is better somehow, it's just plain wrong. It's power to weight ratios that matter. A 250cc four cylinder bike will run circles around any 600cc single. It used to drive me nuts when I'd hear about a motorcycle club that wouldn't allow bikes smaller than 500cc because they 'couldn't run with the pack' but what if you wanted to join with a 400 4 cylinder? And lots of people in the club had 500 singles?:confused1:

Plus you can flick as Ninja 250 around and get out the way of idiots.

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r...nja-250R-1.jpg

Except when reality kicks in and the road turns into a mud-festival because the locals have decided it's time to rebuild the road, or you are in Smallsville western China and there is no other way to ride than through some kinda lunar landscape, when a 150-250cc single with knobbly tires is the best bike. If you can't drag it out of a hole with your body weight then it's just the plain wrong bike! Watch 'long way round' and ask yourself how you would be able to do the muddy bits without other riders in your group or a support crew?

http://www.bikez.com/pictures/suzuki...-%20Suzuki.jpg

I used to ride bigger bikes in countries that had ''bigger'' roads.

Chingis,

Good to hear from you again as it's been a while! I've heard it's a little difficult to get licenses in ChongQing but it should be possible if you twist enough arms. Have you tried?

CC

Getting a licence is and isn't an issue.

The official route, starting with no Chinese driving licence involves having a medical and then writing a multiple choice test of 100 questions drawn from 1500 questions. Reading through some of the questions I'd say:
- some are basic, logical, common sense questions, easy to answer,
- some are confusing because the words used in the English translation aren't clear, eg. pass can mean go,
- some questions have two answers that are both correct, but only one is recognised as correct,
- the answers to some questions are just plain wrong,
- and the answers to some questions are just plain gibberish. :deal:

So, getting a licence isn't a problem if one is willing to learn all 1500 questions by rote, which may or may not take some time. I have no desire nor do I have the time or energy to learn 1500 questions like a parrot in order to get a licence. I've had a bike licence since 1975, and I have owned three 750s, a 400, a 250 and two 175s I'm just not going to do it.

I'd really rather not go the bribery route, period. I was offered the chance last year but declined. Aside from my personal view there was a crackdown in Chongqing earlier this year with staff at the licencing bureau being fired and cameras being installed in the testing rooms etc. so this door isn't really open anyway.

I've read many accounts of unlicenced riders in China and seriously considered this option. However I prefer to keep things above board and would rather not have the stress of worrying about being stopped and caught without a licence in some isolated village far from help. :sad:

So for the moment I have bought an electric scooter which gets me to work and back and for which I don't need a licence and the vehicle doesn't need to be registered or licenced. :scooter:

I am currently exploring the option of having my South African licence converted into a Chinese licence, via my international driver's licence. If all else fails I might just be learning those 1500 questions! :deal:

In the event that I am successful I'm hoping to get a V3 or a Shineray 250. There was a rather nice looking silver Shineray 250 (more adventure bike than enduro) on display at Chongqing airport last week but I don't know remember exactly what it was.:riding:

ZMC I've settled on the idea of getting 250, although I'd prefer the JH600. Why do I want a 600? Well, I guess its a matter of taste, I'd prefer the 600. Still after my electric scooter I'd even settle for a 150. Actually I am hoping to explore some of the countryside outside Chongqing, going as far as Chengdu or even further so I'd prefer a bigger engined bike.:clap::clap::clap:

ZMC I used to own a Honda CB 400 Four and it was really smooth. However I'm not sure a multi-cylinder 250 would be in the same class as the 400. You can bet your bottom dollar if I had an illegal 400 the police would stop me sooner or later. In Chongqing 250 is the largest bike you can licence.

The JH600 isn't perfect, one cylinder and all, but I'd prefer one to a 250. However its not an option for me in CQ so I'd happily settle for a 250. As I said there was a really nice looking Shineray 250 in CQ airport but I don't know the model name. As I remember it, it looked a bit like an adventure bike but I need to find out more.

Chinggis you should really consider transferring your home license to a Chinese license.

I know you feel that you have 'earned your stripes' long ago and that with many years of successful riding, and having passed your test long long ago...you've probably taught many people to ride, and are possibly are an advanced level rider.

I felt this same annoyance with being forced to do the test, and rode for six years with only my European license. When anyone suggested I get a Chinese license I'd laugh. I would say, "most Chinese people can't ride and also don't look where they are going! I have a license which is legal from Finland to Portugal, from Scotland to Poland, why the hell do I have to prove myself to these idiots?"

Remember that...

1. You are TRANSFERRING you license, not having a Chinese complete test.
2. It will take about 4-8 hours study to pass the multiple choice, questions are here: http://www.shekouonline.com/drivingtest.html
3. Health check is really only an eye test.
4. They will give you the final license for free.
5. They will probably be friendly, and want you to have a license.

Yes there is a pool of around 1500 questions. Really there are a few nonsense questions but once you get a handle on the English there is actually some sense to 98% of the questions, and you do actually gain an understanding that Chinese road law kind of makes sense, and it's just Chinese people who can't mostly follow the rules which causes the problem, it is worth the annoyance.

Please don't be so stubborn, go get the Chinese license and get a bike!

:riding::riding::riding::riding::riding::riding:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chinggis101

ZMC I used to own a Honda CB 400 Four and it was really smooth. However I'm not sure a multi-cylinder 250 would be in the same class as the 400. You can bet your bottom dollar if I had an illegal 400 the police would stop me sooner or later. In Chongqing 250 is the largest bike you can licence.

The JH600 isn't perfect, one cylinder and all, but I'd prefer one to a 250. However its not an option for me in CQ so I'd happily settle for a 250. As I said there was a really nice looking Shineray 250 in CQ airport but I don't know the model name. As I remember it, it looked a bit like an adventure bike but I need to find out more.

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I have seen some Honda CB400's up here in Xinjiang(there are quite a few Japanese bikes up here KTM's as well) illegal of course but they have plates and no one really cares about them I guess that is until you have a accident.