XJR1200, Hayabusa 1300, Ducati 1000S, Ducati 900SS, V-Max 1200

This is a general warning for anyone who might be considering buying or tempted to buy a bigger than average motorcycle in mainland China.

There are a number of recent ads I have seen all over the place, especially in English language websites that target foreign readers in PRC, which are advertising secondhand/used big bore bikes for sale in Shanghai and Beijing.

These bikes are very tempting and can be a trap for the uninitiated and any noobies.

I have contacted the respective owners or advertisers of such bikes being offered and all of them so far have very questionable histories and most of them sound likely to have copied identities at best or completely fake plates at worst... so be careful as very tempting treats abound...
e.g. a 2008 Ducati 1000S is for sale from a foreigner in SH which sounds as though it has copied identity of a legal bike in Jiangsu or a fabricated identity. A 1996 Ducati 900SS & 1996 1200 V-Max from a SH guy with Hebei plates that are in a Chinese name (caution), seller has failed to answer direct questions on when the inspections were last done/next due nor can't remember the exact details of what the road user license certificates say ie. brand, model and cc rating... the motorbikes also come without green books (motor vehicle licensing registration). That's a dead give-away right there.

All vehicles which are licensed legally in China come with a green book and a blue wallet, which contain details of the vehicle i.e. make, model, weight, cc rating, number of passengers, year of manufacture/registration and so on.

A couple of others advertising used motorbikes from BJ, at least one was up front and said his bike 2004 Suzuki Hayabusa GSX1300 has no documents, while the other selling a 2002 Yamaha XJR1200 is full of BS saying that motorbikes greater than 250cc can't get BJ plates. That is complete BS!!!!

A riding friend just went to the local Traffic PSB to have his 2 year old HD sportster reinspected. Only problem was that his front license plate was not attached, however his bike was licensed like that in the beginning from the same dept/office and his license plate has '888' (legal plate not the fake HK plates that one can buy at the motorcycle markets in SH/HZ. One call to the traffic PSB boss by the guys doing the inspection and they were told by the boss -it's no problem. My friend duly received the new inspection certificate.

Just be warned... anyone tempted by large bore bikes, need to know what they are and possibly not buying when considering buying a >250cc motorbike in mainland China, especially used. One of the few domestic motorbikes >250cc is the Jialing JH600 (600cc) which has many threads on this and other websites, so if any readers are looking for a reasonably priced mid sized bike that can be licensed legally in PRC then you might like to consider it.