2nd hand motobike Benelli BN 600

Hy there,

i have a little question regarding a second hand buy of a Benelli BN 600.
the current owner (foreigner) never had a licence plate ( too expensive) allthough the bike is legal and he bought it 6 month ago here in Sha.
all paperwork incl fapiao etc comes with the bike he promises

OK, so far the bike is fine- i like it

i live in sha but i will go to Chongqing for work next spring and definately want to get a legal licence plate incl. insurance there. (here i just want to ...)

can you advice me which kind of paperwork i need to get it legal on my name please- i asked 3 ppl but as always in china no clear answer.
i beleave the papers are ok but i'm sure we need to do some hand over contract etc confirmed by a lawer?

thanks, george

(can hardly sleep so nervous i am :icon10: )

You need to get the fapiao issued in your name and as I undersstand it the invoice should have your name in Chinese. I'd say a safe bet would be to have your foreign name as it appear in your passport with your chosen Chinese name beside it. The thing is the seller will most likely have the fapiao in his name which won't do for you. You also don't need to go to a Lawyer to validate the sale as such. The reissuing of the sales fapiao will suffice since whoever's name appears on that will be the "registered" owner once the PSB Traffic Management Bureau issues the bikes identification/license documents etc. The main thing is since the first owner has not plated the bike it makes things a little mory awkward. Also TIC and every jurisdiction has differing bylaws/rules or even interpreatation of national rules/laws - meaning one size doesn't fit all.

Look for a MCM member Gorka, who recently purchased a used/second hand 650NK from a young Brazilian guy based in SH who also had not plated the bike due to a few oversites including the cost of SH bike plates being a factor. Gorka travelled from Tianjin (linky) to view the bike in SH, and then shipped it back to Tianjin. He also had to have a new fapiao issued in his name, so Gorkas can likely point you in the right direction to Jeff's motorcycle shop in SH to get some help with this.

Once you have the fapiao in your name (including Chinese name) it should be a simple matter (TIC - misnomer - nothings simple), to take your new-to-you bike and get a plate. The thing is though, if you plate it the question becomes, do you plate in SH first (availability and pricing issues) or do so in Chongqing? If you want to do the latter, then you are kind of stuck since you need to have a registered residence in the place/locale where you want to plate a vehicle. That means you'd need to get something sorted to "show" you are a resident in Chongqing. You also need to physically present the bike to the PSB Traffic Management Bureau for plating purposes etc. You also need to ascertain if an out of town bike can be plated in Chongqing (though you're likely to get different answers on any given day - TIC!). It seems to me you have a few choices to make.

You might also want to do some research/reading on the BJ600/BN600/QJ600 since there have been a few little issues... just sayin.

China does not make it easy to move legal bikes from one jurisdiction to another. Cities tend to have their own unique set of rules, including some cities that simply refuse to allow used bikes from other cities to be registered. Every place is different.

I am not sure about Chongqing, but you probably want to start by talking with Chongqing's authorities (which will probably be a frustrating task). Ask them what is required. Then see if you can get that done in Shanghai.

As one example, Beijing (which is a relatively liberal city with respect to motorcycles) will not allow a "used" bike to come in from another jurisdiction if the bike was never registered/plated in the originating city. Carrying on with this example, if you wanted to move it to Beijing, you'd first need to get all the paperwork in order (plates, insurance, etc) in Shanghai. It wouldn't matter who the original owner was (i.e., the name on the original fapiao), but it would have to be transferred into your name (the large Green Book) before shipping it to Beijing. I don't know how Shanghai works, but in Beijing you must plate a bike when it is new (sold in Beijing with a Beijing fapiao) - if you don't, and the bike becomes "used", it cannot be plated. Perhaps Shanghai is the same, and now that the bike is used it is ineligible for Shanghai plates.

Perhaps your best solution would be to buy one in Chongqing, already plated in Chongqing. And if you want it now, at least you'd be riding a legal bike inside Shanghai, albeit it would be an out-of-province bike (probably a risk of fines - but the bike is legal & insured).

Where I am the police won't plate an old bike or change the name because they can't be bothered unless there's a kickback or you have guanxi.

thanks guys for the input.
china is really terrible with this regulations and absolutly confusing.
i don't think there's a problem with the fapiao but i doubt CQ authorities will issue the plate for used moto....allthough is a virgin and basically new (one year when i go there next Jan).
i will try to check weather i can get the fapiao with my name....
thanks meanwhile, i keep you posted

As LJH has advised, you need to inquire with Chongqing and/or Shanghai vehicle management bureau to understand what's possible. It would be best to do this in person, and with the bike's current paperwork in your possession, which will require cooperation from the current owner, not to mention the expense of travel to Chongqing. Unless you're getting a super killer deal on this bike, it would seem to be hardly worth the trouble. Why not just buy a new one once you get to Chongqing, and save yourself a world of pain?

Once in Chongqing, you might decide you'd be better off with a dual sport than a sport bike, given the (relative) proximity to some of the best mountain riding in China!

cheers!
euphonius