Is it possible for a tourist to buy/rent a bike in Yunnan?

Hi!

I've been doing reading and searching on this forum and other sites and it seems like most of the information here is geared towards people that live in China. I was hoping to come to China (on April 11th, 2013 I am flying to Kunming), buy/rent a bike and ride around Yunnan for 2 months with my girlfriend. However it seems like to get a motorcycle license I need to be a resident of China and I won't be allowed to get the license with a tourist visa. Also, to register plates I need an address in China which I currently don't have.

Some thoughts:
- When I call places like ridechina.com and ask them if I can rent a motorcycle for 6 weeks they tell me it's no problem even without a motorcycle license. Why is it easier to arrange through a company like this rather than just buy a bike (maybe secondhand) and do it all myself? I don't really understand how this is possible.
- My girlfriend is with me and is a Chinese citizen. Can this help me?
- Is renting a motorcycle easier?
- Maybe Kunming isn't the best city for buying/registering/getting my license. Somebody here said that Lijiang is an easy and cheap place to register.

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

Bike Rental in Yunnan

China Motorbike Tour & Rental Agency

Thanks!

The first link is useful for renting/biking in Kunming although I'm not sure as a tourist if I can do it legally or not.

The second link I have already gone through that entire list of motorcycle rental places in China and e-mailed the ones that seemed promising. Ridechina.com told me it would be cheaper for me to get my girlfriend to buy the motorbike and for me to just hope I don't get in an accident and to "sneak away and be nice" to traffic police. I realize that riding illegally is heavily frowned upon on these forums and I also don't want to have to worry about it which is why I'm wondering if it's even possible or not for me to ride legal as a tourist and not a resident.

(errant post)