Buying a motorcycle and traveling China on a temporary visa
Hi,
I am planning to make a motorcycle trip in China and from China back to Europe in the first half of 2018, with my wife on two small motorocycles. We are from The Netherlands and will have a 3-month visum for China. Global plan as of now is:
- Fly to Beijing and get a temporary divers license (I understand on the airport I should be able to get one within a couple of hours, I presume it is possible in other places as well, but there it might take much longer).
- Take the train to somewhere in the south-east part of China.
- Buy two small motororcycles there, preferable new and with a European type approval, so I can register and keep on using them when back home (e.g. YBR125, I am familiar with that one). But otherwise a cheaper or secondhand bike that I will scrap in the end might do as well.
- Get the license and insurance for the motorcycle. I do understand that getting license plates in my own name will be impossible with a 3 month visum. I am thinking of a formal rental agreement, with the rental fee covering the purchase and other costs of the bikes, to circumvent that issue.
- Drive through the south, mid-west and north-west of China, towards the border of Kazachstan, skipping the city centers, and from there back to Europe.
Could anyone of you recommend me a Yamaha dealer or other motocycle shop somewhere in the south-east of China that could help me with this? Since I don't speak Chinese myself it would be helpfull if someone at the shop would speak English of course.
Thanks!
Gijsbert
1 Attachment(s)
Re: Buying a motorcycle and traveling China on a temporary visa
Hi and welcome to MCM
Now I could be wrong on this point but I am sure the Netherlands has a special deal with China as regards to Chinese Driving license?
To the point that you don't need to take the 100 multi choices computer question test.
I am sure I have seen a post on MCM about this but not 100% sure.
If I am wrong then yes you can obtain one at either Beijing or Shanghai Airport.
Make sure you get either C1E or C1D.
The bike.
Attachment 19652
You can view more pictures of the bike from this RR ..... link .....http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-f...o-Hainan-China
Good choices, Yamaha YBR 125cc but try and get the YBR 125 KG model? has a bit more off-road orientated.
Not sure if it still made, but should cost about 12.000 RMB or less.
Because you say the "Southeast China" then let's say you will fly into Shanghai.
That's the problem? you need now to go way outside Shanghai to buy a Motorbike.
Now if you have found a shop that sells the bike you need and you are hoping that someone in the shop will speak English? stop turn round and get back on the plane.
You need help on this matter, without a translator, you will find sorting out stuff very very hard OK.
To make things easy and simple you need to register and have insurance in someone who lives here in China or you could get the shop to put it in his name?
That said you will need a letter from the owner to allow you to take the Motorbike out of China.
Next problem...... getting the bike out of China "could" be a problem if you don't have an ATA Carnet?
If you do get a Chinese ATA and you leave the deposit required which could be 300% of the bikes cost? (36.000 RMB) then this money will be forfeited if the bikes do not return to China.
But my advice would be to not get an ATA and try your luck at the border, and just insist you are allowed to leave China on the bike but you understand you can't return with the bike.
I have only left China on a Chinese Bike 10 times now, 9 times was at the Chinese/Laos border, very easy no ATA needed.
The other time was at a Russia/Chinese border very hard and needed an ATA to get back in?.
Back in was way off Kazakhstan/China (Khorgas Port.)
I think I have covered most points if you need some more advice just post.
It will be interesting to hear how you get on so please keep us all here on MCM posted.
Good luck and wish you well.
Re: Buying a motorcycle and traveling China on a temporary visa
Hi Steve,
Thanks for your reply! Very helpful!
As for the details:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
prince666
Now I could be wrong on this point but I am sure the Netherlands has a special deal with China as regards to Chinese Driving license?
I am afraid the lucky people involved are the Belgiums, our southern neighbours (wondering why they got that special treatment, is it their driving habits, being somehwat similar to the Chinese ;-) or just an influential ambassador? They also got their Panda bears long before we did ;-). With a 3 month visa I will only be entitled to a temporary driving license, I understood you don't need the exam for that, just the load of forms to be filled in.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
prince666
Because you say the "Southeast China" then let's say you will fly into Shanghai.
That's the problem? you need now to go way outside Shanghai to buy a Motorbike.
I was aiming to start somewhere in a smaller town in the Guangzhou / Nanning area, outside the big cities banning motorcycles, but in a place big enough to have a decent motorcycle shop. Is there any specific place to recommend? Perhaps on Hainan Island, with its focus on tourism?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
prince666
Now if you have found a shop that sells the bike you need and you are hoping that someone in the shop will speak English? stop turn round and get back on the plane.
That's a clear advise! I will start looking for someone that can act as a translator in that area first (I will need that anyway) and find a shop through him/her. Would be nice if the translator had a link with motorcycling. Any specific suggestions?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
prince666
Next problem...... getting the bike out of China "could" be a problem if you don't have an ATA Carnet?
From what I learned elsewhere I should not need a carnet when leaving for Kazachstan. I don't intend to return the bike to China. Anyone with other experiences?
I sure will update the forum on new findings and developments.
Thanks again,
Gijsbert
Re: Buying a motorcycle and traveling China on a temporary visa
Quote:
I am afraid the lucky people involved are the Belgiums, our southern neighbours (wondering why they got that special treatment, is it their driving habits, being somehwat similar to the Chinese ;-) or just an influential ambassador? They also got their Panda bears long before we did ;-). With a 3 month visa I will only be entitled to a temporary driving license, I understood you don't need the exam for that, just the load of forms to be filled in.
Sorry, my mistake lol but I was close heh heh.
Yes you are correct no need to take the 100 question test when you apply for a temporary driving license in China
Link.....http://motorhome-china.com/report_dl.html (Beijing Airport)
Strange you mentioned Hainan? because of that's the place I purchased the YBR in the picture.
From a Dealer in Wuzhishan which is just north of Sanya.
The dealer was ok to work with have details if you need them.
Also, Hainan great place to start your trip has some of the best ridings in all of China is found on Hainan, and easy to get on/off by ferry.
Most towns/citys if not a banned one have a great selection of bike shops, the hard part is finding a shop owner/work person who has some English skills.
ATA Carnet was not to get you into another country but just to get your Chinese plated bike OUT of China.
Things work a bit strange here in China.
Quote:
That's a clear advise!
Sorry about that I was a bit to the point, but take my word for it, this will be your biggest challenge (very few people speak English)
Just look at a normal single day and take.
1. Food
2. Bank (ATM)
3. Petrol
4. Hotel
5. Directions
6. Police Check Points
Let's look at each point and see why you could have problems.
1. Not many restaurants have English menus and some don't even have pictures.
What is this I am eating could it be Dog, Snake?
2. So you have an ATM credit card, sounds simple, but it's not because not every Bank ATM will accept western Credit card, don't matter it has the correct logo on the machine.?
So you could have to go to the main branch in that town.
Then when you are at the correct ATM machine, not all have an option for English lol.
3. How much fuel do you need, what type you need 92,95,98.
Yes, simple you just find the correct one 92/95 open up the tank and raise your hands. (FULL)
But this falls on deft ears.
The person could be telling you.
A. you need to use a fuel kettle.
B. You need to show a Chinese ID card. ( Yes that happens and you try to explain you are not FUCKING CHINESES.)
C. You got your fuel at the pump ok but she won't allow you to start the bike at the pump and you need to push it 30 meters away before you can start the bike. WTF
You try and push a bike that stands in with all the gear nearly 350kg.
I just smile and ride off, got the fuel now who cares a shit.
4. Not all hotel take western people, so after a long day riding your Hot,Cold,Wet and all you are after is a room with a shower.
But this hotel cant takes you in, how will you know that, and how will you ask for direction for a hotel that can?
Ok luck is in the hotel will take you in, and you have found out the room is 200 RMB.
Things are looking up today so you give the person 200 RMB but there are saying no good no good or some shit. WTF.
The reason is most hotel need a "KEY DEPOSIT".
So you need to pay 200 + key money to which you get back when you check out.
5. DIRECTION????? Don't waste your time most Chinese don't know how to get home let alone what is down the road.
6. These are normally ok, just show your passport and nothing more OK.
Never show your nice new Chinese DL, never show your details for the bike.
These are never requested, but if there are you have.
All these are just a few times you will be in trouble if you can't speak Chinese
But for me, that's when all the fun and the adventure starts lol
TIC (This is China)
Just one other interesting point about Hainan, its the only province that you can get a VOA ( Visa on arrival)
And is valid for the Main Land China as well
But is only valid for 15 days but you can extend for a further 30 days very easy.
Re: Buying a motorcycle and traveling China on a temporary visa
Quote:
Originally Posted by
prince666
Strange you mentioned Hainan? because of that's the place I purchased the YBR in the picture.
From a Dealer in Wuzhishan which is just north of Sanya.
The dealer was ok to work with have details if you need them.
That's quite a coincidence! Or an omen? On Google maps I found two motorcycle shops in Wuzhishan, but neither seem to sell Yamaha. So if you have details like the name of the shop and an email address or WeChat account that would be great and I will send them a message. I will have someone translate that in Chinese. Who knows he has a nephew or so speaking Enlish ;-)
Thanks for the warnings for the language issues! Clearly learned from practice! I hope a translation app, a digital map (maps.me seem to work fine in China, used that in Cuba as well), a Chinese/English speaking mate on the phone in case all else fails and a good portion of good will and patience will help. Anyhow, as you said, that's part of the charm of traveling :-)
Re: Buying a motorcycle and traveling China on a temporary visa
Quote:
Originally Posted by
infralin2
That's quite a coincidence! Or an omen? On Google maps I found two motorcycle shops in Wuzhishan, but neither seem to sell Yamaha. So if you have details like the name of the shop and an email address or WeChat account that would be great and I will send them a message. I will have someone translate that in Chinese. Who knows he has a nephew or so speaking Enlish ;-)
Thanks for the warnings for the language issues! Clearly learned from practice! I hope a translation app, a digital map (maps.me seem to work fine in China, used that in Cuba as well), a Chinese/English speaking mate on the phone in case all else fails and a good portion of good will and patience will help. Anyhow, as you said, that's part of the charm of traveling :-)
Will ask my wife about the details when she gets up.
Now with the bikes, you may want to consider a make called Zongshen.
The RX3 Cyclone is sold all over the world and guys in the USA rate them, cost about 20.000 RMB. (250cc)
Also, there have a new model called the RX1 cost about 14.000 RMB (200 cc) comes with ABS ready to travel and both are EFI engines which if you head into Yaunan and Sichuan Provinces then carburettor bikes will be a problem.
Links.. you may need to copy and pastes.
RX1......https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?sp...7b&abbucket=11
RX3........https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?sp...455&abbucket=1
Good to hear you are a seasoned travel and only this year I help along a very seasoned travel from the USA called Doogle.
If you get time here is the RR, China part starts about page 4 but due to Photobucket blocking pictures now, a lot of his great pictures have been loosed.
But he still goes into details about the ride.
Link to RR ......http://advrider.com/index.php?thread...-asia.1208680/
Translator, yes great but how will that work the other way round???
Most Chinese don't have an app on their phone, and even if there did it's never used?
So my advice is download 2 translator apps
1. English to Chinese.
2 Pinyin to English.
That way you can hand over your phone and then you can translate what there are saying.
Maps.Me yes I use as well in China not bad, but you will find 50% of the Chinese roads are not shown and towns with a 1.000.000 people in are not even on the map. lol
patience will help yes but you are going to need loads of it .......
Covered most things again, hope you are still keen about China because it's a great place to ride around and very few people put their self out to experience the country.
Re: Buying a motorcycle and traveling China on a temporary visa
@prince666,
The Zongshen bikes look interesting. Especially the RX1, quite comparable to the YBR125. Although I am a bit suspicious about the reliability (looks good, better than the average Chinese brand, but no track record, no reports on status after say 20.000 km). If the YBR125 doesn't work out I will certainly consider it. The RX1 is imported in France under the brandname Cyclone, so a EU type-approval is probably available. When looking at the somewhat bigger bikes like the RX3, my favourite would be the new BMW G310R (made in India). I am an oldtime fan of BMW (still have a 1957 R50 stored in my garage), that might bias my opinion, but I made a testdrive on the G310R the day it was available on the Dutch market and I very much liked the easy handling. And the price is not too much higher than the RX3. But for my China trip I prefer something more simple though (reliable, so it won't break down, light, so it can be lifted by 2 people on a lorry in case it does break down, cheap, so it can be discarded if all goes wrong and no need to go fast, I am not in a hurry and will take country roads anyway).
Have been reading Doogle's report on his China trip. Very interesting! Good to have him confirm that the far majority of people are just simply nice (and you and your wife obviously belong to that group)! His experience with the Shineray is food for the bad reputation of Chinese bikes though. My YBR125 did about the same distance as his Shineray and all I had to do was filling up the tank once in a while and lubricate my chain after heavy rain!
I have installed The Translator app of Microsoft on my Android. It has a mode where you can press either one of two mic's so it translates spoken text either way. So no need to have separate apps. I don't have any real life experience with it yet, but it seem to work fine.
@Shuben,
Thanks for the tip about "point it". I noticed there is even an app version, making it even more practical.
I enabled the Google Pinyin keyboard in Android (via Google Play). I can't realy test it though since I would not know how to use it not knowing Pinyin. But the combination with the translate app looks nice if spoken text or a picture from a written text don't suffice.
Thanks both for your feedback again!
Re: Buying a motorcycle and traveling China on a temporary visa
So it will be the YBR 125cc but remember the Chinese one are not EFI models so anything above 3000 meters and the little power you have will be nonexisting.
And a lot of Yunnan and Sichuan provinces are over 3000 meters and some roads over 4500 meters.
