New Shanghai ren!

[TallPaul]

Hi Everyone,

New to the forum and just thought I would Introduce myself. I’ve been living in Shanghai for 6months now and been missing my Suzuki 650 a lot, so decided to look into getting a Chinese bike. I’ve been doing a lot of reading on this site and it’s been really useful so thanks a lot!

Please correct me if I’m wrong but from what I’ve read so far it looks like getting a bike plated in Shanghai is gonna be a bit of a nightmare so I’ve been thinking about getting a bike licensed in Guangzhou, I’ve got a mate down there who doesn’t mind registering it for me. I was figuring I could then truck it up (or even better go on a bit of a road trip, work permitting!).

I understand that you have to get your bike MOT’d (government check up – not quite sure what the Chinese term for that is) in the province that it is registered, but for the first three years of ownership you don’t need an MOT, as I don’t plan to own the bike for longer than three years I can’t see this being a problem.

Only other problem is that I am thinking of potentially shipping it back to the UK, after a year and wondering if there might be a problem with my mate down in Guangzhou technically owning the bike????

Has anyone had a similar experience? Am I completely off target here? Any help would be much appreciated!

Bike wise I’m thinking of seeing if I can get a Galaxy, I love the way you can switch from enduro to supermoto relatively easily and it looks porno!

Looks like there are quite a lot of Shanghai ren on here so hopfully get to meet up with some of you guys for some biker chat!

Cheers

[moilami]

Welcome to the forums.

[GJN]

thats a question for one of the china gurus. im guessing they might post an answer for u. i was looking into the xtr myself but couldn't get it plate in beijing. as u have read, each province has its own bike policies.

[GRF_Hans]

You can register it in Suzhou. I rode 3 hours or so & took a ferry. Got it registered and insured there for 3000rmb or so. Don't know how much it costs in Guangzhou. Only problem I can think of is that I had to get my bike registered under a Chinese pal's name. Was told by my Shanghainese riding pals that foreigners can't register bikes under their names. Might have something to do with the fact that I don't have a Z-visa, though. Don't really know your circumstances.

[Wrangler]

Hi Paul! Welcome to MCM. If you want to ride within the downtown area of Shanghai (inner ring area) and get gas, you will need a Shanghai plate. The easiest way to go is to buy a bike in Shanghai from a dealer and have them get the plate for you. It's a cinch - just requires money, as everything else here.

[GRF_Hans]

Hi Paul! Welcome to MCM. If you want to ride within the downtown area of Shanghai (inner ring area) and get gas, you will need a Shanghai plate. The easiest way to go is to buy a bike in Shanghai from a dealer and have them get the plate for you. It's a cinch - just requires money, as everything else here.

Are you sure about this? No plates except Shanghai plates are allowed to fill gas anymore, and unless you're trying to spend another 40k+ RMB I don't know how you would get plates easily.

[Wrangler]

Are you sure about this? No plates except Shanghai plates are allowed to fill gas anymore, and unless you're trying to spend another 40k+ RMB I don't know how you would get plates easily.

Quite sure! It's been discussed here:

http://www.mychinamoto.com/forums/sh...blue-plate-run

And that's the whole point! Shanghai is trying to make it difficult to get plates, and hence fewer motorcycles/scooters (well, at least legal ones, anyways).

[Lao Jia Hou]

I think the rules for a driving license and/or a bike registration are based on duration of visa, not type of visa.

From what I know, a Driving License requires a minimum 3 months visa (any type), and a vehicle registration (including bikes) requires a minimum 6 month visa (any type). Most visas that are valid for more than 6 months are the "Z" entry/residence permit type ... but there is also a long-term "L" visa for family connections (e.g., being married to a Chinese citizen), and one can get the DL and registrations on these longer-term "L" visas.

[TallPaul]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks a lot for all the replies and sorry for my delay in responding, (I forgot my password…..)

I have a full residence/work permit so hopefully that won’t be a problem. I Live in Pudong and can see the inner ring from my house, so I’m not too worried about having local plates.

As far as I can read from here this means that I’ll be allowed to drive inside the ring on weekends and after 8:00pm which is cool with me. I’ve managed to compile a list of motorbike dealers, both domestic and import in shanghai and am planning on going on a bit of a fact finding mission this weekend. I’ll keep you guys posted!

Cheers