Shanghai newbie

**Frenchman** · 03-06-2011, 04:17 PM

Hi there ,

Nice to find such a forum , wasn't sure to find some stuff like that in China :-0
I just arrived in Shanghai and after the usual things to organise, i am starting to look after a bike to ride here in Shanghai , mainly to go to work...
Can anyone of you give a short overview of what is going on in Chian regarding bikes.
I want to do everything legally, i don't think it's worth the risk..but that's another disucssion . So i will start by getting my chinese drive license but I have no idea about the regultaion here in China.. I've heard that the max authorised is to have a 250 cc , is it true ?
thanks for your feedback.
regards

**moilami** · 03-06-2011, 04:44 PM

Welcome to the forum. I live in Finland and am not the best person to say how it is in Shanghai.

**bbc** · 03-06-2011, 05:03 PM

legally? bigger than 250cc?
you have many choices, go for the local made or legally imported brands such as ducati, harley davidson and bmw.

**euphonius** · 03-06-2011, 05:35 PM

Dear Frenchman,

Greetings indeed, and welcome. Thank you also for kindly introducing yourself.

Please take a couple of days to read through the many threads in this forum that discuss in great detail the current, but still evolving, status of motorcycle ownership and registration in China at large, and Shanghai specifically. All of your questions will be answered, and more. Click on my name euphonius in the upper left hand corner of this post, and then click on "view profile". There you'll see a link to "find all started threads" in the blue field below my picture. There you'll see a thread about "getting legal in Shanghai" and probably several others that may be of use to you, and also help you learn a bit about how to navigate the site.

Other members from Shanghai that have actively posted about buying, registering, servicing, owning and, above all, riding bikes in Shanghai include MotoKai, Milton, Wrangler, Felix, Ryanjpyle, Nuhaus, Nostalgie (who speaks French), and even a few of your compatriots like Braillce, who recently bought and registered a 250. Two recent joiners -- Dewsnap and Fred -- are going through the licensing and purchasing process right now, and have posted a lot about their recent experiences.

Once you've read in a bit more, please feel free to start asking specific questions. You'll find MCM is a friendly, generous and fun forum. I look forward to meeting you, and hopefully joining up for group rides and other recreation.

Finally, as bbc noted, you are not restricted to 250cc or less, but there is not a huge range of larger bikes that can be legally registered in Shanghai. Apart from the three brands that bbc listed, there is also the Italian mark Benelli, which is now Chinese-owned. There is one Chinese-made 600cc thumper available, the Jialing JH600, written about extensively in this forum, and there are a couple of other medium-displacement bikes that could reach market this year. But be prepared to fork over some large chunks of cash. Legal plates for Shanghai cost about 45,000 RMB right now, though these ostensibly (optimistically?) can be sold for that or more if/when you sell your bike. The imported bikes that bbc mentioned are subject to import duties in excess of 100%, so a bike that might cost you 10k Euro in France will be 250,000 RMB or more here, and that's before you get the plates!

Yes, you will pay to play here in Shanghai!

cheers!