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  1. #1 Travel thru' China on own NX650 motorcycle 
    C-Moto Noob
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    Hi,
    I'm an Aussie and a noobie to forum but have ridden extensively overseas.
    I am planning to cross from Slovenia next May heading east to Mongolia and then south thru' China. The bike I have purchased for the trip is an NX650 Honda currently in storage in Slovenia.
    There is so much BS written about the impossibility of self ride options thru' China I wondered if anyone had actually been successful in recently achieving this goal. The trip would continue thru' Laos and back to Oz via Malaysia and Indonesia.
    Anyone interested in the ride or has info on traversing China please respond.
    At this stage I am considering freighting from Ulanbaatar to Vientiane in Laos due to lack of information re China.
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  2. #2 Re: Travel thru' China on own NX650 motorcycle 
    Senior C-Moto Guru Kennon's Avatar
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    good luck mate sounds like a proper good ol adventure there.
    are you going to do any mods to the bike so that it can cope with the trip a little bit better or is it awesome as it is standard?
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  3. #3 Re: Travel thru' China on own NX650 motorcycle 
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    Hi Kennon,
    The NX has 25000ks on it so I'll put in a new cam chain and do the valves, I'll overhaul the carby and give it a new aircleaner, the front suspension will have progressives and the rear shocky will be rebuilt with new valving.This will be done by Terry Hayes (Shock Treatment, Sydney). Its got new sprockets but I'll be putting the best O'ring chain on it that I can buy. I will take one countershaft sprocket and replace the original somewhere along the track and hope to nurse the rear sprocket and chain for the whole trip. I got 20000ks out of my Africa twin thru' outback Oz so I think I should make it on the NX. I've got a fairly ratty Acerbis tank to go on her as well. A beefier rack with a simple soft pannier system using Pac-safe. Garmin GPS, either my Zumo 550 or my 60Csx. Everything else standard. I'm taking the sat phone and have a complete engine and spares parted out and labelled so my at home "pit crew" just need to address it and send whatever I need if it turns to shit somewhere.
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  4. #4 Re: Travel thru' China on own NX650 motorcycle 
    Moto Scholar moilami's Avatar
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    Honda NX Dominator? Wow, it was my teenage year's dream!

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  5. #5 Re: Travel thru' China on own NX650 motorcycle 
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    ..................and my model has a disc brake!
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  6. #6 Re: Travel thru' China on own NX650 motorcycle 
    Senior C-Moto Guru Kennon's Avatar
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    Aha sounds like uv done it the right way proper well prepared i'll probably wont even have half that stuff that i need when i plan to do a trip for next summer
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  7. #7 Re: Travel thru' China on own NX650 motorcycle 
    Duct tape savant felix's Avatar
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    I don't think anyone on this forum has ever done it, or has done it recently at least. The question has been asked before and the answer is pretty much 'can't be done'. Some have said it can be done with an extreme amount of luck and money.

    The requirements for riding in china make it very hard for those who don't live here to accomplish.
    First you need a chinese driving license, which requires a long-term visa (6 months or more). International driving license isn't recognised here.
    Second china doesn't allow import of 2nd hand vehicles so you need to get a bike here and registering it is a huge issue.

    Getting to ride a bike in china is so costly in in time, effort and money that it's an investment that mostly only long term residents make. It's a bummer, but it is what it is...
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  8. #8 Re: Travel thru' China on own NX650 motorcycle 
    Senior C-Moto Guru Kennon's Avatar
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    Felix could you help me with a query as i am a hong kong citizen and if i chose to move there i could easily swap my UK license for a Hong Kong one both being RHD countries and the hong kong driving system based of the british system would it be possible for me to do some sort of long journey through china on a Hong kong license as every time i go back to hong kong i see cars with both hong kong and chinese number plates allowing them to venture into the mainland that is about 20 steps from the bus station for my home village
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  9. #9 Re: Travel thru' China on own NX650 motorcycle 
    Senior C-Moto Guru euphonius's Avatar
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    I remember ChinaV or Pfaelzer (or both) pouring cold water on this idea in these pages about a year ago, saying that bikes are treated very differently from cross-border cars and trucks, which can qualify for one plate each from HK and Guangdong. Anyone remember where to find those posts?

    On the other hand, I watched one of the Youku videos that Motokai posted this week, and noticed riders on one of the featured tours affixing temporary Chinese license plates to their bikes. Were those fakes or is there some mysterious mechanism by which transiting riders can obtain transit plates? That still leaves unanswered Felix's question about the need for a local Chinese operator's license.

    Obviously the hurdles are very high.

    cheers
    jkp
    Shanghai
    2010 JH600 "Merkin Muffley" (in Shanghai)
    2000 KLR650 "Feezer Ablanalp" (in California)
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  10. #10 Re: Travel thru' China on own NX650 motorcycle 
    C-Moto Guru MotoKai's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by euphonius View Post
    On the other hand, I watched one of the Youku videos that Motokai posted this week, and noticed riders on one of the featured tours affixing temporary Chinese license plates to their bikes. Were those fakes or is there some mysterious mechanism by which transiting riders can obtain transit plates? That still leaves unanswered Felix's question about the need for a local Chinese operator's license.
    Yeah, I think that's the section with the guy from Globetrotters Helge Pedersen. The narrator says, they "offer organized long-haul adventures....ship your personalized motorcycle to each embarkation port.....we secure the services of local guides and chase vehicles where needed". This would apply to China, where government requires local guides to accompany the group.

    Few years back there were 2 girls who rode tuk-tuks from Bangkok to Brighton thru China. They rode "2-up" in the Tuk-Tuk for the entire trip, but had to go "3-up" with official guide for the China portion.

    http://www.tuktotheroad.com/

    http://www.travelfish.org/feature/52

    Seems solo is a bit difficult. Good luck!
    _____________________
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