Hello! I've been in Shanghai a year now, half-heartedly looked into getting a bike last year but wasn't sure how long I'd be staying and was massively put off by the hassle and the A-plate horror stories.

But spent the summer riding my CBR around Europe (Black Forest in Germany, Route Des Grande Alpes in France, Stelvio Pass from Switzerland into Italy, seriously reccommended, amazing riding, esp the Route des Grandes Alpes) and am having serious withdrawal symptoms now (riding my scooter too fast, making vrroom vrroom noises, etc)

All my research has led me to the conclusion that getting a bike in Shanghai is a bit of a nightmare, but possible. I've got a Chinese driving licence, really not keen on shelling out 54000 for an A-plate, even if I can probably sell it on when I leave, but would like to be as legal as possible.

So can anyone reccommend me some bikes that are available here, either Chinese made or register-able imports? Ideally I want something bigger and with a bit of power after having ridden sports bikes at home, but I recognise that you can't ride fast on Chinese roads. Main purpose of the bike is to get out of the city and explore the countryside. I was thinking about a bigger-engine enduro bike maybe? Even a CB400 would be kind of cool for around town and comfy enough for touring.

Also, how is the riding around Shanghai? Is it possible to get to some nice roads and back in a weekend?

I don't read Chinese and my speaking/reading level is vastly improved but still basically rubbish, so it's really hard to get information here...

Thanks for any pointers