Upfront costs for a motorcyle trip in China

[noobie]

Hey all,

I'm living in Guangzhou for a year and will have a couple months of free time in the summer of 2012 to explore the country. I think it would be really cool to do this on a motorcycle.

I've seen that there's a lot of info on this site for dealing with all the red tape associated with getting a license, plates, etc. However, I was hoping someone could just give me a simple estimate on the total upfront cost for getting a motorcycle here and complying with all the legal requirements. All I have right now is a 1 year residence permit (as a student) and an interest in riding.

From what I've read here, sounds like I'll need 1) a motorcyle (nothing special, just something reasonably reliable that I can use for 2 months and then resell) 2) a license, 3) insurance, 4) license plate.

Am I missing anything? What might this all cost (roughly)?

Also, what's a reasonable daily budget for a motorcycle trip here doing about 200 miles/day? I'm especially concerned about maintenance costs.

Thanks all...apologies if this information has already been posted elsewhere.

[zhu]

300km per day will cost you about 70yuan
buy a new bike , shouldnt have any maintenance costs in two months
take a tent , accomodation sorted, stay in motel 168 every 3 days or so, cost is err 168 yuan
this is probably one of the cheapest places to travel if you avoid the bigger cities

[ZMC888]

Bike: 2nd hand 5 year old 125cc 2000 yuan. Easy to sell. New bike you lose 2000 from the dealership immediately and hard to sell because most people buy them for economy.
Repair and maintenance costs: max 100 yuan an hour, usually free labor if you pay for parts.
Hotel: 50-200 a night.
Food: 20 and upwards.
Fuel: 100 yuan dependent on distance and engine size.

License: A few hundred yuan, but could take 1-3 months of red tape hassles.

Registration: Included with bike. If buying new blackmail dealer for plates,

Insurance: Minimal insurance included in registration.

Read some stickys.