new here, but not new to mc travelling ... early state of planing my china trip ..

[mika]

Hola .. Hello ... or how do you say in China?


my name is Mika and I am in the very early stage of planing my trip around China.


First a few words about myself ... at the moment I live in Salta Argentina, here a photo of my last trip to Bolivia

04.2 Bolivia Mika und Landschaft.jpg

some of my mc journeys:

1992/3 Europe, USA, Central America on a Honda XL600R
1999 - 2005, RTW on a Yamaha Tenere (251.000km)
2010, Europe, Middle East until the bike (XTZ 750 Tenere) got stolen in Damascus Syria
now riding an Honda Africa Twin with more than 200.000km on the clock


Here is my idea of traveling in China. Flying into a big city and buying a bike ... new or used. Riding in China for about 6 months and than leaving to Russia (near Vladivostok), than riding again thru Russia and Mongolia into Central Asia ... Middle East ... maybe from Iran to Oman ... Jemen ... Ethopia ... selling the bike in Kenia. I guess about 80.000km on the bike.

As I said I am in the early stage of planing this trip.

Here in South America they sell the Euromot GTX 200, a copy of the Suzuki DR 200 and I guess I can put this millage on a new one. As I saw on this forum today this model is also for sale in China even with a 21 liter tank and a rack. What do you think about this bike?

How about getting a visa for China for lets say 6 months ?
Can I register the bike in my name and leave and ride into Russia ?
Are there bigger dirt bikes or touring bikes (e.g. 400cc or 600cc) for sale in China - new/used ?
What is the best time of the year to travel in China? Weather etc.?

So, this is enough for today ...

Saludos
Mika

[ZMC888]

Hi Mika,

Well, you chose the easier plan. Usually people have limited time and money and seem hell bent on riding their particular bike through china. First let's get some ideas, and see what you think of them. First let's have another look at China on the world map, maybe Google and lets switch to terrain view mode. Damn China is big and mountainous, isn't it? More than three times the size of India, or that's how it looks on the map. All the people who have ridden around it and live here might suggest there is not that much need to either ride through it or leave, such a vast place that you could ride here for years and never ride the same road twice if you had the time and money. Also if you are trying to get to a destination in China you end up on national highways which are very boring and similar. The small indirect harder to find picturesque mountain roads are the ones that blow you away in terms of natural beauty, adventure, cultural richness and friendly locals.

So now we need to think of how to do the trip. First you need a Chinese motorcycle driver's license, and a work or student residency visa so that the motorcycle can be registered in your name and you can ride it legally, as in China your home driving license is not recognized. So the best thing would be to get a job or study in China for a year. We also need lots of money to pay 'fines' and at least a little Chinese language and character memorization skill and GPS or detailed maps and compass to find our way around the place.
How to get a license: http://www.mychinamoto.com/forums/sh...rcycle-License
How to register a motorcycle in your name: http://www.mychinamoto.com/forums/sh...ming-Yunnan%29

Although outside of big cities the laws are often not followed exactly and it might be possible to ride with your home license and International Driving Permit, although not strictly legal might help, but beware of accidents and what you need to do: http://www.mychinamoto.com/forums/sh...ident-in-China and some of the dangers particular to China: http://www.mychinamoto.com/forums/sh...ew-Rider-Guide

I would say that being 100% legal is the best thing to do. However being an experienced rider riding a bike that's legal with registration and insurance might be OK if you are outside of big cities, but read up in detail first.

How about getting a visa for China for lets say 6 months ?

Possible, but it doesn't give you the same rights as a residency visa, and you can't register the bike in your own name.

Can I register the bike in my name and leave and ride into Russia ?

Possible with residency visa.

Are there bigger dirt bikes or touring bikes (e.g. 400cc or 600cc) for sale in China - new/used ?

A few, such as BMWs F650, but they will be very expensive. Then there are a few Chinese made 600cc bikes that are Cheaper, but parts and reliability are problems. A 250cc Japanese branded bike made in China is a cheaper reliable option, you could them modify it to your needs.

What is the best time of the year to travel in China? Weather etc.? ]

Depends on the region obviously but north of Shanghai April to October, although spring and summer can be wettest.

Hope this helps.

[mika]

Hi ZMC888 and others,

thank you very much for this very good reply.

Yes, I had a look at Google maps for China, yes it is a big country, even bigger than Argentina ;-)

Timeframe. The idea is to do this journey in one go, so timing is important as I dont want to ride into Siberia in winter. And I also want to be out of Central Asia before winter, this would mean leaving China (NE corner) to Russia (Vladivostok) around May. This would give me, if I spend six months in China, an arrival time of October and the month November to May to travel in China.

Weather. Places. As my knowledge about China and places to visit is still very limited. Where would you go from November to May? I plan on taking good riding gear, so a bit of cold weather is not the biggest problem.

Visa. OK, than I will try to get a residency visa, I saw there is also a marriage residency visa .... but I dont plan on using this if there is another way. Will read up on the working and student residency visa later. Where is the best place to get the visa? Europe?

Bike. As I want to leave China with the bike, I read somewhere that this means I have to buy a new bike. Is this correct ... or depends this on the border crossing I use? Has anybody ever crossed with his chinese registered bike to Vladivostok? I think a 250 enduro type of bike with a 21 liter fuel tank is good for the journey, as I plan to bring my own tools I will modify it to my needs.

License. I have quite many driving licenses, so this wont be a problem and as I read I can get a chinese one with my residency visa, so this will be done after my arrival ....

I dont want to spend too much time on getting the paperwork done before I start riding, so maybe with some help, do you think it could be done in two weeks?

Yes, I know I still have a lot of questions and not done to much research yet.

Thank you guys. Saludos

Mika

[ShuBen]

a) You should consider about 2 weeks to get the paper work completed for the residence with all that health check stuff etc.

b) For the driving license I would say between 2 to 4 weeks depending where you do the test. also there is a health check again, paper work (best with a agent that know where when to whom to go and drives you around) The timeline also depends when you can get an appointment for the computer based theory test. In Beijing takes about 3 weeks as i know.

c) For Chinese language basics I found www. chinesepod.com (beginner lessons) quite helpful. And funny

d) In my opinion it can begin the whole story in Wuhan or ChengDu in autumn, then during winter months move south such as Yunnan, Hainan, southern provinces .... then slowly coming up further north to be at springtime (April) in Beijing region. You have now another month to discover the northern provinces. Middle of May might be suitable cross to Russia.