Motorbikes / Expressways

[soberpete]

Maybe a manufacturer Harley/Honda/Ducati/Yamaha/Benelli etc backed collaborative attempt at a different plate option for bikes over a certain size that can keep above minimum speeds on freeways, but PAY for the privilege, could be set at 150, 200, 250 500, or 600cc, even better could just be set over maybe 15-30KW engine power or something. I've long thought that a blue plate for bikes or even another color could be an option. Most people who use motorcycles a a cheap mode of transport would stay cheap with no plate or yellow plates, but if you were serious about riding you would pay for a more expensive blue plate and then be able to use main parts of roads and freeways and get better insurance because you have paid for this optional more expensive registration fee.

This might work... Although I doubt that the demand amongst the locals is quite enough to make this happen yet..

I'm thinking this will be the way forward but I don't like just sitting around and hoping. What can be done to speed things up?

[ZMC888]

If you really wanted to effect change try contacting http://www.caam.org.cn in both English and Chinese. Explain your proposal that some certain kinds bikes be able to be registered the same as cars with the same costs as a privileges including freeway use. Explain how legal recreational motorcycling is different to purely utilitarian transport and illegal riding. Suggest this idea could be trialled in Shandong or Jiangsu provinces. Contact big companies who make money from motorcycling for support and make an organization or add your name to one that already exists. Use your western face, Chinese speaking ability and time. Talk about how wonderful China is, and how you love safe legal motorcycling and condemn illegal riding and try to get on TV whist trying to make motorcycling seem wholesome, use Han Han's Nescafe as your model......and so on.

[soberpete]

...try to get on TV whist trying to make motorcycling seem wholesome, use Han Han's Nescafe as your model......and so on.

It sounds like a plan.
There are many members on this site. We should begin by trying to rally as many of them up as we can *Strength in numbers*.
I have some contacts who might be able to get me on TV. I'll begin looking into that.

[soberpete]

Shall I create a thread named something like "Lobby for motorcycle rights to the expressway"?
I'm not the best at thinking up the most attractive names but we need something that will catch everyone's attention.
Perhaps ChinaV or Jape can help put a big notice up on the site somewhere.

...just some of my thoughts.

[TB-Racing]

Explain your proposal that some certain kinds bikes be able to be registered the same as cars with the same costs as a privileges including freeway use. Explain how legal recreational motorcycling is different to purely utilitarian transport and illegal riding.

G'Day,

As far as I know HD China, HD Asia-Pacific and HD USA headquarter tried that approach (incl. very high US / PRC government levels) for may years without any solid results..... will be long and hard way to get approval for expressway use all over China.

[ZMC888]

G'Day,

As far as I know HD China, HD Asia-Pacific and HD USA headquarter tried that approach (incl. very high US / PRC government levels) for may years without any solid results..... will be long and hard way to get approval for expressway use all over China.

I didn't say it would work, just a suggestion of what to do rather than nothing.

Pete, naming any threads or organizations properly at this stage would be important. Some ideas:

-Request for special high-powered motorcycle registration.
-Campaign for equal costs and equal rights for recreational motorcycles.
-Plea for special car type registration for high-powered motorcycles.
同样在中国摩托车汽车登记
For me it should be a more than just freeways. Having a blue plate should mean that city bans, freeways and so on all be open to the bike, same rights and costs as a car, simple. I think this was trialled in Beijing some years ago. If I remember Chinarider had a black plate on his BMW for a while.

[ZMC888]

Dunno who closed the thread, open now!

[TB-Racing]

I didn't say it would work, just a suggestion of what to do rather than nothing

G'Day,

Doubt very much China will allow 125--250cc motorbikes on the expressways all over China, they will go for 600+cc to keep it to a very limited controllable number of motorcyclists, if they ever legalise motorbikes on expressways all over China.....

Anyhow, have a nice weekend and hope we all get some great riding during the upcoming weekend!

[Steve_R]

I found it very interesting to type in "骑摩托车上高速" to a Chinese search engine and see what came up, to get a sense of locals who may have tried riding their motorcycles on expressways.

Holy crap!

Although I couldn't translate all the details, with the help of translation software I was able to get the gist. Let's just say that all manner of locals have tried this, and many during the Spring Festival travel season and other peak times. The consequences have all been negative, granted, these were the guys who got caught.

Even more amazing was how some provinces allowed the motorcycles with simple conditions that they had to be capable of speeds above 70 km/h and not exceed 80 km/h with the riders wearing high-vis vests and helmets. This was the recent law of Hubei province in particular as in this video clip.

http://www.hjsq.cn/thread-252687-1-1.html

Guizhou province also a similar rule.

But in some provinces, especially Zhejiang, they treat the motorbikes with outright hatred.

It would seem perhaps that the richer provinces ban the bikes totally and they're allowed in poorer provinces, but this is isn't the case because Beijing allows the bikes, and Chongqing has outright bans. Yunnan province also has the ban.

All this inconsistency is what makes China, well China.

[soberpete]

I finally mustered up the courage to ride up to the gate of nearest the expressway entrance two weeks ago. The nice looking girl just giggled at me after I said "ni hao" and a guy (maybe her superior) ran over flapping his arms, doing his very best to deter me and explain that what I wanted to do was impossible in every aspect of physics.

I didn't get on, or try to force my way on but I did...
1: force them to reroute about 3 articulated lorries and a dozen cars from behind me into the adjacent entrances.
2: get the girl in the booth at my gate reposted into another lane gate effectively closing mine.
3: have a chat with the guy and I explained to him that I'd read several documents and even spotted questions on my theory test that stated motorcycles were allowed on the Gao su lu if capable of following the rules.



"...Bikes just can't ride on expressways; they're not capable."
I replied:
I rode on expressways in the USA and the UK (a little lie but many have and one of them might have well been me).
"But this is China"
I replied:
"And I'm not Chinese"

"...Bikes just can't ride on the expressway; it's too dangerous."
I replied:
"All Chinese roads are dangerous."

"...Bikes just can't ride on the expressway; there's never been one bike go through these gates."
I replied:
"Today could be the first and nobody has to know"

Our little chat seemed to amuse him and he seemed to be quite charmed by my politeness + persistence. He asked me a few questions like where I'm from, what I'm doing here and how is it that I can speak Chinese.

I asked him if I could talk to his boss and he said that he wasn't there at the time.

"What if I showed you the test questions that state bikes are allowed on the expressway?"
He replied...
"Bring them with you to show him next time and he might let you on" I'm allowed on by law but it's still a random expressway entrance manager's choice? I feel like telling him to prove that I can't go on instead of asking me to prove that I can. How long will they stick to the things they think they know while avoiding their duties and ignoring the documents that clearly state national laws.

I've got the docs ready + the youku video about bikes on expressways in the post above by Steve_R.
I'm going to try again tomorrow.