Adventure Motorcycle Magazine Subscribe Now

Page 1 of 4 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 32
  1. #1 Two new riders in SH soon.. 
    C-Moto Not-so-Noob
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Shanghai
    Posts
    21
    Hi MCM boys and girls,

    First: This is an awesome forum and I read a lot of useful things here! Thanks for that!

    So now it's time for me to say hi, pop my forum-cherry and post something for the very first time ever. Anywhere!
    So just let me know if I do something wrong or have to post somewhere else..
    I'm from South Tyrol in the italian Alps and been in Shanghai for a bit over two years now. The being-trapped-in-the-
    city-depression got me so far that I have to have a motorcycle again. My experience is limited, but I grew up with pimped up vespas , a few rides on BMW gs650 and Kawasaki z750 and two motorcycle trips through Vietnam and the Philippines last year got the fire burning again :)

    I'm already prepared for the transfer of my italian licence and just need a chance to take a day off to do the test.. hopefully this or next week.

    This Saturday my mate and I rode our bicycles (as in without engine!) down to the Knight Rider store in Pudong to check out their Shinerays. Thanks for the business card that I found here on the forum! I'm interested in the Shineray XY250GY-2 X2 and my buddy in the XY200GY-7 or XY200GY-5 X3

    The shop is easy to find, looks professional and people there are very nice. Don't speak English though.
    I'll post a few pics of the shop for those who are interested and haven't been there yet.

    Sitting on the X2 felt good :) finally a bike that's tall enough for me. I was impressed with the quality! as far as I could tell from locking at it from every angle. It looks solid!
    Asking for a test ride, the answer was "test ride only if you put cash on the table!" - so no test ride.

    A quotation for the X2 with 沪C plates: 17.800 for the bike, 25.000 for the C plate, + various fees = 45.700RMB

    As for the oh so beloved registration part:

    We both live inside inner ring. But the 沪A with prices beyond 100k are off limit for us!
    Getting a C plate could be arranged. Also having it registered in a friends name in Suzhou or Wuxi would be an option.
    But I have a few questions about that:

    I read a lot of times "C plates can NEVER enter inner ring area!" but somewhere else on shanghaiexpat.com somebody said "In Shanghai you can ride with plates from other cities after 8:00pm and on weekends."

    Is that true? Or is it just big fat humbug? Does anybody know for sure?
    And if plates from other cities could, could also a 沪C enter inner ring at a particular time?

    I want to get this bike asap (and my friend as soon as he gets the driving licence).
    Any helpful information to get us on the road for this nice spring weather?

    Thanks and all the best,
    Slenderman
    Reply With Quote  
     

  2. #2 Re: Two new riders in SH soon.. 
    C-Moto Not-so-Noob
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Shanghai
    Posts
    21
    Pictures here:
    Attached Images
    Reply With Quote  
     

  3. #3 Re: Two new riders in SH soon.. 
     

  4. #4 Re: Two new riders in SH soon.. 
     

  5. #5 Re: Two new riders in SH soon.. 
    Senior C-Moto Guru euphonius's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    mostly Shanghai, sometimes northern California
    Posts
    3,222
    Dear Slenderman,

    Greetings from Shanghai and warm welcome to MCM. Yours is the best kind of self-introduction, as your posts have contributed to our collective knowledge -- in this case by sharing recent pix of the Shineray shop. Thanks for that!

    As for your questions about 沪A vs 沪C plates and restrictions inside the inner ring, I hate to pour cold water on your enthusiasm but there is no such thing as an "after 8 and weekends" rule. The signs are posted on the roadways for all to see, and there are no asterisks or other exceptions. 沪C bikes are not permitted downtown. Period.

    That said, you'll quickly see that a very substantial proportion of the motorcycles riding downtown are bearing 沪C plates. These are mostly Chinese riders on farmer bikes, probably motorcycle taxis ("摩的"), and generally very good riders who obey traffic laws (well, except for that 沪C plate and the fact that they are illegally ferrying passengers). The police seem to pay them little heed. Most of the motorcycle checkpoints around town are targeting unlicensed bikes, especially scooters. And all I can say is, bless the police for getting these scofflaws and criminals off the roads. They are the primary reason why the public and officialdom are so down on motorcycles.

    I'm not saying you should feel free to ride a 沪C bike downtown. Your mileage will vary. But I will say this: I really don't much understand why anyone would want to actively ride a motorcycle in downtown Shanghai. I have mine here with 沪A plates, but I have zero desire to ride in town. The bike is for getting OUT of Shanghai, and for that there is almost nothing better.

    If you think it's fun to ride in stoplights and downtown traffic and congestion and smog, you're not going to be happy here unless you get the 沪A plate. Or just go for the 沪C plates and use the bike for getting out of town, and I reckon you'll have very little problem for the short bits of time you are riding inside the Ring. With 沪C plates, a legal C1D or C1E license and insurance, you'll be legal anywhere in China -- and even in those bits where bikes are not permitted you will dramatically reduce your risk of having your bike confiscated. If you are cooperative and friendly, you can probably avoid the 200 rmb fine too.

    Finally, you live in downtown Shanghai and want an effective, efficient, fun way to get around. It's called a bicycle. Shanghai is a brilliant city on a bicycle, as you've already indicated in your first post. Talk about lane-splitting and filtering through traffic -- there is nothing better. Shanghai can be a real joy when you are not snarled in traffic, and can go anywhere you please, at any time.

    Again, welcome!
    jkp
    Shanghai
    2010 JH600 "Merkin Muffley" (in Shanghai)
    2000 KLR650 "Feezer Ablanalp" (in California)
    Reply With Quote  
     

  6. #6 Re: Two new riders in SH soon.. 
    Senior C-Moto Guru Zorge's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Σερβία
    Posts
    1,745
    Benvenuto al manicomio cinese!
    Ask me nothing - I DO NOT speak english. Really...
    Reply With Quote  
     

  7. #7 Re: Two new riders in SH soon.. 
    SabineHartmann SabineHartmann's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Suzhou
    Posts
    362
    Welcome!
    Some People, who live "inside", have a storage room outside and ride their bikes from there. Every difficulty has a solution
    Reply With Quote  
     

  8. #8 Re: Two new riders in SH soon.. 
    C-Moto Not-so-Noob
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Shanghai
    Posts
    21
    Thanks everybody for the warm welcome!

    @Zorge:
    Grazie signore!

    @SabineHartmann:
    I have no doubt that this is a problem that can be solved. Thanks for the input!

    @euphonius:

    Thank You for your fast and very detailed feedback!
    Nice to hear the pictures are being appreciated! I took them with MCM in mind.

    I had my doubts with this "after 8 and weekends" rule anyway. You confirmed what I suspected. So no high hopes destroyed here.

    I agree with you 100%! I want a bike to get OUT of the city!
    I'm quite happy with plowing through the downtown traffic with my bicycle and really don't intend to substitute it with a motorcycle.

    I think I'll be just fine with 沪C plates! (the inner ring road is not too far from where I live) I'll see the 25k as saved money for later.. let's just hope the law won't change drastically in the next few years! And I can sell my plates then..
    BTW how easy is it to sell plates?? (don't want to end up with a 25k piece of metal on my living room wall!)

    My other possibility I'm still thinking about would be to register in a friends name in Suzhou.. I hear it's just a couple of hundred RMB there. But then I'd have an other persons name on the registration. And on the insurance too? Would this cause more trouble than I imagine now? Just not totally legal I suppose, but would I have a hard time explaining to every cop why I ride an other persons bike?

    Again Thanks everybody!
    Slenderman
    Reply With Quote  
     

  9. #9 Re: Two new riders in SH soon.. 
    motor maniac ShuBen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Beijing
    Posts
    847
    you can ride another persons bike legally as long as you have the correct chinese license and the required bike papers. Only when you have accident case it gets troublesome because then the owner must show up at different offices ..... and this can be very time consuming.
    SWM RS500R, R1200GS LC
    Reply With Quote  
     

  10. #10 Re: Two new riders in SH soon.. 
    C-Moto Guru MotoKai's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Shanghai
    Posts
    418
    Welcome Slenderman.

    Thanks for the bike porn (we love pics!).

    I often ride with my buddy on his X2 which is Suzhou plated. He used to keep it out in Minhang but now stables it downtown. Laws are laws, but with that said he's never had any issues. Favorite places for the X2 crowd are the Anting MX Track and Suzhou Tank Grounds.

    The real issue my buddy faces is getting gas. Since he has a Suzhou plate he's not allowed to gas-up downtown so he always fills up just outside the S20 on the way back into town so he's always topped up when in the city. I don't think you'll have too many problems with your 沪C If you have any more questions just PM me, and if they are X2 specific my buddy can always share his insights with you directly.

    Cheers!
    _____________________
    嘉陵 JH600-A (Upgraded)
    Reply With Quote  
     

Page 1 of 4 123 ... LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Hello riders!
    By Bakas in forum Welcome to MCM!
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 10-31-2012, 07:49 AM
  2. Greets China Riders!
    By MeowZeDong in forum Welcome to MCM!
    Replies: 36
    Last Post: 02-07-2011, 04:06 AM
  3. Looking for riders to ride in the Rockies
    By kens in forum North America
    Replies: 43
    Last Post: 08-23-2009, 03:21 PM
  4. Scooter Riders Power-Up...
    By CrazyCarl in forum Scooter
    Replies: 25
    Last Post: 03-10-2009, 12:39 PM
  5. Zongshen Sierra200 riders?
    By Arsis in forum Dirt n' Dual-Sport
    Replies: 17
    Last Post: 12-21-2008, 08:25 AM
Tags for this Thread

View Tag Cloud

Bookmarks
Bookmarks
Posting Permissions
  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •