Urgent Help Needed- YBR125K or YBR250?

[bikerdoc]

Entering your GF ID card # versus your PP #... not much different other than the alphanumeric's involved, but then again think - logic free TIC zone...

hmm... sounds like one of several (many) possibilities...
in no particular order...

1. dealer was interested when you were a potential buyer, but you ordered elsewhere... self explanatory
2. dealer is too lazy or bothered to check the information and process, since he's got little incentive now
3. dealer has never plated a bike for a Waiguoren before and underestimated how difficult it might be
4. dealer has little to no idea and simply believes what he's read or told...
5. dealer doesn't have the required guanxi needed to make the process as painless/smooth as possible
6. possible restrictions (laziness) in place in the Traffic Management Bureau (too hard basket)
7. plating process is seen as too much hard work, therefore it 'can't' be done (again too hard basket)
8. Waiguoren's might be required to get a ID card that ties their foreign name and chosen Zhongguo name (as is the case in a few other jurisdictions)
9. Insurance company rep at the Traffic Management Bureau may have thought they'd have had to draw up a policy in your waiguoren name. In this instance you might be required to go to the insurance companies head office to complete required paperwork (this occurred as recently as 7 days ago to one MCM member). Keeping in mind that there is a designated insurance company for motorcycles, so it's not just a case of approaching any insurer.
10. Another unforeseen issue that is directly or indirectly relevant
11. pick any or all from numbers 1-9, plus add subsection 'A-Z' not documented here.

Your ID # is your passport # it's simple as that... you have a PRC DL which has your Zhongguo name on it... there's your paper trail, but even that may not really stand a 'litmus' test, per-se'

Try to find an agent who could help you navigate the process... or else sweeten the pot for the dealer to try harder for you

Yes, you could get in your GF's name, and then what, how would you transfer the plate and rego legitimately (if you can't do it now), even if you wanted too? Watch for any local regulations or by-laws in place that might restrict this practice, as some jurisdictions restrict the amount of time a vehicle & plate must remain in a persons name before transfer. Getting plate in your GF's name fixes the problem temporarily, but can you be sure where your relationship might be say in 6 months, 1, 2, 3 years from now? What about if you are riding far away, your GF some place else, and you involved in an incident (crash) and GF as registered owner is required to be present... it has happened before.

[prince666]

Hey doc & prince,
Just had a question re plating, since you already generally went over it. I just ordered a bike yesterday to be shipped to the local dealer (ybr kg, after yalls suggestions). The dealer initially said registration was no issue. However now he's saying that it can't be done because without a Chinese shenfenzheng # the insurance company won't insure me & therefor can't be plated. I said I've heard of a lot of foreigners have gotten plated but he said in jiangxi it wasn't possible apparently. The dealer is a friend of a friend so trust that he actually went through the effort to ask around.
What I'm wondering is how are bikes usually registered if you do it through a dealership? He said he's never heard of it being done and wouldn't be willing to use his name because then any tickets I get etc are his responsibility. I've heard of a lot of people going through this route so I was just wondering how it's done. He said I could register it in my girlfriends name (local here) no problem, but I'm a bit wary of that still and just want everything in my name. I was thinking maybe I can register it in her name first then transfer the plates later?
As for Chinese names my license has my Chinese name so I assume it's a non-issue.
Thanks for all the help! Congrats on the bike foxy, if I could scrap together the extra 10000 would've definitely gone for the 250, seems like a great ride

Hi
I think the Doc has covered must point in his post but what I can say
Is your friend of a friend of a friend is not so much a "good" friend he is
talking shit like most Chinese people here do , I just done a bike Reg in
My name 7 days ago , yes was not easy and I had all the correct
Documents and still at the end it took 8 traffic police office around a PC
To sort it out. But in the end all sorted out , sometimes you just need to tell them what can and can't be done !!!!! But with a smile and always be nice And polite .

[foxy88]

Sounds like a good deal all round. But TIC, and so with that being said, just keep your ears and eyes open for the unexpected.

Right on the money there doc, fortunately I've hopefully only run into a small hiccup though and that happy ending is still on the way.

Mr Tuhao gave me a message today saying he was facing some difficulties in regards to the registration, and that he'd get back to me. Sounded ominous. Turned out since the fapiao is in his name, the bike can only be registered in his name. He said he was unable to get the receipt changed to my name, not exactly sure why but I think it was because the dealer had already used his name to pay taxes or some such. So he is going to go ahead and register the bike in his name tomorrow, then we need to wait for around a week for that all to be processed, at which point I'll go and meet him and we can do a full transfer of ownership of the bike to me. I made it clear I want everything in my own name, since am planning on a sojourn into Central Asia come the time, and he was he could do this.

Anyway as impatient as I was to get on the back of my new moto, and as much as I was looking to an early start down to Yuxi tomorrow to get it all happening, I'm trying to look on the bright side and start ordering the things I'll need from Taobao.

So, maybe you lads could help me out here- I need:

1) Security- Am thinking about an alarmed Xena disc-lock for the front wheel, and am trying to decide on a mechanism for the back- how are the OnGuard chain locks? They certainly aren't cheap, are they worth it? Any more affordable but usable options? How about a GPS tracker, LJH you seem to have some knowledge on these but I've only been able to find older posts.. Lastly, alarm system- worth it, any recommendations?

2) Horns- Is it worth picking up a pair on Taobao or should I just get a couple at the local bike accessories market?

3) Lights- prince and doc have covered this well, just wondering if anyone knows a reliable brand that makes HID 4000-6000 K lamps?

doc the HJC IS-Max is a modular helmet, unless I'm very much mistaken, and was purchased by quite a few members on here due to comfort, quality of build etc, what don't you like about it so much?

Foxy

[zhu]

Security ALL of the above and imported locks if you can get them . GPS tracker is well worth the money .. you wont like the feeling if it gets stolen trust me. Good luck with the transfer foxy. Thinking about buying a new one myself now I miss the old girl so much . (no not the wife)

[foxy88]

Security ALL of the above and imported locks if you can get them . GPS tracker is well worth the money .. you wont like the feeling if it gets stolen trust me. Good luck with the transfer foxy. Thinking about buying a new one myself now I miss the old girl so much . (no not the wife)

Ok Zhu, I'll go for maximum security. Yeah unfortunately I'm acquainted with the feeling, just after I moved to China I bought myself a big new e-bike, almost 5,000, it disappeared in less than a month. I know that sick, sinking feeling, that helpless, useless fury..

[bikerdoc]

Now that likely explains why there's difficulty plating the bike in your name. The Fapiao needs to be in your name, and depending on the regulations and usual practice in that jurisdiction the fapiao would also need to be in either your Chinese or foreign name, though it might have been possible to have both names put on the fapiao depending on the IT program. With the fapiao issued in the dealers name, the easiest method is to have the dealer plate the bike in his name, then do a paper transaction that in theory shows you have bought the bike. There are fees involved in this, and the caveat that, some jurisdictions only allow transfer of ownership and consequently re-plating after a certain period of time has elapsed e.g. BJ = 2 or 3 years.

As for alarms, disc locks, GPS trackers, horns etc., and whether to buy these locally versus online e.g. Taobao, it depends.

I'd start by reading reviews of the different category reviews on a website like web bike world to get an overview on what's hot and what's not in various product categories. Then try searching for whatever product takes your fancy.
Be prepared to spend more to get generally better quality products. You're less likely to buying a fake. Pricing of a product available abroad can serve as a fairly reliable gauge on any price point, with few exceptions.
If you buy locally at a shop then you might be limited in terms of choices, though in many instances if you're buying from a MC shop then the products bought are often installed free of charge, or for a minimal fee. Keep in mind TIC so harm minimisation to ones psyche by way of micro-managing installs and other related tasks is recommended.

There are threads on MCM that detail and demonstrate some of the methods and tactics thieves use to steal MC's here. A number of on-line video's also assist in that regard. If a thief is anything more than an opportunist, then there's really no need to worry about going overboard when it comes to security.

[njbrwn]

t han k s for the advice all, just to be clear, I was still going to buy the bike from the same dealer doing the plating, he just had to order the model in from another shop (bc he didn't have it in store).
Basically how the situation pans out here is that I live in jingdeZhen in jiangxi, where they won't plate any bikes. The county over, wuyuan, will. The dealers in wuyuan and originally said that with a temp residency it'd be no worries. The guy at the dmv in jingdezhen said that mc plating is starting back up this summer, which is why I thought about switching plates.
Has anyone by chance plated a bike in jiangxi? I don't believe what I'm being told about it being an "insurance" issue. Seems ridiculous that insuring is the thing stopping the process. Also, isn't the insurance in the cheguansuo anyways?
One last thing, you were saying the issues of having another name if I was in a crash by chance. Is that because insurance needs to be sorted out that it could be an issue? Also, isn't any foreigner in Beijing riding on b's riding on plates that aren't in their name?
Friends I've talked in other cities (and seen on here) said the dealership just registered for them, does that imply with their name or without?

[foxy88]

@njbrwn From what I've been able to figure the dealer's should certainly be able to register in your name. For convenience you might have to give them your Chinese name, which you can make up if you don't have one- in fact they may insist on using a Chinese name. My driver licence is issued in my Chinese name but with my passport number instead of an ID card number, which works very nicely to tie my actual name and Chinese name together, I just need to produce both at the same time.

An update, seeing as it's been a while. The happy ending is within grasp. I went down to Yuxi a few days ago, picked up my bike and rode her back to Kunming. The caveat is that it has not actually been registered in my name as yet. I was tired of waiting, and when the policeman told me that I would have to wait a few days extra for the registration to be completed in his name before we could do a transfer, as the powers that be had taken some time off for Children's Day and Dragon Boat Festival which pushed everything back, I got fed up, reminded him of the fact that a bike can be legally ridden for 3 months before it has to be registered, and said I was coming down to pick it up.

So I have the contract between us, have the original fapiao, and a swathe of other pertinent documents. Hopefully can get transfer of registration completed by the end of this week, but most importantly, I have my bike!

After spending a year on an electric scooter the YBR250 is a dream. Haven't had much time to ride yet, but went for a spin with the missus on the weekend. It was pissing down rain, froze my nuts off the whole morning cruising down the speedway and getting drenched by passing trucks until we stopped for roast duck at a famous countryside restaurant and the sun decided to make an appearance. Took the old rode coming back home in the arvo, passing through little villages and by lakesides, was magical.

The bike is quiet, smooth, competent. I've been taking it easy, trying to break her in slowly, but seems I might have already made a few errors. According to the manual, I shouldn't be going over 5k revs for extended periods of time for the first 1000km, and not exceeding 6000r/min for prolonged periods during the 1000-1,600km period. This is fine, as she sits at around a comfortable 80km/h when doing 5k/min, but after reading up some more apparently I shouldn't be going anywhere near the highway, shouldn't be carrying a passenger, should have changed oil and filter a couple of times already (I did my first change yesterday, think I might have cocked it up, certainly made a big mess, and didn't change the filter since they're seriously bloody hard to come by around here but have ordered 5 new originals from Taobao), and should just be doing city riding with maximum movement through the gear range. The manual doesn't call for an oil/filter change until 1,000km, and I spend my whole week cooped in the city so come Saturday morning I want to get me some village and countryside.. Any thoughts on the break-in process? Zhu, Modron how did you go about yours? I'm on around 340km atm, looking to add to that very shortly

I've been flat-out Taobaoing, preparing for the big ride. Have picked up a windscreen, disc-lock, GPS tracker recommended by Serpentza in another post, rear chain-lock, GDW saddle bags, and am still going. Doc you might be able to help out, I've narrowed down the head-light options to the below three, they all offer 4200K and the ballast seems fairly slimline, I'll be going for the 35W option, envisaging problems with the 55W.. They're all Xenon lamps, the thing that I've been wondering though is how does high-beam and low-beam work with HID lights? My motorbike Chinese is still in the developing stage, they may well have explained this in there but I'm lost on the specialist words.

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=...ilo0b3e#detail
http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?spm...u=91imjilo29c5
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=...ilo4967#detail

Find a few pictures attached below for your perusal pleasure, please excuse the shitty phone-camera quality for the moment.. Forgot to mention but I took a spin on Mr Tuhao Policeman's mate's CBR1000RR（I think?), took it round a very large parking lot at some pace and didn't get out of 1st.. Reckons he's had it at 260km/h on the freeway, they're keen for me to join their biking club activities, but among everything else I fear on a 250'er I'd be Johnny-at-the-back..

image.jpgimage_1.jpgimage_2.jpgimage_4.jpg
There she sits in all her glory..

image_3.jpg
The nouveaux-riche of this world and their toys.


EDIT: For some reason the remaining pics of farmhouse ruins, Mr Roast Duck Esq. and the happy cooks won't upload, very annoying. How do you go about doing photo uploads again, just by using the 'Insert Image' button when replying to a post, or is there a shinier way?

[bikerdoc]

Firstly congrats on the ride.

Secondly, pics are .limited to five (5) per post unless you are hosting them elsewhere from memory. So if you are uploading photos directly to MCM then resize them and limit to 5.

Thirdly, you really need to get that Yammie plated in the previous owners name. The Fapiao if issued in his name, isn't going to be much good for you... to get it plated in yours (irrespective of your foreign or Chinese name). Read that the fapiao in the first owners name is going to be a significant impediment to you getting a plate. This might not seem a hurdle to you now since you simply want your bike, but it will become a right pain in the arse down the track. Can't stress it enough. You may just end up with a bike stuck in no-mans-land that can't be plated. It's happened before (read Gorka's CF650NK thread where Gorka, a foreigner from Tianjin bought a second hand MC in Shanghai that didn't have a plate but was essentially legal). In this instance, the original owner (foreigner in Shanghai) bought a new CF650NK, but didn't have a PRC MC licence, also didn't appreciate how expensive and complicated it was to plate a MC legally so he never plated the 650NK. The original owner had the fapiao though bless, which was a bonus as he found the MC confiscated one night when he was stopped by the police on one of his nightly ritual rides in Shanghers. He ventually got that MC back because he was able to produce the fapiao in his name, but not before playing a substantial fine. Lucky he wasn't put in detention for 15 days. He eventually sold the bike to Gorka who travelled from Tianjin for a fairly descent bargain. Gorka, the Tianjin based foreigner had the sense to get a new fapiao issued in Shanghai (had to pay 10-15% tax) for the privilege. Only to discover that the Tianjin authorities would not accept the fapiao... offering an excuse that the fapiao needed to be in his Chinese name, not foreign name. Despite his best efforts and dogged determination and unsuccessful perseverance, he ended up selling the bike.
Getting illegal in Tianjin
Gorka's CF650NK
New rider in Tianjin (Gorka)
Now can you get a new fapiao issued in your name, paying the 'fee' - well again PRC one bgi country full of many empires and kingdoOms... no guarantees, and if even you can then what? Might be easy, might work, might not. No 'one size fits all'.
Something so simple that we take for granted is already pretty complex and complicated, like most things here, if one can scratch beneath the veneer. PRC has a label 'developing country' for a reason.

As for the HID's. TMall sellers are 'generally' better to deal with, as they pay a premium to be Tmall-ers. As for the HID setup itself, there is a positive fused wire/cable that connects direct to the battery, so the HID ballast has 'power' enabling the passing switch to work/activate the 'flash to pass' when pressed. The rest is based off of the standard headlight plug, plus a couple of male/female wires that connect to the ballast. Easy as.

Note that one of the three examples uses a sliding/rotating bezel/housing round the bulb, which means that bulb is on when switched on and the high vz a vz low is facilitated by the rotation of that housing electrically. http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=...ilo4967#detail

The other two examples are the pretty standard toggle up/down bulb, meaning the light bulb moves (toggles) up and down, hence providing a change in the distribution of light as it reflects of the inner headlight reflector. Not all HIDs are created equal. HIDs for cars MAY not work on MCs and vice versa. The first type with the rotating bezel/housing reduce glare scatter.

A true 35W HID is almost equivalent to around 90W halogen. Plenty IMO and not too taxing hopefully on the Yammie alternator etc.

Just note too that some HIDs are manufactured with a HID low beam Xenon gas bulb but a Halogen gas high beam bulb... so look carefully at the pics on the Taobao links. Double check. Just because it's advertised on Taobao with photos, don't make it real, Photoshop (PS) and Bull faeces are the locals best friends... and as usual YMMV!

[ZMC888]

See the bike isn't plated, major bummer.
Requirement one is to get a plate. You should have blackmailed the seller, plate or no cash. Once they have your money it's a case of on the never never, dealer or private seller. IMHO an unplated, uninsured bike is worth half of a legal one.

Hope everything comes though for you and he plates the bike for you, fingers crossed on your behalf.

About oil, I'd go with the best fully synthetic Elf or Shell (domestically produced) you can get. I think there is even a 15W50. Imported oil is better but the chances of buying fake are much more likely. Elf is about 80 yuan, Shell maybe 100 plus a liter.