50cc motorbike (scooter) questions

[apoftelbrau]

Hi,

For an around town bike (Shanghai) is it not possible to own and ride a 50cc bike without even having a licence? By licence I mean a licence to drive one. As for the plate, i think it might be a special green plate that would be cheap.

ATM I need something quickly to get around town with, since my e-bike was stolen. I could get another e-bike, but then i'm thinking, why not just try a 50cc bike. GY6 50 motor is made in China, people have gotten them up to 70mph with some after-market parts.

Wondering if there are any 125cc bikes with which one could then get a shop to swap out the engine for the GY6 50, after moto licence and expensive A plate saved up for, switch the motors back out to original. All 50cc bikes i've seen here are tiny, i'm 6 foot 1.

Stupid idea? Probably illegal in many ways.

[braillce]

[...] Stupid idea? Probably illegal in many ways.

Stupid idea; no.

Probably illegal in many ways; yes.


Many 50cc are street legal, but u need:

- a Chinese driving license
- a blue plate
- to drive in the bicycle lane
- proof of ownership (fapiao)
- insurance

The only "stupid" part of ur idea is u want to retro fit a 50cc engine into a 125cc frame. There's no legal advantage. U can't put a smaller engine on any frame to get registered in a smaller category.

People are more into getting a 125cc frame and fitting a 250cc engine after registration... Or converting a LPG scoot into regular gas. Or buying one of those 50cc (on the paper) scoots with blue plates while they actually are 125 or 150cc, they sell them like this and it's the only way I've ever heard one can "cheat" while registering a scoot.

You have two options:

- Stick to electric bikes.
- Pass ur Chinese license.


Once u got the license, plates are not so important, u need one, but it doesn't have to be the A plate. Fines are between 50 & 200 RMB for non A plates. U can just escape the cops, but need ur license for the days u can't escape.

U can also just buy whatever u want and ride fully illegal but that's a big risk nowadays, I know someone who was jailed 1 week and deported and stamped "criminal in China" in his passport. That was a couple years back, while police enforcement is much harder nowadays.

Pass ur license (everyone sees it as impossible but it's easy, especially if u got already a foreign moto license).

Get a not so noticeable 125-150cc bike like a scooter. One that looks like electric bikes would be the best and with not too powerful sound and just leave the throttle alone near cops.

Get a cheap out of town plate for near to nothing with ur scoot so u're fully legit.

So riding in city center would be ur only infraction and it's a small one.