China > France (Spring 2015)

[JulienR]

Hi Julien, I was just thinking after reading this post and your recent update(s), maybe you might be interested in a trip/ride that a few riders will be doing at the end of the year: PRC -> Laos -> Thailand (Northern Thailand where there is some fantastic riding routes, and way friendlier circumstances than here IMO), and then back again.

Dates are not set in stone as yet, but looking at possibly December. The time expected for the ride is likely no less than 6 weeks, though realistically probably more, as it would take at least a week or ten days to ride from this part of PRC down to CR. Getting a legally plated PRC bike into the aforementioned countries is easy as Prince666 has just done a complete circumnavigation of said routes (crossing borders without issue) over the last 2 months on a YBR125G (legally plated/documented) - which as turns out was pretty ideal for the trip - as a more dual purpose bike was a necessity for approx 30% of the journey based on the routes chosen - of that 30% roughly 10% a road bike would not have gotten through. Many mud sections and landslides encountered along the way.

Different route choices might make taking a more road orientated bike a viable option.

That said though, there are some really great off-road riding sections worth the ride in Northern Thailand, that makes a dual purpose adventure style bike a worthwhile choice.

Another choice is that one can/could fly into Northern Thailand (ChiangMai or ChiangRai) and rent a bike for the duration. I undertook this option this past January & February 2014, flying from Ningbo - CR and renting/riding a CB500X (excellent bike and did very well off road). I'll add a couple of photos from the trip here shortly... just to get ya taste-buds a-flowing

For the upcoming trip, I've purchased a new imported ADV bike suitable for the intended journey.

PM if you're (or anyone else is) interested.

Hi Doc,

Thats an awesome trip...Would love to join but i am just back from Chiang Mai (where i rented a Yam Bolt 900cc for few days) and have to go back to France for Christmas period, so no more holiday flexibility unfortunately...

Thanks a lot for letting me know. and lets try to catch up one Weekend around MGS / Anji. We are planning a weekend trip with Mark (mblank) soon.

Cheers

[bikerdoc]

Thai taster...

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[prince666]

Hi guys
Just like to post a few pictures taken
over the last few days on the way back
To Hainan from Thailand , decided to hug
the border road between vaitnan / china
found some of the best scenic roads
To be found in this area , but like most
roads in China you have to expect the
unexpected and at one part I must of
Crossed over 200 landslides just so
happy I was not on a street bike ?

image.jpg

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[vivacity]

ive a friend who's currently riding from Beijing to Berlin on his shineray 400 ! not the best bike choice apparently ,he's in those stans countries now and he been fixing his bike for some major quality problem regularly ,the biggest one was a broken suspension ,etc !!!...give ur wechat i can hook u up with the guy for some advices ! Berlin /France ...pretty much the same way to go !

[JulienR]

Hi guys
Just like to post a few pictures taken
over the last few days on the way back
To Hainan from Thailand , decided to hug
the border road between vaitnan / china
found some of the best scenic roads
To be found in this area , but like most
roads in China you have to expect the
unexpected and at one part I must of
Crossed over 200 landslides just so
happy I was not on a street bike ?

image.jpg

image.jpg

image.jpg

image.jpg

image.jpg

Nice pics - thanks for sharing but except a YZ Yam , difficult to pass this hole :)

[JulienR]

ive a friend who's currently riding from Beijing to Berlin on his shineray 400 ! not the best bike choice apparently ,he's in those stans countries now and he been fixing his bike for some major quality problem regularly ,the biggest one was a broken suspension ,etc !!!...give ur wechat i can hook u up with the guy for some advices ! Berlin /France ...pretty much the same way to go !

Thats awesome ! Good to know the Shineray is not the right option, fortunately did not buy it yet...Hope your friend is alright!
It will be wonderful if i can connect him with Wechat. Mine is Julien_Reversat.

cheers mate,

[mblank]

BD,

I had a few days on the CB500X as well last year, driving from Chiang Mai to the Burmese border - I think the place is called Pai - and around. Really nice bike, I agree. Good on dusty offroad tracks (although didn't encounter mud), and powers through on fast tarmac as well, plus comfortable for hours on end.

I can imagine it would be a very reliable companion for the sort of trip we are discussing here, and the engine will be bulletproof.

Have you seen them in China, or have they started copying it yet?

M.

[prince666]

BD,

I had a few days on the CB500X as well last year, driving from Chiang Mai to the Burmese border - I think the place is called Pai - and around. Really nice bike, I agree. Good on dusty offroad tracks (although didn't encounter mud), and powers through on fast tarmac as well, plus comfortable for hours on end.

I can imagine it would be a very reliable companion for the sort of trip we are discussing here, and the engine will be bulletproof.

Have you seen them in China, or have they started copying it yet?

M.

The CB500X is made in Thailand and
Very soon will be available in China at a
Price that should be interesting !
To consider a copy one if made you
Would just end up with one more Chinese
badly made bike that falls apart after
10 km IMO .

[bikerdoc]

As Prince666 wrote having a copy of the CB500X or similar would likely not be worthwhile unless it was made by one of the better MC manufacturers. At the end of the day though, obtaining the real deal CB500X would likely only cost approx 30-35% more than most overseas markets given that the CB500 series bikes are made in Thailand, as there are obviously some preferential and favourable import policies for ASEAN member countries exporting MC's into PRC as can seen from my Thailand vs International pricing comparison post.

For the time being only the CBR500R and CB500F are available through the Chinese Honda distributor. Who knows if or when the powers that be will import the CB500X. Some of the independent shops (e.g. Tonjoy) might have access or import the CB500X, though as of about 2 months ago, they had no plans to do so at the time.

Apparently there is supposedly some decision making going on at then moment and announcements forthcoming in or around October concerning motorcycles, and not just specifically related to Honda either. Both Honda and Kawasaki confirm that they'll likely be party to these announcements though nothing was forthcoming in the conversations I had at the time. Might not be anything too significant, perhaps it might be just some special price promotions for the October 'National Day holiday', or perhaps some new model announcements... all conjecture at this point...

[JulienR]

Someone heard about this Ata Carnet to pass customs at each border ? Needs more info to figure out what is this .
cheers