USA Enduro/ ADV Rider living in Shanghai- I WANNA RIDE

[cfrankhouser]

Greetings ladies and gents, just wanted to stop by and introduce myself. My name is Connor Frankhouser and, like many of you, I have a passion for all things two wheels. Be it a Japanese or Austrian or Spanish make with cams or with ports and power valves, I love them all and have ridden most of 'em and wrenched on many of them.

Anyways, I am a 23 year old recent uni graduate from TEXAS teaching school here in Shanghai, P.R.C. Not mixing up bean oil on Sunday mornings is killing me and I stumbled across this forum and thought I could ask the men and women of this forum a few questions on how to get into the MX/ Enduro or dual sport culture here...

1- Is it possible to buy a decent Japanese Dirt Bike here (125 2-stroke or 250f at minimum...preferably a 250 two stroke or 450 four stroke). Two or four stroke does not matter, though I do prefer the 99 and up Yamaha YZ 250s (2 stroke) or an 08 and up KTM- but I suspect the Katooms will be too expensive here. If purchasing a bike from Japan or Austria is not possible, are the Chinese dirt bikes worth a hoot? Where do I go buy either a real Suzuki/ Honda/ Yamaha or a Dongfeng Guangdog Province Special... I haven't seen any good Japanese machines on craigslist or the for sale section here.

2-If I did acquire a machine, where does a laddie go to ride? I have seen people allude to going to Sichuan on a train to ride while lurking on this forum. Do people really do this?

3- How much RMB will a decent machine cost? The number I am thinking of is what it would cost for a good used bike in America, multiplied time six to get the RMB price.

A little background... I raced around Texas in the Texas State Championship Enduro Circuit a bit (TSCEC) with my dad who is one of the fastest 40+ year old A riders in the American South. He has ridden with Randy Hawkins and all kinds of other enduro and GNCC royalty and held his own. I once saw him lose to Guy Cooper (a venerable MX God to people from Oklahoma and Texas) by only four bike lengths at our local MX track in 1998. This was not even a decade after Coop was the 125cc national champion. I am just proud of my old man I guess, so I digress

After I went off to college I stopped riding as much but still kept up with the sport and riding... just not on each Sunday like I used to. My preferred weapons of choice are a 99-04 YZ 250 with a 9 oz Steahly Flywheel weight and FMF Gnarly Pipe or my Dads 01 KTM 525 EXC or Husaberg 450 FE for High Altitude Applications. I also enjoy riding around on his KTM 950 Adventure
when he lets me, which is all too seldom.

If any of you guys want to bench race or talk about moto or the sport in general I am in Shanghai... add me on wechat.... cfrankhouser or drop me a line at connor.frankhouser@gmail.com I have attached a picture of me and my dad about to hit the trails in New Mexico. I am on the left on the Husaberg and he is on the right on the trusty big bore KTM.


IMG_0136.jpg

[zhu]

Welcome to China. Yes people do send their bikes to Sichuan but not usually mx bikes. Competition riding in China is just weird shit for rich folks and I would just get a nice dualspo t and go fo a ide. Seems my " " not wo king.

[ChinaV]

The number I am thinking of is what it would cost for a good used bike in America, multiplied time six to get the RMB price.

Get ready to be bummed out. If you want your moto life to be like it was before you came to China, you're going to spend A LOT of money. If you can live with compromises, things aren't that bad, although Shanghai is not a good location to be a hard core motorcycle enthusiast.

[VroomVroom]

You might be able to find some motocrossers or enduro riders in or around that area. They will know where the best places are to ride. Just gotta check out the local bike markets and ask around. Usually the place with the Japanese off-road bikes parked out front will house the local riders.
Unfortunately I don't know anything about the Shanghai scene. Only here in Chengdu. Seems there are some competitions to join in on if you know the right people.

In terms of bikes check out moto8. You can search for off-road bikes and often they have new and used KTMs, Huskys, yamahas etc. Me myself I recently purchased a KDX. Prices range significantly but if you got about 30,000rmb+ to spend you will find something decent. Finding parts can be a pain, so try find a source before you lay down the cash on a bike. Taobao may have after-market parts or you can speak to local mechanics.
In Chengdu theres a KTM store but very expensive. 100,000 rmb for competition dirt bikes brand new.

Chinese bikes are coming along... but still not up to Japanese quality or performance levels. Most bikes are low on power (25hp for 250cc 4 stroke) and far heavier than they should be. Even so you might want to check out the Shineray, Asia wing (they do a copy of the crf450) and Kayo line up. Prices ranges from 10,000-30,000rmb

Most people who ship their bikes, usually do so for travelling around new areas. China has some amazing places to see especially in the west (Sichuan) and South (Yunnan). Distances to get there can be huge (motocross bikes wouldn't be so comfortable) so usually we drive dual sports or adventure bikes. 5,000rmb will get you something drivable for some longer trips. Fortunately the cost and convenience of shipping bikes is excellent and definitely worth considering doing during your stay in China. If you want to come check out Sichuan, theres a lot of ride reports on MCM of people and other expats here who would be happy to help you out with routes and other info, me included.

Welcome to China and make sure you overcome the challenges of riding here, put the key in the bike and have fun.

[moilami]

Welcome. You seem to be a good writer, so I hope to get detailed postings about your adventures of motorcycling in P.R.C. :D

[cfrankhouser]

Welcome. You seem to be a good writer, so I hope to get detailed postings about your adventures of motorcycling in P.R.C. :D

Thank you moilami! I had to learn something about writing after four years in college in the states, after all. I will certainly post any pictures I get up here. The real hurdle will be finding a bike and a place to take cool pictures at, seems I am in the wrong part of the continent to get the full experience.

[cfrankhouser]

Welcome to China. Yes people do send their bikes to Sichuan but not usually mx bikes. Competition riding in China is just weird shit for rich folks and I would just get a nice dualspo t and go fo a ide. Seems my " " not wo king.

Zhu- Do you have any recommendations for a decent Chinese-made dual-sport machine I could purchase here in Shanghai?

[cfrankhouser]

Vroom Vroom, any pointers on what make/ model would be the most wise 5,000 RMB expenditure.

Wait until I make it back home to Texas for Christmas and tell the guys at the Husqvarna/ KTM shop in town the prices a bike goes for in China. They will freak out. Thank you for your generous offer to help show me around your province, once I get my bike situation sorted out I hope to make it down to your neck of the woods and to the eternal spring land of Kunming/ Yunnan.

I do have one question though... how hard is it to plate a dual sport? I will search the forum harder, but it seems my best option is to register the bike in Jiangsu or a bordering province- just wanted to see if you had any other advice for getting legal. I saw where one fellow on this forum was in jail for eleven days. Don't want to have that happen.

Thanks in advance!

[VroomVroom]

Vroom Vroom, any pointers on what make/ model would be the most wise 5,000 RMB expenditure.

Wait until I make it back home to Texas for Christmas and tell the guys at the Husqvarna/ KTM shop in town the prices a bike goes for in China. They will freak out. Thank you for your generous offer to help show me around your province, once I get my bike situation sorted out I hope to make it down to your neck of the woods and to the eternal spring land of Kunming/ Yunnan.

I do have one question though... how hard is it to plate a dual sport? I will search the forum harder, but it seems my best option is to register the bike in Jiangsu or a bordering province- just wanted to see if you had any other advice for getting legal. I saw where one fellow on this forum was in jail for eleven days. Don't want to have that happen.

Thanks in advance!

Best dual sports i've ridden or know people who have. For 5000rmb I would try to find a reasonable condition used:


Qingqi 125/200/250 tibetan mastiff
Shineray x1/x2/x3
Zongshen sierra 200 (No longer in production)
Jialing 223cc wingman

Avoid ANYTHING that isn't made solely by a big manufacture. CQR bikes you see are VERY poor quality and hobbled together by random factories with no control over quality.

They should be plate-able outside Shanghai and you can drive them anywhere in the countryside. (I know Shanghai has very expensive/limited issuing of license plates).

First you'll need to convert your US motorcycle license. Registering a used or new bike is fairly easy. As long as you have all the correct paperwork and the bike is on the list of approved bikes.