Hi group!

I'm glad to have found this forum (through google, via a motorcycling thread on TheBeijinger).

I'm fairly new to motorcycling in general, having completed my licence in Canada a few years ago, after having caught "the bug" with a 50cc scooter. Since then, the only riding I've done outside of my courses was when I borrowed a friend's Yamaha XT250 for a month last spring. I had a blast riding down to New York through the Adirondacks and the Catskills.

Now, I've been in Beijing on and off for a year, and I'd love to start riding here. Not in-town, mind you, as I want to stay alive, but on day-trips outside of the city, to start. Then further afield... I'll be avidly reading the ride reports here!

I read a great thread on TheBeijinger with all the basics of buying a bike (dealers, use an agent, register in a company's name outside the 5th ring road, etc). Now, my problem is getting a licence, as I'm on a multiple-entry tourist visa. I understand that I need a visa with at least one entry over 90 days. My current plan is to register for a semester of part-time Chinese courses at an accredited school, which can give me the paperwork for a 90 day+ X2 visa. Then I can get my licence, and once the X2 visa is up, I can revert to a tourist visa, and my licence (reportedly) won't be taken away.

Would my plan work?

Thanks for the feedback! :D