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  1. #1 New rider British in Shanghai. Want to buy first bike 
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    Hi there, I'm a fairly new user of the site. I find it very useful as a resource. I am a Brit and have lived in China for nearly six years. Last year, I was bitten by the motorcycle bug. I got my Chinese license- C1D- last October and promptly went down to Yunnan to rent a bike(Got pictures of that- six days Dali-Lijiang-Baoshan and back). This was with tibetmoto.de An outfit I'd highly recommend for rental or tours. Helmut there helped me a lot even when I had a traffic police issue. I spent six days riding in the mountains of Yunnan on that trip on a Shineray X5 400cc .It was challenging but exhilarating. Since then, I have been looking to buy my first bike in China.

    This is a total obsession, something maybe you can all relate to, but it's weird having this new hobby and passion in a foreign country. I got my license after many exasperating experiences...in Shanghai.. and then the next problem of actually riding here. I had adventures in Yunnan but also an injury. Despite these problems, this bike thing won't go away.

    The problems I'm having atm concern buying and registering a bike. As you know Shanghai has a crazy plate system, so I'm considering moving out of the center of Shanghai in order to follow this passion. The difficult thing also is that every time I look at a bike for sale (four ridden now-( I took time off work and travelled to Nanjing the other week) , the rabbit hole seems to get deeper. Seems that all decent bikes (IE Japanese) are actually not sold here and the apps like XianYU offer many many illegal" bikes."I say illegal but an English speaking seller last week explained to me that all Chinese are aware of this and there are ways around it. There are however Chinese agencies or individuals that can register smuggled bikes and get plates. This all seems extremely clandestine, so I'm turning my attention again to Chinese made bikes. It's frustrating though.. Chinese police and sellers seem to present different versions of the truth, so I really want a way to talk to expats and other motorcycle enthusiasts on here in English.

    So I want to meet fellow enthusiasts, get advice and share stories.
    Pictures from the trip mentioned above (Dali-Lijiang- Baoshan Shitoucheng) in November 2016, with the trusty Shineray x5 400ccPicture 001.jpgPicture 002.jpgPicture 004.jpgPicture 005.jpgPicture 006.jpg
    Last edited by Metalmonkey; 03-17-2017 at 08:40 AM.
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  2. #2 Re: New rider British in Shanghai. Want to buy first bike 
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    More pictures from the trip mentioned above (Dali-Lijiang- Baoshan Shitoucheng) in November 2016 Picture 007.jpgPicture 008.jpgPicture 009.jpgPicture 010.jpgPicture 011.jpg
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  3. #3 Re: New rider British in Shanghai. Want to buy first bike 
    KING of MCM LOL prince666's Avatar
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    Hi and welcome to MCM
    Have A look at the Honda CB 500X which is now available in China.
    Also consider contacting BikerDoc on here as I do hear he could be selling his BMW F650 GS ( Legel and plated ) and he is located very near you ?
    I am located in Shandong province and I am just about to leave Thailand on the 24th March to pick up my bike that I left in kumming to finish the final leg of a 10 month ride China to UK and back again.
    Hoping to have 4 weeks riding around Yunnan and Sichuan.
    You have got this far by obtaining you C1D.
    DON'T consider I clone plated illegal bike.
    Last edited by prince666; 03-17-2017 at 09:03 PM.
    "Arguing on the Internet is like running in the Special Olympics, even if you win you're still retarded"
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  4. #4 Re: New rider British in Shanghai. Want to buy first bike 
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    Cheers for the support. Your trip sounds epic. Surely it's what every biker wants to do..go trans-continental.
    Thanks for your suggestions re bikes. As I said, I rode a 400cc in Yunnan and that was manageable, but dropped it in the dirt with painful and lasting effects. Um.. so I looked at the same Shineray for sale by a chinese chap from the Xianyu app in Nanjing earlier this month. Same bike, but suddenly seemed beyond me- maybe a bit spooked by the state of it- seat was not attached and actually came off when I first threw my leg over it. I'm far from an expert but pretty sure the back brake had a habit of sticking. The owner said"oh that's because this bike doesn't have ABS" fair enough, but the well cared for bike that I rented in Dali from The German guy didn't lock up and throw it's back wheel out once. Turned that one down.
    Next stop was a dr250xc 2017 sold locally. Luckily the guy spoke English. Bike is in great condition- he's hardly ridden it in four years and never dropped it. Also kept under cover. To my untrained eye, it looks new. Apart from an inability to locate neutral when stopped, very nice. Anyway, the thing abut this bike, apart from the price tag 19500 was that he said it is shuihuo- smuggled. As such he can't give me his blue book or green book. It cannot guohu. He can however put me in contact with the same person who plated it for his and hopefully get all papers and plates for 2000 kuai. Dodgy? Yes. Legal? Anyone know?
    So, I really like the bike and I think the weight is good for further training plus it's dual sport so great for off road. The problem comes that it's set way above the kelley blue book suggested price of $2,085 (okay, it's China, I'll swallow that) but more so that registration process leaves me upon purchase with a bike that's not legally mine. By all acccounts this is common.
    Does anyone have advice?
    I'm having to take in the wacky plating system here, then the fact I live in Shanghai... hmmm. I won't quite, but...
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  5. #5 Re: New rider British in Shanghai. Want to buy first bike 
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    Wait a minute.. so you've ridden from the UK to China and you're about to ride back? Crikey.
    Would love to do that. AtM I only have a Chinese motorcycle license so will have to get back to Blighty at some time to get a U.K one. Haha, also need a bike....
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  6. #6 Re: New rider British in Shanghai. Want to buy first bike 
    KING of MCM LOL prince666's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Metalmonkey View Post
    Wait a minute.. so you've ridden from the UK to China and you're about to ride back? Crikey.
    Would love to do that. AtM I only have a Chinese motorcycle license so will have to get back to Blighty at some time to get a U.K one. Haha, also need a bike....
    No I live in China rode to the UK and 25 EU country's and then back to China.
    Now please STAY away from bikes which are not fully legal.
    Don't matter what a Chinese friends say he can or can't do ?

    Your Chinese C1D is legal in the UK no problems.
    "Arguing on the Internet is like running in the Special Olympics, even if you win you're still retarded"
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  7. #7 Re: New rider British in Shanghai. Want to buy first bike 
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    Hi and welcome to MCM. Always good to have new riders around.

    Quote Originally Posted by prince666 View Post
    Now please STAY away from bikes which are not fully legal.
    This answers your question completely. You might be lucky with the coppers and they wont pull you over but when you have an accident (yes, its WHEN not IF here) you will be responsible for everything and might even face deportation. The other thing is that you would have to get a new registration every year or two so more $$$.

    There are some "ok" options here for a first bike. Browse through the site and Im sure youll find something.

    p.s. Did you pass your license in Chinese?
    Last edited by modron; 03-20-2017 at 01:38 AM.
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  8. #8 Re: New rider British in Shanghai. Want to buy first bike 
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    Yeah, Only did a written test in Chinglish at the Hami lu centre. Kept saying are you sure this is a full license? I speak Chinese but the intricacies of traffic law and motorcycles is beyond me. But, yes, I got a C1D.
    Feels like this road has had a few bumps in it. hmmmm. Amazed last year I started looking at pictures of the kawasaki 250tr and thought it looked great. I looked on here and found that I could get a license in China with my British driver's license. Anyway, then found the tr is not available here, then that the klr650 is also not for sale in china...disappointing.
    Now, what with living in Shanghai, the plot seems to thicken when it comes to buying and registering a bike.. ah well. I'm on this forum now. Jopefully can help.

    I'd like to ask anyone who knows, what is the heritage of the Qingqi qm200gy? Seen on here that it's a faithful copy of the Suzuki dr200. That would be great. Actually, when I baidu the model, a picture of this site's owner turns up:) Is the build quality good? problems with the bike? What about the 250cc version?

    Thanks,
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  9. #9 Re: New rider British in Shanghai. Want to buy first bike 
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    From what I hear the QM250GY is insanely reliable for a china bike. My buddy had one for over 60k km with no problems, and I know of at least 2 other ones that give no headaches to their owners. They are sold in the UK under Sinnis Apache and Pulse adrenaline brand (dunno if Im spelling correctly). They do have some long warranty period in the UK so Im guessing they dont break in the first few years ;)
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  10. #10 Re: New rider British in Shanghai. Want to buy first bike 
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    That's interesting above re the qm250gy. Put onto this from an old vid of serpentza's.... How come there are not more motovloggers like him in China? Am I wrong, or was he in China nine years ago posting?
    Anyway....
    @Prince 666 What did you ride to the U.K and back?
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