Greetings all,

Discovered this forum recently and was extremely impressed with the amount of information for people in my situation.

I have been in Beijing for 5 years and while I have owned an electric bike before (stolen within a month), I have decided to move into the world of proper biking.

I have a few questions regarding advice for complete biking beginners and specifically beginners in Beijing. I'm determined to do everything by the book and will do my licence test after the holidays but have a few questions about bike buying and recommendations. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

1. What bike would you recommend for someone in my situation (non-scooter), I prefer the sports bike style, not too concerned about break neck speed(as Im pretty sure at this level anything over 250cc might actually break my neck upon first rev),have a budget of 5 to 10K for the bike.

2. Should I go for a first or second hand bike? I have always thought that second hand bike buying here was quite tricky as there are many lemon horror stories out there.

3. Why are there so many bikes that have the exact same EVERYTHING (paint, displacement, shape etc) but with different Chinese manufacturers names on them?

4. While I am aware of the safety issues involved with large engine displacement bikes, I want to ride my bike for a few years before having to trade up. The number I had in mind was 200 - 250CC, do you think this is a good choice or should I be lowering my range?

5. Could anyone recommend any sites or guides for first motor bike ownership and maintenance that I could use to get up to speed (figuratively)?

6. What is the insurance situation in Beijing? There doesn't seem to be much info going around on that. I am pretty solid on the plates situation but still not clear on the rules surrounding insurance.

7. Could anyone give me any advice that you think is essential for new riders in Beijing.

Many thanks for your time and advice