SIG, as a newbie myself, with barely 8 months of motorcycling to my name, I can say you've come to the right place. MCM is an amazing fount of wisdom, experience, peer support, clever invention and the occasional laugh or two. MCM has emboldened me to go for a substantial chunk of motorcycle here, the Jialing JH600, and in barely 3 months I've put 5,000km on the clock, including what for me was an epic ride from to Beijing from Shanghai over the past three days.

First piece of advice: Don't listen to your friend about a license being hard to get. The exams are becoming standardized, you can take the test in English (probably, and, if not, you can get a "translator" to translate for you, as TexasAggie did in Nanjing; it helped that the translator knew all the answers), and most of the questions are pretty logical (like this one: It's not advisable to ride a motorcycle in high-heeled shoes -- true or false). And believe it or not, getting into China's regulatory maze can be enlightening and also empowering, in a masochistic sort of way. Lots of us have gotten licensed here, including several who had to take a "formal" riding course as well because they didn't present with overseas motorcycling licenses. This might seem a hassle, but it gets you out of your strange suburbia and in among the hoi polloi, which can be very gratifying. And once you've passed, you then not only have bragging rights but also valuable info that you can then pass on to others. It's fun being the first at anything. And, thinking again of your advice-giving friend, if you don't like hassles, why in hell are you in China? Learn to relish them!

again, welcome!