I'm curious to find out how many premium bikes are stolen in China - I bet it is a lot - but I also bet that the actual number is tremendously under-reported ("excuse me trustworthy officer, but my illegal bike appears to be missing").

And also, the confiscation / scrapping of an unlicensed premium bike ... really? I kinda doubt that the "scrap yard" is going to crush a BMW or Harley or Ducatti or whatever. If the whole bike doesn't zoom out the back door, I bet the parts do ... and probably end up in a Franken-bike, sold as yet another unlicensed bike. I've heard stories that the guys down in GZ can create anything you wish. They have to get the parts from "somewhere" and I also kinda doubt the parts are imported.

Scary stuff thinking about the apparently very real possibility of a bike getting stolen.

By the way, what happens if a valuable, legally-plated Shanghai plated bike is stolen? Can you get a new plate?