Chinese Brand R9 Help!!!

[sunnyjdsn]

Thanks for the awesome reply. About my gender, lol, Sunny is often used my gals, but I am definitely a guy and happily married. Would it be weird if I took my wife on those rides?

About the insurance, do I need to get insurance into my name? or should I just leave it alone? I'm a little worried since I don't really know what the coverage is.

Also, I'm assuming getting a Jing A tag is basically impossible?

Sunny

[Lao Jia Hou]

Dear Mr. Sunny:

Your wife would greatly enjoy the excursions, for sure. The mountains around Beijing are quite scenic, the air is cleaner, and there are nice little villages to have a lunch. I was out riding with a guy who has an R9 a couple of weeks ago, and his bike was quite powerful - I think it would easily handle two people around the mountains. He seemed to be very happy with his scooter.

As for insurance, it doesn't have to be in your name BUT you MUST have a motorcycle driving license for any insurance to be valid. No license, everything else is off the table. My guess is that the dealer arranged for the minimum 3rd party insurance - it costs almost nothing to have it upgraded.

I think a Jing A plate should be available if the bike can be registered for a B plate. I've never heard of a bike being able to get only a "B" plate, but not an "A" plate - but who knows. The dealer can help you out there, as the dealer should be doing this kinda stuff every day (or week). You'd have to meet the residency conditions for an A plate (living inside the 4th ring road, 6 month visa, etc). And, of course, the A plate will run you a lot of money (around 14 or 15K rmb, last I heard). And you'd definitely want it in your own name.

IMHO, you really need to get that driving license, asap. That is important.

[xiaoqiang]

I sadly have also bought an R9. I have seen these bikes using jing a and jing b plates, although most are non plated. However I asked my motorcycle mechanic about the legality of a jing b plate on the r9 and he claims they all are fake, also out of province plates are fake.. I will believe my mechanic before I trust a sales guy.

[Lao Jia Hou]

@ xiaoqiang - yup, always a distinct possibility of fake plates, but I think it is a bit too sweeping to say "all are fake". I own several bikes that are legally plated, including two with out-of-province plates. I recall reading somewhere that a bike shop can be held legally liable for any misfortune you might encounter (e.g., an accident) with an illegally plated bike that it sells you.

Most R9s that do not have the green book are indeed fake. But if a buyer gets the fapiao, insurance, both blue & green books, and associated documents, it is likely legal.

My suggestion would be to always deal with a shop that has a decent reputation.

[artedesenyo]

I have an R9 and it is certified as only 38cc so no need for a plate but there is a new rule that no plate no gas at every gasoline station so my wife complain and brag and whine at the dealer ( as i cant speak chinese ) until finaly he give me this small green book and a small white plate with geen plate number, he say this is registration plate for 50cc below then i dont have problems for gas. this R9 having 38cc is fast as i can cruise at 80 to 90 kmh, a friend told me it is actualy 125.....

for fake plates, as i do have a jing a plate for my other bike, real plates do have a circular copper thing in the middle of the jing A word and plate number used for police camera to detect and record if your over speeding or breaking a red light so after a year government can charge you, now this fake plates dont have this thing. also as richard have said it comes with a blue book with picture of the bike etc... one thing to look out for the blue book as we cant read chinese, make sure that the owner of the bike is in your chinese name as well as the insurance.

[xiaoqiang]

Yes. Sorry I am a skeptic. The r9 that I bought had papers that also say it is 35cc. But let's give the local constabulary credit for intelligence. You know and they know that the r9 is a 150cc bike. I don't want to appear as a hypocrite, or as a bad person. I may be rather naive and possibly a little stupid when it comes to current laws and policies in Beijing. I was told when I bought my r9 that it was registered 35cc and did not need a plate, etc. etc. I also bought my r9 at an unmentioned location across the 4th ring road from a police station. Today as I was riding home on it, I went thru a psb bike check directly across the road from where I bought the bike, now the police have my r9. They say I can retrieve my r9 tomorrow.

I became aware of the policy after I bought my r9. I did ride it knowing that there were issues and was bound to get caught, just a matter of time.

Further to my previous post. There is link on this web site with known brands of motorbikes and motor scooters that are legal and can be registered and insured in Beijing. I also belive that there is a government published list somewhere, just don't know where. I'm not sure if R9 is on this list. Lintek model may be on a government list.

[euphonius]

Dear Xiaoqiang,

Damn -- the cops confiscated your bike??? Very sorry to hear that. Do you mind my asking about the specific circumstances, and what justification they gave for confiscation? Also, what are the grounds for returning the bike to you tomorrow? That sounds pretty enlightened, unless there are mitigating circumstances you've not mentioned...

By the way, I see you're new to MCM, with only two posts. If you don't mind, please feel free to post a note about yourself and your ride in the "welcome to MCM" forum. I guess it's a bit much to ask for pix, if the bike is gathering dust in an impound yard! But pix are always welcome, and particularly so in your case with all the confusion about the bike's displacement, etc.

I like your writing style too. Not a journalist are you?

cheers!