Getting (il-)legal in Tianjin 天津

[gorka]

Hi LJH,
You understood correctly. Plus, I also have a fapiao on my name, issued expressly by demand of those Tianjin bureaucrats.
You are also right about the book. What I have is the tax paid book. Sorry for the confussion, I wrongly assumed I was the proud owner of a blue book.
I will do as you say and contact these guys, thanks for the invitation to leave the bike through the process!! I will come back when I get their answer.
Thank you very much,
Gorka.

[JayDee]

@Danny: that's weird, I wonder why guards paid by your management fees care what kind of vehicle you park on private property... Can't you say you want to rent a parking lot for your car, and then just park your bike there anyway? As long as you paid... Sometimes business opportunities need to be forced upon them.

@gorka: TIT again... Hope it works for you in BJ, good luck!

[gorka]

@gorka: TIT again... Hope it works for you in BJ, good luck!

So far I got a confirmation that the fapiao should have my Chinese name for Tianjin registration. Apparently this is also the case in BJ.
If I can get my fapiao and tax back I will continue with the process in TJ. If not I will look for options in BJ.
For the moment I'm still waiting for the agent to contact me back.
Last weekend I went with some locals for a ride all the way to Singapore Eco city, north of TEDA. All big bore bikes, no number plates and everybody pretty comfortable.

[ahernandez74]

After all the posts about the crackdown in Beijing I thought I'd add some info about what's going on in TJ:

Last May early in the morning on the South ring road you could find "sting" operations of police pulling over overloaded trucks, unplated trucks, etc... I was happy! Then throughout the summer (while I was gone) the operation moved on to cars, and now it's finally move on to motorbikes.

Keep in mind that driving on the ring road IS legal, but there's been a sting setup at the South ring road by the new Meijiang convention center in the afternoons for well over a month now. Unfortunately this operation seems only to be focused on "real" bikes (ignoring delivery boy bikes and R9s). And it seems to be a coordinated effort in making it as unsafe as possible.

My buddy had the police sneak around behind him while waiting at a red and take the key out of his ignition, then refuse to let him move to the shoulder while they interrogated him. They didn't give a damn he just didn't want to get rear-ended by a semi truck barreling down the road.

I was riding home from work in lane 2 going about 80kph when I saw some guy darting between the cars ahead. Turned out it was the police officer getting in position to stop me. He got directly in my lane, faced me and stuck his arms out wide. I started braking and swerved to the right in an effort to avoid widowing his wife (and mine...) when he lept the same direction shouting in Chinese "don't run off! don't run off! don't run off!" I was barely able to stop in time, he stepped up and tried to grab my key, but couldn't find it. I was trying to idle out of traffic, but he kept blocking the bike saying "give me your key give me your key!" I gave him the key and jumped off the bike to push it to the shoulder by his squad car but he kept blocking me saying "don't run off! I have your key!". I guess I know what the standard response and training is!

Anyways, I pulled over to the side, then he saw I was a foreigner and was shocked! He asked for my vehicle license which I handed to him, then he looked unhappy and went and had his partner make a phone call. The partner came back and said "boss says check for plates". Found my rear plate, back to the phone, "boss says check the front plate!". Found the front plate, back to phone... "check the insurance" "check the driver's license" "check his residency"

Finally after 15 minutes they gave me back my key, frustrated, and said, "well, just be careful". I said "thanks", they noticed how "lihai" I was for wearing a helmet, and a jacket. And I rode off, marveling at being told to be careful by the guy that walked across 4 lanes of traffic to deliberately get in my way...

Anyways, the most surprising things about this are 1) the duration of this crackdown on the ring road 2) the fact that it's on the ring road and not in the city where bikes are illegal

Things I wasn't surprised about 1) them not caring about R9s blowing the red lights 2) probable cause.... (this ain't America!)

I figure a few more weeks and things will be back to normal.

TIC.

Wow, Sounds like a lot of these police officers have a real life death wish.
Honestly, theres too much unregulated shit going on for them to crackdown specifically on just motorcycles. I think it's luck of the draw, you can get lucky
or test your luck. If you're a foreigner I think you can actually get away with a lot more.

[JayDee]

If you're a foreigner I think you can actually get away with a lot more.

Or less, depends who catches you.


2013-10-11-1404.jpg

That's the ride of one of my neighbors kid, used to be unplated, now it has 津 C ... and obviously lives inside the bike-banned zone.
Didn't have a chance yet to ask why and how.

[gorka]

Good to see you can plate a bike even if it is some time since you bought it.
For my particular case, and maybe some body else's, it would be good to know if the purchaser of the bike (name in the fapiao) and the name under which the registration has been made are the same. This seems unlikely from the plate, and the fact that buyer is probably dad and rider his kid. But it would be very nice to find out that fapiao and registration can go to different individuals, because then I could refute the claim that I need my fapiao reissued with my Chinese name.
If you have the chance, please find out. Is that a local or a laowai?
Cheers, Gorka.
PS: are you riding a 650nk?

[JayDee]

If you have the chance, please find out. Is that a local or a laowai?

It is a local. I will ask when I see him.

PS: are you riding a 650nk?

No, I have a Suzuki GW250.


By the way, I can confirm that riding the S40 Jinjingtang Expressway is no problem. Just roll up to the toll-booth, they will give you a ticket and you pay like a car at the end of your journey. Didn't try it with two-up yet.

[bikerdoc]

Good to see you can plate a bike even if it is some time since you bought it.
For my particular case, and maybe some body else's, it would be good to know if the purchaser of the bike (name in the fapiao) and the name under which the registration has been made are the same. This seems unlikely from the plate, and the fact that buyer is probably dad and rider his kid. But it would be very nice to find out that fapiao and registration can go to different individuals, because then I could refute the claim that I need my fapiao reissued with my Chinese name.
If you have the chance, please find out. Is that a local or a laowai?
Cheers, Gorka.
PS: are you riding a 650nk?

How you getting on Groka, getting your NK plated? Any updates as yet? I've a mate who hasn't plated his Benelli, but did manage to get his bike insured without plates - not exactly sure how this was achieved though since it was done with the assistance of one of the guys in our riding circle who owns a Benelli shop. If you get really stuck Gorka, then give me a shout (PM) and I'll approach this friend on your behalf to see if there is any way he might be able to assist you.

[gorka]

How you getting on Groka, getting your NK plated? Any updates as yet? I've a mate who hasn't plated his Benelli, but did manage to get his bike insured without plates - not exactly sure how this was achieved though since it was done with the assistance of one of the guys in our riding circle who owns a Benelli shop. If you get really stuck Gorka, then give me a shout (PM) and I'll approach this friend on your behalf to see if there is any way he might be able to assist you.

Hi Doc,
long time no see! Thanks for the support, I will keep in mind.
So far no real progress, but my luck may be just about to change. I have just made a new acquaintance with guanxis in the right place. Lets see what will happen in the next week or two.
Anyway, i have learnt a couple of things:
1. The fapiao must have my Chinese name as Tianjin traffic bureau claims. At least this is what an agent in BJ says
2. There is a procedure for claiming the tax money (and maybe the fapiao?) back. To apply, you need to get a "return bike verification閫€杞﹁瘉鏄" from the dealer.
3. In Tianjin, unlike Beijing, Shanghái and other places, you can not get the insurance before the plate (confirmed by 4 people)
4. All the previous is BS. At least we know a case of a korean guy who had his cars registered with an "english" name.

I have now asked my wife to try to get me, in the meantime, an insurance in SH, but im not sure how that will work

[gorka]

It is a local. I will ask when I see him.




No, I have a Suzuki GW250.



By the way, I can confirm that riding the S40 Jinjingtang Expressway is no problem. Just roll up to the toll-booth, they will give you a ticket and you pay like a car at the end of your journey. Didn't try it with two-up yet.

Thanks for asking JayDee.
Maybe I will have good news soon regarding my plates! I will let you kow.
Sorry for the mistake, the pic in the avatar is pretty small and I confused the bike. You are welcome to try mine anytime, if you are curious.
Cheers,
Gorka.