Here's another story: I met a friend who had an electric motorcycle. He was riding in the road when a Chinese woman ran out in front of him. He was probably going around 60-70kph, so the woman went flying and had a big gash on her head. Even though his bike was electric and it was the Chinese woman's fault, the police determined his ebike was "too fast" and they made him pay the 30,000+ yuan medical bills. He repaired the ebike, sold it, and now he rides an illegal 150cc. Lesson learned, he tried to be legal but got screwed over anyway!

It really isnt all that hard to avoid the traffic police in Nanjing...I have a Chinese friend who bought a 1000 kuai 125cc scooter and gets around just fine. He can even bribe the school guards with cigarettes to let him on campus. All you have to do is avoid the Xinjiekou area during the day, no problem! As for all this morality bullshit, what a joke... just because other people do it doesn't mean you should blah blah blah!!! This is China. The government pays people to drive around trucks and spray water on the road, explain that morality please. People drive on the wrong side of the road whether in a car or on a bike. People ride/drive without a license both in cars and on bikes. Soooo many people go through red lights, dont use signals, etc etc right in front of the police and the most ive seen them do is blow their whistle. You only get in trouble if you get in an accident or you get caught, so ride safe and dont get caught.

Bottom line: be aware, be safe, be courteous, dont hit anyone, dont get caught, and do whatever you want!