How to get a Chinese Motorcycle License

[SaryTash]

Well if it's going to be a bike, it will HAVE to be a Chinese bike...always better to buy or hire local...other recommendations beside the MT?

So my conclusions so far are:
- not really necessary to get residence and full DL, it should be possible to get a temporary car and MOTO DL at Chengdu airport; this temporary DL together with an IDL should be good enough to drive anywhere
- it should be possible to obtain the bike from some dealer (easier rent than buy??)
- any of this failing, there's still the backup option of car rental

Did I get it right?

Thanks and regards!

Hoping this thread develops more over the next few weeks / months! I'm in a very similar situation, looking (hoping / praying) to acquire a bike, and the documents required to ride it as peacefully as possible, through Yunnan, Sichuan, and Xinjiang, with a tourist visa.

Looks like it won't be possible to do it 100% legit, but potentially doable.

Anyone have experience riding in (the remoter parts of) Western China recently? If so, what's the situation on the ground with security / checkpoints / freedom of movement?

Thanks in advance!

[andre555]

Xinjiang was closed recently, need travel permit similar to Tibet.

Yunnan and Sichuan should be fine.

[prince666]

Hoping this thread develops more over the next few weeks / months! I'm in a very similar situation, looking (hoping / praying) to acquire a bike, and the documents required to ride it as peacefully as possible, through Yunnan, Sichuan, and Xinjiang, with a tourist visa.

Looks like it won't be possible to do it 100% legit, but potentially doable.

Anyone have experience riding in (the remoter parts of) Western China recently? If so, what's the situation on the ground with security / checkpoints / freedom of movement?

Thanks in advance!

PM me if you want to buy or rent
A fully legal Cfmoto 650 MT
Fully set up for touring .

[SJtrophy900]

Hi gang, I'm a resident in the UK on a Full UK Licence my Fiancee will have her A2 licence by the time we start our Round the world tour.

After completing our USA leg we plan on flying the bikes into Shanghai {visiting Disneyland for a couple of days/nights and riding Northwest to Khorgas border crossing

Can any of you help us with the licencing and insurance details we will require

We plan on no more than 20-30 days in China including rest days along the route

We have a Triumph Trophy 900 and a YAMAHA Virago 535 if that helps
Thanks gang

[prince666]

Can't see it happening

Getting your bikes into China.

For the Chinese driving license you need longer then a 30 days visa to even apply.
Well good luck.


Even if you do get the bikes in and you was abel to get chinses DL
Then you have a big problem that Shanghai has a very strick Motoerbike ban.?


TIC

This is China,

[mmj]

As the man said, the short answer is unfortunately "no".

For the long answer, you can definitely search the forum for this issue and see lots of discussion by others about why not.

Maybe SE Asia to India?

[bikerdoc]

Hi gang, I'm a resident in the UK on a Full UK Licence my Fiancee will have her A2 licence by the time we start our Round the world tour.

After completing our USA leg we plan on flying the bikes into Shanghai {visiting Disneyland for a couple of days/nights and riding Northwest to Khorgas border crossing

Can any of you help us with the licencing and insurance details we will require

We plan on no more than 20-30 days in China including rest days along the route

We have a Triumph Trophy 900 and a YAMAHA Virago 535 if that helps
Thanks gang

The reality is that the process to get private vehicles into Ch!na is quite complicated and expensive. People have attempted to do so and few have been successful. There are numerous threads here on MCM detailing the same. In a snapshot, one has to use an approved travel guide (minder/facilitator) with the requisite government credentials. The dates, itinerary, routes and hotel accommodation are to be preapproved and fixed prior, with no variation to the planned route, or changes to any dates etc. All licenses for riders and bikes would be facilitated by the tour guide, meaning that the riders and motorcycles would be required to obtain PRC Drivers License and License Plates. These would be supplied and cover only the duration of the preapproved dates/itinerary. As Prince666 points out, any planned route would need to consider any areas/cities where motorcycle bans exist and there are something in the order of 180+ cities which ban motorcycles.
Essentially think of this as an organised preapproved tour group.
The cost of the Tour Guide, includes fees, all hotel/accommodation and meals plus their fuel costs, and any incidentals. The result is "it ain't cheap"
TIC

[prince666]

With regards to the 180 or so city with a motorbike ban.
I have rode my bike through a good 100 of them with limited problems.
The 2 exception are inner ring Beijing and down town Shanghai.
Normaly the police will turn a blind eye if you are riding on out of provinces plates.

Next problem is getting from A to B with out going on the toll roads, which in most province there are banned.
TIC.

[gt7599a]

A while back I wrote up some wiki articles about how to get a Motorcycle DL in China and related things. Unfortunately the wiki decided to focus on movies and TV shows and the articles got deleted.
At the moment I've dumped them to a google doc & a docx shared on onedrive.
Getting a Chinese driver's License, including motorcycle - Google Link (suggestions welcome)
Onedrive link, view only

I had to do most of this from memory so Suggestions & improvements welcome.

Ed