G'Day,

yeah.... fun times during SARS... we took off after you guys down to Sichuan / Yunnan... looks like I might be in the USA (California) with my family in July 2007 for a couple - three weeks... best regards from Shanghai / China, BUTCH

__________________
Best Regards, Seeya in the pub or on the road somewhere.....
BUTCH

G'Day,

they moved a while ago to:

Shanghai Vehicle Management Bureau, Licence office at No. 179 Qing Chun Road , Xin Zhuang (Near Chun Shen Road / Hu Min Road ). The tel. no. is 021-64987070 x 54280......

best regards, Happy travels,
Butch

__________________
Best Regards, Seeya in the pub or on the road somewhere.....
BUTCH

Butch,
Stay in touch, we're near Grand Canyon.
Allen.

I did my homework very well, and also my friend did his homework very well. The information we have about Shanghai traffic rules come from the traffic bureau itself, not via via.

Lucky there is a lot of China outside of Shanghai.

When I read your messages you seem to be 'the self aclaimed China bike expert'.

We did our homework, the Shanghai traffic bureau learned me and my friend several interesting things:
1) It is allowed to drive a Chang Jiang with attached side car in Shanghai city center, even with a non-Shanghai license plate. This is allowed because the rules for 2-wheel motorcycle do not apply for 3-wheel motorcycles.
Also all the signs forbidding motorcycles to drive into a road do only apply for 2-wheel motorcycle. If they want to forbid 3-wheel motorcycle to drive into a street without forbidding cars they have to put a special sign for 3-wheel motorcycles. But that sign does not exist! My friend once find such a sign, but the traffic bureau told him that sign is illegal.

2) It is allowed to drive a CJ with attached sidecar on the elevated road, even during peak hours because it is a 3-wheel motorcycle, 2-wheel motorcycles are not allowed. The only thing that is not allowed is to enter the elevated road on peak hours when you do not have a Shanghai-plate. Driving on the elevated road with a non-Shanghai plate during peak hours is allowed as long as you have not entered it during peak hours.

The rules mentioned above only apply for Shanghai, the rules in other cities in China are different. In most cities the signs for 2-wheel motorcycles also apply for 3-wheel motorcycles. Also a 3-wheel motorcycle is only a 3-wheel motorcycle when it is named a 3-wheel motorcycle in the license. You can not just put a sidecar on your 2-wheel motorcycle to make it a 3-wheel motorcycle. Also it is not allowed to drive a 3-wheel motorcycle without the sidecar.

So, I hope this cleared up some things about the things allowed and not allowed in Shanghai. If somebody questions the things I said about traffic rules in Shanghai I sudgest to ask a well informed person from the traffic bureau, not just any police officer on the street.

Greetings,
Roel Hendrickx

ps) What kind of license does your HD have that you have for sale Butch? Is it legal to drive it in China?

G'Day,

your right in certain points but more wrong with your statements above.... anyways not my money people spending on CJ bikes... more bigger Chinese cities will follow Guangzhou soon and ban all bikes within city limits.... watch the Chinese media.

just last Sunday midday, the police confiscated three bikes (Chang-Jiang with sidecars) with Hebei province license plates of three American expats near Hongmei Road Food + Leisure street in Shanghai... had no digital camera on me... was quite funny watching them showing the little blue book (registration) to the police guys and insisting they are allowed to drive them in Shanghai.... after approx. 40 minutes two yellow tow trucks arrived... three sidecar bikes gone... interessting lunch entertainment...

all my road bikes have legal license + registration but will not sell bikes with Chinese license/registration as they are either linked to myself or my private company. they are not transferable....

Best Regards, Gong Xi Fa Chai · wish you a happy and prosperous lunar new year!
Butch

__________________
Best Regards, Seeya in the pub or on the road somewhere.....
BUTCH

Butchman! Representing Eastern China I see!

Name is CrazyCarl and I'm stationed in Chengdu, Sichuan. All I want to add is that Western China is currently much more lax about motorcyclists than the developed Eastern Regions.

A few quick notes...

-Yes, you can live here, legally own a motorcycle and travel all over bejessus.
-Why ride in the overpopulated East when the West of China is so friggin wild! We're talkin' bad roads, warrior cultures, nomads, the whole deal!
-Riding a ZhangJiang 750 (CJ) is NOT a good idea for long distance travel. Maint. is very high.
-Spend the money buying one of these cheap and nifty little Chinese 150-200 enduros and ride light. (Jialing or ZongShen probably best for in-field support) Buy it new or used. It's slow, but they can do it!
-Check out www.CarlParker.com Motography for more FAQ's, maps, images and video on riding in China.

CC

__________________
---------------------------------------------------
Buy "The Return - Riding Western China" DVD - Now on Holiday sale!!!
http://www.motocyclops.com/buydvd/

The world's newest, most super-awesome Chinese Motorcycle and Travel Community!
http://www.mychinamoto.com/

Personal China travel info, photo and video site:
http://www.carlparker.com

G'Day,

been there.... done that!!
check out: Yahoo! Photos - rdmc_shanghai's Photos

got thousands of more pics of other Sichuan, Tibet, Gansu + Yunnan trips.... just to lazy to upload as my website butchshanghai.com will be offline later this year.

enjoy Chengdu!

best regards, Butch

__________________
Best Regards, Seeya in the pub or on the road somewhere.....
BUTCH

Yeah I figgured you had! Beautiful ain't it?

I see you had some good times with Monks. Great people ain't they?

You've got some nice shots...I mean for an "Eastern China Guy" HAAHHAHAA. Just messin' with ya.

You know this...MAN!
CC

__________________
---------------------------------------------------
Buy "The Return - Riding Western China" DVD - Now on Holiday sale!!!
http://www.motocyclops.com/buydvd/

The world's newest, most super-awesome Chinese Motorcycle and Travel Community!
http://www.mychinamoto.com/

Personal China travel info, photo and video site:
http://www.carlparker.com