When I was planning the now aborted buggy trip to China, I found out a bit about driving quands on the roads. All across the European Community it was no problem if your quad was road legal and registered in the country of origin. Quads are classed as "Heavy Quadricycles" under EC law and as long as they fit within the legal definitions, one of which is no more than 20hp output, you can ride them.

When you leave Europe it all gets a bit hazy. A lot of the former Soviet states are now hoping to enter the EU and so have begun harmonizing their laws in readiness, so the regulations might be changing as we speak. Russia seems to allow quads and Mongolia seems to allow anything, but finding out is almost impossible.

The next question is insurance, have you checked to see if any insurer will cover you? I found it really difficult to find an insurer that would let me spend more than a few weeks out of my country of registration, but if you search here for "Quads Across Africa" they might be able to tell you more.

Do you have any ideas of the make of Quad you're after? As a lot of your route will probably be on the road it make sense to get one with a differential to avoid excessive tyre wear. I only know of the Polaris range that have a locking diff, they call it turf mode. I did get in contact with them and they do seem interested (or did before the crash hit), in supporting users in adventures, I rang them direct in the US and spoke to the marketing director and she put me in touch with local marketing. That said the downside to a US marque is US fuel consumption (they drink petrol). There are diesels around, but they tend to be slow, but if you're giving yourself a year that's probably not an issue.

And finally (I left the worst till last) China. A quick search on here will reveal the nightmare that is China. First there's the whole registration thing, then the expense of a guide, and as you're considering a quad your guide will need their own transport, pillion is almost certainly out. I got a quote of $6000 and that was for a direct dash from the Mongolian border to Beijing, I think it was six days!!

But having thrown a bag of spanners in the works I'll say good luck, I'm sure it's all possible, and please feel free to get in touch and I'll copy/send you all the stuff I researched.

Alex (a bit jealous)

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