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India to singapore without a licence? India to singapore without a licence?
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  #1  
Old 27 Oct 2009
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India to singapore without a licence?
Good morning all!

I am thinking of riding an Enfield through India, Nepal, China, down through Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and eventually Singapore where id ship her home.

The small problem I have is that I dont posess Motorcycle on my UK licence.

Has anyone done this route before? also has anyone done the cheeky and done it without a licence?

Ill appritiate any feedback on this issue

Many thanks

Chris
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  #2  
Old 27 Oct 2009
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Bad idea IMO.

No licence = no insurance = potential serious trouble, including jail if you're involved in an accident, regardless of fault.

What makes you think it's okay to ride unlicenced & uninsured in another country when it's illegal in the UK? You'd be pissed off if you were injured by an uninsured foreigner in the UK.........
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  #3  
Old 27 Oct 2009
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^^^ agreed with the above, not a very good idea, and can get you into serious trouble...even if having a license & insurance would not 100% guarantee, that you´d be safe, if you have a bad accident. I doubt if the locally bought insurances in Asia actually cover much, and you could still end up paying from your own pocket. But without a valid license it could be even worse.

ps. You may also want to do a little more research on the paperwork required to get your Enfield out of India, how to cross the Himalayas, how to get into China with a bike, and how to get from there to Vietnam with a bike. Very few people have ridden overland from India to Thailand, and there may be some logical explanations, why it is so.
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  #4  
Old 28 Oct 2009
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Pickford View Post
Bad idea IMO.

What makes you think it's okay to ride unlicenced & uninsured in another country when it's illegal in the UK? You'd be pissed off if you were injured by an uninsured foreigner in the UK.........

agree with the above! it's a bad idea!
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  #5  
Old 28 Oct 2009
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Whatever you end up using, don't forget to make convincing laminated copies of your plastic UK licence, you don't want to be handing the original over to the Bangkok cops now do you? Four bloody times I got stopped in that city...
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  #6  
Old 31 Oct 2009
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many thanks
well thanks everybody for your input

Since I would clearly be being selfish by attempting to ride without a licence, does anyone know if it is at all possible to obtain a vald motorcycle licence without returning to the UK or even Europe? I think the Nepali or Indian would be a bit of a joke and not accepted.

also, does anyone know of any good travel books about a journey on an Enfield riding India-UK? could be an interesting read
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Old 5 Nov 2009
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getting the bike into china and vietnam is going to be a problem but after that .all should be ok .i have been stoped a few times in southeast asia .the most i have been asked for is a passport. i have even shown a photo copy and been let off.
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  #8  
Old 7 Dec 2009
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There's a similar discussion on another thread. I posted my experience here.

I'd say if you can get a license in India or anywhere else, do it. You can probably get an international drivers permit from that license, which will likely be accepted anywhere.

Most likely, nobody outside the UK will ever know if your license is valid for a motorcycle or not. But, if you get into an accident or have an insurance claim to make, you'll probably land in the shit without a valid license from one country or another.
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  #9  
Old 16 Jan 2010
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How to get a U.S. License While Overseas
Not sure how useful this would be for the U.K. blokes, however, I've stumbled across a way that U.S. residents can most likely get a license while overseas without returning to the U.S. Here's a link to how a guy from Wisconsin did it: How to Wisconsin resident applying for a motorcycle license while living overseas | eHow.com

I intend to do the same thing with California. I passed the safety and skills test but was too lazy to go to the DMV a few years back.

Basically, you just need to take a motorcycle safety course (probably have to go to a U.S. military base...yes, the U.S. is a virtual empire and they're practically everywhere). Then mail in the correct DMV forms, payment and safety course certificate and you should be good to go. It may take a little finagling to get them to allow you to hold off on your motorcycle written test.
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  #10  
Old 17 Jan 2010
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If you can get a license anywhere overseas (from an English speaking country is best, but anywhere will do), you can use that license most places as a tourist. Get an international drivers permit in the country your license was issued in, and then don't lose the license!

I travel everywhere on my British license which does not entitle me to ride a motorcycle. I keep my US license (which does) along with my passport. So far, I've never had to use the US license. Even in the US and Canada my British license was accepted on several occasions.

My advice is get a license anywhere you can and use your British first, then your motorcycle endorsed license as a backup.
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  #11  
Old 17 Jan 2010
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I agree: get the correct licence.
In the US it is legal to drive a >12000kg truck with a car type licence if the truck is a camper/motorhome.
But I went to the trouble of getting a commercial drivers' licence because I don't like getting hassled by cops. Especially where I don't know all the laws.

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  #12  
Old 17 Jan 2010
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Biking without the appropriate licenses gives no thought fore those traveling behind you. Truthfully if you wish to travel without appropriate licenses, insurances, registrations, and common intelligence and sense then what can we say

A little thought for fellow wayfarers could only be expected by the community , from what I have read and my belief from others travelling is we don’t need the hassles and would like to think that the biker is an ambasador for travel
Consideration might be given to the following:-

The Bridge Builder
An old man, going a lone highway
Came at the evening cold and grey,
To a chasm, vast and deep and wide,
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim-
That sullen stream had no fears for him;
But he turned when he reached the other side,
And built a bridge to span the tide.

"Old man said a fellow pilgrim near,
"You are wasting strength in building here,
Your journey will end with the ending day;
You never again must pass this way.
You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide ,
Why build you the bridge at the eventide?"

The builder lifted his old grey head ,
"Good friend, in the path I have come," he said,
There followeth after me today
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm that has been naught to me
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.
He too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building the bridge for him."

Hope someone gets some good out of this.
kind regards
Champ
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