[quote=“hexuan”]Haven’t they considered the real danger of falling asleep on a big bike at 50mph? Another victory for the anti-bike brigade. You can ride up there, but only in the most unsafe manner possible.
But hey, who are we to criticise? We’ve only had motorbikes on the roads for 70 years. Obviously the Taiwanese, who’ve had bikes for, oh two years, know better than us. Well done Taiwan ! Bravo !
And remember kids: When not on the motorway, stick to the kerbside lane for maximum getting knocked over by taxis/buses/madmen.
You know it makes (non)sense! [/quote]
Wow, and I was just about to rush out and by myself this Yamaha R1… only 180bhp to let me do 50mph… really exciting stuff, considering I’d still be cruising in first gear.
I have a sneaking suspicion that this is a set-up. It’s actually very difficult to ride a big bike as slow as 80kph, and it appears to me the speed limit has been set knowing that no-one will adhere to it, allowing the government to say “We tried, but clearly big bikes are not suitable for Taiwanese highways”.
The only reason these bikes are not “suitable” for Taiwanese roads is that they’re not made in Taiwan. The government will protect the local shitty bike industry for as long as possible.
WTO? Non-tarrif barriers to trade? Easy. You can buy them, but we will put such restrictions on them and make it so unpleasant and expensive to ride them that no-one will want them.
So the import tax has to go because of the WTO. The import tax as it was at 76% was nothing compared to NT$27,000 a year for road tax. Huge unreasonable road tax is a non-tariff barrier to trade. Not being able to ride them on the motorway is a non-tariff barrier to trade. And so on. I’m very surprised Japan hasn’t taken this to the WTO.
[quote=“hexuan”]Huge unreasonable road tax is a non-tariff barrier to trade. Not being able to ride them on the motorway is a non-tariff barrier to trade. And so on. I’m very surprised Japan hasn’t taken this to the WTO.[/quote]You’re right of course, and this is just following the same pattern on the original big bike ban instigated in the 70’s in the name of energy conservation.
I doubt though that the market potential here is worth the hassle for the Japanese to go to WTO about it, especially if it might stir up anti-Japanese sentiment in other market sectors.
I’m not so sure about that… Right now the market here hasn’t yet matured, but given the fact that Taiwan has both the buying power and the interest in motorcycles, cultivated both by the motorcycle culture and the ban since the 70’s on proper bikes… I think Taiwan could mature into a well profitable market sector for the Japanese manufacturers… I think you’re right hsiadogah, about Japan being wary of rocking the boat too much with Beijing/the rest of the world… For this reason my impression is that they’re waiting to follow the lead of the US… for obvious trade reasons the US pushed hard for Taiwan’s WTO reforms… In the motorcycle sector specifically, since 1999 Harley Davidson USA has been pushing the US government as hard as possible to prompt China and Taiwan to derestrict the import of proper bikes and dissolve the underhanded “non-tarrif barriers” than Chen and his goons had set up…
[b]National Dialogue on Jobs and Trade
Harley-Davidson: A Success Story for American Trade[/b]"[i]Taiwan: The use of large-size motorcycles is banned in Taiwan. Taiwan had proposed ending the ban, but had suggested enforcing engine emission standards similar to those on small motorcycles. This would have resulted in Taiwan's engine emissions standards being the strictest in the world and would have effectively served as a trade barrier for large-size motorcycles. As a result of negotiations regarding Taiwan's entry into the World Trade Organization, the U.S. industry will be able to sell large-size motorcycles in Taiwan soon after accession. The Administration is continuing to work with industry to remove the ban of motorcycles on Taiwan's two major highways[/i]."
Also now that the import bans are lifted under WTO rules, the US in the form of HD, are taking the lead in pushing for the removal of the “non-tarrif barriers” to further smooth their plans to move with full force into the China / Taiwan markets… It’s important to note that Harley Davidson USA also a major stake holder in numerous other motorcycle companies like Buell, the Ducati group, Bimota etc… They clearly regard Taiwan and China as the next frontier of unbridled motorcycles sales, and they clearly regard these markets as worthy of serious investment market development…
I’m fairly confident that as the US leads the way in terms of forcing Taiwan’s hand on dismantling it’s illegal and unethical “non-tarrif barriers” to free trade, specifically in the motorcycle sector, other major manufacturers like Japan, and the EU will follow in the wake…
Of course the sniveling bureaucrat pricks in Taipei no doubt have more tricks up their sleeves to make sure that the hong-bao’s keep flowing in from SYM and Kymco like Hexuan mentioned… the sods…
I’ve ridden on every major highway and ALL the freeways in California on a bike—but I’m not sure I necessarily want to ride on a freeway here in Taiwan.
The driving behavior witnessed on surface streets are only amplified by the speed of drivers on the freeways. Would you assume the Taiwanese car drivers drive safer because they are going faster? I personally think the legislators have their heads up their asses on big bike laws–but maybe staying off the freeways is a good idea.
(At least they don’t u-turn on the freeways)
This doesn’t just apply to bikes. We have an expressway near us which has almost no traffic. In the UK it would be a 70mph road with everybody doing 85 and the police would probably leave well alone. In taiwan it’s an 80 kph money making machine. The police are always in the same place on the hard shoulder red flagging people to top up their income. :loco:
[quote=“Bubba 2 Guns”]I’ve ridden on every major highway and ALL the freeways in California on a bike—but I’m not sure I necessarily want to ride on a freeway here in Taiwan.
The driving behavior witnessed on surface streets are only amplified by the speed of drivers on the freeways. Would you assume the Taiwanese car drivers drive safer because they are going faster? I personally think the legislators have their heads up their asses on big bike laws–but maybe staying off the freeways is a good idea.
(At least they don’t u-turn on the freeways)[/quote]
I ride my bike on the freeway near my house regularly. I find it much safer than riding beneath it. Beneath it you have people shooting out of little side streets and onto the road without looking whatsoever :loco: . On the raised highway there are no sidestreets or U-turners to worry about. Just need to keep an eye open incase someone gets pissed off by being passed by a bike.
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