Hello I’m in Mainland China at the moment and thinking of coming to Taiwan as mt next stop. I’m quite excited to see some of my favorite bike names floating around this forum. I would like to ask if any of you know if I can get ahold of either a honda cbr 250/400, or honda superfour. If so what is the cost of such machinery and taxes and such.
Hope you can help as the availability of motorcycles is a major factor in my decision to move there.
BTW I have been in China for 3 years and read previousl to my arrival that foriegners were and are not allowed to own or operate motocycles here, and motorcycles over 150cc were both illegal and unobtainable. I own and operate a 94 CBR250 and have enjoyed the experience. So what I’m saying is if it’s not exactly leagal I’m not that worried about it, just wether it’s possible or not.
You will pay somewhere in the region of 300-400 thousand NT for a motorbike here. A CB400 goes for around NT$375k. It is currently impossible to get fully comp insurance, and the taxes (annual) are high. Don’t know how much for 400cc, but they are NT$27k a year if you’ve got a fireblade, or anything else over 900cc.
However, the 400s are selling well and you could be on the road for NT$400k on a brand new fully legal motor.
Get an International Driving Permit and make sure it’s got category A. That’ll do you til the licence runs out. You will eventually have to do the test here. Costs around NT$8k. Is apparently a series of circus tricks on clapped out (ex-police) K100s.
If you’re happy to go plateless, big old illegal bikes are two a penny. But if you get nicked you lose the bike.
Thank you kind sir that was the kind of answer I was looking for. The last line in your posts sums up my riding experience so far in China, but laowai here are feared by police as most of them could not stand to lose face because of their lack of English speaking ability. What is the situation with regards to this in Taiwan? Are the police out there hunting, are there sporadic road checks (when the policemans ball is round the corner and they realize there’s not enough money) or is it just the off chance you’ll get nailed for riding illegally?
What I’m trying to do is get a feel for the law enforcement climate in Taiwan as regards motorcycling. In China for the past 3 years I have been stopped 3 or 4 times, non of which resulted in my bike being impounded. Contrast that with some of my Chinese riding buddies who lost their bikes first time they stopped for police. They claimed my face was the reason for the apparent injutice done to them, or more succinctly, not done to me. You claim the “big illegal bikes” are two a penny, and I surmise that to mean there is an abundacne of them which in turn leads me to assume that there are lots of folk riding illegally? Is this correct? If so, how dangerous is it in real world terms of losing your bike to five-0?
I’d say in the mountains or elswhere in the sticks, you might get away with it. But getting caught in any major city would mean the loss of your bike. I saw (an illegal) 1999 Honda CBR900 for sale in one of the local shops down here for about 140,000NT. These guys see the writing on the wall, and are looking to dump these plate-less bikes before the cops really start cracking down.
I know plenty of guys still taking their previously purchased (hence illegal) big machines into the hills to play. But, they don’t venture into the city, and tend to ride in large groups, with at least one guy connected with the chosen riding area cops.
Offhand, I’d say it’s not worth the risk, no matter how financially tempting it might be. Also, consider the dubious origin of most of these machines. A fair majority of them are “Hot” bikes from the states. On a final note, these non-registered bikes are often ripped off. They know damn well you can’t go to the cops, and other posters here have described being followed for days before losing their precious mounts.
Either shell out the 400,000NT or suffer on a sub 250 like the rest of us…
Ok fair enough, what you say makes good sense. I was just trying to get a feel for the situation and thanks to your post I think I got one. Seeing as I’m not rich as the second poster had hoped, it looks like I’ll start on a wee bike til the funds role in for a larger purchase.
I’ve been riding a big bike here for the past four years or so, and most cops are more interested in asking how much it costs or how fast it goes. Still, all the advice above is valid and relevant. No plate means you can lose your ride with no recourse. In Taipei, most cops just check to see if you have a yellow license plate (for 250cc and above) , without bothering to check your papers, but you never know. More and more stories are filtering down about crackdowns, etc. Maybe next year we can import legal second-hand bikes and a more reasonable price.
The only thing that I can add to all of the good advice above is that you will need a secure parking space. This should be a major consideration, as big bikes disappear quickly when left unattended. This is also inconvenient and almost certainly another source of financial pain.
Thanks dog. It seems as if the best situation is to have 2 bikes depending where one lives. From what I’ve been reading on this great forum not only the security issue mentioned above but the congestion of large city traffic make owning a big bike in Taiwan relevant only for weekend or evening mountain blasts or touring the island. It wouldn’t feel good to constantly worry about theft even when nipping into the local 7-11 for ciggies. I guess my plan, due to financial considerations, of buying a sub 250 until I raise the cash for the bigger mount is even more astute when one considers that having the smaller less atractive bike would continue to be ideal for daily commuting.
Thanks again and BTW this site is extremely valuable and I would like to thank the administration for a job well done. I look forward to asking many more silly and hopefully not too silly questions in future. I’ve got plenty. :bravo:
Two bikes is definitely a smart option and most people I know with a big bike have a scoot for commuting/errands. No need to scoot to 7-Eleven for ciggies though, as if you live in a city in Taiwan, chances are you’re never more than 200m from a convenience store! I actully commute on a 900cc. Sure the traffic is bad, but that’s the same in most cities around the world, although few have rush hour that resembles a video-arcade scooter GP on happy pills, with what seems like hundreds of scooters racing off the traffic lights at each junction! Quite a sight.
Yeah, Bangkok is like that. One guy refered to it as the Bangkok Stoplight GP. I used to spend time sitting on a bench watching, well marvelling actually, at the site repeated every 2 minutes or so and it seemed to never end.
What do you do to combat theft of your 900? I’d be interested to know, and really, is theft that rampant or am I just getting the newbies guide to being over cautious? I mean it sounds like one need hire an armed guard to watch his bike. How bad is it really?
Same here. Cops can have your bike if it’s got no plate or a falsie like mine (shit! Did I say that ? Er, no, aha tee hee joking orificer )
Same here. I got nicked by a lovely man who after admiring my helmet, decided to go soft on me, and just took my plate but not the bike. Phew ! He could have impounded the bike. (and if you can read that previous sentence without spitting your cornflakes over the screen you did better than me)
Yes. But if the plod wants to knick you it will. If they don’t speak English they have no qualms about calling in the Foreign Affairs Police. Better to sort it out in Chinese with the local police. If you’ve got a big bike you need a special yellow plate and if you’ve got one Plod is usually happy enough. If you don’t it will depend on his mood, but it’s a big risk.
I wouldn’t do it at rush hour cause you can’t get away from the plod. If plod’s on a BMW you’re history. If plod’s on a 150cc scooter they’re not going to barrel up the road after your GSX-750. But they will take down your plate and find you. Also you’re donald ducked if you have an accdident. The other party will put you in the poorhouse. But you can go out riding with a bike club where half the blokes don’t have plates for their bikes.
Lots of fines here. Motorbikes are not allowed on elevated roads or highways, despite the fact that riders pay an enormous, penalising, road tax. Lots more people are riding bicycles than did when I arrived over ten years ago.
The fuzz really like you to have a licence. Drink driving fines are astronomical.
Having a scooter as well is handy. You can’t do the week’s shopping on a Ducati.
I live on the ground floor and keep it in my house. I never park it on the street without the addition of some hefty locks, unless I’m just popping into a shop. I definitely would never consider leaving it parked outside overnight, even with locks…you can’t lock all the components and parts! Some toe-rag stole the screen off my gf’s near-beaten-to-death scoot which was parked just outside our front door. A shiny 900?
I have had a bike knicked here before (a souped-up 150cc) and it hurts. Insurance was never an option. I believe it might be possible to get theft insurance for a new bike now, but it’ll probably add another huuuge financial burden.
Sometimes I think that my local friends are being overly cautious about security when we do weekend trips (the destination will always be secure for big bikes), but they definitely know more than I do about this sort of thing.
Hexuan told me that me he’s seen owners remove the yellow plates when leaving their bikes in the repair shop. That speaks volumes (although I can think of a couple of possible alternative reasons).
Dr Doom, the local fuzz are pretty averse to walking, so plod won’t stick but I like it! Maybe our scooter-borne law enforcers should be called the Buzz?
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