Hello everyone,
I’m new to the motorbike scene in Taiwan, but I was hoping to get a Quannon or T1 and customize it with some simple modifications (braided steel brake line, new caliper, exhaust, etc.) and I was hoping someone could explain the legality of motorcycle modifications to me, especially with regards to when you resell your bike? I have heard all kinds of things and am utterly confused, so if someone could give me the lowdown, that would be great! Also, could you guys provide any recommendations on good shops in Taipei where I can buy parts/install them? Thanks!
Motorcycle modifications do not have legality, so no.
You are VERY unlikely to be stopped by the cops unless your modification is extremely obvious and bizarre, (um…say a dustbin fairing?) and maybe not even then, BUT you are very likely to be unable to transfer registration when you sell the bike unless your modification is extremely discrete. Otherwise you’ll have to reverse the modification, or possibly employ an agent who knows who to pay off (but that seems to be commoner for cars. Perhaps it isn’t worth it for bikes).
You can pay a small fee to legally register a colour change.
1,200 HP methanol fired gas turbines are illegal.
and a bit hot to sit on, too.
non-OEM tires are not illegal. there is a large grey area in between those two.
Most bolt ons will pass when you transfer papers, except for an aftermarket exhaust. Brakes, suspension, and even an upgraded carb will pass. Things like lights, different farrings, aftermarket gauge cluster, different color, and a different engine (not the same engine case) wont pass.
You pretty much will never get pulled over if you mod your scooter or motorcyle. Cops here really don’t pull people over. If you get pulled over for disobeying the traffic laws and your bike is completely custom or illegal then you MIGHT have a problem, but who knows. This is Taiwan not the States. I have been pulled over 12 times in 7 years (actual number) and I have never received a ticket or a problem. I have been in 3 accidents (none of them my fault of course 
and I have never been ticketed or even asked for my Taiwanese driver license. This has been my luck though. I have heard all the horror stories before about people getting their illegal bikes taken away or people getting deported, ect.
All of my 4 rides are modded and I have only had a noise complaint once, but that was an easy fix. I just put on my stock exhaust and went down to the DMV and had my scooter checked. It was fine and the ticket was dropped. A pain in the ass, that was all. My friend just sold his modded CBR 150cc and the only thing he had to change was the exhaust pipe to change the papers. He had suspension, brakes and small engine work done and it was fine. They really mostly care about external things the most.
Great, thanks for all the helpful info guys!
And as for shops, CSRT in Yingge is good. Ah Sen is a good guy, a good mechanic, and trustworthy.
viewtopic.php?f=75&t=76384&hilit=csrt
I’m sure there are shops closer to where you are, but it’s worth it to me to find someone around here who knows what he’s doing. If I have engine work done again, that’s where I’m going. Although for bolt-on stuff like you’re talking about, there are lots of options. Just remember that you’re going to have to find someone who knows how to get the intake right when you change the exhaust.
Apologies if this is (as it should be) bleedin obvious, but if you possibly can, keep the stock parts when you do a modification.
Its astonishing how many people just chuck (or perhaps sell) them, especially irritating when they are irreplacable, for example, RZR fairing discarded on conversion to RZX.
Nobody cares about brakelines, calipers, pads, tires, shocks, even pod air filters and carbs seem to be swapped without raising eyebrows… Different wheels and bars and instruments may also be OK.
They DO like to see original fairings, original pipes, original colours (stickers over the top seem to be fine!). Messing with the general shape or sound of the bike is not approved and easy to spot for the numpty inspector. Internal engine mods are much less so (but beware the gas emissions test if you go nuts and need a rich mixture to run, like big cams, etc.).
Keep old stuff if you replace it, so that you can bolt it back on for inspection.
And if you CAN shoehorn a 12,000 HP Pratt and Whitney jet engine into your frame, and make it ridable, take some pics and show the rest of us.
Simply put, modifications are illegal to apply to your vehicle. They are, however, legal to buy/sell. Modifying your vehicle in any way can result in the revocation of its registration (usually upon an attempt to re-register or transfer ownership).
That having been said, modifications are extremely common, and the law of Taiwan is kind of stupid. For example, you can change the entirety of your engine components and it doesn’t matter, as long as the serial number stamped on your crank case matches what is in the government’s records. You can have a completely stock motorcycle, but if the DMV looks at pictures to varify it, and the picture doesn’t quite match, then they won’t register it. That happened with my FZR, where they had pictures of FZRs with aftermarket rims that were seen as acceptable to them, but no picture of an FZR with my stock rims. I hope the irony of it all isn’t lost on you.
The long-and-short of it is, if it appears to look like an unmodified bike, you’re fine. If you get an inspector who isn’t particularly nit-picky, you’re fine. I’ve seen scooters denied because they have aftermarket mirrors/grips; the same bikes came back the next day, with a different inspector, and passed without incident. The rhyme and reason is sort of nonexistent, imo. Every time I go to a DMV, I bring someone who is Taiwanese, in case there is a debate on the subject. The situation with my wheels took about 20 minutes to settle, and pretty much boiled down to my knowing they were stock rims and willing to push the issue to the point where the inspector got sick of searching for a picture of a truly stock FZR. Interestingly, he couldn’t have cared less about my clearly aftermarket exhaust.
So, that doesn’t quite answer your question, I know; but when it comes to Taiwan and legality…you should just get used to that. I’m fairly sure I break the law on a daily basis here, but I’ve only had one cop ever tell me that what I did was illegal, to which I responded that I was sorry and didn’t know, and that was the end of that. Like most cops, they spend a lot of time taking a lot of shit from people, and an apology goes a long way with most of them. More and more of them can speak English nowadays, too, so speaking in Spanish/French isn’t a bad idea, either. Most of them will see you as far too great a hassle to care about the infraction you committed.
In terms of shops in Taipei, I can’t help you (I’m in Taichung). But they shouldn’t be hard to find; the smartest move would be to get chummy with a local shop of young mechanics who like to mod their rides and have them tell you where to go - chances are, they will know the shop with the best prices and also help you install it at their shop. I rarely go to parts stores; I just talk to my shop and they sort it all out for me (and often loan me a scooter to use while they do the work).