I also had to wait one year, AFAIK that applies to ALL origins. Rules changed about 1 year ago. Scooter licence only after testing now, no exemption
Yes. Only about 8 hours on a closed practice track though
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You can also give the school a bit of cash to walk you through the test and sign off on your class āhoursā. Source: did this for both car and big bike license.
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Yes, little real world purpose of the training - almost all in 1st gear slow speed manoeuvring.
But the 7 second slow ride strip does deserve practice unless youāre a circus artist, and you need to learn what the examiner will be looking out for during the test
I have a Triumph Street Triple 675, but I have had bigger tourers previously. Something in between would be fine.
Thanks.
First of all, @Taiwan_Luthiers doesnāt ride big bikes, IIRC. Taiwan is like anywhere, there are good riders and bad riders. The overall quality of driving is low, so you do need to be careful, but this includes watching out for drunks in cars, morons on scooters, or careless people on bicycles. If youāve ridden a big bike you know that some roads are more challenging depending on your skill level, like anywhere. iāve noticed quite a few posters on the forum who donāt ride motorcycles but have very negative opinions (can direct you to specific threads, if curious, but it doesnāt really matter).
Money is a bit of an issue, though. Especially for American or European imports you will be paying a premium. If you donāt mind a used Japanese big bike you donāt have to spend too much. Indoor parking is a must, because of the climate. Extra insurance is a good idea, since the minimum mandatory insurance doesnāt cover much, and the local driving is generally quite unsafe.
About the licensing, you seem to be getting two different answers (the 1 year white plate, double testing route; or, the TECO paperwork route). Iām not sure about your country, but my understanding is that for motorcycles there is no longer any way around the local licensing route. TECO might get you a temporary international car license, but if you plan to live here and ride a big bike long term I think you have to go through the local double testing process. best to contact your local TECO (as has been said, basically the embassy) to find out what your options are (this will also be a good introduction to the way things are done here).
The process as has been mentioned is the white plate (theory and practical) which gets you up to 250cc and you need to have for at least a year. After that you take some classes (rubber stamping if you know how to ride, just do it) and the classes prep you for the next test, after that you can ride anything over 250cc. iām still on my white plate but have ridden big bikes before, waiting for my year to be up before continuing on the process.
Most elevated highways donāt allow big bikes, but there are some that do and this is an evolving issue. Big bikes have advantages over white plates which you will learn about. White plates also have advantages in that they are considered as more like bicycles, so you can ride/park on the sidewalks (parking seems to be legal, and you have to ride to park, so people regularly are riding on sidewalks), or traffic filter at red lights to the front of the lanes.
i wouldnāt want to get something too long or too heavy here, because of corners. street triple 675 would be a good choice for taiwan, and there are triumph dealerships, but iām not sure they have that model (imports are limited for some reason)
edit: have just seen street triples for 165000NT (2009) to 528000NT (2021), used
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There are legal parking spaces painted on the sidewalks here, and as I pointed out in the bit you chose not to quote, you have to ride on the sidewalks to access those legal spaces.
There are also motorcycles parking on the sidewalks in lots of places where there are not painted spots. Yet they arenāt all ticketed or taken. So, since there is no red line indicating no parking, if it isnāt legal it is tolerated. Again, motorcycles donāt fly or teleport and cannot be carried to these spaces, so riding on the sidewalk is accepted.
And, people regularly take advantage of this for their own convenience. I am not so inconsiderate that I regularly go long distances on the sidewalk to save myself a few minutes of negotiating the ridiculous traffic engineering, but others seem to.
You donāt, you get off and walk and push.
Not when Iām there
Iāve never seen anyone in Kaoshiung do this. But, now that you mention it, that is totally an option. Itās kinda like how people donāt need to ride their scooters through public markets. They could get off an push, or better yet park and walk, but that isnāt what the culture here is like 
Spend a lot of time down here policing the sidewalks? I would love to stop by with some popcorn next time youāre in town on patrol!
Yes, every time I walk on the sidewalk and someone comes up driving they guaranteed stop for at least a minute or two, or until they get off their vehicle.
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Good for you. Iām more of a āwhen in Romeā kind of person, and donāt have the time or interest, or want to take the risk, especially considering how often it happens and since it will make me an asshole in their eyes and perhaps rightly so. But, in the grand scheme, it would be a better place if people werenāt riding their scooters (especially quickly and unnecessarily) on the sidewalks or in the markets.
My original point remains, though, that white plate bikes have advantages and the ability to park legally on the sidewalk is one of those advantages.
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Only when marked as parking spaces in most cities, otherwise you get towed or fined.
Odds are, in Kaohsiung, that is not the case. For example all of the times I have parked in front of a business on the sidewalk without the white space I have been towed and ticket a total of zero times. Given that I regularly see hundreds of other white plates parked in the same fashion, at least in Kaoshiung it seems the white plates are usually treated like bicycles. I have heard that these things are treated differently down south, where are you located?
Thatās why Kaoshiung is still chaotic.
It is also why the white plate bikes have the parking advantage over big bikes, at least in some parts of Taiwan! Glad we could sort this out!
Get a white plate license first (< 250cc) ride around on that for a year and then take the red plate course (> 550cc) on a closed circuit for ~2hrs a day for a week for roughly NT$ 6,000.
While some sneer at the requirement for riding a < 250cc for a year I think itās not a bad idea.
Red plate bikes can be hired by the day and are lots of fun, yes you can be killed on one but so you can on a white plate bike too.
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I donāt think riding on sidewalks to enter a parking spot or through markets is a big deal IF you do it courteously. Blasting around at high RPM or not giving people the right of way is the problem imo.
I ride through the night market many days of the week simply because the road leads to my home. Iām not left with any options if Iām arriving at those hours. They even have staff at the night market to help guide cars through to their home.
Not everyone riding in a market is an asshole, I mean it is a public road after all.
Keeping white plates convenient is important, these are small efficient vehicles. In the future the advantages to white plates will probably migrate to electric 2 wheelers.
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Thank you for the useful information.
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