Lookin' for a little assistance

Life Cars & Motorcycles
1

Hey folks!

I’m going to be arriving in Taipei on June 10th, and I’m looking to buy a motorcycle within the first week or two after my arrival.
I was hoping I could get some help from one or two of you folks in doing that. As much research as I’ve done, it would help a lot to have someone who knows where the decent shops (new and used) are, which bikes are better buys (parts availability, condition, reliability), and maybe with a bit more experience with haggling.

I’ve only been riding for a couple of years, so my mechanical knowledge is limited. My Mandarin isn’t so hot these days, either.

Of course, I’d be more than willing to compensate you for your time. It’s up to you whether that means helping you work on your bike or clean your garage, buying lunch a couple of times, or actually paying you for the time spent. It’d be well worth it to me to know I’ve got a bike that won’t let me down.

If you’re interested at all, please drop me a line via e-mail or pm!

-Mike

2

[quote=“MistaMike”]Hey folks!

I’m going to be arriving in Taipei on June 10th, and I’m looking to buy a motorcycle within the first week or two after my arrival.
I was hoping I could get some help from one or two of you folks in doing that. As much research as I’ve done, it would help a lot to have someone who knows where the decent shops (new and used) are, which bikes are better buys (parts availability, condition, reliability), and maybe with a bit more experience with haggling.

I’ve only been riding for a couple of years, so my mechanical knowledge is limited. My Mandarin isn’t so hot these days, either.

Of course, I’d be more than willing to compensate you for your time. It’s up to you whether that means helping you work on your bike or clean your garage, buying lunch a couple of times, or actually paying you for the time spent. It’d be well worth it to me to know I’ve got a bike that won’t let me down.

If you’re interested at all, please drop me a line via e-mail or pm!

-Mike[/quote]

Mr Mike,

Are you going to have legal residence (an ARC) or just arriving on a tourist visa? Without an ARC, you won’t be able to get a Taiwanese driver’s license, nor can you register your bike in your name. As a tourist, you can still drive on an international driver’s license and rent a vehicle. However, a lot of places won’t rent to foreigners who don’t have an ARC, because of the traffic cameras.

Buying a local motorcyle - there are SYM and Kymco bike shops on practically every street corner. If you’ve got the cash and an ARC, they’ll be happy to sell you a bike (either new or used). Check out these two web sites to see what models are available in Taiwan:

sym.com.tw/chi/showroom/allmodel.php

kymco.com.tw/products/products.asp

There is also Hartford, but their web site is completely worthless:

hartford.com.tw/

I can’t personally help you buy a bike, because I live in the boondocks and I rather doubt you’ll be anywhere near me. Anyway, it’s not so difficult (if you’ve got the requisite ARC).

best regards,
DB

3

[quote=“Dog’s_Breakfast”]
Are you going to have legal residence (an ARC) or just arriving on a tourist visa? [/quote]

I’m going to get an international driver’s licence the day before I come, so that’ll keep me going for the first year. A year after that I’ll likely jump through the hoops and get my Taiwanese licence (I’ll be teaching, so I’ll have an ARC).

[quote=“Dog’s_Breakfast”]
I can’t personally help you buy a bike, because I live in the boondocks and I rather doubt you’ll be anywhere near me.[/quote]

Thanks a lot for the links and the good will. Much appreciated!

4

You cannot legally ride a motorcycle on an international car license.

5

Quite right on an international car license. Mine will have a motorcycle endorsement as well and, according to Tealit, that should cover me once I have my ARC set up.

“If you have 8 months left on your International Driver’s License and a 1 year visa, they’d endorse your IDL forward for those 8 months. If your IDL sanctions you to drive a car, a 50 scooter and a regular heavy 51-250cc motorcycle, then there you go - you could continue to drive those vehicles for the next eight months.”

I could be wrong. I’ve seen half a dozen different answers to this same question in my research. Seems enough people manage to do what I want to do anyway, so I’m going to give it a go as well.
Either way, the legal stuff is probably best discussed in a separate thread.

6

m/c endorsement on IDL works in the 'wan.

7

The license tests are a joke as it stands. Just go and get local as soon as you can. Though I believe the big bike licenses have now been split and there’s a P-plate. Not entirely sure, but the article is in a magazine buried somewhere on my desk.

8

I’m sure someone should be able to help you. I helped a handful of people with the same over the years. In fact, I bought a scooter two weeks ago for someone coming in July. Did a tune up on it and it’s sitting in my garage now. It has its perks. My scooter broke down this week and I used the other scooter for a couple days until I had time to fix mine. IIRC, I also helped Truant and Edlitgow shop for a second hand bike in Kaohsiung before.

marboulette

9

While your IDL might be valid in itself for a whole year, it is only allowed to be used for 60 days once you have landed (and it is also supposed to be validated here upon arrival). If you leave, and then come back, you can use the same IDL again each time (within the year that it is valid) for another 60 days, again with a local motor registry endorsement.

10

Where did you get that info? The rules I’ve heard, and the ones that appeared to be in place when I got my IDL validated in Taichung, is that you can drive for up to a month WITHOUT getting your IDL validated, but you have to get it validated within that month in order to use it for a full year, or its remaining validity, (or possibly the remaining validity of your ARC), whichever is shorter.

11

That’s what the nice policeman told me… he was nice because he didn’t fine me $6000.