Wednesday 10 July 2013

China and Motorcycles

It is strange riding a motorbike in China. There is simply no culture or understanding of large bikes. There are lots of small bikes - scooters and 125s - but nothing like a 1200GS. There are some odd consequences...

1. Every time you stop you are surrounded by curious onlookers. Where are you from? How old are you? How much does this motorbike cost?

2. Motorbikes are not allowed in the centre of big cities. They are seen as a traffic problem (which they are) so are banned. Where they are allowed, the roads have an extra lane for cycles which motorbikes share.

3. Motorbikes are not allowed on motorways. Presumably they don't want lots of slow bikes on a high speed road, but a GS can do 120km/h all day long.

4. Motorbikes can not fill up at the petrol pump. They have to park away from the pumps and are topped up using watering cans. This is meant to be for safety but seems arbitrary. This rule is enforced strongly in Tibet and not at all in Beijing.


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