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Q: How is it with scooters?
I am moving in a month to Guandong province and I am thinking of buying a scooter there. The thing is I am still not sure if the gas scooters are legal in there?
How does scooter law work in China?
Are gas scooters banned everywhere in China or only in big cities? I will be living in Yangjiang county. Does anyone know if it is possible to have a moped there and not be worried about scooter being confiscated?
Any sensible answers much appreciated.
9 years 38 weeks ago in Transport & Travel - China
It'll be better to get an ebike in Guangzhou. They no longer give license plates for regular motorbikes, even if you managed to get one, you'll be subjected to police stops, document searches and harassment from the police there. Worse, the motorbike theft rate is very high so the chance of you losing it is very real.
I'm not sure about Guangdong, but here's what I learnt when I bought a scooter in Beijing:
-It's not a good investment.
-Most gas stations won't give you gas.
-You WILL need to get it fixed pretty often.
-It's dangerous - the "holy crap I almost died just now" kind.
-It's forbidden as balls, except around some parts of the city if you have a certain plate (in Beijing, although I'm sure it's the same in every big city).
-It's way too cold to ride in winter.
In other words, it's a lot of hassle just for the sweet purring of an engine under your butt. Buy an electric bike.
Really, the only scenario where a scooter is better than an ebike is if you're planning to drive a really long distance, like more than 15km without stopping (it's the experience talking). Gas-powered engine > batteries when it comes to duration. But even then, it's still a terrible idea.
Yangjiang is okay for gas powered scooters/small motorbikes.....as long as you have a licence to drive one.
Louischuahm is right about Guangzhou no longer issuing licence plates but the smaller cities and towns in Guangdong still issue them
cooter:
This, especially the part about the driving license, which is just a pain in the ass to get as a normal license for driving a car, if not more so. I think once you do some research on what that entails, you'll just opt for an electric scooter.
thanks for all the clues,
the thing is I will need a motorbike for the distances of 40km one way and in this case an ebike is not a solution, unless I will pedal it back home
license? one more question rises here - do I need a driving license for scooters with gas engines from 50cc to 125cc? Is it different with electric motorbikes - no driving license needed I mean?
louischuahm:
You don't need a license for an ebike. If you need to travel 40kms each way, it may be good to get a car instead. 40kms on a bike is dangerous on China roads.
mike695ca:
Any gas powered bike will need a license. Btw, what in the world are you doing where you will need to make an 80km round trip everyday?
ScotsAlan:
One thing is for sure.... Mike would never buy a car with tinted windows.... people would not be able to see him and feel that warm admiration for him at being so sucessfull in a foreign country 
.
While the rest of the developed world is encouraging less car use to curb pollution, Ambassador Mike is sticking his Uncle Sam finger up and shouting " suckers" at people sitting on a low emission LPG powered bus.
Ha ha. 
Can people stop getting scooters?? its embaressing for all the rest of us. Everyone is staring at you and laughing at you. And you are pushing the ideas that foreigners are no better than common factory workers. Im not sure about europeans but in north america , if you dont have enough money for a car you are ghetto and you take the bus and save up for a car. It doesnt matter which car. They are not expensive. If you really need two wheels get a sport bike. This is the exception.
bravura:
what?!
1. We are not in America!
2. If you are not contributing to a topic then maybe it's a better idea to go and wank yourself!
3. If I want I will even get myself a flying carpet to transport myself!
mike695ca:
Wanked already. Still bored. I know this isnt america but that doesnt mean you should leave your self respect back home when you come here. I just dont understand why peoples standards change when theu come to China. Cars are more trouble and more expensive? Work harder, save more. Your not on holiday , you live here. Have some standards.
hunny797:
I agree with mike..
back at home I didn't have a bike or a car..been using public transport forever..never felt any shame..
But here I definitely feel embarrassed travelling even in a bus sometimes. One can easily judge from the looks of the viewer what he/she is thinking about you. And in public transport or a scooty its definitely the same " look at this laowei..can't even afford a car, stupid alien"
bravura:
I can understand a bit of what you say.The bit about respecting ourselves and creating a positive image of a foreigner in China but it does not have anything to do with showing of how wealthy one is. I think you are stuck in an American culture too much!
I am moving to Guandong only for four months and I am not going to buy a car for the period of four months though I can easily afford a really fancy car. Most of all I do not like spending money on all the costs involved in owning a huge piece of metal ran on petrol which becomes worthless in a couple of years and what is more I do not have any complex about riding a moped as you guys do.
Another reason for having a moped there is that public transport is not as convenient as in the west, buses do not run at nights and do not reach many remote places I want t see whenever I do want see them.
Anyway, if you are looking for a comfortable spot on the earth then the west is still a better option than the still developing and polluted east. What are you doing here?
mike695ca:
im working here, But i have a car, so im not complaining.
TedDBayer:
I loved my escooter. It did everything I needed, fast enough, great to ride in hot weather, park where I needed. I wouldn't want a car in China for so many reasons, gas stations are out of the way, hard enough to avoid accidents on 2 wheels, can't park where I need to, never needed to go very far. A sports bike would be nice but escooters still have advantages. People will talk shit no matter what I do, I've never lived my life by what others think.
