China or bust...

[beemer boy]

Time to see..... China !!! Always wanted to see some of the wonders of China but wanted to do it my usual way, sitting on a motorcycle. It is extremely difficult to bring a foreign bike into China . So my solution was to buy a second hand bike that was from China, complete with Chinese plates.
It was bought in Laos by a friend of mine, so it was purchased sight unseen to me. Then went to Vientiane to pick it up. Was a bit rougher than I expected since the bike is less than a year old. Did a ferry trip back to Chiang Mai with the bike where I fixed it up to it present configuration as a pocket tour bike. The snarling 200 CCs of raw Chinese power is ok on the straights, but a bit wimpy on steep hills. Sure is great at the gas pumps though. Think I will be missing my KTM 950 in the Himalayas....
Plan is to cross the border, first hit Kunming, and then onto Chengdu. Get the travel permit for Tibet and then head west to Lhasa , Tibet. Should be an interesting trip........ Stay tuned !!!
Right now I am at Chang Khong, Thailand. It is in the north east corner of Thailand. Tomorrow morning will cross the Mekong over into Laos. Then head up north from there to the Chinese Laos border town of Boten, about a one day ride. Normally I go on a ride, and then post all the pictures after the ride is done. This trip I wanted to make a change by posting during the trip. It will make it seem more live I think, and any input by my fellow ADV riders more relevant.
So will start posting pictures once I am in Laos. Here some pictures of "Zippy" the wonder bike taken yesterday in Chiang Mai just before I left.

[m0x]

welcome to asia

thumbs up on this one, claps too

[wachs]

Zippy looks good - is it a 2 smoker?

[hez]

Originally Posted by beemer boy

Help !! My live report is in trouble already. I normally use Firefox on my home computer. When Smugmug is open I right click on any picture. Then the menu pops up that has save image location. I save, and then paste it into my report. Now am using Internet Explorer at an internet cafe which does not have that menu option. None of the options make any sense . " Save , copy , copy short cut, open link, etc. " What am I missing here? Every internet cafe uses Internet Explorer so I had better figure out how to save the image link. So if you guys want to see China pictures.......Tried the copy short cut link but that does not seem to work. ?????

If you right click on any image you can choose "Properties" from the drop down list. Then you can copy/paste the address from the "Address/URL" on the properties window.

[britman]

Did it come with the small running lights on the forks?

[petefromberkeley]

WITH a bike? Unless you are Chinese, I hear they don't take kindly to people wandering around on thier own transportation unless you pay for a Chinese guard to be with you.

[Gustavo]

Originally Posted by petefromberkeley

WITH a bike? Unless you are Chinese, I hear they don't take kindly to people wandering around on thier own transportation unless you pay for a Chinese guard to be with you.

Where did you hear that?

I've been wandering on my own in China since 1999. Nobody ever gave me any hassles, anywhere. OTOH, I've never tried to cross into China with a Chinese registered bike that, obviously, isn't registered to me in China. That could present some issues.

Waiting for more updates from the road.


Gustavo

[Gadget Boy]

Excellent!! Thanks for the links!!

[BeachBusker]

[rtw02]

Good Luck Robert.
Just to make it interesting, come back through Burma for us...
Cheers

[91ctrk]

BB,
How long are you gonna be in China?

[beemer boy]

My visa is for two months. So if I am having the time of my life I will stay the full length of the visa. If things are not going so well, I may cut it short. Sometimes the hassle index overcomes the fun index.

No not a two stroker, although many people ask because the heat shield looks like an expansion chamber. Think it was a small mistake when they reverse engineered the bike.

I added in the driving lights. They were laying around in my junk box, and I was bored.......
They are PIAA 35 watt lights. I also put in an outlet for my electric vest in case I start freezing my ass off in the Himalayas. The alternator only puts out 20 amps, so will try not to use both at the same time.
Unless I am freezing my ass off going down a mountain road in the dark........

The bike is completely legal and currently registered in Beijing. I have a signed bill of sale from the previous owner transferring it to me. I have an international license which is not good in China, so that may be a problem......
Although that is a police issue, should not affect any customs issues at the border. In any case this whole issue will be brought to a rest in 12 hours, as tomorrow morning I will be trying to cross the border.
Right now I am at a internet cafe at the border town between Laos and China . One of the strangest places I have ever been. My feet are in Laos, but for all intents and purposes I am already in China. Almost everybody is Chinese and everything is priced in Yuan. All built up in the last year, the whole area looks like a construction zone with a huge casino in the middle of it. It is like China took a little piece of Laos.....and packed it full of Chinese gamblers. I had dinner with a very polite young man who worked at the front desk of the casino hotel. Think he wanted to practice his English. I asked him how long people stayed here to gamble , thinking the answer was a couple of days. He said many people stay for one to two months. Now that is serious gambling !!!!!
Zippy was giving me some trouble today. There is some sort of fuel starvation issue I cannot seem to resolve. Had the carb apart several times, and even replaced the coil yesterday in Thailand . So today all day long it would ride fine for a while, and then start sputtering and quit by the side of the road. Would sit for a few minutes, and then fire right up . Hopefully tomorrow it will be back in its homeland, and I can start replacing things until it works right. Will start with the carb, and move on from there. One of the charms of a cheapie bike, not painful to buy parts for it.
So hopefully tomorrow at the border will go well. I will also post a bunch of pictures on my next posting. Am praying there will not be one of a border guard with a AK47 looking sternly at me at pointing back towards Laos....

[xs400]

Great stuff - keep it coming.
Take care and have fun.

[BDKW1]

[riceburner30281]

sounds like trash in the tank, or a clogged fuel filter? blocked airway?