Great tutorial. Thanks for that. A question: is a certain visa type required when applying for the driver's license and plate transfer?

I seem to recall that only those with temporary residence permits (Z visa holders) could enroll in the driving school. Is that the case do you know?

Thanks for the detailed write up Lee! I'm also looking to get an official chinese motorcycle driving license but I don't currently have an international one. Seems this Laoshan place is only a place for testing and getting the license, its too bad they don't offer classes since I actually don't know how to ride a manual motorcycle. I only currently have a gas scooter which is easy.

I went to buy a scooter with jing B plates this past sunday ( mid july 2010) and even paid a deposit on it. I got a call the next day from the bike shop saying that at the moment, it was not possible to get said Jing B plates... quite a pain in the ass since it took me a few weeks to make up my mind as to what i wanted.

Since then, I've gone to acquire a used bike with Jing A plates and I'll use it for a few weeks before getting it scrapped and transferring the plate to a new bike.

Hello, Thanks for such a detailed guide! Really useful!
I am currently undergoing this whole procedure.

Me: Student residence permit, which is good until the end of Dec 2010; German dl for cars, not motorcycles

Health check: did it at the hospital at the BaJiao Amusement Park subway stop (at the LaoShan driving school). despite what the first nurse said, it can be done on the weekend, costs 10 RMB and is ridiculous, if you have at least one eye.
My advise: directly go to the 体检中心 , which is on the first floor in the building in the west and enter the main gate on the west side.

Enrolling: got all the documents stated above and had no problems

They called me two days after and made an appointment to meet today at the 车管所 at the ShiBaLiDianNanQiao.
No problem, except I was waiting at the wrong building. The Foreign Affairs department is on the left side of the main building.
I wanted to ask, if I can transfer my German dl for cars at the same time, when taking the computer test for the motorcycle. They said, if I did the car dl transfer first, it would only cost around 200 RMB, but I would have to wait for the motorcycle license for one year. If I did it the other way round, I would have to pay around 8000 RMB!!! I asked why. The answer: it's the law. Me: 没有逻辑！ Could anyone explain this rule to me?
Now I have an appointment on the 18th this month. They only make appointments during the week, not weekend. If you can't show, you have to come in person and change the time of the exam. A phone call is not enough.

Then the woman from Laoshan asked me to come to the school at least once to try the bike and the course. Otherwise I would not pass the driving test. And I could only come during the week in the morning. So I would have to ask for leave again! Weekends or evenings are not possible.
So I want to ask you guys. Do I really need to go there? What will the driving test be like? Do you need to understand their instructions? I speak basic to intermediate Chinese, but I don't know the right terms for motorcycle parts, e.g. clutch, gear. (I don't know how to drive a motorcycle yet, but I will buy one this weekend and learn it by myself - I know, not legal.)

What is your experience? I always welcome more information.
Thanks a lot!

Great tutorial.

Any idea on the regulation on bellow 50CC engines bikes ?
Does it requires any license plates, any driver license ?

There are a couple of fake 京A plate motorcycles currently being advertised for sale on The Beijinger. Both are for used bikes at prices OVER the price of a brand new bike. Also a couple of fake Hebei plates being offered as legit. Bizarre. Buyer beware!

The black 京A plates that you used to see are being phased out. All larger cc bikes now have yellow plates with black numbers. A foreign-owned bike will start with the numbers 47 (e.g., 47nnn). The smaller cc bikes are blue with white numbers.

In Beijing, a motorcycle plate is valid for 11 years. So, if you are buying a used bike, watch out for how many years are remaining. If it was first registered in 2001, for example, the bike MUST be destroyed in 2012. There is no way to renew or extend the 11 period. When you destroy the bike (through the police department), you get a stamped form that allows you to use your plate on a new, approved bike, for another 11 years. Go to that MCM website "biker" mentions for further information.

The vast majority of sidecar bikes are 1997 registrations, so they have expired plates (expired in 2008). There are a few exceptions with 2004 and 2005 registrations.

Since July 1, A and B plates have not been issued because of the discontinuance of an "approved list" of motorcycles that meet the new emissions requirements. A new list was supposed to come out on August 1, but it has been delayed to September 1, and may be delayed further. Some dealers were given a temporary reprieve to clear out existing stock - they are being allowed to issue A and B plates for one week only (ends August 20) and only for in-stock bikes. If you get one of these bikes, and pay for an A plate, you will get the full 11 years.

An 11-year A plate is currently running about 8,000 rmb through the agents that manage these things (you can find the agents everywhere, including taobao, but a decent dealer will just pass its the actual cost to you). Paying any more is pure profit for the shop. Harley, for example, used to charge 18,000 for an A plate (pre July 1). It was 10,000 of pure profit for the dealer. Disgusting. There is so much B.S. that whirls around the expat community about motorcycle plates.

I am not sure how much a B plate is, but I have heard it is much less.

Oh, another scam - copied plates / documents.

There are fake plates & documents that are direct copies of genuine plates / registrations. Therefore, a seller may have "everything in order", or so it appears. The books are there, the plate is there, everything matches. But it is fake.

What has happened is they have taken a genuine registration for the same make/model/year/color of bike, and copied everything, changing perhaps only the serial number. Looks great (in fact, they are perfect copies), but it is fake and the copied bike's serial number will not be in the police computers.

Either deal with a reputable motorcycle dealer, or bring along a knowledgeable friend, or hire a transfer agent.

Generally, the answer is no. However, there may be a possibility if you absolutely love your particular bike.

You will need to go to the original shop that sold the motorcycle and see if they can work with you to get the registration in order. Prior to getting a plate, you need to have a valid fapiao ... see above for the bureaucracy involved to get that. You need the original dealer's cooperation for that, as well as the original purchaser (they have to still be around and willing to cooperate).

I have never done this, personally, but have heard from others that it is especially difficult. Primarily because the dealer is more interested in selling you a new bike, as opposed to helping out some unknown person from a historical transaction. The dealer could help you, but probably has no incentive to. The original purchaser is probably also long gone.

One back door that a knowledgeable biker explained to me, once, was using another province (e.g., Hebei) that is more biker-friendly ... but this is difficult and convoluted. What he did was take his Chinese bike to Hebei, got a legal registration (needed to have a temporary residence certificate in Hebei), inspection & insurance. Then, a year later he "moved" to Beijing and went through the process of transferring the vehicle file into Beijing and having it registered here. It was not easy, it was expensive, and he was frequently complaining about the headaches, but he did it.

I actually think it cost him more to do this than just selling and buying a new bike, and certainly it was a huge headache. But he was the type that wanted to explore new possibilities.

@Biker:
Thanks for the information. The "Hebei-solution" sounds interesting indeed, as I am a fan of loopholes, but it seems not very practical or efficient. And because I have already outgrown my current 150cc bike, I will just buy a new one soon - WITH proper papers! Still thanks a lot for sharing!

@RPG:
Also an interesting information, as until now it seems everyone has been thinking Jing A plates were not issued anymore. But during the last couple of days I have been seeing more and more bikes - even bigger ones (>600cc) - with shiny new Jing A plates. Of course they could be fake, but it seems like a huge coincidence.

About my own story:
I have successfully passed the written test (一百分 - sorry for bragging about it ) on Aug 18th. One hint for the test: you only have to answer 50 questions (each 2 points) and not 100 as for the car license. You should make sure that you have the proper book. When I was there to register for the test and buying the book, I supposed that they had given me the right one. I found out (during the test) that for the motorcycle questions you also need another book with motorcycle-specific questions. Some of the questions were "made into motorcycle questions" (e.g. When encountering a cross-walk a motorcycle driver should... A) Accelerate. B) Stop and yield to pedestrians. C) Honk loudly. D) Turn right.) Here they just exchanged "motor vehicle driver" with "motorcycle driver". But other questions are more motorcycle-focused (e.g. When driving a motorcycle, what is wrong braking? A) Use front brake first. B) Use rear brake first. C) Avoid emergency brake when possible. D) Use lower gear to brake. I think, it was A)).
Ok, so after the test, they will give you the sheet of paper with your picture on it (you brought it yourself), give it a stamp and write down your score. Then you have to go to the Laoshan driving school, hand in this paper and they will call you after a couple of days. I understood that you have to show up at least once in order to familiarize with the bikes and the course. The instructor will also tell you how to go through the course - just as SetthaLee described it before. Usually you should come every day in the morning (8.30am) for one week and practise with the instructor. But if you have no problem with the bike or the course, then you don't have to come every day. After a few days you will have the road test - also in the morning.
So, I will go there this upcoming Monday (Aug 31) for practise and will have the road test on Friday (Sep 3). Wish me luck!
I'll keep you in the loop.

Btw, does anybody know, where there are some motorcycle shops selling NEW (race style 公路赛车) bikes?

Hey guys, just an update. I called Laoshan driving school and they now claim that the cost of registration for motorcycle license is about 1950 yuan, 300 more than last month!

I believe they are taking advantage of the current rush by foreigners to get a valid license. An extra 300 yuan more than the previous month feels a bit like a rip off to me. Even their website page hasn't been updated with the new pricing yet.

@Sky 3:
Sorry to hear that. You know about the market mechanisms of supply and demand - and so does Laoshan. Still, you got my sympathy. But be sure you didn't get the price for the sidecar motorbike (三轮摩托车). This one is 300 RMB more than the normal driver's license. Btw, I am doing the sidecar license, because you can also ride the normal bike then.
And congratulations on your bike. Could you share some more information? What brand, engine, shop, etc.? I envy you for the license plate!

@Biker:
Thanks for the invitation! I would love to join a group of motorcycle enthusiasts and ride outside the city! Hope I will get the license soon!

So, I was at Laoshan today for the practise. I was a little bit late (didn't get much sleep lately and the snooze button was just so tempting this morning... ). Anyways, I arrived there 45 minutes late, but it wasn't a problem - just embarassing as I hate to be late.
Around 50 people were already there and divided into two groups: around 35 in the group for normal motorbikes and around 15 in the group for sidecar motorbikes. (I was the only foreigner, yayyy...)
There are two training grounds for both groups very close together. The course for sidecar bikes goes like SetthaLee already described:

I only want to add some hints.

part 1: Use enough gas and speed. Lots of people stalled the sidecar right at the beginning.
part 2: It's pretty narrow with the sidecar, so don't be too quick in order not to go into the grass.
part 3: There are two lanes going up the hill. Sidecars use the left one. You have to stop in the beginning incline of the small hill. Use enough gas in order not to stall the engine. On the way down there are 3 or 4 yellow circles alternately on the right and left side of the paths. You should go over them with your front wheel in order to go down the hill with your sidecar still on the concrete. (The instructor will tell you that as well.)
part 4: Only here you shall use the second gear. Kick the swing pedal on the rear end while holding the clutch. Don't go too fast in this section. You have to slow down before the cone and the front brakes are really bad.

General hints:
- The steering of these bikes is really wobbling. Be sure to have a strong grip.
- They only have two sidecar bikes and they are both very uncomfortable to ride, you should practise with both and then decide. I liked the one with the ignition switch on the headlight better although the steering was even more wobbling.
- Make sure to be in the first gear at the beginning by kicking the left swing pedal a few times on the front tip. Don't worry to accidently get into neutral. This can only be done when you hold the clutch and use a lever on the lower right side near your leg. You have to pull it back till the end and then forward one click. But the instructor told me not to do that during the road test, but just turn the key to shut it down. Otherwise someone coming after me could be confused.
- Don't go too fast. Only in the last part you shall use the second gear. And as the front brake is not really working well, I wouldn't recommend record time chasing during the actual road test.
- When you are there on the practise day, you may want to think about pretending not to understand too much Chinese. Otherwise you will find a lot of new friends, who want to know everything about your home country, your attitude towards China, exchange business cards, etc. Not that I don't like to share my wisdom and ideas , but the time might pass by very quickly and before you know, you have spent 3 hours talking and 4 minutes on the bike...
- time: 8.30-11.30am

So much for today. Friday is the road test. Keep your fingers crossed please!