Hello,
I may have mentioned in a previous blog or two but I'm the first BMW F800GS owner in China. And while I've had an absolute blast riding my new bike in Shanghai, although the traffic can be intense, I've received an unbelievable number of stares and odd looks.
Much of the reason behind the shock on my people's face is that they've most likely never seen a "big bike". In China motorcycles are for farmers; and they'll all the 125cc Suzuki or Honda versions or there knockoff's. But when an off-road beast pulls up to them on the side of the road they are often taken back; they must be thinking, "why can a foreigner who can afford a car want to ride a motorcycle?". Don't forget, driving a car and owning a car is a huge status symbol in China, whereas riding a bike is not. Time to turn that opinion upside down.
Anyways, this post isn't so much about the impact of urban riding in Shanghai; but about a recent article in the China Motorcycle News Magazine, which both myself and Lorance An were featured. Lorance is a Taiwanese rider who bought Shanghai's first BMW R1200 RT and so he enjoys the claim as being the first non-Chinese resident in Shanghai to own a bike bike. I'm only managed to finish second in the race, but at least I've got the first F800GS in all of mainland China. Very proud of that fact. Sadly the Chinese Magazine doesn't have a website or I could try linking to it. So instead you'll have to accept my poor quality scan above.
ps. I finally attached a Contour HD camera to my helmet - will begin recording video from riding in Shanghai this weekend. Will post everything here. Exciting times ahead. I may also write a few blogs in the near future about some of the gear I've purchased over the last few weeks. I've got all the insider information about how to get stuff in China and what navigators work and don't. More on that coming soon.
Ryan Pyle
Photographer / BMW Motorcycle Owner
Location: Shanghai, China
Email: ryan@ryanpyle.com
Website: www.ryanpyle.com
Video: Ryan Pyle Video
Mobile: +86 137 9521 9650
BMW China: BMWCHINA
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