Ever wondered what it's like to ride a motorcycle in China? Susan Carpenter, the motorcycling columnist for the Los Angeles Times, just got back from 8-days of riding along China's famed Silk Road, and tells us all about it...

In Xinjiang's cities, traffic moves slowly -- about 30 mph max -- which is good because it's utter pandemonium, some of it motorized.

...In Xinjiang's cities, traffic moves slowly -- about 30 mph max -- which is good because it's utter pandemonium, some of it motorized.

...They don't use orange traffic cones in this part of the world. When a vehicle breaks down, the driver alerts oncoming traffic with a pile of rocks stacked in the middle of the road.

...The gas stations were mostly plentiful, enormous, empty and overstaffed with attendants in matching McDonald's-like outfits.

...Most riders don't wear protective gear. On the rare occasion a rider is wearing a helmet, it doesn't have a strap, and it isn't made for motorcycling. It's more like a construction worker's hard hat.

Labels: China

I think I've figured out how to bring China's economy to its knees. Take over all of the world's bungie cord manufacturers, and halt production...


Photo found on Edmonton Motorcycle Scene.

Labels: China, Photos, Strange Stuff

An article published today on China Daily reports that Honda and Yamaha plans to build more motorcyles in China. Honda announced that both motorcycle production in China and sales in China are expected to increase by 33% this year.

Honda also said its motorcycle exports from China will reach 220,000 units this year, an increase of 29 per cent from 2003.

Honda currently runs three motorcycle joint ventures in China with Hainan Sundiro Motorcycle Co Ltd, Guangzhou Automobile Group, Jialing Industries Co Ltd. It could very well be right now that the shiny new Rune you've been looking at was not even built by Honda, but by one of those three Chinese motorcycle builders.

Yamaha has goals to produce 1 million motorcycles in China by 2005 and increase output to 4 million units by 2010 through collaborations with local partners. It looks like future Roadstars may soon become Chinese.

Overall, China built and exported about 3 million motorcycles during the first 11 months of this year, up more than 30 per cent from a year earlier.

Labels: China, Made in China, Manufacturing