Planning a Motorbike trip from CM to Kunming in Yunnan, China. Researched it but not sure of the road as seems to have been under construction for ages... Anyone done it recently? Wondering about the road condition/construction. Would plan to go in November, after the rain.

What size bike would be needed, 125? 250?

Do i need to carry extra fuel?

Anyone done it before?

check;http://www.gt-rider.com/

Last week you said you knew the roads: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Motorbike-Ri...11#entry3639411

As was suggested previously, your best bet for this type of info, more current than most of us here can offer, is the GT-Rider forum.

You can go from CM to Chiang Khong however you want. Route 3 from Houi Xai to Luang Namtha has deteriorated greatly. There are many sections in the middle that are now unpaved, but easily done on any kind of bike. This is as of last month. They are doing construction on only a few sections and there is no way to guess how much more will deteriorate during the rainy season.

The road from Luang Namtha to Boten should still be in excellent condition.

In China, I've only gone as far as Jinghong. There is an old road which goes through many small interesting villages. It was in pretty bad shape a year ago and I doubt there has been much work to fix it. Still it should be easily ride-able on any motorcycle. Or you can take the brand new highway, which I believe goes all the way to Kunming.

There is no problem getting fuel on Hiway 3 in Laos and the old road in China. I don't know what services are available,if any, on the new hiway.

I have no idea about the requirements for bringing motorcycles into Laos or China (again, GT-Rider has the best info), as I did all this on a bicycle. That should be your most important consideration before you plan any further.

Last week you said you knew the roads: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Motorbike-Ri...11#entry3639411

As was suggested previously, your best bet for this type of info, more current than most of us here can offer, is the GT-Rider forum.

You can go from CM to Chiang Khong however you want. Route 3 from Houi Xai to Luang Namtha has deteriorated greatly. There are many sections in the middle that are now unpaved, but easily done on any kind of bike. This is as of last month. They are doing construction on only a few sections and there is no way to guess how much more will deteriorate during the rainy season.

The road from Luang Namtha to Boten should still be in excellent condition.

In China, I've only gone as far as Jinghong. There is an old road which goes through many small interesting villages. It was in pretty bad shape a year ago and I doubt there has been much work to fix it. Still it should be easily ride-able on any motorcycle. Or you can take the brand new highway, which I believe goes all the way to Kunming.

There is no problem getting fuel on Hiway 3 in Laos and the old road in China. I don't know what services are available,if any, on the new hiway.

I have no idea about the requirements for bringing motorcycles into Laos or China (again, GT-Rider has the best info), as I did all this on a bicycle. That should be your most important consideration before you plan any further.

The easy answer is "You Can't". I was surprised when I saw El Jefe saying he had done it until I saw he was on a bicycle. Many, many, have tried to figure out how to ride a motorcycle into China. Basically, a few have done it with special arrangements through a group of some kind. A guide, a support vehicle, special permits and more are needed (plus a lot of money). One or two that I know of have gotten in illegally, but not from southern borders and not very advisable.

I would be interested to see how you have "researched it" because I think you will find my answer is pretty much the normal response. Try GT-Rider as suggested and see what advice you get.

A friend has done it on a Chinese registered bike but like Silverhawk says, the normal response is "no". I tried in 2001 and 2008 at Boten on Thai plated bikes and was refused both times. I too would be interested to hear what research led you to believe you could ride through and also very interested in your progress if you go for it.

One thing you can do is buy a bike in China and ride it back. A farang cannot have a bike registered directly in their name but it's possible to have the paperwork signed over to you and this apparently satisfies the border officials too.

Cheers,

Pikey.

you can't take your bike to china. you can go through laos, see gt-rider.

i'll be taking that exact route at the end of the week. cm-jinghong-km.....by bus.

it shall be an adventure. contact me next week for road conditions if you

still want to try.