I was talking with the motorcycle guy at the shop …
I was talking with the motorcycle guy at the shop last night where I went to purchase a new visor for my helmet. I asked him what the deal was with larger, imported motorcycles now that Taiwan is entering the WTO. He told me that larger locally-produced bikes should be available as soon as January (!), but we’ll have to wait until July before Taiwan starts letting the inevitable flood of imports in.He also said that the government will be implementing a new licensing system, with harsher tests and A, B and C-grade licenses. He hinted that they would be dividing the licenses for larger bikes by age, so that even one would need to be at least 35 years old to ride a bike over 400cc.
Wha-? 35 years old? Damn, I hope this guy is confused. Actually, it might not be such a big deal, because according to the Chinese way of calculating age, which begins at conception and has to do with which side of the new year one’s birthday falls on, I am already 34, even though in Western terms I am still 32. So if they count that, by the time I am able to afford an imported 600cc CBR, I should be old enough to qualify for a license.
Then again, I wouldn’t be surprised if all of this is just rumors.
