Not such easy riding

Long before Taiwan joined the WTO on Jan. 1 2002, big bike enthusiasts across Taiwan were gearing up for the day when they could cruise the nation's highways and byways on their mighty beasts legally.

Over a year since legalization, big bike owners and dealers such as Peterson Hsueh (薛文彬) are finding the road is not quite as smooth as they envisioned it would be.

While motorcycles with an engine capacity of greater than 125cc can now be issued with license plates and ridden on the roads, additional taxes, numerous tests and questions about on-road regulations have left many bikers confused.

"When big bikes were illegal we knew where we stood," explained Hsueh. "But now nothing is clear. The laws pertaining to big bike purchase and use are somewhat, if not totally, muddled."

Popular hogs

The government banned the importation and registration of motorbikes greater than 125cc in 1982. Not that the ban stoppedpeople from purchasing big bikes. The large number of local motorbike enthusiasts willing to pay significantly more than the original retail price for a stolen bike meant that, along with Hong Kong, Taiwan was once one of the largest markets for hot hogs in Asia.

So popular were big bikes, in fact, that a report issued by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC, 交通部) in April last year estimated that legal sales of large motorbikes would reach somewhere between 10,000 and 12,000 per annum.

That figure has proved a gross overestimate. Since it became legal to sell bikes, Hsueh's garage -- which deals in Taiwan's most popular big bike brands BMW, Kawasaki, Suzuki as well Taiwan's most expensive hog, the Honda GoldWing GL1800, which costs over NT$1million -- has recorded sales of only 170 units per annum.

"Sure it's now legal, but it's still not easy to purchase a big bike. There's a 30 to 60 day importation period, after which the bike is sent for a series of tests," continued Hsueh. "All of which cost the buyer a substantial amount of time and money. When you finally get to hit the road it gets even worse. Traffic regulations aren't clear or are simply stupid."

Running his illegal big bike business out of a shared garage in Taipei's Shihlin district before hog legalization, dealer and mechanic, Jack Wang (王書武), used to do a brisk business. Maintaining and repairing an average of 90 motorcycles a year, Wang was well aware of the large number of big bike devotees in Taiwan.

Now head of Triumph Taiwan, he initially expected to see sales skyrocket after the nation's entry into the WTO. Not so, however. So far this year only 30 bikes have rolled out of Triumph's glitzy Sanchung City-based showroom.

Though a wannabe biker can pick up a Triumph Daytona 955cc for NT$729,000, added costs will boost the price to somewhere in the region of NT$1million. Road tax costs a rider NT$7,000 per annum, registration sets the owner back another NT$23,000 and fully comprehensive insurance can cost upwards of NT$80,000 a year.

The damaging part of purchasing a new bike, however, is paying for the tests that need to be carried out before any big bike can take to the road. In all the emissions and noise tests, which are carried out by the EPA, and the safety and the fuel consumption tests, which come under to auspices of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV, 監理所), cost a total of NT$150,000.