need a scooter…

Closed Thread
Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 1 2
  1. #11

    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Toronto, Canada
    Posts
    127

    When my husband & I retire in Hong Kong we don't want to buy a car but thought a scooter would be handy and cheaper! What license to you need to drive one in HK? I currently have an Ontario (Canada) license to drive a car plus motorcycles.

    Will this suffice? Hubby only has car license. Will he be able to drive or only me?


  2. #12

    Hello BettyInToronto,

    I have a friend here in HK who is from Toronto too, he told me that you simply go to the HK equivalent of the DMV, fill out some papers and get your licence changed to a HK one. Its valid for 10 years. Procedure takes one or two weeks.

    For driving any kind of bike in HK you need a motorcycle licence as they dont have any machines of 50cc wich in some countries you can drive with just yr car licence... Getting your bike licence in HK is not expensive and rather easy in my experience. The smallest engined scooters i have found is 150cc. But its nice to have a bit of power, can save your life... sometimes speeding up is better than breaking ;-) But as you already have your licence in Canada, you'll know all about that stuff...

    Hong Kong traffic might seem a bit chaotic at the start, but I have found that once you are immersed in it its not too crazy. They (taxi's and minibusses mainly) tend to give you the space you need to drive around safely.

    Just out of interest, what kind of bike or scooter would you like to drive when you get here? I drive Vespa PX200, the old-school one :-) The new price is $28,000.00 hkd, with insurance and registration fees it came to about $31,000.00 (approximately $4,250.00 CAD).

    Well, hope you have what you need now.

    Have a nice day!

    Last edited by HarvesteR; 24-06-2007 at 05:35 PM.

  3. #13

    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Kennedy Town
    Posts
    100

    (hi Harverster)

    Hi Betty, yes Harvester said almost everything.
    You can say to Hubby, that he has be driven by a girl in that case

    You can also find some second hand scooter for an average of 8000-12000 HKD.
    Most of time, you need to ask a warrenty for one or two months.

    Friend of mine bought one scooter and asked for it. It was a good idea, cause after one week, a cable or this kind of shit was broken...You must know, that those craps are always happen. On mine I changed cable and clutch when bought it, but since this time and after 12000kms in one year, no really need to do service on it. Tyres maybe....

    anyway, if I have time I can help you to find a shop. keep in touch. ( I'm gonna leave HK for vaccation, I will be back in august)


  4. #14

    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Toronto, Canada
    Posts
    127

    Thanks Guys!

    I am just in the planning stage and hubby thought we would need a scooter; so I just jumped into this thread when I saw it. First one of it's kind that I have seen since I joined.

    We will be retiring in HK in about 5 years. Sooner if we can do it financially. We are strongly looking at one of the small villages surrounding Mui Wo on Lantau island. Hubby thought we would need a scooter to get to the better beaches along South Lantau Road. And if big enough make the odd trip to the NT. No way I'd take it to Kowloon or HK Island.

    guiguitche: Thank you so much for your offer to help shop but it's a bit too soon now. I am glad I won't have to do the test again. Hubby said he thought it was a breeze but I remember reading here somewhere where a course costs alot! Now he's thinking twice.

    As for me doing all the driving; when we went to Bermuda (twice!) he couldn't master the single seat scooter so we ended up with a double and I did all the driving. It was okay except for driving on the left but he loved it as he could look around at everything! Me? I had to keep my eyes peeled to the road. I assume HK would be like that too. Narrow roads with no shoulders and where everyone speeds. I just hope Lantau isn't too bad. Plus I read that some roads are restricted so only residents can drive there. That would help with traffic.


  5. #15

    (Hi Guiguitche)

    Hi again BettyInToronto,

    Yeah, driving here is on the left, but you get used to that quickly...

    From memory, the bike licence here costs about 5000hkd. Dont know what it would cost to get it back there in Toronto... so if your hubby wants to drive too, he might want to consider getting it before you come... he's got 5 years so time enough

    You are right, on that side of Lantau, most roads are for residents only, but im sure you'll want to explore more of HK as you get used to driving here. Really, like I said, the driving here looks a bit chaotic, but once yr on the road it isnt all that bad.

    Anyways, good luck with your plans, hope you make it here retired and well as soon as possible.

    Byeee!

    Regards,
    Harv


  6. #16

    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Toronto, Canada
    Posts
    127

    HarvesteR: WOW! $5000HK to get his licence? Thank you for a very good idea of him getting it here in Canada before we leave. Hubby thought that there was no special licence required for a scooter. (Motorcylce - maybe).

    Hmm. I'm glad I am do some high-level planning this early.


  7. #17

    Also missing my vespa in Italy

    hi Harverster

    Thanks for all the useful info. Do you know where i can find some second hand scooter ? Where should I start from?



    Hi Betty, yes Harvester said almost everything.
    You can say to Hubby, that he has be driven by a girl in that case

    You can also find some second hand scooter for an average of 8000-12000 HKD.
    Most of time, you need to ask a warrenty for one or two months.

    Friend of mine bought one scooter and asked for it. It was a good idea, cause after one week, a cable or this kind of shit was broken...You must know, that those craps are always happen. On mine I changed cable and clutch when bought it, but since this time and after 12000kms in one year, no really need to do service on it. Tyres maybe....

    anyway, if I have time I can help you to find a shop. keep in touch. ( I'm gonna leave HK for vaccation, I will be back in august)

    [/QUOTE]


  8. #18

    To kwa Wan is on the kowloon side. i'll go tomorrow. Are we talking about a real PIAGGIO VESPA?


  9. #19

    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Hong Kong Aberdeen
    Posts
    361

    The new AD of Piaggio/Vespa is

    Power Vigor