Riding a Motorcycle In Korea

[IDrinkSoju]

Hi all! (almost) my first post. So, I thought I'd write a bit of an introduction...

For one reason or another, I have found myself in Korea for the long-ish term. There are many aspects to living here that are interesting and challenging, but since this a motorcycle forum, I thought I'd just talk about motorcycling here in case any of you were interested.

Motorcycles here are not seen as equal to cages. Actually, they are closer in status to bicycles than to cages. What does this mean to the average biker? It give you the ability to ride on the sidewalk (as a pedestrian, this is often annoying), gives you pretty much no-fault in the case of an accident (even it it actually was your fault). and lets you park wherever you like. You can also basically do whatever on the roads too - lane-split, etc. Mostly this is quite nice.

Drivers in Korea are a little different than those in Canada (where I'm from). Riding a motorcycle here takes a bit of a different strategy - you really have to be a bit more proactive. At red traffic lights, I always make sure that I never have open space behind me. (I always filter through to the front). I occasionally run reds in the name of safety when it's like it's safe to do so (the legal consequences are negligable) -- because a ride on an empty road is worth the often legnigable risk.

Lights don't have sensors here, so at night, when the cars are few, they still make you sit there and wait. But... most cars run the reds late at night, so ... you'd *better* not be sitting waiting for it to change (good chance of getting rear-ended). I run those reds too.

The police here are not on power-trips here like they are in Canada and the US. Most of the time they don't bother with motorcycles unless there is a specific 'crackdown' (where they only focus on one kind of infraction, and ignore the rest...)

One BIG downside is that motorbikes, no matter their size, are not allowed on the biggest freeways. This pretty much defeats the purpose of fast bikes. There is some talk about repealing this, but I don't have my hopes up of this happening very soon...

However, Korea is a very mountainous country, so some really nice roads with twisties are usually not too far away. The coastal roads are really nice too. It's possible to ride on provincial highways, so you can cruise at 120kph or so, but there isn't usually too much sense in going too much faster.

A lot of teenagers ride scooters and 125cc bikes. They put a lot of flashing lights on them, wear no gear, and carry girls on the back. They break every law possible and don't care a bit about it. They also put huge musical horns on their bikes. These are Korean squids.

To get any kind of bigger bike here takes a little more effort and money than most Koreans are willing to spend (riding a bike is still seen as a bit of a 'low class' thing to do). So, the guys with the bigger bikes (250CC and up) are a pretty select and pretty nice group.

I learned how to ride a motorcycle myself. I bought a 125CC from a random guy and rode it home. It actually wasn't too hard to get the inital hang of it... I stalled it the first couple of times, but after that, it was pretty smooth sailing. I practiced on that for a year or so and I now ride a 250CC Hyosung and am going to upgrade to a 650R soon. To be able to ride the 250CC I had to pass a special course that ran for about 3 weeks and taught me nothing. I looked into something like an MSF class but there are none to be found...

... that said, I put in my time with the smaller bikes. 2 years or so. I used the bikes for commuting too, so I have been riding every day for most of that time.

I went down once -- on a twisty in the mountains due to some sand -- no damage, except to the gear that I always wear.

Speaking of gear -- HJC helmets are CHEAP! I got my FG-14 for ~$130. It's nice. You can get custom-made leather gear here... all fitted to your exact measurements (which is good, 'cause I have gorilla arms). It's about $200 for a custom jacket and $120 for leather pants. They're very good at what they do - can copy any style you give them.

Korean bikes are really inexpensive -- but imports are pricey. Maintenance, however, is insanely cheap. To change the oil on my bike, it costs $10. They charged me $5 to fix the wiring on my bike so that my high-beams would work again, etc...

So - before you judge me - keep in mind that it's a whole different arena over here! Sorry about the long post... if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Ride safe!

[Skier]

Pretty amazing stuff. I'd like to hear any stories you have, and more about the two-wheel culture over there.

[9000white]

good luck over there.i would have thought that bikes far outnumber cars there????????? how much is gas there??

[Relsek]

I spent some time over there myself several years back, (about 20) The general rule of thumb for driving that I remember is, he who is smallest yields the right of way, he who is biggest takes it. Is it still about like that?

One more thing, do they still have Soju tents on the streets?

Kevin

[zarakand]

Welcome, and start a blog. I'd love to read about your motorcycling stories in Korea.

[BigChickenStrips]

is bike theft a problem?

[Joe Rocket=>]

What are Soju tents? Yeah, how much is gas over there?

[Seetrout]

What are Soju tents? Yeah, how much is gas over there?

SOJU= Korean Saki, Rice Wine.

How the hell they get away with calling it "wine" i'll never figure out.
More like Whiskey or Gin or Vodka.

You should be able to picture the rest from there.

[jmillheiser]

the wine part comes from how its made. It is fermented like wine, not distilled like liquor. For not being distilled it is quite potent, definately more potent than most wine and as potent as some liquors.

I have never tried Soju but I have had Saki before, good saki served at the right temperature is quite tasty.

Is Soju served warm like Saki?

[jmillheiser]

Koreans also have about the spiciest food ever devised by the hand of man. If you want to set your mouth on fire give some good aged Kimchi a try.