marcusb

The law is 150 cc and up to enter Laos. That said I have heard of cases where they allow it. Mukdahan and nong khai would be tough crossings, in muk it has to be on a truck to cross. There is another crossing east of nong khai that I believe is still a ferry crossing, that may work. Not sure if they do visa on arrival though.

Vietnam is a no go, big bikes and small bikes.

Just checked with my friend who does gps mapping and yes, from the border to LP is now all paved. Enjoy, its a great ride.

The Phu Du border is not yet open for foreigners, just locals.

Tha Li is a small pleasant crossing, crossed there many times, but not in the last two years. Apparently it's all paved now, and from Xayabouri. to LP is all new road with a new bridge crossing the mekong.

5 years ago it was pretty much all dirt and the bike crossed the mekong in a canoe, Laos is changing fast.

Sounds like a fun ride. Good luck.

I don't want to rain on the parade but just two points to consider.

Bikes under 150 cc are not allowed to cross the border. This is a law, sometimes it is enforced, sometimes it isn't.

The number two highway is absolutely insane on the close of the New years holidays. I have never seen so much traffic (other than Songkran). Your support vehicle will be miles and miles behind the motorcycles.

Thats all minor if your aware of it. There are a couple good spots to park the motorcycle in Nong Khai just before the bridge, safe and cheap if anyone does have trouble taking their bike over.

Passports are not often used anymore for bikes, all you need is your green book (in your name, or with a letter from the owner)

Hope you guys do it! have fun!

You can miss a lot of the roadworks if you stay on route 12 until the turnoff for Nakhon Thai (after Lomsak). The 12 is busy and there is a lot of construction. Once off the 12 it is a peaceful diagonal line to Nakhon Thai and then Uttaradit. Then your back on the busy roads. I'm not fast, but constant and few breaks. KK to Nan is about 7.5 to 8 hours. A two day trip would be quite nice.

If your in Muk and considering KK I would recommend Guts Rider in KK. They stock Pirelli and have a good mechanic as well as a new balancing machine.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Guts-Rider/195351200578481 if the link doesn't work just google guts rider kk.

My experience with bikes over 150 cc.

Piece of cake, I've taken 3 different bikes across over the last couple years. Takes maybe an hour on the Thai side, go to window 15, back over to number 8 etc. The laos side is pretty quick. There are two offices selling insurance right there, I highly recommend you get insurance. About 200B for 14 days. Crossing the border costs about 200 as well.

Coming home is way quicker. You get to wiggle up to the front of the "car" line, way faster than the bus/backpacker lines.

If you cross again in the future the bike is in the computer and it is a bit faster.

I love it, no tuk tuks to negotiate with, plenty of freedom to go explore etc. Bring a good lock.

The tire slipping on the rim is probably what caused the blow out. I think the low pressure you had was ideal, but you need some rim locks to hold the tire and rim in one spot. google rimlocks, they do work great. I think they could put those in your rims for a decent price.

I didn't know they were operating that yet. I saw the station in laos it's quite nice, but was empty. Please post how it goes, that would be a great way to go over.

That's the easy part. Crossing the friendship bridge going north is hit and miss, many times they dont allow bikes. then you have to head to Tha li or bueng khan (sp?). heading home the friendship bridge is no problem. Tha li has laos visas on arrival, bueng khan does not, you need your visa first.

Brian, you may or may not know this. The very small Honda Tank bags (good for camera, smokes, phone and paperwork, then it's full) fit perfectly on the KLX 250. The magnets hold onto the metal strips just below the tank. Works perfect and has never failed even when the bike went down.

Dollar for dollar those Honda Bags are good value.

You can cross on the ferry weekdays at Bung Kan you must have a visa for Laos one is not issued there on arrival. From there to Vientiane the road is perfect. I was just on it last week.

You can cross at Tha Li Loei then up to Pak Lai ferry across the river then its a mixed bag till Vientiane. It starts pavement than goes to hard pack washboard followed by pavement.

You can cross at chong Mek (ubon)and then it's a long straight boring ride to vientiane, about 750 k I think, roads are perfect.

Tha li and chong mek issue laso visas on arrival

Coming home using the friendship bridge is no problem, 25 minutes last time.

Nice to take the bike as there is so much time to kill when your doing the visa thing.

very nice job!

I may have been behind you the other day. It was raining and the bike ahead was blowing bubbles!

The 150 repsol looks very nice!

I ride solo 95% of the time. So far the other 5% has been with Tony and the boys. never met a nicer crew. I was on a cbr 150, yet there were no smart ass comments, no animosity. I'd be way behind yet at every major intersection they patiently waited, no troubles. I was impressed, no beer breaks, bikes in top shape so no breakdowns, safety was always number 1, everyone at their own pace. Also i learn so much about riding from watching them.

The videos, I love them. If you don't they have a little "arrow" which indicates play, you must avoid that button, and scroll down. It's quite easy.

I also really get a kick out of these debates, and the stupid sh!t that gets said. Take this thread for example, a guy just wants to show his weekend ride, people can reply "hey cool video" or backspace and go to another thread. Yet somehow 5 pages later we end up on a witch hunt. Keep it up I love it! This forum is by far the most humorous motorcycle forum on the interweb. It's actually the first one I check when I log on in the morning.

Let the good times roll.

marcus

Totally meditation for me. After a rough week at work all is fine after a few hundred kilometers.

if you're spinning up till 4th... i would look at your riding skills opposed to blaming the roads ... obviously there is a problem between your right wrist and your brain... throttle is not an on/off switch you know

and the brainiest post 2012 goes to..............................

Yes but he's right.

I see there are 3 reasons for spinning all the way through 4th.

1) you like how it sounds and feels (no problem, it can be fun)

2) showing off (used to do that with my car in my teens)

3) you don't understand that you just have to back off the throttle till the tires bite than increase throttle at a reasonable rate

No matter what bike or conditions I am on I can't see the sense in spinning through the gears.

Driving on ice in Canada we don't floor the accelerator when the light turns green, we would just spin. We apply enough throttle to

advance without breaking traction.

And yes the roads are shinny and slippery now, drive accordingly.

If you want to keep 43 psi in your tires, don't complain about the roads. Som nom na.

Thread lock is nothing more than a form of cyanacrylate glue (super glue, crazy glue) that hardens in the absence of air.

Regular cyanoacrylate will work just fine at 20 baht a bottle, but has to be applied where the nut covers the bolt or where the screw is inside the thread holes.

You have to have two surfaces touching each other for it to work. I use to sell rubberized thixotropic cyanoacrylate so know a thing or two about the stuff.

Just a side note. My friend has a stationery store and in with the different glues are tiny tubes of Loctite for 15 or 20 baht. i haven't used it as a thread lock but have

used it for small projects and it works quite well.

You need one of these, sadly more than the cost of the bike. Then it would be luggage. Oversized yes but simply luggage.

Best advice so far is what I would have said. Take the box to the post office. Send it registered so someone has to sign for it then it can be tracked.

Thanks...

Yeah I enquired at the post office. They told me it would be about 8000 THB air mail and I would get it in about two weeks or it would be 3500 THB by ship and I would get it in three months.

Anyone ever try sending something back to Europe by ship (the cheapest way) via the post office? The lady said it could be less than three months or it could be more. Anyone have any experience?

Well it's a cool bag but it's also a breakaway frame (2 piece) I doubt yours is. What is your bike worth? 19kg sounds pretty heavy unless the box weighs 9 or 10kg. (maybe it's a downhiller)

I shipped from Canada to here on the boat and it was a little over two months. Canada to Spain 2 months as well. Post office both cases and all was well. I have sold and shipped a few bikes on flea bay

as well and so far never any trouble with the post system.

The dimensions of the box will be what your charged for, its a weight/size ratio. For example probably if you put a few more kilo in you would pay the same, as it's "oversize". Take the bike completely apart

and you can fit it in a much smaller box. Cranks, fork, rims. Get a bike box and cut it apart and remake your own box to min size. good luck

marcus

Thanks Krs1, the more I look at it the more I think it should work ok.

I have been doing lots of rough roads and have busted up quite a few pieces of the fairing. Currently riding without the front end plastic as I wait for parts. I like the looks of it without the fairing

but the headlight/guage system would need to be changed to make it look okay.

I think the best bet would be to get a sonic front end and convert it's plugs to the same as the cbr, that way the idea is reversible in the future.

KRS1 you mentioned in a previous thread how you moved the front fender up, for more clearance . how did you do that?

Cheers

marcus

http://www.gt-rider.com/thailand-motorcycle-forum/threads/35253-No-Plans-Tour-2

Does anyone know how easy/complicated it is to put the nose cone (?? gauge cluster/speedo/headlight) from a sonic onto a cbr150 pre FI. Any chance that the three electrical plugs are the same?

thank you

marcus

I just replaced the speedo on my cbr 150. I kept the old one so I can show a future buyer true mileage. You should ask for your old one back I think, or have them put the mileage of the old one on a work order.

The rear shock on my 2 year old CBR 150 is kinda shot I think. Is there a good after market shock available or is the original honda part the best choice. Thanks. I tried googling but wasn't very succesful.

marcus

good article Red, thanks for posting it.

Chumpon eh? Wonder if the warranty can be transferred to another dealer?

I would actually be surprised if the warranty was tied to a specific dealer but will check it out for you in the next few days.

I would be most greatful if you can do that sir !

I have bought two used hondas with warranty remaining on them and there was no problem at all getting service and warranty work from different dealers.

It was actually so trouble free I was amazed.