I do a lot of riding in Thailand, I only ride with full gear, I have a Shoei helmet which are not cheap, riding jack and pant with armor in the elbow, knees, back and riding boots.
I ride a 1000cc touring bike, i only ride it on long trips, and when i arrive at my destination i park the bike at my nights accommodation and if i go out i will either walk or take a taxi. I never take the bike out for small rides
On the occasion that i have stayed in Chiang Mai i will ride my bike but i still wear my entire gear when i ride to visit some friend in different areas of CM
Where i live i live in Khon Kaen i don't own a scooter and if i want to some where around town i will drive my car,
When i am out touring i am very aware of other vehicles on the road and anticipate that some drive will do any crazy things, so far in 15 years of riding i have only come off my bike once, which was my own fault and i damaged my bike enough that i could not ride it and luckily i did not get injured, but my helmet took a huge hit to the side and i have never used that helmet again.
so for my it full gear or i don't ride