AllanB

I have to say that your appraisal of your 250B is almost identical to my 200GY. I solved the gearbox/clutch issue with a heel plate welded onto the gearshift, as with a Honda Wave.

My exhaust note seems to have become louded and sounds noisey after my CRF, but would add that my Lifan is a lot of fun to ride. Off road it handles far better than the CRF mainly due to the grunt at low rpm, the CRF has nothing down low.

Going back to the 5 down gear pattern is a bugga after riding the conventional CRF..."old dogs new tricks" I guess.

But I agree these Lifans are good bikes for the money.

An Indian mate of mine wears a non-dot turban, never had any problem with bits falling off, or head injuries.

Approved by the UK police too, can't get better than that........ 27 million people can't be wrong.

I think whatever the size or type of bike it is a just selfish to cause a nuisance to others and no one in these villages wants to complain/offend, through fear of retaliation or intimidation. The culture is such that it can end up in murder when certain people have had enough... and just snap.

Our local Ausi in the mooban has an issue (going back 10 years) with the woman who lives behind with 3 barking dogs, the other neighbours hate the noise too, but do nothing. The Ausi now has a peice of barking dog software, he points the directional speakers at her house and plays it late at night for an hour or so. "Good on ya Ozzie". I say.

The cops can't/don't do anything, indeed one of these neighbours was number 2 cop in the city, he was really pissed off too, but admitted he could do nothing.

I had a TVR which was inherently loud, I was quite embarrassed by it so would drive on tickover when passing people and houses, only opening up away form people and on motorways.

I think there is a world of difference between a "nice" exhaust sound and a noisey one. 

I guess it is a question of perspective and where you happen to live. In the wife's village, her elderly mother and other relatives live on the main through road. Every 1/2 hour, or so a noisey little shit goes past on his crappy little bike and irriates everyone. This noise goes on all day, every day and into the night. it disturbs everyone's life and sleep, including her 86 year old mother and the two toddlers.

Now before anyone suggests they move, this just isn't an option, they have lived in the house their whole lives and this is something quite new. What can they do?

I heard of a case in the news last year, where locals were so irritated by these little buggas they put a wire up across the road and decapitated the two lads.

Our pub quiz is regularly interupted by these really noisey bikes, which I suppose is "that life" and point out that we are fortunate enough to live in a quiet modern moo-ban.

2 hours ago, CMKiwi said:

On my previous CRF, I installed an aftermarket FMF exhaust system.  It was a bit louder than the stock pipe but IMO not excessively so.

 

As others have also stated, this change was combined with an EFI controller and airbox mods.  The increase in power output was quite substantial.

 

The change to the bike was not done with the sole purpose of generating more noise or excessive noise....far from it.

 

At a checkpoint some time ago, a very alert member of the BiB noticed the modification and proceeded to inform me that not allowed. Too loud, too loud he stated and asked me to start the bike.  This dumb arse then wound the throttle full open and held it there for some time.

 

I was not impressed.  He then say again that 'too loud'  must change or next time 'you fine'.

 

I was thinking of explaining to him that unlike many Thai youths, I don't ride around the city with the throttle jammed open.  That would be a very stupid thing to do in many regards....and dangerous to boot.  However I erred on the side of caution and thanked the BiB for his concern.

 

I agree with what some have stated about these small cc bikes and the soda can mufflers...  they are just annoying.  A bit like a mosquito buzzing around your ears.  They need a good swat.

 

Kids will be kids, unfortunately they appear to have a lot more freedoms nowadays and seem to get away with a lot more offending behaviour.  I put these earsplitting crotch rockets in the same category as the loudspeaker advertising pickup trucks.

 

Very annoying, especially when trying to talk or hold a conversation.  And the level of noise these small bikes can produce seems to be getting worse....

 

F  All that I can do to change that though....just one of those things I have to put up with in this Kingdom I call home.

 

One day the BiB may start doing their job and this 'noise' will cease.... but pigs will fly first.

In both the wife's village and the city most of the racket comes from Honda Wave type bikes. Some you can still hear for 5 minutes after they have passed, which means they at least 1 km away. So, a quick calculation will show there isn't any perfomance advantage involved here, just the opposite.

Noisey exhausts and no helmets...these people are not exactly rocket scientists in the IQ department....

On 28/02/2018 at 5:00 PM, roo860 said:

They did a similar thing with the Yamaha Exciter,

Sent from my SM-G920F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Some nitwit forgot to install the petrol tank, or was it stollen?

That Kawasaki W175 looks pretty good for the money, can't be much more than the equivalent Chinese.

On 22/02/2018 at 9:05 AM, phutoie2 said:

Well, what coincidence, I too live in a northern province  where most folk speak Lao. All the young lads here remove the mirrors and rear light bulbs from their mums waves, perhaps I will too.

Why buck the system.

...no I didn't mean that, although the Honda Wave does now have a mirror missing, let a visiting mate of mine Trevor have a go. He made it 10 yards and crashed into a wall......before he time to get too much speed up.

One mirror and 91 gasahol in the tank, does that make me a trendy guy around these parts?

There are a quite a few here with no lights at all, no helmets, 3 up, all texting and drunk.....now that's what I call cool. The only thing cooler than that is "pushing up the daisies". 

On 22/02/2018 at 5:06 AM, Ken said:

Naw.  Just quite a few trips from Korat to Nong Khai, my favorite "stomping" ground. A few trips from Korat to Pattaya.  1 trip from Korat to Chang Rai.  Fair amount of "local travel".

Superglue on the seat then....or have you had the op?

The one where they graft leather onto your arse cheeks? .....Good for slow cooking steak...I am told... by an old gaucho.

Gaucho Ken then.

On 20/02/2018 at 8:23 AM, Ken said:

I have 38,000 km on the Rebel 300 now.  It is darn close to needing a new rear tire, 150/80-16.  Been checking around and so far only seem to be able to find for that size, the original Dunlop at 4200 Baht. A bit pricey, but I guess you gotta pay for the "big fat tire".

Cripes! You don't hang about Ken, been commuting between here and the UK, or spilt superglue on the seat?

23 hours ago, eisfeld said:

 Weight-HP ratios are always misleading as they exclude the riders weight. Let's add a 80kg rider.

 

ZX14: 269+80=349kg, 208HP = 1.68kg/HP

Husky Enduro/Supermoto 701: 158+80=238kg, 74HP = 3.22kg/HP

F40: 1484+80=1564kg, 515HP = 3.04kg/HP

 

Now the numbers look very different for the Husky. And even then those numbers don't tell you much. While the Ferrari and the Husky have similar values, their performance will be very very different.

You have to be kidding...if it that important go on a diet.

I like the 400cc and lightweight, hate everything else. They used to have these bikes in the circus ring, how times change. "Monkey bike" used to be an insult, now it's groovy...apparently.

Yeh, glad you are okay. lad..I know these places are where the life is, but wouldn't relish riding the crazy roads regularly. My moto, "everyone else has right of way."

On 18/02/2018 at 6:15 PM, poanoi said:

i usually go to someone who works with leather and have them make a cover

over the whole thing with zippers around the top.

be sure they understand the cover needs slack so the zippers dont break one of these days

due to being too tight.

it works well against modest rain, but those heavy duty floods are too much,

in which case you can use your pocket knife and make a small hole at the bottom to let the water out.

 

it does protect against helmet thieves since those will never open the zippers just to check in case there's a helmet there, and it does help poining out which bike is mine among them all ?

They make a cargo net especially for the Wave basket for 65 baht, you can double+ the carrying capacity and it will still fit and prevent upward mobility of the contents.

8 hours ago, phutoie2 said:

I took your advice and for the price of a can of Leo per week have some extra insurance to go with the ctpl.

In our town the difference in price is between 95 & 91 is only a few satang. Somchai who sold the bike to me said 95, so will go with that.

The basket stays on for the time being, so says Mrs PT2.

Up here in Isaan country there is another reason for buying 91...everyone else does. That means the forecourt tanks are constantly replenished, the water content will be lower and the fuel cleaner/fresh.........er.

Why buck the system?

Lighten up guys and learn some simple maths, incidentally I meant a proper gallon, not the short measure the poor old yanks get..., must be a banker involved in that scam somewhere. If I were a USAer I would insist on an amedment to the constitution, "It is the right of every man to get a full measure when he buys petrol" (not "gas"..... you are buying a liquid).

We are talking "biker" language here, 200mpg is a memorable figure for a (tightarsed) biker, like doing the "ton" 100mph, a famous figure for the genuine old fart bikers. Never heard a greaser say "I did the 160.934 kilometres per hours today" and 100kph is hardly a feat to brag about, Honda Wave teritory that.

Real bikers don't do metric!!!!

Honda Wave runs on anything except diesel.

Not sure why you think they put water in the bottled stuff, water and gasahol separate out, which can be easily seen through the glass.

Locals would soon stop buying it anyway, which is where they get their business, we used it a few times while touring, never a problem....Just a little expensive.

I went to school with a lad who bought a Cub and he was getting 150+ mpg and the Wave has fuel injection, so 200 sounds about right. Our Filano does 120mpg and that has a rubber band and a bigger engine, which we tend to ride harder.

On 09/02/2018 at 10:02 AM, thaiguzzi said:

The "true spirit" of a café racer = no pillion seat and certainly no luggage...

The rider sits further back where a pillion would normally sit. Weight distribution changes, along with a different rider "triangle", of footrests further back and lower handlebars.

Try clip ons at 55 + y/o for any distance.

But you know all this already....

Cafe racer is only the wraith of the "design", perhaps "to the end of my driveway racer" would be more apt.

Single seat? we two have slept in a single bed a couple of times, but two big bums on one motorcycle seat is pushing our (her) luck.  

Handlebars? don't have a pipe bender.

Different triangle? my old carcass won't permit that.

Weight distribution, etc? We don't have a duke box., but in any case we can find a long song.

We have had our Honda Wave 8 years now, trouble free. Only ever used 91 gasahol, anything else is unnecessary, was getting 204mpg when new, haven't checked recently, but seems the same. Always starts first prod ever after 6 months none-use. 

Never heard of any cop wanting anything but a bike-up-key and (once) the hand book??? and any accident is your fault anyway so what difference does it make. Just don't have an accident!!

5 hours ago, Rhys said:

 

 

Had to wheel and deal... still has the short and curlies...

Get a BIC razor...........

9 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Not always an option though is it? In my case you had to slow down to about 30 kph to move onto the hard shoulder as it was potholed dirt, with a bus about a metre behind me, not fun and not safe. Besides, I don't enjoy rides where I'm getting bullied onto the hard shoulder because I'm on a scooter. I'd rather accelerate away and continue my journey. 

 

I did Chiang Mai to Pai in December on an MT09 with my gf on the back. It was cold and wet. I can't imagine how painful that would have been on any scooter trying to get past all those slow moving trucks belching smoke. Or trying to keep speed up on the slow uphill corners (with no gears) because some idiot in an Isuzu is right behind me. Relying entirely on the brakes (because I have no gears or engine braking) on the way back down. With the MT09 in power mode B, traction control set on the max level, 120 front and 180 rear Bridgestone tyres with ABS as a backup it was a really enjoyable, stress free ride.

 

Overtaking is safer on a big bike. Braking is safer on a big bike. Riding over 100kph is safer on a big bike. They are more stable in wind, more stable over bumps and rough roads, have bigger wheels, they command more respect from other road users. There is really no argument for scooters being safer than big bikes unless you lack self control or riding experience.

 

We did the MHS loop 2 up twice, once on a CRF 250 and a year earlier on a Yamaha Filano 125, both flew past all the slow moving trucks effortlessly. The smoky ones are always way down on power that anything can pass them.

I would agree that riding over 100kph is safer on a big bike, not much opportunity on the that bit of the loop though. I would like to try it on my Shadow next time, a lot more fun, 1 or 2 up.

You should do the whole loop the next time on that bike Jonny, 3 very different phases. You can really get the welly down on the final MHP to CHM and mostly smooth interesting roads now.

Rain? Ouch!

10 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Just one example. For dogs you might slow down. What about a truck sat on your tail on a narrow road when the bike is maxed out? I rode 400 kms in Cambodia recently (Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville and back) on a Honda Wave, and getting tailgated by buses as I pinned the throttle on that POS going uphill was no fun at all. Downright dangerous. Had I been on my MT09 I would have accelerated away and kept him at a safe distance behind me. The hard shoulder was potholed dirt so pulling over wasn't an option, slowing down meant trusting the bus driver to see me and avoid me. When they did pass, I could have touched them with my elbow if I wanted they were that close. 

 

Not to mention spending 20 minutes sucking fumes behind slow moving stuff that I didn't have the power to overtake because I'd have been on the wrong side of the road for a minute, creeping past him.

 

Fast bikes can go slow, but slow bikes can't go fast. Believe me, that journey would have been MUCH safer on a big bike. 

 

 

"Approaching dogs on a narrow road at break neck speed with a big truck up your jacksie", is a possible scenario, but about as likely as Donald Trump being the driver of said truck.

Me, I would pull over to the side of the road and let Trumpy run over all the dogs and smooth the way.

But, if you are on a big BMW with the obligatory galvanised dustbins on the back making you as wide as a car, that may not be possible. Just join the dog pie and let Trump get a strike.

On 05/02/2018 at 5:41 PM, DefaultName said:

That's the one real issue with a smaller bike, with a big bike there are 3 ways out of trouble; brake, dodge, accelerate. With a smaller bike you only really have the first two.  It doesn't matter so much in town, but outside it, where the road speeds are higher, acceleration and top speed matter.

 

Bought my PCX 5 months back, have been fully out of Pattaya once, so not so important to me. 

 

Horses for courses.

That is a pretty naive view, to think you can dodge a dog (or dogs) with sheer power. 

I have encountered a number of dogs that can't make up their minds and the only safe thing to do is to slow and even stop. If you enjoy the buzz of Russian roulette, go for it not me.

Then there are the dogs at the side of the road, that just decide to take off across the road, if you are into speed you chances of a close encounter are much greater.

The one exception is if you ride a dirt bike as I do, I haven't decided how larger dog I could hit, make it over and stay on. Be interested to see a TV survey. 

I have decided I can't hit a cow and stay on.....but my riding skills are only average.

Like me your friend is suffering from acute "Sub 300c Syndrome". Big bike shops where they have a few people who know shit won't touch bikes under 300cc. That leaves us with Honda Wave oil change wallers, who manage that simple task only after an hours retraining every morning.

Took my brand new CRF back after a few days to get a few issues sorted, they asked me to adjust the clutch and set the headlight height. Another put the wrong amount of oil in it.

Sorry you are no your own mate.

On 02/02/2018 at 10:54 AM, JonnyF said:

Yep, I also think it's a good thing if people who can't ride a motorcycle for whatever reason can still get out and enjoy 2 wheels. I just think the 300 is a better fit for the scooter platform.

 

The 300 is a lot cheaper, more storage space, goes about 150 kph - fast enough for any scooter, - it's lighter, looks better etc. Not sure why anyone would pay over 200k more to own this thing. For 425k You could have a XMAX 300 for scootering (if that's a word), a KLX/CRF250 for real off roading and 100,000 Baht leftover for mods/trips etc.

 

Be interesting to see how many they sell.  

My mate who has the Forza (two in fact) would disagree that these rubber band autos are easier to ride. He finds it disconcerting, the inability to change gear on the hairpins, having to get the revs right to get any power on the uphills and the lack of engine braking on the downhills....and the problem with crosswinds. He has been riding big bikes all his life and would much rather have a proper bike.

He rides the Forza to keep wifey happy..........and he has short legs.