Hannuman

2 hours ago, JAG said:

 

If let us say about half a dozen nations were to leave, we (they) could form a trading bloc within Europe. No ambitions to regulate each other, or become any sort of united federal state, just a bloc to encourage free trade,

 

We could call it - I don't know - "The Common Market"?

What an original idea ! They could even use the term 'Benelux Zollverein '

Just 99 years too late . The concept was initiated shortly after WW1 ,though not implemented on the grander scale until post WW2 . Did you never buy Benelux derailleurs and similar components for your Claude Butler, Dawes,Viking, Holdsworth ,etc in the 1950's ? 

22 hours ago, Mavideol said:

since when Belgian are known for being good navigators, only good beer, frites   555

Suggest you Google Gerardus Mercator 

First nomination :The 1937 Lagonda LG45 Rapide from the 1957 film ' Chase a Crooked Shadow ' starring Richard Todd and Anne Baxter . I was eleven years of age when it was released.

imcdb.org/v507528.html

Second nomination would be the 1937 4 1/2 litre Straight Eight Daimler from the 1965 film "Lady L" starring Sophia Loren and David Niven, ,,,the car which I have owned for 25 years .

Maybe unattainable advice, but it would be worth a trip to the Rolls Royce /Bentley agency in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur or even here in Penang, to purchase RR-specific radiator coolant : RR have been fitting aluminium cylinder heads since the Phantom 1 /Ghost of the early days of the 20th century , a practice which continues to this day in the current 6.75litre V8 models. I have always used this in my Daimler V8s' and straight eight's systems with total satisfaction .Pentosin is one of the products they sell.

9 hours ago, car720 said:

No.  Those Avengers were quality and British, as always.  The others were for kids that have never grown up.  

And we must not overlook Steed's  means of transport :

A 1926 Bentley 3 Litre ,registration no. YT 3942

On 8/30/2018 at 12:52 PM, kurthnase said:

Cheers for the suggestions guys!

 

Good advice, thanks for the write-up. You wouldn't have any pointers in the Chonburi/Pattaya area for a good shop that knows Honda? I went to the local Big Wing and they sent me away lol. Usally I go to one of the repair shacks to to regular maintenance, oil changes etc., but they never checked inside my fuels tank afaik. I'll have a look at that.

 

The Zone 200 looks nice, I think I'll try to find a shop to ride that and see if I fit on it.

 

I thought about the Lifan when I first bought the Honda, but I decided against that, cos I thought the Japanese would make a more reliable bike. Have you ever ridden a Lifan? They would be right up my alley, but a little bit out of my budget atm (I saw used ones for ~60k, so new maybe around 100k?). The Ra1 however seems a viable option, a cool little bike that.

The first of the 197cc four stroke Phantoms are approaching 20 years of age by now ,but age is not an issue with these sturdily built, well engineered devices ,and they are good for well over 100k mileages ...(my own 118k).The problem is that replacement spare parts have been produced in Indonesia for several years (need I elaborate ?) .

I too have had carburettor problems of late ,but would not even dream of taking my machine to the local Honda slaughterhouse in Suphanburi/Saam Chuk. I take the bus to Chiang Mai and purchase my parts at Prachamit, ,beyond Nawarat Bridge ,and return home to either administer to the ailment myself , or entrust remedial action to my local big bike shop , and only  to one mechanic in particular . Like the Phantom brakes, piston ,camshaft , clutch  assy and other components the carburettor is not peculiar to the Phantom ,and a new one may be sourced by any good Thai mechanic (an oxymoron I concede ).For serious fettling I take the bike to Tor the superbike  mechanic whose premises are  down a r/h soi about 100 metres over the crest of Nawarat Bridge going in the direction of Arcade .

He rejected the first replacement of camshaft , chain , chain tensioner et al, in 2014 as they had come from Indonesia and the hardening on the camshaft dwell was sub standard .Consequently I was required to wait several weeks until pukka Honda replacements were sourced .

There is a bike dismantler somewhere in the CM area who specialises in the dismantling (as opposed to breaking ) of Phantoms but as my visits are perforce of limited duration I have not yet found him. 

If you wish to sell your Phantom, be sure to let me know ... I am commissioning a Phantom trike here in Suphan, as I am now late 70's ...and would welcome the added security of a well constructed three wheeler .to augment my agile heavily modified Suzuki GP 125 ...39 years young ...

Old age is no preclusion to mechanical integrity and reliability .....my 85 yr Bentley and 88 yr old Benz in Europe will tetsefly to that !!!!!!!!!!!

In response to your query have you considered a Suuzuki Van Van ?

1 hour ago, seahorse said:

Obviously not. This valet was clearly not skilled at driving a Porsche yet was allowed to do so.

I recall exactly the self same thing occurring outside the entrance to the Hilton Hotel on Orchard Road in Singapore in the 1980's .An unqualified valet bringing a customer's Porsche 911 from underground parking ,round to the main doors, lost control and killed a young S'pore Chinese lady who was waiting out front .

20 hours ago, baboon said:

"Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain"

God, but God can never make his mind up as to what (s)he wants...

I'm heartened to spot a fellow connoisseur of the works of Friedrich Schiller .

May I ? 

' Mit der Dummheit kaempfen Goetter selbst vergebens '

6 hours ago, bangrak said:

P.S.: According to another picture I saw, it's not the only watch he owns though, on that one it was too small to put a brand on, but the dial had another colour, and the armband was two-tone metal. Maybe someone on TV knows more about this one? Vacheron-Constantin? 

Yes,perhaps a VC :

If you wish to see watches of pedigree worn on the wrists of horological connoisseurs then I recommend you attend any of the summer meetings of the British Vintage Sports Car Club (not the USA variety ) .There you will espy some beautiful timepieces tastefully and discreetly worn ; vintage car owners are usually lovers of classic clocks and watches also .The Bentley Driver wears a Breguet ,nothing more, nothing less .as does a Bugatti owner, naturellement !

Those with exceptional taste and funds wear a George Daniels .

As for the vulgar, ostentatious, obscenely expensive  'Cecil Be De Mille' creation worn by the Giftige Zwerg , I would venture that only a tasteless moron of his stature would be seen wearing one . 

I do believe Mickey Mouse also bought one ....... 

5 hours ago, kartman said:

Only one vehicle with the credibility to be called Storm was made by Lister in comparison this is a wet f...

I'm certain there will be many discerning owners of the Volkswagen Mark One Scirocco Storm of the late 70's ,who will be affronted by this revelation.!!!!

I would suggest Lister's most notable achievement in recent decades was its Knobbly recreation .

I would be inclined to throw caution to the wind and go for the 2017 New Brough Superior SS100.

Like Ducati and Moto Guzzi the heart of the beast is an 88 deg V Twin , but of bespoke build .

There is a waiting list ,of course, and prices start around 2 million 1 hundred thousand baht ,before application of import duty .

Not only Thailand offers the ride of a lifetime ........

Here in Penang the automatic issue of plastic bags by major retailers and supermarkets has been banned for around 6-7 years .

One normally goes  shopping,prepared, and armed with cloth bags and shopping baskets .

In the event of leaving them at home by oversight , one may request the issue of bags by the cashier /checkout operative ....but at a cost.

They are not free , and neither are they always made of plastic: they are often made from strong brown paper .

I believe this campaign has spread nationwide now in Malaysia, certainly to Selangor and Johor .

One thing I will confidently predict is that when the  details of the proposed  legislation are finally  accessible in the public domain and are uniformly implemented (!) it will still prove to be light years behind the system introduced in 2001 by their country- cousins domiciled on the landmass twixt Padang Besar and Singapore ,whose couth and hospitable scheme  has lured in excess of some 35,000  expat gentle folk participants to settle there,

15 hours ago, petermik said:

 

My car,s a Jowett Javelin............will one fit on it 

A most unfortunate example of vehicle, leading one to doubt your knowledge of milestone automotive  engineering feats,and causing one to ponder upon the motive for such a choice .

It is also a smear upon the name of Eberan von Eberhorst who was responsible for much of the Javelin and Jupiter design.

Why didn't you choose to denigrate Ferdinand Porsche for his VW Beetle design ? Andre Citroen for the Traction Avant ? Vincenzo Lancia for the Lambda ? All exceptionally talented engineers . ...and please note ,not a single Brit amongst them.

Shame !

The Ben Pub in the Ekachai Road area of Thonburi was busted for a whole range of offences

We presume none of the offences included trademark infringement...

If trademark infringement, wonder if Bentley would seek legal proceedings against the club

Well we will certainly find out, as I just emailed their CEO a copy of this article.

As a self confessed Bentley afficionado for almost 60 years ,I think I can safely say that the Teutonic management currently responsible for this much vaunted brand ,will not raise an eyebrow at this plagiarism. The stylised letter B in the nightclub's logo differs substantially from that which graces the radiator of WO Bentley's masterpieces, which go back to 1919,Over the years discreet changes to this badge design have taken place ,including the colour of the enamel,which designates some 1920's models as a Blue Label ,Green Label ,Red Label, .During Rolls Royce's custodianship of the marque ,from 1934 until the sale of Rolls Royce to the Germans earlier this century , little changed and RR may have risen to the bait today,had they still been the parent company.

The current W12 engined Continental GT's ,though magnificent machines in their own right , have neither the lineage nor pedigree of their forebears.and sadly have suffered the denigration of being chosen as the favourite transport of many an international football player .

Mass produced luxury vehicles for the great unwashed !

They have been available here in Malaysia ,Penang and KL ,for a couple of years or more ,again at a price.

Standard of finish and quality of fastenings leaves a little to be desired .

Somwehat disappointing, if not underwhelming !

However they are but a third world evocation so one cannot expect a Brough Superior Replica standard of finish

If you are a keen 'long distance 'cyclist then Chainat and Suphanburi provinces are ideal .

From Chainat you may go North towards Nakhon Sawan , or South to Hankha, Bueng Chawak Lake Resort and Zoo,TaChang ,Saam Chuk 100 yr old market and thence to the province's capital Suphanburi .

The number of Europeans to be found in these areas can be counted on two hands, perhaps even one hand

.I am aware of the existence of one Finnish National in Ta Chang town but I am reliably informed that he speaks neither English nor Thai , neither French nor German , neither Hokkien nor Malay ..a handicap .that dampened any initiative to make his aquaintance .

There are neither hills nor gradients to impede a septuagenarian's fast pace on on a good road bike and local eateries abound,though not all are endowed with a roof . It is recommended that one avoid the Sai Asia ,in effect the North -South Highway as it would be termed were it a Malaysian highway .The density of traffic ,whilst refreshingly light is as fraught with careless inconsiderate drivers as the rest of the Kingdom.

Wifi signals are in the main reliable and telephone networks quite dependable .

However for those of a gregarious disposition there are no forms of entertainment .Cinemas are non existent ,though I believe there may be one in Suphanburi City .In respect of music venues , particularly discotheque- ish establishments I suspect one one would search to no avail.

As a previous contributor has remarked one would be well advised to opt for Nakhon Sawan if a social life is an important aspect of one's plan.

However be advised that both Chainat and Nakhon Sawan are prone to significant flooding almost every year .,

My padiland in Mae Sai produces 700 kg per rai of the rainy season crop and 1,000 kg per rai for the non-rainy season crop. However the yield varies depending on the industriousness of your in-laws working the fields. Do they put fertilizer in adequate amount at least three times as the rice grows? Do they do weeding as weeds do take up the fertilizer meant for the rice? Do they place snail poison to prevent the multitude of snails gobbling up the young rice plants? Do they regulate the water level in the padi-fields as rain can cause inundation to kill the plants?

In the extensively irrigated padis of central Thailand, specifically in the northern part of Suphanburi province a little to the south of Chai Nat, the farmers claim that a a good yield would be 1 metric tonne per rai.

This is an area where the land is force-fed in order to produce 5 crops in two years,approximately a 140 day cycle .The intensive use of pesticides, insecticides, weedkiller, cyanide/arsenic snailkiller and other chemicals of dubious efficacy makes the product a far from organic ... and perhaps even a hazardous one.

Seldom can the crop be called a good one and in recent years the government has called upon the farmers on several occasions to permit their fields to lie fallow for a month or two .

The last harvest in May was a disaster, most of the ears of grain being hollow and empty due to the unusually cold spell in January which stifled development of the rice grain. Many farmers ploughed the entire crop back into the ground rather than going to the expense of harvesting a worthless crop .Some brave farmers in the Bueng Chawak area harvested their crop but reaped no reward .. garnering roughly one tonne of unsaleable rice from an eighteen rai plot whereas in a good season they would have harvested 18 tonnes.

It's much like asking if you "need" insurance. The Safe-T-Cut should have RCD protection (look it up) and will trip if there is any current going from your electric supply (most likely through some appliance) into your body before you are seriously injured. If you sign up, make sure the box has a breaker with a test button on it as "Safe-T-Cut" does make non-RCD units as well.

Please bare with me now, but doesn't a regular fusebox do this?

The idea of ' baring' with you ,especially in the shower is singularly repugnant.

And my Thai wife wonders why I have zero respect for monks.

Well I respect the IQ....walking thru the live without a single minute of working and making money by selling lottery numbers that never win.

Surely that is smarter than what I do....work hard and honest and not making half the money...

Have you never come across the term 'Self respect', or 'self esteem' ?

I have on two occasions transported bicycles from Arcade,Chiang Mai ,to Suphanburi ,with Sombat Tour .

Each time i was charged an additional 200 baht over the ticket price.

As GarryP observed all that will happen is that the up-country folk will put down the seat and squat on it .

From that giddy height they possess the aerial accuracy of a WW1 Handley Page bomber ........

I leave the rest to your imaginations.

For those doubting Thomases: I've been in SE Asia for over 4 decades and witnessed this transition in S'pore and Malaysia, too

This is surely why, despite the superficial veneer of modernity and sophistication ,so evident in parts of Bangkok and Chiang Mai ,Thaland will forever remain part of the Third World .

Three senior executives ...........and not a Tie between them!