B1ade

I ordered one for my 848, ordered it from ducati phuket over the phone, didnt think to ask how much, just presumed about 4k, went to pick it up and got presented with a 7200 bill! nearly fell over. I'll be shopping around next time

this link gives full details, and the forms are top right: http://expatautocm.com/buyersguide/paperwork

seller and buyer must have current stamps, so you would have to copy you passports current 'admitted until' page and give it to him before you left. In phuket there is no 30 day limit, I have sold before with just a few days left, not sure about other offices.

I have 2 right now, a 2010 848, to date it had 1 electric regulator problem which was a common recall and fixed for free, 1 x new battery and a service every year, no other problems. The other is a 2013 Hypermotard (latest model), to date no problems just servicing. I do take good care of the bikes, regular oil changes, battery optimiser, regular chain adjustments and so on, but I don't consider that high maintenance, I do that on any bike. I know there will be others who have had problems, but to date nothing out of the oridinary **touch wood**

I had 4 triple tourist visas in my current passport spread across 2 years as I am in and out alot, 2 from Hull and 2 from london since the changes, got my 5th one in June from london no problem at all.

And no, I was not asked for any proof, just had to complete the planned dates of travel.

Brilliant. "Complete the planned dates of travel" - on the application form? Some embassies/consulates want you to submit a separate travel plan with exact dates for your entry, border runs and exit.

Its just an entry on the form, 'when do you plan on travelling to Thailand', 'how long to you intend to stay', I've never been asked for a travel plan etc from either Hull or London.

Applications by mail are no longer accepted by the consulates.

Mailed visa applications have to be sent to the Thai Embassy in London.

Ok. How good/bad are they compared to, say, Hull in the "good old days" (well, 2012-2013 really)? Tricky to deal with or grant most applications as long as all requirements (which would be...?) are met?

Would be very grateful if someone with recent experience can share. Need to apply for a triple entry tourist visa next month, I do have three previous visas (one triple-entry, two singles) but these are from 2012 - early 2014.

I had 4 triple tourist visas in my current passport spread across 2 years as I am in and out alot, 2 from Hull and 2 from london since the changes, got my 5th one in June from london no problem at all.

And no, I was not asked for any proof, just had to complete the planned dates of travel.

Now you have to apply by post to London immigration (Hull will only do in person applications), they have different forms to the Hull office so make sure you download them from the London office web site and not the Hull one. It's still just as quick as hull, in June I had my passport back after 3 working days. They require the completed form, passport photos, passport and fee (postal order or cash only, credit cards and cheques are not allowed).

I have not tried the scrambler, but I had a D-tracker before like you and upgraded to a hypermotard which I still have, there is a huge difference in size, parking ability, etc. I am 6ft 1, and find the seat to be too high also, especially wheeling it backwards on tip toes. I know the seat is OEM from the strada, so the dealer is right about the lower seat matching the strada. Obviously in traffic the high upright position is great for your view, you can see over most vehicles. I use mione for town riding, and parking is a pain, ive lost count how many times people have parked to close and i cant even stand the thing upright because it leans to far over on the stand

If you can i'd recommend renting one for a few days if there are none available for a test ride - its a bike you need to live with for a few days first. I find the gearbox and clutch on the hyper to be a complete nightmare, and probably had more fun on the D-tracker, I love the hyper but there are a few niggles that I had to get used too.

I like the idea of a BB licence, it should be introduced now there are far more bikes available over the last few years. More than likely for all the reasons above people will not bother / get around it. What I'd really like to see are honda, yamaha, ducati etc offering free training courses to all their new customers who buy a big bike, it's not right to sell a 17 year old kid a 1 litre superbike without training, its dangerous, theres enough carnage on the roads already

superb bike. waiting for the honda version with high hopes of same tech or better.

wonder when will it be here and how much will it be?

I'm with you on that. The BMW and Yamaha look great but I've got major concerns about both their dealer networks in Thailand, especially on such a high tech bike in it's first year. I'm pretty sure Honda will bring out a revised Blade in 2016 with all the electronics (surely they have to...) but whether it comes to Thailand and whether it's restricted like the current model would be my main concerns.

Hopefully an updated, full power blade for 2016, available in Thailand 12 months from now for under 700k. Now that would be awesome.

man, that is like when the dreams come true and when i see a v four 2016 cbr1000rr in Thailand, possibly it will be one of my best day if not the best day.

but this yamaha interest me a lot too. such a fast beauty with a lot of brain. but sure it will be more than 900 k thb. and their dealer network worries me.

If Honda releases new cbr1000rr with full tech and advancements like Yamaha, i am doubtful to see it here less than 700k thb though.

Honda have a small stand in central in Phuket right now, they had the repsol cbr1000rr current model displayed at 634k, would that indicate the price of the next model? not been to a bigwing so not sure if it is a special price only

A track day right after the WSBK weekend. Might be interesting for some people.

Was just about to ask this very question! definitely worth sticking around for!

I'd vote for an er6 too, good height and highly reliable, I had an er6f fault free and a friend has had his er6n since they were first released some years back and it is still perfectly fine, looks in great condition too considering it is left outside alot. Got a decent amount of power without being too much to handle for most novices (not sure on your level of experience). the do exist for under 150k too, although I much prefer the most recent model styling wise, so might be worth that bit extra.

Bought a Diavel. Put a 50k thb deposit with the rest of the cash due at the delivery time, which is this coming Thursday.

The Ducati bunch are very tight <deleted>, couldn't squeeze any freebies or extra discounts out of them. It's only a free insurance and registration, tank pad and a 20k cash back voucher that you get out of them. The cash back voucher can be used towards the bike purchase to I will only pay 899k.

The sales guy told me something that confused me. He said I don't need the residence certificate until I receive a license plate and go to register it with the bike. Does it sound correct? I remember when my wife and me bought a Ninja (on her name) all the documents were completed on the spot at Kawa shop and the green book and a license plate arrived by mail a month or so later, everything was already registered and done.

But now I need to go somewhere else to register it AFTER I pick the bike up? Confusing.

Congrats, i've been admiring them recently, especially the carbon which I saw for the first time on saturday.

They are very tight, when the phuket branch was opened, i bought an 848 in their first month or so, they gave me t-shirts and all sorts, practically a fanfair when i picked it up, 3 years later i picked up a hyper, didnt even get the insurance or registration, got nothing, not even a handshake on collection haha.

I provided cert of residence on collection both times, but both times the plate didnt come for months, so I got a phone call when they were ready to register it then had to go and do the certificate again as the first ones expired - seems to be the way with ducati, no hyper owners had their plates on TV for many months, got mine after 10 months!

Enjoy the new ride!

Already making plans to go, can not wait for it, really hoping there will be a track day shortly after the event that I can stick around for!

ranong is no go on visa exempt, been told a few times that a visa is required to leave. As above you're safest option is to fly out and back, KL is the quickest and flights are reasonable at approx 4500 thb with airasia normally - As you only have 1 30 day + 1 extension I suspect you will be fine coming back the same day but a night or two in KL would probably be wise - if you do come back the same day airasia have an early morning flight and a lunch time return, round trip is only about 6 hours so its not bad at all.

the closest other boarder run is sadao, they let my friend back in last week on a second visa exempt with no problems (with a 3 day gap between out / in), but as far as I know the visa run companies do not out / in at sadao as most go on to penang. Driving yourself there and back is an option but wouldn't be much cheaper than flying to KL and back, if at all.

hope it helps!

Simple rule, always use a Thai name and even better to write address in thai .

Posted over 20 boxes not too long ago, all addressed to thai name and all written in thai.

Every single one arrived without a single hick up or a baht in tax.

I learnt this tip the hard way too after having an iphone and a few other items go missing. I stopped using my name and either did a thai printed label or just the address with no name, since then never had an item of post go missing and never been asked for duty to be paid (plain packaged items without invoices attached etc).

got a triple entry TV in June from London by post and it took 4 working days.

If he got the visa in the UK then there will be an 'enter before' date stamped on to the visa itself, that is the last day he can activate his 3rd entry, if it has passed already then he can apply for a new tourist visa while in the UK. That is the expiry date of the actual visa itself, has nothing to do with when he first entered, hope that helps.

for peace of mind you might want to consider additional coverage from the UK, presumably you are getting travel insurance, insureandgo for example offer additional motorcycle benefit and that will cover all belongings, medical etc. It is really cheap. I did a trip last year and the additional coverage for up to 45 days was only around £35, you'll need to call them for quotes as its easier and you will have to have a full UK bike licence.

Do you know what the delivery timescales are? I originally heard november but they weren't positive in Ducati Phuket when I asked about 2 months ago, they did get the estimated price right.

My friend collected his new 899 a few weeks back (999 price as he didn't want to wait), in white, it's stunning, then he got told he had termis on the way which he did not know were included, it's a fantastic deal now at 749, i've just lost about 150k on my 848 value though, sucks for me! still i'll save 250k when I order one of these compared to the old price, swings and roundabouts!

Edit, just noticed the quote above about 2nd october for an estimate delivery

On long rides I prefer groups but no more than 4, I always tend to lead the group as sitting behind I lack concentration after a while and watch the other riders rather than the road - when you lead you got to be aware of the pack and make sure everyone is still there, not easy with a big group. I do have mad moments and shoot of when I see twistys though, just can't help it

 

I second the kriega bags. I have one for the tank and one for the rear pillion seat. The rear seat one straps around the underneath of the seat and the seat locks it in place, never marked any fairings or anything. The tank one came with a strap that goes over the tank, bit fiddly to fit depending on the bike but they are generally universal.

What do you do when fueling up?
From what I can see on tge PandaRiders site, the tank adaptor would cover most fill caps..!!

I like the look of the bags but just worry about inconvenience...

Post more pics guys, always good to see the actual product mounted, makes deciding much easier

 

There are 2 clips quick release clips on the mounting strap, so you just lift it up and lean it on the bars / screen when filling up. The one I have on the rear seat here is plenty big enough for a weekend away, it's 20 litres

I second the kriega bags. I have one for the tank and one for the rear pillion seat. The rear seat one straps around the underneath of the seat and the seat locks it in place, never marked any fairings or anything. The tank one came with a strap that goes over the tank, bit fiddly to fit depending on the bike but they are generally universal.