bigdod

I have done 450 kilometer days in North East Thailand on 175 cc Kawasaki Boss. With my girlfriend on the back and i weigh over 100 kg. i ride with a friend who has a Steed and my bike has superior range because of a bigger tank and better economy If you want more power i would recommend a second hand Ninja 250. I think a superior long distance bike then the CBR 250 as it has more weight and will provide better passing ability at higher speed. Change the sprocket for better economy and lower reving cruising speed. Bigger bikes i think are overkill in Thailand where it is suicidal to run them at full capacity.

Round my way, its even suicidal to run a moped at full capacity, much less a 250, however, my old GSXR gives me that little edge should I ever need a bit extra to pass the occasional buffalo or tak-tak Nothing wrong with having a bit of power in reserve, its all down to having the savvy to know how and when to use it (or not to as the case may be...) and much nicer than having to do a tap dance on the gear box when you're enjoying a nice drive through the mountains.

I was about to have a bit of a rant and rave there, but really, <deleted>'s the point..?? It's not going to change a thing, is it...

ok guys

So to day i changet the set up.

I bought a 15 tooth front which the same as on the bike.

Also downsized to a 34 tooth on the rear and new chain.

well, got what i was looking for, not screaming at me,higher crusing speed.

thanks for all your help guys.

Regards.

Charlie.

yep, anyone buying this bike would be quids in. It's just sitting in his garage doing nothing now, so is going to go to waste if someone doesn't take it off his hands. Nice clean little bike for someone...

Where abouts are you in the country?

I had a look on the internet, the Virago seems to be a little lighter and easier to handle than the Steed so that is a plus and very torquey too, just what you need on hills.

I went to Pai the other side of Chiang Mai earlier this week 730 bends in 96km, I believe, went in the truck, so not the best, thought about a bike all the way there and back. Whether i could ride the 700km to get there is another question, but lots of bikers on the roads around CM.

The Virago looks a lot more bike than the Phantom and my mate has a Steed, so a kindred spirit here.

I live in Chaiyaphum mate, but the bike is in Nong Bua Lam Phu, which is maybe about an hour from Udon Thani...

Yep, some nice roads in and around Chiang Mai right enough... you could go all day long there just popping from one little spot to the next.... nice

Any pictures/details?

Why are you selling it?

What price?

Its not my bike mate, it belongs to a friend of mine and he stays up in Nong Bua Lam Phu - I just mentioned it on here that i knew of one as it sounded like the sort of thing you were after. He's selling it because he has too many bikes (I'm not sure if those are his words or his wife's ) but he injured his back quite seriously a few months back, so it doesn't get used much, and old school biker that he is, he reckons its a waste of a good bike just sitting there. As I said, he's looking for 85K for it and it comes with all required documents including green book.

I'm in Iraq at work just now mate, but I'll get hold of him and hook you both up and I'm sure he'll send you as many pix of it as you want. It's a nice clean bike at a good price mate and he wont mess you around - he's a toff.

OK. The powder coating place told me the engine would need to be disassembled. Cylinders heads valves, all bearings and seals have to be removed due to the heat of cooking it.

hmm, yeah, that makes a bit of sense actually. I'm no expert on this, I just seem to remember seeing an advert regularly in the motorcycling press back in UK (a bunch of years ago) for a place that refurbished engines and other cycle parts, and their selling point was that they didn't disassemble the engines, so it was cheaper...but now you mention it, I'm sure it is about 200 degrees or so they heat the parts to...oh well, paint it is then

yep, anyone buying this bike would be quids in. It's just sitting in his garage doing nothing now, so is going to go to waste if someone doesn't take it off his hands. Nice clean little bike for someone...

Where abouts are you in the country?

I had a look on the internet, the Virago seems to be a little lighter and easier to handle than the Steed so that is a plus and very torquey too, just what you need on hills.

I went to Pai the other side of Chiang Mai earlier this week 730 bends in 96km, I believe, went in the truck, so not the best, thought about a bike all the way there and back. Whether i could ride the 700km to get there is another question, but lots of bikers on the roads around CM.

The Virago looks a lot more bike than the Phantom and my mate has a Steed, so a kindred spirit here.

I live in Chaiyaphum mate, but the bike is in Nong Bua Lam Phu, which is maybe about an hour from Udon Thani...

Yep, some nice roads in and around Chiang Mai right enough... you could go all day long there just popping from one little spot to the next.... nice

Not really mate, depending on the powder coater having a decent sized oven, the motor can be blasted and powder coated without splitting it - of course as long as you make sure you cover all the inlet & exhaust ports and any breathers so nothing can get inside. A lot neater and infinitely longer lasting finish than paint....

Silly question, but could I paint it using a small compressor and an hvlp gun like this?

http://www.ebay.co.u...=item1c246faf7d

Not really mate - HVLP = high volume, low pressure, so you'd need a decent size compressor to run it properly. The beauty of these is that there's a lot less overspray than with a conventional spray gun, but again, you get what you pay for with spray guns & compressors. If you've got a bunch of jobs lined up for it and are going to fork out a bunch of cash for the equipment, I'd suggest forking out a little bit more for decent quality kit. If it's only this job, I'd take the advice given above and farm the job out to someone, although preferably someone that comes recommended...Incidentally - is the engine out of the frame or still in the bike?

Yep, the engine is out. Just waiting for my engine stand to arrive before painting.

If the motor's out....have you thought about powder coating..??

Silly question, but could I paint it using a small compressor and an hvlp gun like this?

http://www.ebay.co.u...=item1c246faf7d

Not really mate - HVLP = high volume, low pressure, so you'd need a decent size compressor to run it properly. The beauty of these is that there's a lot less overspray than with a conventional spray gun, but again, you get what you pay for with spray guns & compressors. If you've got a bunch of jobs lined up for it and are going to fork out a bunch of cash for the equipment, I'd suggest forking out a little bit more for decent quality kit. If it's only this job, I'd take the advice given above and farm the job out to someone, although preferably someone that comes recommended...Incidentally - is the engine out of the frame or still in the bike?

hahaha @ Charlie....yup, fat chicks cool too - no different, just a whole lot more to love

For your gearing problem mate, the obvious answer is to get yourself a bigger bike if you want to cruise faster. For sure play around with the gearing if it makes you feel better, but on a bike of that size, you're unlikely to see any performance improvement without a trade off. You + fat chick + decent carry out = slow/sluggish acceleration.or lack of power & constant gear changes..... It wont necessarily interfere with your warranty either unless you blow it up or something as they unlikely to spot an extra tooth here or there. If you must play with it, as suggested above, try going up one tooth on the g/box sprocket first and see how that works. If you feel you still need more, try one tooth down on the rear. Any more than that and you're going to have to start taking links out of the chain.

Gents, have a quick look at this for some more comments about chains... http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/613758-general-bike-maintenance/

I like the Enfield too, but if you can buy a cafe racer from the shop, what is there left to do? Change the spark plug?

The best part in having a cafe racer is building it, I think.

For sure there's a lot of satisfaction to be had from building your own bikes (I've got a project on the go at the moment myself) but I'd go out on a limb and say that the best part by far was throwing your leg over it and going nowhere in particular...

Yamaha have released a 35th anniversary edition of the SR400. Japan only, unfortunately.

red baron could probably order you one

TBH I`d rather have one of these, even if ownership was a painful experience . Royal Enfield Continental GT535. 36bhp and due for release in the States.

+1

I have to admit to liking these SR 400/500's too but this Enfield is a peach. A polished alloy tank would finish it off just nicely all the same....

yep, anyone buying this bike would be quids in. It's just sitting in his garage doing nothing now, so is going to go to waste if someone doesn't take it off his hands. Nice clean little bike for someone...

Dont you just miss the good old days of a long sword duel

hahahaha....yeh mate, those were the days

Red would be 91 Benzine

Green would be 91 gasohol

Orange would be 95 gasohol

Never used green, although my bike's petrol cap states I should. Only ever used Orange 95 gasohol in my scooter.

Yellow and Red Benzine for my big bike

My old GSXR 11 runs like a dog on all of them but I think the red was best of a bad bunch. The old scooter however doesnt give a shit what I put in it - it just chugs happily back and forth to the beer shop whatever I fill it up with

I know a bloke up in Nong Bua Lam Phu with a 400 custom - I think its a Virago - nice clean bike, well maintained, all the necessary docs inc green book and he's lookin around 85k for it. Might be worth a look if you're in the area..?

How did this turn into such an ugly pissing contest?

MODERATOR!!

Too many folks with nothing better to do perhaps...?

10meg...I dream of 10meg.... out here in the sticks (Isaan) I think I'm still in bytes/min rather than seconds. Closest small town with any decent net access is 20kms away, so I guess end of the century before I see anything like those speeds...

Dudes, yes, prostitution is rife in pretty much every country in the world - its not called "the oldest profession" for nothing - some countries its legalized (those girls pay their taxes and are subject to very stringent health controls) and some its not, however; as stated many times within this forum, Thailand IS known internationally as the hub of sex and there's no point the government trying to deny otherwise.

"It is possible to visit Thailand without ever seeing any sex establishments" - erm...I think not. I had my old mum over for a holiday last year - she went nowhere near Pattaya, Phuket or any of the other centres of notoriety - and every single day she was picking up on the go-go's, massage parlours, karaokes and blo-job bars, and she is not in the slightest bit wise to the ways of the world.

"Most of the bad publicity given to Thailand by the West, especially from the United States and Australia is based on lies and exaggerated media reports" - could be, but I doubt it. Most of the bad publicity is based on (from what I see) the sh1t that happens here every other day.

Also a lot of crying here about "Thai bashing" I dont see any - all I see is a bunch of people saying 'sum num nah' to a govt. official (and his country) crying about saving face when they lost it 40 plus years ago. This is the image the country has so suck it up, take it as a spot of free advertising and sit back and watch the loot roll in - as per usual. Oh, and stop crying about it...it just makes you look stupid.

Baerboxer - sorry to disapoint you mate, but no, I'm nothing special. For sure I can take care of myself, but I learned that when dealing with things responsibly and dealing with issues in a mature way didnt work. When the headmaster's view is that (quote/unquote) "boys will be boys" and the police refuse to intervene, there are not a lot of alternatives available to the concerned parent. Argueably, taking the law into one's own hands is not perhaps always the best course of action, however; the child in question came from a long line of local thugs so I used a language they were all more than familiar with. They had had two years to control this problem and that day was the one that broke the camels back for me. The fact that all of the onlooking parents clapped and cheered told me that I was not alone in thinking that this was the required course of action. For the most part, we all know how bullies operate and all this lefty 'touchy feely' nonsense is wasted on them, so in spite of your views, I am content with my actions and even moreso with the outcome.

Regarding your 'role model' comment, all 3 of my kids grew up well and all know the meaning of respect. I'm proud of them for that. Me, I may be an a$$hole, but I always did what was best for my kids, and I'd do it all again if I had to.

Its when parents stopped thinking like you that the school shootings started. touchy feely isnt human nature

Based on what psychological, and social behaviuoral research do you make these comments on?

So school shootings started when parents stopped fighting outside the shool gates? Interesting hypothesis.

I dont see how this needs more explainations. If you were under 80 of age you would of noticed that these past 20~ years kids have been killing each other instead of the old usual small beatings with limits one on one. They've also started having sex parties at around age 9.

This kind of behavior would of never picked up as much when parents were less touchy feely and more you'll get my foot in your ass if you disrespect someone . Most of these problems are coming from the new ways to raise kids that came from "scientist" who were beaten up and are trying to crumble society(as a hobby) as payback for their failure to act normal around other people in school.

Gents, I get the impression that we all actually agree to some extent that the situation today is not as it once was and the fault lies with us, the parents. OK, not us per say, but in general, and a causal factor in my opinion is, as bearpolar says, the 'new' way in which we are schooling our kids, and this in turn lands squarely at the feet of all the liberal 'do-gooders' who are telling us how to raise our kids. Of course, battering children is an absolute no no, however; when the need arises, there's nothing like a good clip round the ear to let a child know he's crossed the line. If I as a kid ever went home and told my father that the local bobby had given me a good boot up the @rse, then I was in for a whole world of trouble for doing something to warrant such action - no law suits here.... and in school if I stepped out of line, they didn't ask me to 'express my feelings' or any such twaddle, I got 6 of the best. All of my teachers were in full control of their respective classes. Look at the situation now though - we've ended up with a generation of socially inept beings unable to deal with failure because they were never taught that some people will win and inevitably some people will lose and how to deal with both - so now they develop 'issues' and then they express them. Sometimes with an automatic weapon. Obviously, this is just touching on a couple of points, the whole issue is probably far too big to debate on here (especially given the standard of my typing) but in general I tend to agree that our society/societies are but a shadow of their former selves in many ways, including this.

I guess this has gone off topic slightly as bullying is hardly a new age problem, its just that I feel that we seem to have forgotten how to deal with this issue, ie first and foremost in what and how we educate our kids, secondly, when the need arises, sometimes we just have to take care of business for ourselves and our families.

Hmm...it's quite amazing just how many conceited @rseholes on here seem to think that they have the moral highground, and as for those wishing bodily harm or even death on the guy - just <deleted> makes you think that makes you any better than he is? Ponder that for a moment if you will...for sure he's unlikely to be the type of dude I'd invite round here for lunch with the family, however; he's been tried and sentenced and allowed by the powers that be to take his holiday that HE paid for, so let him get on with it. What business is it of ours? If you're that worried by it all, just remember to lock alll your windows and doors and sleep with the light on. You'll most likely find that if he decideds to continue his unsavoury behaviour over here, the BiB will be somewhat less sympathetic to his plight than he's used to and any repercussions of that will almost certainly follow him back home

Maybe some thanks from the forum readers are due to the food vendor? It was thanks to him that this thieving toe rag was caught in the first place. Well done to him for being so observant and informing the Swede and police so quickly.

+1

Baerboxer - sorry to disapoint you mate, but no, I'm nothing special. For sure I can take care of myself, but I learned that when dealing with things responsibly and dealing with issues in a mature way didnt work. When the headmaster's view is that (quote/unquote) "boys will be boys" and the police refuse to intervene, there are not a lot of alternatives available to the concerned parent. Argueably, taking the law into one's own hands is not perhaps always the best course of action, however; the child in question came from a long line of local thugs so I used a language they were all more than familiar with. They had had two years to control this problem and that day was the one that broke the camels back for me. The fact that all of the onlooking parents clapped and cheered told me that I was not alone in thinking that this was the required course of action. For the most part, we all know how bullies operate and all this lefty 'touchy feely' nonsense is wasted on them, so in spite of your views, I am content with my actions and even moreso with the outcome.

Regarding your 'role model' comment, all 3 of my kids grew up well and all know the meaning of respect. I'm proud of them for that. Me, I may be an a$$hole, but I always did what was best for my kids, and I'd do it all again if I had to.

Cut his thieving hands off.