Richard-BKK

Our computers run Linux for years and nobody in the office have anything to complain, it works flawless, it works fast and doesn’t need the same demanding hardware to do the same thing.

But some of the people at the Thai BSA are not cut from the smartest wood in the forest. For instance we have a computer that is our server. It run Ubuntu server, and for any computer which connects to it it will react as a Microsoft server. Also the case has a sticker from the manufacturer that says MS Windows Ready (plus MS Windows logo), I’m sure a few people know the sticker I mean… So two persons from the Thai BSA with a army of 4 police came to our office a few years back and demanded to see all software licenses.

We only have a few MS Windows computers, and all software is legal, so that was no problem. Until one of the BSA nerds checked one of the MS Windows computers and detected the Network Server… it acts as a Microsoft server, and checking the case they demanded to see the Microsoft server license for that computer (server)… Until our IT manager showed them it was a Linux server… they still tried to find some illegal software, probably because they lost face or so… One girl in the office joked that they should also check the smartphones what made them a bit more irritated…

Probably the biggest aftermarket motorcycle part show is in The Bright shopping center on Rama 2 Road. It's called LBikers and the facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/BikersOfficial/ Not sure if they have a website. The shop has 1000s of parts for any motorcycles / scooter sold in Thailand... (most of the time in several aluminum oxidized colors...)

The Honda Forza 300 is an excellent upgrade, but don’t forget to look at the competition. The Sym GTS300 ABS is also an excellent scoot with a lot of options.

While the Sym GTS300 ABS is really competitive with the price it is also a tinny bit more powerful 21.3kW versus the Honda Forza 300 doing 19kW. (Not a major point to convince people to buy a Sym I agree).

Another thing is that for some time the rumor is that Yamaha Thailand will come out with a 300cc class scooter to compete head-to-head with the Honda Forza 300 and offer better specs… When will this happen? Nobody knows, the rumor has a strong base as Yamaha has introduced the X-Mas 300 (which is a global model). Some Thai motorcycle magazines have already had reviews about the Yamaha X-Max 300...

Lots of Chinese manufacturers have ISO9001:2008, so anybody who have ISO9001:2008 makes good products and the once that have ISO9001:2015 must be even better than the once that makes products following ISO9001:2008…

You would be amazed how many Chinese “motorcycle” luggage manufacturers have ISO9001:2008 or even ISO9001:2015 but if I look with one eye at the products they make I would start laughing as the quality is so poorly.

The moral of the story is that IS9001:2008 and ISO9001:2015 have nothing to do with actual safety of a product. The only thing we can tell for sure is if one product breaks or cracks all others of the same model and production will have the same problem… as all items are made from the same material and with the same production process.

With the ISO9001:2008 certificate in the back of our mind, you can search on the Internet if any product that you want to buy ever cracked or had other problems… because you can be 100% (the ISO9001:2008 certification says so) that all other tail-rack with the same model number will have the exact same problem...

Just now, Nickymaster said:

https://www.givi.it/m/company/certifications-en

 

 

Hope you know what ISO9001:2008 for standard is? It's a production standard, meaning that an item produced as product one has the safe specifications as any other random selected item from the production... ISO9001:2015 is a bit better .... but Givi doesn't have that... No certification that specific target the safety of motorcycle luggage as example similar to CE-Certification....

53 minutes ago, Nickymaster said:

"Thank you for tour concern about Givi as a company" ???

 

Nobody is attacking a Chiang Mai shop. We are only making people aware that un calculated home made racks pose a higher risk of breaking than professional stuff.

What are the safety standards of Givi, which safety regulations and certificates do they have or follow? None - that much as there is no safety standard for motorcycle luggage...

Motorcycle luggage, maximum payload and safety. Most people seem to think that you can load anything on a motorcycle and still be safe.

For example we look at the Honda CB500F, the maximum load for this motorcycle is 185 kilograms, that means rider, pillion, and luggage. So for example the rider 95kg, passenger 65kg that is 160 kilograms, which leaves 25 kilogram for luggage.

The 25 kilograms of luggage is calculated from the center between the front and rear axle. Which means you can probably load nearly 25 kilograms on your fuel tank without having any problems… But move it to the back say on-top of the rear axle and the maximum weight is greatly reduced, move it over the rear axle and maximum luggage weight will quickly reduce to a low single digit number of kilos.

In South-Korea, the only country in the world that to my knowledge did some serious enough testing on the maximum load of motorcycles, the same Honda CB500F is certified for a maximum load of 160 kilograms. Also over the axle weight (front or rear) of luggage cannot be more than 2 kilograms.

1 hour ago, Thailaw said:

Thanks, Richard. Your post is the perfect response to the nonsense alarmists.

 

But now that you have exposed the frailty of Givi (and Yamaha and perhaps other) "big named manufacturers" their reputations are ruined and their sales will plummet. Expect "going out of business sales" on all Givi products to follow in the weeks to come.  What a great public service and aid to the well being and safety of Thai motorcycle riders HG's alert has been by exposing this hidden hazard.  I have learned so much and feel so much better (and safer) as a result of this diversion from the purpose of this thread -- the new Honda Rebel 300/500.  If anyone wants to respond to or criticize my post or defend (to the extent, after Richard's post, you feel able) HG's post further, please open a new thread and do it there, so that the people that worry about cracking/collapsing rear racks (and pieces of the sky falling) can read and join in the discussion, which obviously will not include me. Nuff said.......

Thank you for your concern about Givi as a company, I’m pretty sure that anybody in this forum can use a Internet search engine to look if somebody else has problems with a product.

What I don’t like is that somebody sees a picture of a 1500 THB Honda Rebel Tail Rack, which looks like a solid construction, sold by a shop in Chang Rai and says it is rubbish, made in China and dangerous…

I’m deeply impressed that you worry about the reputation and income of a multinational, and seemingly have no problem about a small shop in Chang Mai (and by the way I only hear good things about Chang Rai Saddle Bag shop).

Givi racks also crack, for example do a search and get overwhelmed with pictures and info. The best advice is to not overload the rear-rack, I have seen people looking so much on the back that it was just dangerous to ride...

Here a picture of a official Givi rack for a Yamaha FJR1300, and contacting the Thai distributor gets you not very far as they say it's clearly loaded over its capacity.... end of conversation

I have seen rear-racks with boxes that had stickers indicating maximum loads of 10 kilograms, but looking at the construction of the rack I would recommend not more than 2 kilogram. This for example for the Givi - Yamaha FJR1300 rear-rack and box... People have complained about rear-racks cracking and the sub-frame of the Yamaha producing cracks...

It can also be another brand of network card, but it needs to be with an Intel 82599 chipset and preferred with 2-ports...

I'm looking for some StarTech 2-Port 10G Fiber Network Card (PEX20000SFPI), with Intel chipset (to keep drivers uniform across the computers). I had one shop which did sold them but they are out of business

A good list of modern routers can be found here https://lede-project.org/toh/views/toh_available_864

I recommend the Lede third party firmware as it is completely modular and you can install only the things you need or want to use. For example you can turn your router into a torrent download station with storage on one of the USB devices... You can upgrade or downgrade firewall software... and have several firewall programs you can select.

Lede Firmware basically turns your router into a Linux computer, and you can run any software you can run on a Linux computer... obvious LibreOffice would be completely useless on a router so not sure if that is available. Lede Firmware also uses one of the latest Linux Kernels (the heart of any Linux box) which garantees that you have the latest security fixes.... On my router I have currently Kernel 4.4.X which most routers even the expensive one from famous brand names still use a Linux Kernel from nearly 6 years ago (version Kernel 2.6)... Just imagine in the last 6 years how much security treats did we had... sure the big brands released patches to fix it... But patches are not the same as new kernel build that includes security from the ground up...

Also it's possible to install a much newer version of Samba (MS Windows compatible networking and file system)... Samba used in most commercial routers is to work with Windows XP... while Microsoft have since Win XP introduced several new options for networking and device discovery. Not using MS Windows computer, with the Lede firmware you can also install the packages that make the router work flauwless with Apple Mac computers without using Microsoft network layer (big safety advantage, as anything Microsoft is often the target of hackers)....

You said that the previous owner only used RON95 fuel for the scoot. With you still having power issues after they fixed the problems with broken piston rings.

It’s possible the exhaust system, if you use high octane fuel RON95 with a low compression ratio engine it will prevent the fuel from burning efficient, this creates carbon which gets into the exhaust system, and cloaks up the muffler/silencer.

What you can try is to disconnect the muffler from the exhaust pipe for a short time and test the scoot, if it accelerate quicker… you found the problem. Be aware to not test this early in the morning as you will make a hell of a noise.

I have never opened a muffler of a Suzuki Hayate, but I guess it would not be much different that any other 110 ~ 125cc scooter. If you open it, it’s likely not serviceable and have point welding spots to lock it – you need to drill this welding spots to get access. Inside you find a steel pipe with holes which is packed with glass-wool wrap. Remove the glass-wool and clean the exhaust insides… if it’s a bit greasy and hard to clean it is helpful to through some gasoline over it and burn it… After that it is easier to clean. You can buy glass-wool at your local DIY store (I bought a meter at a Homepro in Bangkok). For a 125cc the regular for home use glass-wool is fine…

If you really worried about heat you can first do a layer of stainless steel wool…

You can close the exhaust muffler with a few plate-fasteners/screws of the right size… Homepro again has them...

The Thai version of the Suzuki Hayate is  a 125cc scooter with CVT and DCP-FI (fuel-injection) system. in India the Suzuki Hayate is a 113cc 4-speed manual gear motorcycle with carburetor....

First, I hope you not surprised that the engine has to be opened – you knew that the moment that bearing was faulty.

Likely a gasket is leaking, of worse you have problems with the piston rings…

For fuel, the Suzuki Hayate 135 DCP-FI (fuel-injection) works fine with RON91 E20 fuel, RON95 fuel I would not recommend for a motorcycle like the Hayate 125 (with a compression ratio of 9.6:1) as the octane level in the fuel can prevent the fuel from optimal combustion and cause carbon built-up in the exhaust system… The performance issue can also be related to this, it’s possible that due to carbon built up the exhaust valve is unable to fully close…

No motorcycle mechanic would like to open an engine with a customer looking over its shoulder. Imagine yourself doing some precision work that needs some concentration and your wife is standing next to you and asking what is that and what it does, that part is black is that normal… etc etc…

As I previous said, the 1000 THB was weird cost for a bearing repair, and if your engine needs to be opened you look probably at 3000 THB…

To be honest, Ducati motorcycles are very reliable now-a-day – I have to say that the service of the dealers in Thailand are not in pair with the growth of the brand in the country. So service is paying the price of the brand success in Thailand.

I can remember a time that you would feel special if you came in for service on your motorcycle… Now I not feel much difference between if I’m going to my local Honda dealer for our Honda Wave okay the coffee is different…

4 hours ago, smotherb said:

Ducati is owned by VW, a German firm. Royal Enfield is owned by Tata, an Indian firm. It seems the Brits and the Itals have a lot in common.

Royal Enfield is owned by Eicher Motors Limited and it has no relation with Tata (other than that they buy raw materials from Tata steel). Eicher Motors Limited, has a very active partnership with Polaris, who owns Indian Motorcycles... Eicher also works together with Volvo and Mitsubishi - Eicher is mainly a truck manufacturer...

I think the biggest interest for a manufacturer like Ducati will come from China.

You can calculate if your Bitcoin mining will be profitable.... https://bitcoinworldwide.com/mining/calculator/

I think that the latest Bitcoin mining ASIC machine can do 14 or 15 TH/s (TeraHash per second)... and needs at least a plus 1300Watt power supply. Electric is not that expensive in Thailand but surely not free, also a ASIC machine doing 14 TH/s will produce heat like a little oven...

On 5/9/2017 at 10:03 AM, Pepper9187 said:

Well they won't do anything for 300s cc in bigwing network because these models are sold in the regular small shops honda network.

 

But anyway i would be curious to see if they would be able to change a camshaft, i guess they would just try to make you purchase an entire new engine instead of trying to fix it.

It was a manufacturer recall, which means that all 2015 and 2016 CBR300Rs and CB300Fs had to get the camshaft replaced. It would be impossible for Honda to replace all engines for the motorcycles sold in 2015 and 2016. Not even thinking about the registration nightmare of getting the new engines registered …

No, every Honda dealer who sold a Honda CBR300R or CB300F in (2-years) 2015 and 2016 received the replacement parts and was instructed to make appointments for the crankshaft replacement.

Having a good idea how many motorcycles received a new crankshaft it makes sense that Honda is doing a good job, otherwise we would have been flooded with complains on this forum… How many people have complained after Honda fixed their 300cc? Nobody. So guess Honda is very capable in rebuilding a engine… even the small regular dealers.

Of course no Honda mechanic wakes up on Monday thinking today I will happily rebuild a few Honda engines. Most professional mechanics prefer not to do it, but when it is needed it needs to be done...

Pattaya and Jomtien not have 7-Eleven?

Everybody can ride ‘legally’ a automatic scooter of not more than 115cc until he or she becomes 18 years old. I was told that some small print involves that the scooter is registered a direct family member and fully insured. The Thai law says that everybody older than 18 and operating a engine propelled motor vehicle needs to have a drivers license for that vehicle.

Reality, most police officers – especially upcountry – have no interest in stopping youngsters to check if the scooter or step-through motorcycle is within the specifications of the law. It’s just to much work, sure if not wear a helmet they get stopped and if they on a Honda 125cc they in more trouble...

10 hours ago, Rhys said:

yamaha R-3 and the CBR 500R   CBR 650R are my votes...

The Yamaha YZF-R3 is sadly not made in Thailand... still a good bike ...

What can I say, I have seen pictures of the two Honda Waves at Vietnamese landmarks while they to the stories. I have no doubt that the two I met where in Vietnam on the little Honda who had Thai license plates. It was around 3 years ago that I met them in Khon Kaen.

I had no reason to doubt them then and I have no reason to doubt the story now. If people not believe it, that is fine for me…

First of all the underlining story is that you not need a big engine size motorcycle to do some touring the country.