Gsxrnz

Kasikorn bank at Jomtien give me a 12 month statement and the letter on the spot - takes them 5 minutes.

The road death toll in Thailand is doing more to raise the average IQ of the country than the education system.

I'm tired of all this criticism of Thai drivers. 

If you exclude their inherent inability to go in straight lines, negotiate bends, use indicators, drive at appropriate speeds, obey traffic lights, obey traffic regulations in general, load trucks safely, drive on the correct side of the road, use their lights at night, and their belief that the toy hanging from the rear chassis will distract the evil spirits and make them immune from danger, Thai drivers (especially truck and taxi drivers) are generally as proficient as any suicidal psychopathic lunatic I can think of.

1 hour ago, Kwasaki said:

Agree with your tyre advice but not the braking advice. 

In an advanced motorcycle test you would fail for not using both brakes at the same time, separate use is for maneuvers only. 

 

I don't disagree with you, especially if the bike is a Harley or even a sportsbike with a pillion and it's just general cruising around. I guess I was really referring to situations whereby you REALLY want to peel of some speed in a hurry.

Every bike is different.  Every braking situation is different. Braking a Harley is different to braking a sportsbike or a scooter or a dirt bike.  The testers often require the text book responses irrespective of the bike or the situation. 

When you're braking at the end of the straight with your rear wheel in the air or barely on the track, the rear brake is useless and a hazard, even with a slipper clutch. Anybody who has raced knows how useless the rear brake is unless you need to use it to set up a slide, but slipper clutches have largely removed the need for that.  Nothing worse on an older race bike than hearing and feeling that jig-jig-jig sound as the braked rear wheel  (or even just slowed by engine braking) makes intermittent contact with the track and then you lose all ability to make full use of the front brake.

Even on a scooter, preloading the front suspension to maximise the effectiveness of the front brake makes  the rear brake largely worthless. In fact, if you're using the front brake correctly, the rear brake will lock up because you've transferred so much weight to the front. 

Sure, dawdling around at slow speed the rear brake is handy. But if I'm faced with the need to stop in a hurry, I ain't touching the rear brake.

If a tea-leaf wants your scooter he'll get it.  No locking device will prevent it.  Best to be careful where you park it. If I'm ever parking in a strange place I try and find the security guard or head-honcho taxi driver, flick him 100B, take a photo, and no worries.

All the scooters are give or take the same as the other of equivalent cubic capacity.  It's a vegiemite/marmite question.  Pick the one that you think looks the coolest or fits your body size.

Registering in your area is generally a good idea for reasons stated by others.

If your scooter has the front brake linked to the back brake, unlink it.  The rider should decide how much front/rear brakes to apply. And learn/understand how to pre-load the front suspension when braking. I only use the rear brake for super-slow manoeuvering or controlled braking/skid in sand or gravel, otherwise it's useless.

Run your tires at the recommended PSI in the dry - don't let a Thai MC dude inflate it to 65+ PSI. You'll thank yourself when you really need to brake in a hurry.  Run them 3 or 4 PSI less in the wet - gives better grip (as much as the skinny crappy tires can give you better grip), but the lower PSI in the front is a godsend for braking in the wet, giving a much bigger footprint on the road.

20 hours ago, talahtnut said:

Are you in it too then?

Obviously. Chapter One is entirely devoted to me, and I'm the only one in the novel deserving of a capital "C".  I'm the leading actor in my life and refuse to play any form of walk-on roll to satisfy anybody's ego.  I'm renowned for starting an opinionated sentence with "I know I'm a C..., but..........." 

I'm entirely comfortable when I overhear one of the c's I know saying as I approach them, "Here comes that C again."  ????

14 hours ago, Golden Triangle said:

I tried but apparently she's dead ????

The answer lies in her legacy.

11 hours ago, StreetCowboy said:

We have always been at war with Eastasia

That will challenge the intellect of many. 

Ok, she ploughs into multiple vehicles at the railway barrier so I assume there is wreckage all over the show. There was obviously a train approaching, so I wanna know what happened next. 

Did the train get stopped? Did anybody go running up the track waving a lantern to warn the approaching train? Was there a train anyway or was it two maintenance dudes on a bogey powered by a 2 1/2 HP Briggs & Stratton? Did the train (or the two dudes) go sailing through the carnage with a <deleted> look on their faces? There are a multitude of possible scenarios that could have eventuated but we are left wondering.

I feel the story lacks the element of "closure" that is a pre-requisite in any written piece involving a mystery - just ask Agatha Christie.

I'm struggling to figure out what unnamed "law enforcement" agency the dogs owner reported this incident to.

14 minutes ago, Henryford said:

Is 70% any use at all? you are at risk from the other 30%.  In fact you are at risk from 100% as even vaccinated people can transmit the virus.

You're assuming that truth and logic have anything to do with authoritarian decisions made regarding Sars-cov-2.

The driver's name is Bandit and I have it on good authority he will soon be starring on Top Gear - Thailand.

1 hour ago, ronster said:

I swear they are having a competition and the winner who makes up the biggest pile of nonsense gets to be in charge ! ????????????????

Um......that's how politics works the world over.  The biggest liar wins.

Nuts.

The Thai system of governmental decision making is based on the "two punches and a hug" philosophy. First they have some lowly gimp publicly announce a slightly draconian measure to be implemented. Then they have another slightly less lowly gimp announce an even more restrictive full-metal-jacket version of the draconian measure.  That's the two punches.

Then along comes the all seeing, all knowing PM who has tested customer feedback following the first two announcements and issues a decree that is usually less restrictive than either of the first two announcements or maybe in the middle somewhere.  That's the hug.

Just to add some controversy and switch the idiom a little, Trump was a master at this - but he used the "I only really want half a mile" philosophy.  His rhetoric implied he wanted ten miles, the explosive reaction from the media was that even going one mile was too far, so when Trump agrees to only half a mile, guess who won.

18 hours ago, dddave said:

 

If you believe the difference between a good haircut and a bad haircut is two-weeks, the 100B amateurs that barely know one end of a pair of scissors from the other is the way to go. 

I ain't got a lot of hair and get what we called a "short back and sides" in Old Skool language.  Toni takes about 40 minutes over my haircut and does a great job. 

We all get statements of the obvious from friends after getting a haircut such as "had a haircut?  had your ears lowered?" etc, but after this guy cuts my hair I've had a number of comments regarding how good the cut looks - which is definitely a reflection on the barber because I'm one of the ugliest sons of bitches you're ever likely to come across.

Withdraw the money as you wish.  On your next extension date just use an agent and pay the 15-20K fee to get it extended. Do the 90 day reports online or in person, up to you.  Don't bother going to show them your "money in the bank" proof every 3 months that Chonburi and others ask for, it's not necessary - I haven't bothered since they introduced it and no problems.

I feel supremely confident that the health authorities will ensure the correct temperatures are maintained and the product will be stored handled and transported in strict accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. There will be a robust audit trail for every unit used , the audit trail will not be lost or corrupted in any way, and we can safely assume that if any problems arise with the particular batch of product we were issued with we will be notified personally, or there will be a national publication to ensure public awareness of the details.

'Nuff said.

17 hours ago, Thingamabob said:

Killing and eating animals is disgusting.

I only do the eating, Some other cruel son of a b**** kills them for me.