DualSportBiker

I don't have kids - busted on that count. I do have young relatives and they have attended courses as instructed by yours truly. It is OK that kids have opinions on safety or road skills, just not to let those opinions change the outcome, because most, if not all kids, have no skills, no experience, and don't think it through... My relatives disagreed and argued with me, went, but returned in agreement with me. No accidents since... I also took them to a hospital and asked a Dr. to count of the number of bike related accidents he had dealt with that week. That had a big impact on them, especially when a slight majority were low-speed bumps that would have not caused serious injury to a rider with boots + gloves + proper helmet. That certainly helped them 'understand the dangers'.

I think that some of you guys know very little about kids, I have 4 and know a little more....training training training, whether they like it or not.... I don't think so. I also wonder if you know much about city riding in Thailand, recommending heavy black leather jackets designed to protect a GP rider. Gear that costs $100's is not practical either.

You have to get the kids on you side and choose gear that is easy to wear.

You also talk about crashes on racetracks and quote statistic of how certain gear protects you in an accident and this is where statistic fall down in the real world. How many accidents are caused by not being able to see or hear danger in a busy city, or being distracted my discomfort, and how many deaths are caused by not wearing the gear provided it cannot be quantified and who is to say that a kid with all this gear on will not take additional chances because he feels protected.

Michael Shoemacker drove like a nutcase compared with the guys before him, knowing he wouldn't die when he crashed.

Somehow you have to get inside the kid's head, talk to him and make him understand the dangers.

Can't be anything that encourages speed - that would be stupid. Having said that, 2 days is a tad long - might help prove one can flatten tires even on the MHS loop

If I had to organise something like this, I'd go for timed arrivals at check-points that encourage a safe pace; bonus points for accuracy, and heavier penalties for arriving early than arriving late.

Northerly winds forecast for a few days - might bring the temp down for all those in Bkk and north thereof... The monsoon winds are still dominant though and it will be a while before we get constant northerly winds.

great pic!

makes more sense now... the road from KK to Tak only gets interesting 50+ km past Chum Phae, but is fun thereafter. I highly recommend you look at the Mae Sariang to Thoen option at some stage - you will be glad you did.

Take your GF to Singapore and gear-up there.

Training, training and more training - whether they like it or not. You should make using the bikes conditional on completing a proper training course of which there are several options.

For those who don't know, the compulsory and rather good bike training system in Singapore was copied from optional training courses available here. It is a real shame they are not compulsory here...

Honda and Yamaha has courses on Bangna and are the best investment you can make in your kids safety. Storm have some great trainers like Khun Nay of Barcelona motors, and Khun Ek.

When they have their first 'bump' they will understand why bike shoes at minimum, or boots, gloves, and a full-faced helmet (or MX/enduro helmet) stop minor bumps from being weeks of irritation and pain.

I rode in Singapore for a while without gloves then saw a scooter t-boned when both vehicles were doing 10-15 kph. The rider put his hand down and lost all the skin from his wrist to his elbow on the railing! I turned around and got my gloves and put my steel-caps on...

As for those of you who change what you wear depending on how far you are going - remember this. Most accidents happen close to home on familiar roads. We are lower our intensity when close to home, especially on the way home when we might be tired. Familiarity breeds contempt and on bikes, that leads to accidents. There is only one rule - All the gear - All the time.

Ride safe...

Too close to the hols... UK Family still likely to be here, so would not be free.

More adventurous of you would be to drop the cage and ride from KK to Tak, then hit the lower loop by riding through Thoen, Li, Hot, Mae Sariang. The Thoen-Li section has been repaved and is intense; tighter twisties than any road I can remember here save Mae Sot-Umphang.

Enjoy.

Whilst your statement is true, Buddhism in Thailand has strayed a long way from its roots...

Remember that Buddhism is in fact an atheist belief as opposed to having some mysterious ever caring god figure who accommodates all the faithful followers of its creed in its own mentally induced and produced paradise along with the assorted books of fairy tales that accompany the worlds assorted religious beliefs.

Religious beliefs or rather the interpretation of those beliefs by its followers has caused and still is causing wars and terorism and needless deaths around the world even now.

Turns out I am leaving tomorrow at noon...

There is a place on Soi Samakkee in Nonthaburi that is run by a UTCC classmate of my wife. He recently moved his paintshop here and has a number of sports bikes in the window. It is about 300 meters west of the Prachaniwate T-junction.

The ride is fine, if you make an effort to get off the highway. I ride to Mae Sot on a regular basis and take a route that keeps me off the highway all the way from Suphanburi.

In summary, I head west just short of Suphan town and then north through Don Chedi, Baan Rai, Mae Wong, Wang Chao then Mae Sot. Once at Wang Chao the scenery is much better and you could use the main roads for the rest of the trip. If you have time, ride to Mae Sot, then Mae Sariang. From there you can chose around the loop or East to Hot and Li, then head North again.

I am heading to Mae Sot between now and the 23rd - actual date undecided, but more likely this week. If you want to join me, drop me a PM.

Ride safe, and have fun.

I recently bought a PCX 150 and would like to use my the GPS function on my Iphone 4S. The problem is that the GPS function quickly depletes the battery and thus I'd like to add a 12V (e.g cigerette lighter) outlet- either in the glove box or perhaps on the handlebar.

I've seem what I need on Ebay. But, does anyone know a local supplier? I'd like to buy a kit that includes the outlet, wire, fuse, etc. Any sugestions would be appreciated.

P.S. I live in the Sathorn area of BKK...

Baan Mor is your best bet, IMHO.

The electrician who does many track bikes racing at Bira ++ is based in Huay Kwang. Take the west exit at the cross roads and just past the 90 degree bend on the left. Never been myself, but my Thai riding mates say he is v.good.

My Siberia-Labrador cross bitch went blind overnight 2 years ago. It was a sudden thing; no build-up that we could determine, even with hindsight. We took her to Thonglor as they are close and it was late. Her heart stopped and they had a pump to help breath. Once stable we transfered her to Chula. Her stomach was severely swollen and they said SE had a bacterial infection. Pressure on the spine caused nerve damage and she ended up blind.

In our experience, Chula is hands down better than Thonglor. The queues are not bad and the facilities are good.

The sibrador gave birth to 5 healthy puppies 30 weeks ago. She is as happy as she has ever been (spayed just over a month ago) and plays hard with her pups, some of which are bigger than her at 28 kg already!

The boys were neutered 2 weeks ago at Chula. Making the run in daily was an effort, but i would not let Thonglor do it. One got an infection (scar for buried testicle) and Thonglor issued pills that Chula scoffed at and tossed after they did little to help. Chula is cheaper, better and our first and only choice for anything semi-serious.

Best of luck with your pooch - I hope like ours, an almost full recovery is possible.

It is the law in Thailand to have your headlight on when your are riding your motorbike day or night. It is common sense that you should see every other vehicle on the road as someone who will do something stupid right on front or behind you that can kill or maim you. It's called defensive driving. You should practice it, or become another statistic!

I can't quite tell if you are trying to inform me of things you think I don't know, or just making general comments; it is really not clear to me.. If you are trying to advise me, thanks, that is very 'sweet', but wholly redundant. Most trained riders do what you write, and more. The people who need training are school kids who start riding after nothing but being a passenger with another poorly schooled rider...

FYI, I am already a statistic, we all are...

Sorry for the young man's family, but I've seen these kid's driving motorbikes around here for years acting they they are invincible! It's rather hard to see some motorbike doing over a 100 KPH coming from behind.

If your doing a U turn you should see and are responsible. Most of the time car owners doing U turns don't look at a thing. They are doing a special move and therefore are responsible especially if you go onto the lane of the bike.

Unless of course the bike driver does not have a working headlight then he is an idiot.. same goes for tail lights.

I've seen kids with a red headlight and a white tail light here as well. Go figure.

Seen the too.. total idiots, but that is not sure that was the case here. If your doing a U turn your responsible unless .. no headlight excessive speed (even then you can see a lot during a U turn if they have a headlight)

Unless my avatar is not clear - I ride a bike here...

Approaching a u-turn on a bike at speed requires preparation; be visible, state your intentions, prepare for someone pulling across you regardless. Many local bikes turn off their headlights, even at night. Those that ride with their full-beams (badly adjusted) on, don't appreciate that it makes it harder for on-coming vehicles to estimate distance and speed. I ride with over 3,000 lumens up-front, but they are all directed so I am visible for miles, but don't blind the people I want to see me. I flash to bring their attention to me in the hope they will recognise I am not going slowly. I usually pick the middle lane or am on the left of the right lane - this gives me room to swerve left if they go late, or stay right if they go early. Sometimes I wave early to say thanks as this confuses, which can in turn cause a delay while they work out what I am up to...

Anyhow, I've tried explaining this technique or other kinds of safety tips like this to kids I've talked to all over Thailand. It is generally a wasted effort. Safety is the last thing on their minds, and here's the thing; once they survive months/years driving a bike badly and dangerously and eventually upgrade to a cage, they have even less incentive to think about safety. Not only are they protected by a cage, but they've proven to themselves that they have skills/are protected/are lucky/safety is not an issue - whatever excuse they need to not have to think about it and therefore prevent getting a headache...

The irony of it is that the Singapore government require all riders to do a very detailed and good training course that was copied from courses observed in Thailand! Here this remains optional, despite the fact that there have been excellent sources of rider training in country for years. The number of lives that could have been saved...

Thanks for the info guys, I'll check out all the leads today.

People messaging me to rent clicks and finos for 5,000, need not waste their time and read the original post.

Bangkokbikerentals.com are doing brisk business in scooters and larger bikes - might be worth a shout.

There is nobody clever enough in this country to monitor a website.

That thought lurks at the back of my mind

You are both so far removed from reality you might prompt readers to consider blind prejudice is the issue...

Time will tell, unless you're a know-it-all

We might need to agree terms; is knowing "it" all different from knowing "them" all? And then of course there is knowing of them all - can't discount rumour and hearsay now can we...

There is nobody clever enough in this country to monitor a website.

That thought lurks at the back of my mind

You are both so far removed from reality you might prompt readers to consider blind prejudice is the issue...

Perhaps we are drunk genius boy?

Being drunk would be an excuse for your crass generalisation.

There is nobody clever enough in this country to monitor a website.

That thought lurks at the back of my mind

You are both so far removed from reality you might prompt readers to consider blind prejudice is the issue...

Airlines will also be encouraged to use check-in counters at Makkasan Rail Station. Until you make the link and access to the Makassan Rail Station convenient for passengers the airlines can use them as much as they like but that can't force passengers to use the ill conceived service. Is Thailand taking tourism management advice off Indonesia and the Philippines at the moment? certainly appears that way?

Thanks I didn't know that Makassan had this convenient service open yet. I use it in Hong Kong & it works great so when I have business in BKK i'll give it a try

Don't! You will only frustrate yourself.

Taking the train from the airport to town means passing in and out of secure areas multiple times. You will pass through rubber-stamp security procedures more times than you will remember. Ignoring the amount of walking you need to do to use this 'integrated' solution, the security hassle alone makes it a fail...

Secure areas? At most, you have to open your bags going onto the MRT, and I'd hardly call that secure.

I should have used 'quotes' ... Secure or not, there is a an opportunity to waste passengers time at every entrance.

Airlines will also be encouraged to use check-in counters at Makkasan Rail Station. Until you make the link and access to the Makassan Rail Station convenient for passengers the airlines can use them as much as they like but that can't force passengers to use the ill conceived service. Is Thailand taking tourism management advice off Indonesia and the Philippines at the moment? certainly appears that way?

Thanks I didn't know that Makassan had this convenient service open yet. I use it in Hong Kong & it works great so when I have business in BKK i'll give it a try

Don't! You will only frustrate yourself.

Taking the train from the airport to town means passing in and out of secure areas multiple times. You will pass through rubber-stamp security procedures more times than you will remember. Ignoring the amount of walking you need to do to use this 'integrated' solution, the security hassle alone makes it a fail...

Source: BigBrotherWatchUK.org

Local councils in the UK use 51,600 cameras at a cost of £515 million to install, operate and maintain over 4 years. That is £9,980 each, or £2,495 per camera per year. That equates to approximately 470,000 Baht or 120,000 per camera per year.

1,419 cameras would place Phuket 2nd in the ranking of most cameras in a UK city. Adding 2,500 more would mean more than 3 times higher than the highest local authority in the UK. London is not listed as 1 location so cannot be compared directly...

Joe, thanks. Do you happen to know how long this specific requirement has been in effect?