idman

Dear Mr. Tryasimight

As the original topic pertained to the situation in Thailand my comment reflected my opinion about choosing your battles HERE, NOT ELSEWHERE.  

He who fights and runs away, lives to fight anotherday.  Here in Thailand you had better be damn sure the fight you pick is winnable and more important worth the risk/cost.

For anyone in Chiang Mai interested in actually seeing this amazing scooter up close and personal there is a Yamaha display on the ground floor of Central Festival this weekend.  There is a lovely black/gray Xmax 300 on display.  The bad news is the people there are devoid of English speaking skills so getting usefull information is next to impossible.  I.E. are there any available now for sale in Chiang Mai, if not how long of a wait,  how much of a deposit if you order one,  how much is a topbox and mounting bracket.  I even used Google translator and I might as well have been talking to the wall.  Oh well, it was nice to get to see one again and appreciate how nice it is.

Are we sure this isn't the same Farang wanna be Thai Copper who aided those bas...turd.s in their roadside checkpoints and now has moved on to this scam??? I haven't seen his sorry arse around anymore in Chiang Mai.

Honorable ThaiVisa members, are you for real or just a brown noser par excellance?? Just ask a question normally and you will get an answer. You can pay bills with Zoom, TransferWise, those are my choices and I have been satisfied.

As an additional warning, in come cases adding an after market exhaust before the original warrenty expires voids your warrenty entirely. I almost got caught doing that to my current scooter just after I had purchased it. I wanted to upgrade to an Akrapovic but the sales guy at Honda Bigwing clued me in to what would happen. As for Yamaha's policy I don't know but I would certainly make sure any changes don't void the warrenty.

Many thanks for your initial riding impressions of the Xmax 300. I look forward to your updates as the scooter continues its break in period. That 2200 baht for a second remote key is a bit steep as Honda's is only 1200 baht but having an extra handy is worth it, plus you can never loose money as it adds to the value when you go to sell the scooter. One question, do you notice a quicker acceleration when you pull away from a stop?

I have been using TransferWise for four months and am totally satisfied with their service and fees. At first I was worried about the time it took to get the money into my account but after figuring out the time different, the days they operate it was easy. Now I initiate a transfer at 8 p.m. Thai time, 9 a.m. the same day in New York and the funds are in my account within 24 hours. Everything, i.e. their fees, the actual rate, how much to be deposited are all there before you proceed. I have also heard that Zoom is very good as well.

And just when I thought that Yamaha had one upped Honda and their bathtub on two wheels, aka the Forza 300 there is a very good possibility that they will bring the Xmax 400 to the Thai market. For those holding out hope that the 2018 Honda Forza 300 will give the Xmax 300 a run for its money there is a video now available on youtube. It's just a walkaround with that assinine music to pi...ss you off but from what I saw it looked the same, not a good sign.

As an added note, I inquired about a top box and mounting plate for the Xmax 300 and first was told they are not available. The lad then decided to check with his mate who spoke better English and he said yes there was this option available. How much I asked?? A check in some catalog and his mobile phone and he quotes me nearly 12000 Baht. <deleted>????? That is blatent highway robbery, surely there are shops in Chiang Mai that will cut that price by 50%. I payed 6800 baht for the same thing when I added them to my PCX 150 in early 2016. No <deleted> way am I going to pay 12000 + baht at a Yamaha shop.

Well done video as his thoughts were from the perspective of a motorbike rider who has never ridden this type of scooter. If he gave the Xmax300 such high praise it stands to reason that those of us who ride scooters exclusively will be treated to an outstanding machine. On another note, I stopped in to the two of the bigger Yamaha dealers here in Chiang Mai and was told once again No Hab, maybe December.

The problem now with airbnb is that a lot of the places you want to book, i.e. Condos here in Chiang Mai and particulary Bangkok have strict rules against the owner renting their unit on a daily or weekly basis. In some cases if you are caugh out by the Homeowners Association or the Juristic Office you can be forced to vacate the unit. Of course the owner will not make mention of that, they are afterall Thai. In my own case twice last year when I asked the owner about this I was told to avoid having conversations with residents and for any problems deal with them directly. When pressed, they admitted they were not allowed by the Condo board to rent shortime and I got a full refund both times. I now avoid airbnb here in Thailand like the plague.

Saw my first Xmax 300 this morning here in Chiang Mai. Being ridden by a Thai girl who did not speak English as I attempted to ask her how she liked the scooter. Her model was the dark gray color and it certainly stood out. A very eye catching scooter which I am sure will be very successful. One final things, she was up on her toes trying to keep the scooter balanced and that was proving to be a task.

It would be nice to have something concrete to go on in regards to this time period. Are the bars, restaurants, night action venues going to be open?. There are no doubt a substantial number of visitors that might change their plans if they knew these places were closed. To keep people in the dark seems to be the Thai way. I for one would like to know what my options will be for a night or two out on the town during this period will be. If there is going to be a complete shut down then I can make plans to head to Phnom Penh or Angeles City. Thanks to Thai ineptitude or simply a don't care attitude myself and a large number of people are left in the dark.

Let me see now. The cost of living, the quality/variety/price for food, the diversity in Thailand( beaches, islands, mountains, rivers, historial sites, Bangkok) and lastly but my favorite the abundance of drop dead gorgeous Thai ladies who make themselves available on a daily basis and who keep insisting that I am still a handsome man despite ample evidence to the contrary.

Get off your own high horse Lady before you start preaching to the masses.

Will someone PLEASE post their initial impressions of the Xmax 300 as I assume there are viewers of this site who have already taken delivery and put at least a 100k on their new toy. I am curious to know if the hype this scooter received is in fact true.

As I sit in the various bars and lift a beer to.my mouth the very last thing I am worrying about is an errant Nuke hitting beautiful Downtown Chiang Mai.

No matter where you put down roots be they temporary or permanent there will always be times when you question the sanity of that decision. Life here in Chiang Mai isn't always a bowl of cherries but I would not move at this point in my life. Not because I don't have the means but because on the whole C.M. offers me all I require to be reasonably happy. And after all isn't that why we are here in first place??

My heart says Get the BMW 650, it's what you really want but my mind says Get the Burgman 650 and save 170,000 baht for a very simlilar maxi scooter. Luckily I have the luxury of time to make a final decision.

Back from the show within the past hour and it was worth the trip to Bangkok to finally check out the XMax 300. It lives up to all the hype and then some. It was funny watching the Thais sit on it and observe their expressions when they discovered they could not reach the ground with their feet. Of course that did not deter them from taking lots of photos. I never saw another Farang in the twenty minutes I spent at the Yamaha section. I was drawn to the brown color first. I also checked out the Tmax 530 that was right beside the Xmax and man was that a mighty fine maxi scooter. Next stop was the Suzuki section to check out the Burman 650, at the price of only 384,000 baht for a well made and tricked out maxi scooter it was a nice alternative. Next stop was the BMW section and a look at their 650 GT scooter. Oh Boy, that was by far and away the nicest looking scooter I have ever seen. I sat on it for about ten minutes and chatted away with young girl who turned out to be a sales rep at the dealership in Chiang Mai and was anxious to offer a substantial promotion if I bought at the show. The last stop was the Honda section. What a disgrace, absolutely nothing to combat the Yamaha offerings, not even a Forza 300 2016 to be seen. I came away from the show satisfied and well informed. At this stage of my life along with being confortable financially maybe not settling for the ordinary, i.e. the Xmax 300 is something I should consider. You only go round one time, there is no do over and after seeing that BMW maxi scooter I have a decision to make. Being able to get a BMW 650 right away is also atractive, having to wait for up to four months for an Xmax 300 is a downer.

So if you decide to get rid of the stock muffler and opt instead for an aftermarket one such as an Akrapovic just to make more noise will you void the Manafactures warrenty?.. Pretty stupid if that is the case. I know for a fact that if you do that with a new Honda your warrenty is worth s..hit..

The devil in me says the fix is in and the MICK will win, thus throwing the world as we know it on its head. Within days the MICK will graciously offer Mayweather a rematch and viola, the fight of the century Part Deux. Yeah right, when pigs fly. Mayweather is going to beat the MICK like a drum before sending him off to dream land. What round??? That is strickly up to Mayweather.

For this Ragpicker's info. it was called the Executive in the U.S. market and it did have heated grips. I oughta know I rode one for two years.