WingNut

I forgot to mention that Google Maps estimates that this route will take anywhere from around 1 hour and 45 minutes up to about 2 hours and 20 minutes, depending on traffic and the time of day.
 

I hope to be able to make it to the Bang Na Trad / Sukhumvit Road intersection in Bangkok in no more than 2 hours when leaving Pattaya at around sunrise. 

Thanks. Understood. I think I can skip the 36 leg for my intended journey.
 

At this point (unless I find out that I can’t take either 7 or 3611 from Laem Chabang to 3702) I think I’m going to take 3 and enter either 7 or 3611 at Laem Chabang, then onto 3702 and then on from there back to Bangkok. 
 

At that time of the early morning it should take about 2 hours to reach the Bang Na Trad / Sukhumvit Road (Bangkok) intersection I’m hoping. 

1 hour ago, digbeth said:

The 'Motorway' 7 is closed paid area all the way to Pattaya now, I used to take the route all the way past Sri Racha and into the Chonburi bypass too, 

you can still use the frontage road 3701/3702 but you can only get on the 3702 (Bangkok bound) from Pattaya via the 36,

 

The frontage road do get packed with trucks during the day so no time saving unless you go really early 

 

the Motorway entrance between North and Central Pattaya will only let bikes up to the toll gates which takes you to Nong Yai or back to Na Klua 

That is great information. Thank you very much. Yes, I plan to leave at sunrise to avoid as much traffic as possible.
 

So what you wrote confirms that I can no longer get onto the 7 Motorway at North Pattaya and then get to the bypass without hitting the toll first.

I am not familiar with 36 but, from looking at the map, 36 looks like a road that runs from Rayong and intersects with 3 (The Sukhumvit Highway) at about 2 kilometers north of North Pattaya and then ends there. I don’t see where 36 would connect with 3701/3702 on the map. 

From what it shows on the maps though is that if you get onto 7 at Laem Chabang that there is no toll booth before you reach 3702. So I am just curious why you feel taking 7 from Laem Chabang to 3702 won’t work? 

Also, as I zoom closer in on the map of that area, it shows a frontage road with route number 3611 also starting from Laem Chabang (and running adjacent to 7) which then leads into 3702 too. So if 7 from Laem Chabang isn’t possible by motorcycle then I think the 3611 frontage road next to 7 should be able to connect to 3702? 

1 hour ago, soi3eddie said:

By motorycycle, the best possible route from Pattaya to say; Sukhumvit, Bangkok is highway 3 then 34. Motorcycles are not permitted on 7 (tollway) nor on the elevated section above 34 (Bangna-Trad). The route under the elevated Bangna-Trad is potholed and has lots, and lots of truck traffic at times. Need your wits about you on that!

 

Thank you for that. The route I am suggesting on that link I posted above has you turn from the Sukhumvit Highway at Laem Chabang onto Route 7 for just a very short distance. But it looks like you then switch to 3702 before the toll booth. Route 3072 is the motorway frontage road which is fine for motorcycles it seems. It looks like it then turns into 1073 for a short distance, then into 361 for another short distance, then 34, and then finally the Bang Na Trad potholed ground level road that you mentioned. Although this route sounds like many different roads, it looks like more or less just a straight line on the map with a few quick interchanges. 

Otherwise, if you take 3 to 34, it looks like a lot of local roads and a longer distance that could add almost another hour to the travel time, depending on traffic lights and traffic. 

What I’m still trying to figure out is if the way I used to travel by motorcycle from Pattaya to Bangkok can still be done. It was very quick. All highway roads. 

The route I took was that I got onto 7 by North Pattaya, stayed on that for a while, and then turned off and onto the Chonburi bypass road right before the Motorway toll booth. Then the bypass road took you right to the Bang Na Trad road. 

What I fear is that they may have moved the toll both closer to Pattaya now, which would prevent you from being able to reach the Chonburi bypass road from 7. This would then render my old route impossible, but I can’t seem to figure out for sure if it’s still possible or not. If I could still take this old route then it could save at least 30 minutes. 

I actually see lots of motorcycles getting onto 7 by North Pattaya at present (despite there being a no motorcycles permitted sign there at the entrance), but they might only be traveling a very short distance and getting off before the toll booth and/or getting off before where the bypass road connects to 7. 

From the limited information I was able to find, the following link seems to be the fastest possible route without tolls, although I’m not 100% sure if motorcycles will be permitted on this entire route.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/QST4WgNv42mV8iCJA

When I used to drive from Pattaya to Bangkok I would get onto the on-ramp (to what is called the Motorway) using the rising curved on-ramp close to the North Pattaya Road and then I would stay on that a short distance until it would have a turn off to the bypass road. Then I would switch to the bypass road (from what I can recall) before it actually reached the formal Motorway entrance (which is only for cars). Then I would stay on the bypass road until it reached the Bang Na Trad highway and take that the rest of the way to Bangkok. It would take me around 100 minutes (from what I remember) to reach the Bang Na Trad / Sukhumvit Road intersection. Usually I would start driving at sunrise to avoid as much city traffic as possible (once getting into Bangkok). 
 

This was at least 5-7 years ago though and I know the roads have changed a bit. So I am wondering if this route is still possible? And if it’s not, then what would be the best route to drive to Bangkok from Pattaya by bike please?

many thanks…

25 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Fine of 1bht/month for late payment of tax.

Thank you. And no fine on late payment of insurance?

Thank you. The tax is only 100 Baht, correct? No other penalties to pay?

If you are planning to leave a bike parked for 6 months, and you don't renew the tax disc and minimum mandatory insurance when they expire, will there be any problem later if you renew these things 6 months after they expire?

Thanks.

Thanks. That was my recollection.

I am planning on having a small item shipped into Thailand from Mainland China. The sender has given me the option of using either FedEx or DHL. They don't want to use the postal service because they said it is more expensive to send via EMS from China than 2 use one of these 2 companies. Many years ago I received some items via either DHL or FedEx in Thailand and it was a big hassle with all kinds of extra processing fees and expenses added on at my end when I received the item. I can't remember though if this experience I had was with DHL or FedEx, but I want to avoid that from possibly happening again.

The item being shipping to me only has a value of around US$30, so I assume there wont be any customs import duties, but does anyone have any recent experience please with these two companies in order to say which one is better or worse in terms of possible added on costs when receiving something shipped into Thailand?

Cheers for any insight you might be able to share...

What I am curious though if the CBR650F being sold in the states is less restricted than the one being sold in Thailand? If so, maybe one can order an ECU from a Honda dealer in the states and just swap them on the bike here. Seems less risky.

I am interested in CB650F. Will try my contacts in N. America and see what I can find out

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We had a whole long thread before I started about flashing ECU on Honda. We basically came to the conclusion it wasn't a good idea. Too many ECU setting variables unless the technician really is a pro at it, which is difficult to find.

What I am curious though if the CBR650F being sold in the states is less restricted than the one being sold in Thailand? If so, maybe one can order an ECU from a Honda dealer in the states and just swap them on the bike here. Seems less risky.

Thanks. Don't think anyone can flash Honda yet. Only Kawasaki can be flashed I think.

Any idea what this mod is? Is it just some sort of locally made fuel controller or is it an actual ECU replacement of some sort?

Got some of those resistors on eBay. Wired them in wrong the first time and blew a fuse a couple times, but got them wired in correctly eventually and working great now. No more fast blinker problems. Sweet. But the wires are a mess. I can live with that though. But the resistors do get quite hot. Hope they don't melt through the plastic housing they are resting on. Not much I can do I guess. Maybe I will lay one of those static free silver looking bags underneath all the wires (the ones that hard drives and computer components are normally packaged in). The bag should add a heat buffer in between the heat from the resistors and the plastic casing.

I also have a few empty holes now that were being covered by the old fender assembly and are exposed now on the bottom of the battery compartment. Water could get into the battery compartment now through those holes if it rains from the back tire kicking up water onto the rear fender and through those holes. I guess I need to fill them with silicone or try and find some rubber grommets to fill them. I guess silicone is easier.

Never thought putting on a simple tail tidy and a couple of LED turn signals would turn out to be such a palaver.

I've since wrapped all 8 of those red wire connectors in black electrical tape to insulate and waterproof them a bit. And here is how I eventually wired them in:

I downloaded the first two races as torrents (Qatar and Austin). You can find them on torrents.eu. Just search for "MotoGP 2015 720" - The 720 makes sure it gives you just HD copies.

You could also try X-Power Lube or Furi Shop:

http://xpowerlube.com/

http://www.furiishop.com/

X-Power Lube is knock off pipes mainly though.

K-Speed Rama 2 Perhaps.

But sadly, I think the older design was much prettier.

Yeah, the new R1 has technology I didn't even know existed. See this:

If we are talking prettiest though I would have to say Augusta F3 and F4.

Honda. Nuff Said!

The best naked bike? That would be me with my shorts off