ktm jeff

Ha Ha , slightly out on the mileage - just.  Im not saying "man up" and get a manual , auto scooters make sense for many people. You could keep your Click for what its worth , and as a second bike , and buy a manual bike too. The Stallion 400 would be a good choice , or one of their smaller 150cc offerings.  You also have bikes from Zongshen Ryuka such as the Infinity that are also styled similar to the Stallion.

The Stallion 400 , and 400 scrambler , have manual gears and a clutch. If you wish to remain automatic your limited to a scooter .Apart from some crazy priced Hondas , you have the Suzuki 400 Burghman ( if its available in Thailand ) and the Sym 300. Could you confirm your mileage , 226,000 KM may be a world record for a Honda. What do you mean by "fretting".

Sometimes , in Thailand , you have to buy the tires you can get , which arent always the tires you want. If i could have got a Quick GR 201 in the correct rear size i would have , thinking it would be harder wearing.  I couldnt , so i got  IRC 33. Seems to be holding up well so far , but it squirms on the road. This is not a complaint of the tire as its designated as a enduro tire and so handles better off-road than on tarmac - as you said. The harder compound of the Quick tires may squirm about less , but so will the shallower tread of the VEE VRM 122. My 33,s were 1500 front , 1900 rear. New tubes were 200 each. With the VEE,s about the same price your  not gambling too much money. Sometimes you have to try a few different ones before you find " the one " that suits you. Bit like girlfriends.  555.

nictin , i think we have met and had a chat in a " Honda" spares shop last month ( you were after a front fender ) , where you offered me your IRC VE 33 / 35,s then.    If you remember me i am running IRC VE 33,s on a supermotard which was in the car park.. Look at the depth of the tread on the Quick GR 201 , that is the same depth of tread on the IRC 33,s. Its quite deep. The tread depth on the VEE VRM 122 looks shallower.  This may feel more stable / surefooted for you on the road. You say you didnt like the feeling of the 33,s on tarmac. With deeper treads , they can squirm and move about on tarmac.  Ride safe.

I recently changed both my tires to IRC enduro,s. They are a softer rubber , but still look like new after 800KM. I tried to get a Quick for the rear for the longer life , and possibly a IRC or a VEE for a front but the sizes / tread didnt suit.   An IRC or VEE , with its softer rubber , may give more grip on tarmac , than a harder Quick , but remember , none will grip as well on ( wet ) tarmac as the origional IRC dual sports. The IRC,s were about 1900 - rear and 1600 - front , IIRC. Good luck.

These are used in boats , and RV;s also.

You will find more information on coolants and fans on  the KTM Duke pages of this forum and Youtube , as this is a common modification.

Second hand they are up for 50K plus.  New , with so many better bikes available , i cant see many being sold at any price , due to the ongoing problems. Honda needs to throw away these designs , and start from scratch. They are capable of a half decent bike , if they put their mind to it.

Great video , and the map is usefull too. I believe the Thai owner is a dentist. Has a thing about "micro" cars . A visit could be combined with the Bangkok motor show.

I get what your saying , but that stupid little trick may involve bleeding out the trapped air by holding the caliper at different angles so the air - if any - can rise up , and out. The rear caliper on my Aprilia RSV is funny , like that !. Im still liking "that" fuse   LOL.

5 minutes ago, surangw said:

a clear hoze on the bleeder nipple into a small container of brake fluid  I how we use to do it, does that still work not to prevent air getting  back into the line?

Sounds like the OP is doing that. I think the problem is in that  CBS system , either caused by a bad hydro dynamic design or requiring "that" fuse removed.

thaiguzzi , come on now. You can tell its a BMW , as the rider will have a beard.   Some of the wives too !.  Always thought of Guzzis like a cross between a sporty Harley and a finely crafted Swiss watch.  Amazing engineering.

If the OP wants a "proper" bike , with a clutch , then the 325cc twin cylinder Yamaha or Benelli would be my choice.  The little 286cc Honda has ruled itself out a while back due to the many ongoing reliability issues and general poor quality. The KTM ( 200 , 250 and 390 ) is worth a look if you dont place too much importance on touring long distances. Probably the most fun bike though. With the new 300cc twin cylinder Kawasakis coming out soon , i would take a look at them too. But first ,  you can do what many people end up doing - buying a cheap scooter/comuter ( also handy to increase your riding hours on a familiar automatic ) for the rat run througe Bangkok to work. Pretty much anything will be fine here - Yamaha Nouvo , Filano , NMAX , PCX , and several scooters from the SYM range.

You are correct , in that this system is not a "true" ABS system. Honda calls it CBS - combined braking system - and it causes a few problems. Try removing the caliper to bleed with the nipple higher than the inlet hose from the rear MC( taking care to wedge the pads and possibly zip tying the front brake lever to activate the front brake ) and try this interesting "fuse" option.  Ive never heard of that one before. Keep us informed.

Compression test ( dry/ wet ) would give a better idea of engine internals. Rings at least , plus valve shim and new cam chain and tensioner - either Kawasaki part or a manual adjustable one. Good coolant system flush , maybe add performance coolent such as "Engine ice" .  Spark plug - platinum ? , synthetic oil - Motul 300v ? . Good mechanic most important .

In an independant test i saw , on a flat road , unloaded and at a steady pace , the 1.9 gave nearly 14 KM/L.  The 3.0 gave 12.5 KM/L. When loaded or worked , towing uphill , the 3.0 will be less "stressed" , and give better fuel economy.  Should also give a longer life.

"Hope the plastic below the engine is tough ".  Id rather the engine be toughened up over  the old 250 / 286 lump.  Does it use a completley new engine design ?.  For 170,000 its overpriced compared to the better Kawasaki KLX , at 150,000.

Lammy TS1.      Scomadi need to get all these small details sorted out, such as English manuals , if they are not to alienate potential buyers.  The best scooter available in Thailand - for 95% of people - is the Yamaha Grand Filano , at 52,000.   B U T  there are a growing band of people , such as yourself , who are willing to pay more for an authentic , but new , looking scooters such as the Scomadi.  Bit like people buying a Harley , they may not be "the best" but they are what they are , origional and different.  The 125 engine , like many , seems to be basees on the Suzuki GS 125.  An old tech 2 valve,  carbed , air cooled but very strong engine.  The 200 will be a much better bike for the new 180cc Aprilia engine.

Everyones different. Do your own risk assesment taking speed , family , insurance and risk acceptence into account. Id rather "over protect" , and leak sweat , rather than blood.

Price difference seems to be alloy or spoked wheels , zoom in to the orange one.  Its crazy that a company will "invest" millions into a product ( a good one at that ) , many people will attempt to make contact to further enquire or purchase and yet Martins story seems far too common. Many Thai / Chinese / Asian companies seem to fall at this last point.

TUbliss is a good option , but some tire sidewalls ( some makes of tires are less of a problem than others ) dont seem to "seal" against the inner sidewall of the rim , resulting in air loss. Are those rims steel or alloy.

If the "professional" testers at Motorcyclist magazine rate the single cylinder 27 bhp Honda over multi cylinder 42 / 45 bhp bikes , then thats one mag id stay well away from. Complete BS. Honda bikes arent too impressive nowadays , but this CB / CRF / CBR range is a diaster. Its had a bad reputation from day 1 and will be very hard to sell when you realise , and wish to upgrade. All companies have accountants , but the penny pinching has gone way too far at Honda . The Z3 / Ninja is good , R3 is sporty , Benelli TNT and the Tornado is fast and flash and the KTM is simply mad. Today there is simply no need to buy a Honda while so many other , far better bikes are available , that werent just a few years ago.

Well thats good news , and quick too. Did they tell you what components they replaced , or give any "running - in" advice . Does the engine / bike warrenty start again.

I think / hope revgreen was calling my assumption that Honda would replace the faulty engine insane , rather than me !. At this stage , maybe they wont. Lets see what happens in the next 6 months. I stand by my concern with the engine being "rebuilt" in a Thai garage , rather than a factory. Even though that factory isnt in Japan. If metal alloy fragments have been ground off the crank / crankcase they will have contaminated everything that is touched by the same oil. That is the entire engine and gearbox.  The oil filter wont have filtered all the oil , as isnt part of a "full flow" system . revgreen , the engine dousnt just "die".  The rider might though. When a engine siezes , it locks up the engine , gearbox , rear wheel. Pitches you off quick , even with the clutch covered. Just ask one of the several 500cc 2-stroke GP   bikes in my garage in England. Evil things !.Built back in the day when Honda could build engines. I do hope this problem is sorted without any incidents / accidents ( i would not risk riding the bike  ) but cant help feel these bikes have further tarnished Hondas reputation.

C C .  Love it when people really know how to take care of their machines.