CMKiwi

E/S,  this has nothing to do with 'farung cheap Charlie whims' as you put it.

But as per your normal responses, nothing of great interest to add.

HaleySabai, interesting re your comments about SOD. And for most parts I have to agree with you.

Years ago I quite enjoyed eating there but as time went buy it just became too expensive. Portion sizes have always been on the small size but way back when it was cheaper it wasn't such a factor.

I haven't been for a meal there for over a year. The last occasion was when a friend hosted a dinner party due to him leaving the area.

He ordered the Kobe beef as a treat for use all to share....yes it is expensive. What annoyed us was that most of the weight was taken up by a large bone! When you're paying by kg it makes for a very expensive cut.

Ray and Nui's lunchtime menu were at one time a very economic alternative, however I'm unsure if it still exists.  They are very nice people and I wish then all the best.

But I gave found that my buck stretches further by dinning elsewhere. Backyard (Formerly called My Backyard) is a very nice outfit. They have both Western and Thai meals.

A shop opposite Green Valley has excellent Thai dishes but you need to be able to understand Thai as all their menus are in Thai.

Mae Rim is growing all the time as the urban shift creeps North. New places open and close with regularity. Sometimes you find some great hidden gems and that makes the place so magical.

Unfortunately I have left the area but hope to visit in about a year with a possibility of settling in the area again. It is a great spot.

I look forward to seeing the new forza as the old one looks like a bloated pig.

Possibly why in part the XMAX is so attractive.

I haven't been surprised by what Honda puts out lately. ...it's all rather conservative/boring.

Don't get me wrong...I love Hondas but the opposition are taking them to task in a lot of areas.  Pity it's not in the after sales servicing and parts tho

On 09/04/2018 at 3:28 AM, tinathomas947 said:

Aprilia RS4 125

Wow!  Sweet looking bike for a 125 screamer.  Hate to imagine the Thai price tag....even worse to see some idiot kid on one.

They would be sure to beat every red light.

But it's still a nice looking road bike.

I have a Fijian friend who was over from Australia a few weeks back.

 His Thai girlfriend bought him a new CB150R for his birthday (Although he is the one paying it off!).  Its a nice enough looking bike but as  Fijian he is just too big for it.

He looks like a gorilla in a circus act and the helmet he has got is way to small. Quite comical to watch actually.

To me this bike looks like a pregnant MSX. Honda seems to do that a lot. PCX and Forza being the other paring.

On 05/02/2018 at 12:40 AM, Familyonthemove said:

The new BMW GS310 was at the Bangkok Motorcycle Festival.

 

219,000 THB 

 

I saw one on the 107 in Chiang Mai a few days ago.  Very nice looking bike and at that price quite reasonable.

Sure to give the 300 Versys a run for its money!

I would think that the cigarette type power sockets installed on bikes do have a limit as to how much power they will provide.

They will all be 12v but the amperage can differ.  It depends partially on wire gauge used and fuzes installed.

Those little compressors can 'suck' a bit of power and some of the cheaper ones have very small gauge leads that heat up when under load.

I'd be very hesitant on using a compressor via cigarette type plug unless I knew the rest of the configuration ie wiring.  If the fuse doesn't blow then the risk is that your wiring may catch fire.....not a good scenerio.

On bikes I'd rather carry a can of tyre 'pando' or something similar.

Yes I saw them in Honda Big Wing Chiang Mai a few days ago.  They look uncanningly like a big version of their MSX.

Just like the Forza and the PCX.  IMHO the 100k price tag is a bit over the top.

I had a quick look around Pops Rentals today, my oh my they do have a selection to choose from.  Saw a green coloured XMax 300 next to an orange Forza.  They did look similar but the XMax looks to be a bit slimmer.  Overall finish again Id go the XMax.

At 1200 baht a day I think Id pick a bigger CC bike, but then I suppose it depends what you want the bike for.  Pops even had a Royal Enfield 500 for rent at 1500 a day.  I was hoping to find a CB500F but alas its not one of their choices...650F aplenty as well as the 500X.

Lots of their bikes appear to be pre-booked....the high season is approaching fast.  And the weather is cooling down quite a bit in Chiang Mai too.

On 9/14/2017 at 11:08 AM, idman said:

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.

 I would think that if this model proves to be popular it wont be long before a huge range of accessories appear on the market.

If however you are one of the first to own one, there are lots of local welding fabricators about who should be  able and willing to 'knock up' a rack to fit.  Out Mae Rim way I know of a local shop that makes stainless steel exhaust systems for bikes, they also do aluminium welding.  Very good quality welders that dont charge like a wounded bull.

I'll wait till 'Pops' get some in as rentals and take one for a spin to see if they are all they are cracked up to be first.

Looks like a modified mslaz....surely Suzuki can design something different

And a rather fast lounge chair at that (I would imagine)

A very big downpour in Mae Rim. Klong in front of house burst its banks...yet again.  keep telling the missus to get bigger culvit pipes and that will stop the overflow from coming into our yard.

Maybe next big rain lah!

Yes I think they do...its called a butter box!

We to a further update.... I went into town today (Chiang Mai) and brought a new ethernet cable.  

A blog on the CM forum directed me to a shop that makes and sells cable of better quality but about the same price as bog standard Tesco lotus stuff!

My what a difference that made. Mobdro is running better with a lot less drop outs.

A mate also lent me an updated/spec'd android box running Android 6.  Wow.....it's quick.  Opens up so fast. I gotta get me one.

4.4.4 just doesn't cut the mustard any longer.

All happy here now!

I believe it is a paid subscription from the UK. The box looks pretty much like the bog standard boxes we get here....didn't go into the mechanics of it so unsure what version of whatever is running.

But my main point is this.... mobdro although free is not doing the job it once did.  As many people say, you sometimes gets what you pay for.

This paid subscription from the UK looks pretty damn fine IMHO. And at 6000 baht a year is quite palatable.

I and a few other expats around the area have been having quite a few problems with Mobdro of late.  Very erratic streaming and at times any particular stream will just disappear for a while.

e.g. you may be watching Discovery Turbo and then it begins to freeze.  If you go out of the stream an attempt to 'hook' onto a different stream then sometimes the logo for Discovery Turbo disappears too.  This can be very frustrating.  Ive tried the VPN route as suggested but it didnt make much difference.

Seems possible that those providing the stream maybe over-run with 'customers' and bandwith or whatever they use cant cope.

Im sticking/perservering with it for the moment...partially cause its still free but may in the not too distant future fork out 6k a year and get a box from the UK.  A mate down in Hua Hin got one a few months back. Initial cost was a bit more as he had to pay for the new box but the selection of movies/live sports etc was very good and most are in HD.

I was down his way a week ago and was very impressed with the quality of picture and his details of 24hr service from the providers.

I'll try and find out more details and post later

Looks like you could make it out of lego blocks! Very quirky design

Well in the end I didnt need a VPN.  I though Id try the other forgotten about remedy and just pulled the power cord out from the Android box. Waited about 30 seconds and put it back in.

The box rebooted itself and after resetting the time and date it was back to business as usual.  I still have a few problems but I think that has to do with the ethernet cable....I think its getting corroded at the ends.  Tried contact cleaner and that worked for about a week.  Time to get a new cable methinks.

The All Blacks vs British and Irish Lions rugby game was great...next weekend is round 2 and I look forward to another great display of rugger.

Yes I have looked at/into Rugby Pass a few times.  Funny thing a few weeks ago I was looking for a stream of a certain rugby game and up popped some South African site that gave free streaming live.

The quality was fine as was the ice cold beer as I sat there watching the game....sometimes the best things in life are free!

Cheers for that Crossy, looks like I may have to get a VPN as I watch a lot of rugby on Sky Sports.  I have also noticed that all the Discovery channels have been very hard to stream onto.  This has just occurred in the last few days.

Very annoying... at first I was about to put a hammer thru the box (Its a bit old anyways) but then I decided to check here to see if others are having the same problems.

I managed to get Sky sport 3 just a few minutes ago but most of the streams via the channels selection arent available.

Big game on Saturday  British and Irish Lions vs the All Blacks, cant miss that.

I heard that the pigs refused to go!

Where abouts is this pig farm? I've never seen it (Nor smelt it).  However I have had the unfortunate luck to get stuck behind one of those food refuse trucks.

The ones that leak fluid over the road, not nice when riding a bike and the smell is over the top too.

For those that live next to this pig farm, I hope your dreams come true and they move.  Especially if you were there first and they suddenly opened up next to you.

I suppose in Thailand you can only do so much due diligence and city planning isn't that reliable  (If it exists at all!)

I had to go into the big smoke of Chiang Mai city today on the missus's little DTracker 150, that in itself isnt too big of a problem. Albeit Im a fat bastard on a small bike!

At the intersection of the Super Highway a even bigger Thai guy pulls up on a 2017 Suzuki GSX- S750.  My my my....now that bike looked so good.  I was so envious.  I gave him the thumbs up which he acknowledged and away he went.

First time Id seen this bike...any feedback on it (The GSX).   I remember the GSX bikes of the 80's...bloody big heavy bikes in those days.  This newer model looks very nice.

Im still waitining on the local rental places to stock the Yamaha MT07 so I can try one of those out for a spin.