cm das

Could be a dealer thing but the Honda dealer we bought our Wave at suggested

gasohol 95 or benz for at least the first 500km then 91 or 95

I have always run gasohol 95 minimum in both the wave & the N250

But as you said it is running fine on the 91

I specifically asked about this before I left Big Wing. I was told that the engine was made to run on gasohol 91. He said I could use 95 but that 91 would be better. Unless I start to see any problems I'll stick with the 91.

A little more to report on my CB500F: I'm doing the soft break in so I'm not pushing the bike hard at all. Still, on the open road it feels like the bike wants me to open it up. This seems like a very easy bike to get to know. Balance, breaking, acceleration... everything already seems familiar and sure. I've been running it on 91 gasohol and the engine seems very happy. When it comes to fit and finish I have no complaints. Not much more to say at this point really. I just tried to upload pics but I'm having some trouble. I'll try again a little later.

Sorry, yes, a Bloody Mary. A good brunch with Eggs Benedict, smoked salmon, waffles, cheeses and such might make drinking so early more acceptable.

Umm, we're talking about the Super Bowl, right? What happened to beer, nachos, pizza, etc? Yeah I know the game starts early in the morning here but bloody marys & eggs benedict for the Super Bowl? Doesnt seem quite right

Delivery of the first big batch of new 500s in Chiang Mai will be happening within the next few days (according to the manager in a phone call this morning). I'd imagine that the service department will open around the same time. After all, next month is now only 2 days away. Still, as Mania suggested it'd be a good idea to check before coming down from Chiang Rai.

Yep, I've seen them many times up north as well. Always 2 guys wearing identical dark trousers & jackets with full face helmets. I heard the same story too - debt collectors.

Sometime last year they put up a sign at that corner saying, in Thai, that you have to wait for the green light to turn left.

Ah...so there is a recently posted sign. Had a couple of Thais in the car with me when I was pulled over who told the cop they hadn't seen the sign either. (No surprise there).

Yep, its a pretty small sign but it's there. I still sometimes forget about it. Last time I was there it was only the sight of the police roadblock around the corner that made me remember.

I have just been stopped on my bike (at a road block in town)....the reason being I turned left on a red light!? Anyone had that excuse before? Given a ticket and he kept my licence, so no way out of the fine.

Got a ticket for not having my turn signal on while turning left (on a red light) the other day. Cop didn't say anything about turning on the red light; only not having the lights on. Happend while turning left on to Thapae from Chang Klan. The cop said there was a sign posted. I've never seen it before. Yup, took my license too. Doesn't say how much the ticket is but I never pay more than 100 THB for any ticket.

Turning left onto Thapae from Changklan Rd you say. It would seem that prior to your turn, you were also braving the wrong direction on a one way street... Are you sure you have your streets sorted out?

Ah...sorry my mistake. Coming from the street behind the Night Bazaar where Pornping Hotel is. At the intersection, Thapae to the left, Sapaan Narawat to the right.

Sometime last year they put up a sign at that corner saying, in Thai, that you have to wait for the green light to turn left.

It may be, but it may not be your fax machine. If you can receive faxes from other sources there might be another problem. Say you use some "professional" fax machine number and the missing fax comes through. That does mean, ipso facto, you machine was the problem. It may only mean the originator finally managed to send it correctly.

Can the bank send it to you attached to an email as a PDF file? My bank will do that. And that would be a preferred method as the quality of fax outputs vary so much even if you disregard the quality of the fax at the origination. Even if it is a form you have to sign and return: get it as a PDF, sign, scan, return the original, email the scanned copy.

Good idea, where possibly.

- No costs of phone (fax) calls.

- Atached to an e-mail gives youa paper trail and easily filed inot your own PC / notebook files.

- If the bank / whoever will convert to PDF before they send then you have some protection against bank saying someone altered the data etc.

AFAIK Faxes are still considered legally sound, whereas electronic data is not unless some fairly strict protocols are followed.

For a start, it is very easy to alter a PDF file (and to unlock it if it's locked).

It's also very easy to fake an email.

Which is exactly why Swiss Banks still only use faxing as a method of correspondence with clients about their accounts; particularly when sending account data, authorizations for stock sales or purchases, etc.

And which is why my bank confirmed to me that they will only use fax for my current business with them.

I have had similar issues and usually it has turned out that the sender, it this case your US Bank, is the source of the problem. They are not familiar with international dialing protocol and often their phones are blocked from making international calls and the employees do not know that. Putting a zero before the 66 country code or the 53 area code will usually foul up an international call to Thailand.

Yes, I suspect that the problem is over there, not here, but it's not a dialing error. My fax machine rings & picks up automatically. It says it is printing the fax but nothing happens for a minute. Then I get a generic error message. The same thing happened at the other local fax number. There's obviously a glitch somewhere. It's odd that regular calls over the same line go through fine in both directions but the fax won't.

For some reason I'm having trouble receiving faxes from my bank in the US. Faxes sent to either my home fax number or that of a resort down the road aren't going through. Does anyone know of a place in Chiang Mai that will receive and hold faxes? I don't mind paying a little for the privilege. But I'm looking for someplace professional & responsible since the documents involved contain sensitive personal information. Thanks.

No Luck. In 2nd gear the bike wasn't even close to starting. 3rd was more promising but it seemed like I couldn't get the bike going fast enough. So, given that there's no hill nearby (not a paved one at least) & given that there's no bike repair shop within pushing distance, what are my options other than going to buy a new battery & installing it myself (can't be that hard, right)?

Thanks for the replies, guys.

So I left the key in my bike on in the "on' position for a few hours & now have a dead battery. I made a halfhearted attempt at a push start but it didn't work. Since then I did some searching & found tips like trying to use 2nd gear instead of 1st gear. Any other advice out there? Do I need to hit the start button as well or just drop it into gear once it's rolling? And yes, I do plan on being on the bike when I try this.

As of yesterday, 24 Dec 2012; Due to a new change in taxes, which is being debated in many posts and websites, the following prices are being quoted by Honda Big Wing Chiang Mai.

CB500F 205,000 Down Payment 48,000

CB500R 210,000 50,000

CB500X 215,000 52,000

Please don't ask me "why" on any of this. I am just copying from the price list they gave me.

I can confirm this. I was in Big Wing Chiang Mai today to order a CB500F. I don't know about downpayments for financing but to reserve my bike I had to put down only a 3,000 Baht deposit.

Just put down a deposit on a CBF at Big Wing Chiang Mai & today, Christmas day, the price is 205,000. Who knows what it'll be tomorrow.

I see the new prices are here already:(

Did I miss something? Where are the new prices listed?

I heard there's a 10k, too?

Yes, a 10k and a half-marathon. Wish I wasn't injured.

Really? That's impressive, don't remember when I looked at it but it was sometime within the last month and there were some basic things missing... like walls... true they could open when it's not 100% ready yet.

You know I think they are going to make it.

Was there this morning about 10:30

Cameras set up

Tables being set up outside

Inside looked like they were serving coffee etc.

Outside looked like some new 500's under cover as I could

see at least one or two were twins

Inside CBR1000rr near window.

Will go back later today & have a look.

I went to check at 12:30. They are scrambling to get ready for a 4:00pm opening today. Unfortunately I can't make it then. The listed opening hours are as follows:

Monday-Saturday 8:00-17:00

Sunday 15:00-22:00

I probably won't have a chance to go til Christmas morning, which could be a very appropriate time for a visit.

Well here in Chiang Mai we can relax in the knowledge that the Big Wing building itself isn't going to be finished for another few months.

This poster said Big Wing told him 22nd of December

http://www.thaivisa....75#entry5938739

Personally have not been by to see the progress.

Is it suppose to be near Thapae Gate?

I saw that Dec. 22 date mentioned too & so went to have a look at the site yesterday (Dec. 20). It looks surprisingly close to being ready given the state of things on my last visit at the beginning of the month but I think it would take a small miracle for the showroom to be finished by tomorrow. Still I imagine they could hold some kind of opening even if work isn't 100% done. I plan on swinging by again on the 22nd just in case, and yes the location is on Ratchdamnoen, about 50m or so inside Thapae Gate.

The Samoeng loop is a nice half day ride (including stops) on a scooter or motorcycle. It's an even nicer full day trip on a bicycle.

Niyom Panich is the one between the southwest corner of the moat and Airport Plaza. They are a big Honda dealer with a large selcetion & I never had anything but good service there but they do also sell Suzuki and Vespa scooters.