JustAnotherFarang

Yes they are Michelin Street Pilots. I bought the R3 and for the first 100km or so I was not so sure about them but as my confidence grew and they wore in they have performed beautifully.

JAF

Time to get some new amulets because the ones that he has obviously do not protect him from deceiving others.

JAF

Most thais learn to follow and they are happy to go with the flow because it means they do not need to think too much. Those that question where they are going are considered to be the rocks in the way of the governments progress. Suppression through conformity is the name of the game when it comes to educating the children of tomorrow.

I say to my students that if you tolerate this, then your children will be next.

JAF

So what petrol should I be putting into my bike. I have been asking for 95 but I am not sure if thats a better fuel than 91. Did not see much of a price difference and want to put the best fuel in my bike.

JAF

T.I.T.

Another 140km trip today and I have to say that the the more I ride this bike, the better it feels. At first I was a little timid into corners and around bends but the faster I go, the safer it feels and of course, its more fun too. Here are the photos of my trip to the beach near Ranong.

JAF

If it did not have ABS at this price I would not have bought it and would have bought the Honda instead. I feel more confident in the front brake knowing that its unlikely to lock up in an emergency.

JAF

I agree with the poster above, had mine for 2 days and its just great fun and really comfortable too. I have done 190km overall with a 140 km trip this afternoon where the bike behaved impeccably. Still getting used to taking the tighter corners at speed but on the straights and bends its just flies along.

JAF

Where are THE photos?? or we don't believe you

I didnt take any photos as its just a stock bike and I was too busy twisting the throttle to stop, point and click some pictures. But in the next few days I will be taking it out for a longer ride and will stop occasionally for some snapshots of the beautiful south. What I can say is that it is fast, smooth and really great fun for what is a beginners bike.

On a side note, everything seems perfect but there is a strange slight burning smell coming from the exhaust. Hard to explain but it smells a little like chemicals. Is this normal on a day one bike ?

JAF

Just been on my first ride, 50 km through winding mountain roads and I must say, Wow, so impressively smooth, balanced and when climbing up the mountain roads, exhilarating with so much acceleration to spare. I never realised biking was this much fun until today.

Now I will plan to take a few days off work and go riding upto Chumphon. Happy happy, joy joy

JAF

The R-3 is worthy of a review...

I will pick up my R3 tomorrow and will be happy to contribute a review albeit it will come from a beginners point of view as it is my first big(ger) bike.

JAF

I am going to buy two sets of protective gear, one simple mesh with guards all around the top half of the body and some protective knee guards that bend with the knee. This I will use around my province. The second set will be a proper protective jacket and trousers with shoes as well for travelling further afield. I like the Taichi stuff from KSpeed and the price is reasonable too

For the helmet, I want to get the Yamaha R3 series but the guy says I will have to order it online so for now I will make do with my full face moto cross helmet. I might just get a helmet and accessories from these guys on Facebook as their prices are very competitive

https://www.facebook.com/Mspeedbikeshop

JAF

The guy in the shop recommended the Yamaha helmet and said it costs about 2000 bht but he did not have any pictures or brochures to show me. I will pick up the bike on Tuesday and I will ask him to get me a colour coded helmet to look at.

Cheers

JAF

I have to buy what I need online as I live down south. I checked out Lazada and bought a few things like knee protectors, body armour, gloves and bike cover. The other bits like tail tidy, rear mud guard and slider bars will be from one of the shops shown above. I will also buy the R3 helmet from Yamaha but cannot find the designs online to see which one I would like

JAF

Well I made my decision and went for the Yamaha R3 because it just offers more power and refinement. I chose the blue and silver option and got free registration, tax and insurance thrown in as well. Now all I have to do is renew my old bike licence (about 2 years out of date) and hope that they will give me a 5 year licence before I am off and running on the roads again. Thanks to everyone for contributing to this thread. It helped me to think and think again before I splashed out the cash today

So now I am in the market for after sales parts like slider bars and protective gear such as gloves, helmet and accessories. Can anyone point me in the right direction on the local thai/english websites

Cheers

JAF

Thats the only thing holding me back from buying the R3 at the moment.....the fear factor because of its size and power. I feel I would be more comfortable on the CB300 F and it also comes with abs as standard but reading that I will get bored of it quickly makes me think that the R3 is the better buy for longer term enjoyment. I am not likely to chop and change bikes, this will be a one time deal for long term ownership.

JAF

I think it was more to do with the seat on the R15 seemingly higher and elevated to push you forward. I could be wrong but I went to the Honda shop about 20 metres away and tried their bikes for size again. I do prefer the seating on the cb300 f but the fairing and style of the cbr300 seems more pleasing to the eye. I passed by the Yamaha shop as I walked back to my car and passed a wistful eye on the R3. Its a beautiful beast by comparison to the Hondas that look rather ordinary by comparison. What I really need is a test ride but in the one horse town that I live in, thats unlikely to happen

JAF

I went and checked the Yamaha R3 today and was impressed with it a lot. The seating was comfortable and the overall design was impressive but the price tag of 189,000 was a lot more than expected. Also seen the R 15 which looked great in the new blue racing colours but my neck started hurting almost straight away because of the lower angled bars and the higher seat. The price was 88,000 which is a lot cheaper and gets me wondering why for another 170 cc the R3 is more than twice the price of the R15. Really torn as to which way to go

Decisions decisions decisions

JAF

When I sat on the two bikes I did not notice much in the difference to be honest but that might be down to the fact that I am 183 cm with long monkey arms. Both felt comfortable but the test is in the riding I suppose.

I am also looking at the Yamaha R3 which I had previously overlooked. It seems that it has considerably more power and better tires but I cannot seem to find a new price to compare it with. The only price I have seen is 163,000 bht. Is it still the same price today.

Sorry for all the questions and queries, hard to get my head around which bike will be the best buy for me

JAF

I did not ask about the price of the red/white model because my thai is passable but their english was very poor. I was just dipping my toe in the water and wanted to come back and talk on the forum instead. RRP of the cb300 f is 130,000, they wanted 1000 baht more and 1,900 bht more than the RRP for the Repsol. If the red/white model is cheaper I think I might just go for that instead as it just looks better imo.

JAF

I went to the local dealers today and checked out the Honda CB300 F which was bigger and nicer than I thought it would be. Seat was a little hard though but maybe thats because I tend to sit in a padded chair most of the day going nowhere. I asked for the price and they said it was 131,000 which didnt seem so bad. But right next too it was the CBR 300 with the Repsol fairing and that was priced at 136,900. To my eyes, it seemed that the better deal is the CR300 because you get the sports fairing, twin headlightsl and coloured wheels albeit I think I would go for the red, white and blue model at that price.

JAF

Will do and thanks once again to all the posters who replied. Very informative and friendly advice received from everyone

Cheers

JAF

I do like the look of the cb 300f and I think for the extra 25,000 I will enjoy it more knowing the bike and its history is mine. Amusements also said that I can pay 5000 bht for 3 years full insurance. I will just have to wait until Monday to go and look at the local dealers

JAF

CB300f should still be around 130k new and 5k for 3 years full insurance? After 6 months on one, you probably wouldn't think twice about getting something more powerful, but its a great bike for the money. Not sure how much the 500's are though, as the Honda shops near me only sell 300's and under.

I thought they were more expensive and was considering paying 105,000 for a 2nd hand model with 5000 km on it. For the sake of another 25,000 I might as well buy it new. Is there anything else worth considering at that price?

JAF

Thanks once again for the sound advice. I am now looking at the CB300 which seems more suitable and less challenging entry point. What is the retail price of the CB300 and the CB500 as I might just buy it new. Will also take a look at the Kawasakis too

Cheers

JAF