BKKBike09

I never really cared for the Bros but it was pretty popular here. Mid 90s here I had a Kwak FX400R. First bike I had here - in 1989 - was a CB400T (this being it, no less) I always liked the styling of the Kawa:

Aren't the marketer's embarrassed to have to say it produces "almost" 40 hp and "almost" 38 nm torque ... what's next, "with a top speed of almost 70 mph"! For 'not exciting but very functional' from the 80s and 90s I'd shoot for a CX500, although frankly any Honda will fit that description (except maybe an NS400R or an RC30)

Enough of the 'botched surgery'. Wasn't like it was exactly a clean break of a minor bone. Plus will competitive kick boxing will ever be a good idea with that level of damage? https://geyser.fund/project/connormcbridesrevisionsurgeryfundraiser

You'd really need to compare vehicles modified to run on LPG with vehicles modified to run on batteries for an accurate assessment. LPG is particularly dangerous because it's heavier than air, so it can pool in a confined space rather than disperse. "Everything was done according to the rules" ... never inspires much confidence in Thailand. Think of the annual 'safety inspection' to renew tax for vehicles aged 7 years or more. "Does it start, Somchai?"; "Yes"; "Okay, pass". Here are the stats for car fires per year, in Bangkok only (from an article in Thai quoting chief of Bangkok's Office of Disaster Prevention & Mitigation, who highlighted risk of LPG modifications): 2010 - 205 2011 - 200 2012 - 221 2013 - 230 2014 - 221 https://d.dailynews.co.th/bangkok/302193/

^ +1 In a country over-run with stray dogs (and cats) I couldn't in good conscience buy one. If you must buy one, I agree 100% with not buying from Chatujak or a puppy mill, but this puff piece seems to be for a broker, not for an in-house breeding operation. If you're not allowed to visit the breeder, it's all on trust that they are responsible and ethical.

So ... a nine year old car has a problem caused by its 12V battery, which is fixed by swapping it for a new one? And main power battery has a lease guarantee that when its storage capacity drops below 75%, it's a free upgrade to get it back to 90%+? Sounds terrible ... I'll grant you 'Electric Failure DANGER' would get the pulse going, but then that's not really any different from my ICE flashing a warning light that's a little engine for a basically irrelevant catalytic converter issue. I bet your TransAm would have thrown up loads of warnings and codes etc ... if it had more electrics than ignition and a push button radio (or maybe an 8-track?).

Thailand at its worst. If ever there was a more deserving case for GoFundMe ... although at least the Pattaya News story has details of the brother's bank account.

All this reminds me of Fawlty Towers: "I was just talking with my wife. We were just wondering, how often do you manage it? It must be so difficult to find the time?" [questioner means how often do Basil and Sybil have a holiday] "Well if you must know, a couple of times a week. We're quite normal here in Torquay you know" [Basil's response, because the questioner is a psychiatrist, so he assumes it must be about sex - the response made all the more amusing because he and Sybil are well into their 40s.]

Prospective BYD Dolphin owners might want to take note that it doesn't appear the daft 'BUILD YOUR DREAMS' badging can be easily removed, as I see it sits under a clear perspex cover. At least on the Atto you can remove it with a chisel and sandpaper (or dental floss and a rubber buffing wheel, if you prefer). Not sure I could live with it on the back of any car I owned.

Actually I think I'm okay with that concept, chief. Now how's about you address the topic at hand, namely that different types of battery chemistry react differently to external shocks, whether thermic, kinetic or whatever. Or are you claiming that a battery is a battery is a battery?

I still disagree with the "any battery type" as all the literature I've read / videos I've watched strongly supports the view that, compared to Lithium Ion batteries, LFP batteries a) are much less prone to thermal runaway; b) that if thermal runaway does occur, it reaches much lower temperatures (c. 500 C. - still hot, of course); and c) that LFP thermal runaway does not typically involve self-combustion. Basically the battery can get hot, it may rupture and vent gases, but it will not normally catch fire without an ignition source.

If I may .... I agree with you in respect of the greater intensity of an EV battery fire compared to an ICE fire. I think it is statistically unlikely to happen, but if it does, it is undeniably very bad news and results in a major blaze, in very short order, that is hard to extinguish. However, I'm not sure why you say "it is almost certain both fires were started by EVs"? If you said "it is almost certain that, once the fire started, regardless of cause, if EVs then combusted, the ensuing blaze would have been intense". As to what started those fires - an electrical short circuit can cause a fire anywhere (just look at how many fires are caused in Thai homes by short circuits). The trend these days is for more and more electronics in cars, whether EV or ICE, so statistically the risk of short circuit likely increases for both. It's also important to note that an EVs low power systems are invariably supplied by a standard 12/24V lead acid battery because it's cheaper - and safer - than some sort of step-down system drawing from a 400 or 800V main cell. The basic electrical system (locks, windows, wipers, ignition etc) is isolated from the main power cell, so a short in the former shouldn't affect the latter. I'm not sure how a main power cell would short if not subjected to some form of damage. Also, do you accept that the risk of thermal runaway - especially leading to spontaneous combustion - is much, much lower with LiFePO4 (FFP) chemistry batteries? If you don't accept this, why? Similarly - and correct me if I am wrong - but your comment "EV fires supply their own fuel and oxygen" relates to older Lithion Ion battery chemistry (which I will agree is still what powers most EVs on the road at the moment), where decomposition of the cobalt oxide or manganese oxide in the cathode is what generates the 'in-house' O2 supply. LFP batteries use lithium iron phosphate as the cathode material - again my understanding is that the oxygen component is too tightly bound for combustion even in thermal run-away.

I downloaded it from BYD NZ. The Thai language manual is actually a translation of this, so it talks about stuff the TH market cars don't have (eg heated seats and dynamic range display, as opposed to the factory predicted range remaining).

It's a good question. I think driving through flood water is one thing, letting any car stand in it for hours is another. The BKK deluge a few weeks back had me nervous. Water got up to the sills on my EV; it was over the exhaust pipe on the wife's car, although by then I'd sealed it with plastic bags and rubber bands. Water in the soi was much deeper so no option of driving to higher ground. However EV seems fine and no sign of any corrosion that I can see with torch / mirror on a stock etc. Hasn't thrown up any error messages. Owners' manual says "The motor will be seriously damaged if it is submerged when crossing a flooded area. Such damaged is not covered by the vehicle's warranty. Other systems like transmission, driving and electrical may also be seriously damaged upon submersion. Such damage is not covered by the vehicle's warranty either." But it also says: "Do not drive in flooded areas where water is deeper than half the tire height."

I did try to watch through to the end but felt he was taking 20 mins to say what could be said in 5 mins. The rambling to one side, he has a valid point: that while EV fires are actually quite rare, they're bad news when they do happen, especially in confined spaces. However, there's no discussion about the different types of battery chemistry. Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP - LiFePO4) technology is much less prone to thermal runaway than the various types of Lithium Ion battery, whether caused by charging issues / heat or physical damage eg rupture of some sort. This experiment is a good example - drilling holes in an LFP battery to see what happens (a Lithium Ion battery went straight to thermal runaway). Here's the Lithium Ion test. Scary! My EV (BYD) has an LFP battery, which was one of the major selling points for me. There are lots of good things about driving an EV but one should never forget that a battery stores a huge amount of energy.

It's all very rum. The video can be found here: https://www.bangkokbiznews.com/news/news-update/1081535 It's not 'a group of foreign mafia'. There's only one man - who does have a gun - and other people turn up on scooters and go and join the group of detainees. The gunman is also aided, it seems, by a local 'attack dog'.

Of course, the obsession with not upsetting minority groups through use of the "wrong" pronouns does sometimes produce unintentional comedy classics: "Bonus hole – An alternative word for the vagina preferred by some trans men and/or non-binary people with a cervix. It is important to check which words someone would prefer to use." https://www.jostrust.org.uk/professionals/health-professionals/nurse-gp/trans-non-binary/language

It's the truth. Ron DeSantis 'Will Destroy Our Democracy,' Says Fascism Expert (newsweek.com) Er - that article actually says of the 'Fascism expert': "While not directly describing DeSantis as a fascist ..." If he's really a fascist, why doesn't the expert just say that?

Snakeskin boots! That's surely not very PC.

'Bob' is part of the white male patriarchy that dominates modern Western society. However, after participating in (compulsory) diversity & inclusion training, he is now more highly attuned to white fragility and his complicity in historical ills such as slavery (his great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, 'Old Bob', bought some sugar from the West Indies in 1786). In fact, Bob is currently transitioning and it is now more correct to say "Bob's your Aunt".

I see BYD have a fancy web site in English (it may have been up for ages, but I only just noticed it). It's quite impressive - not just knocked up in an afternoon 'because we need to have a web site'. https://www.byd.com/en-th/car/atto3

It's a TBM930 - he had a different TBM before this one.

I don't think we were getting 178hp per litre 100 years ago. ???? No, we weren't. However I said: "Today's ICE represents 100+ years of evolution - but it's still basically 100+ year old tech". The 100+ years of evolution may give 178bhp/l but an ICE is still at heart a 100+ year old technology - some method of mixing/compressing fuel and air, igniting that, harnessing the explosive energy and disposing of the waste gases.

Thanks, but we'll have to agree to disagree on the current industry status in that I believe 1) EVs are by no means 'fairly perfected at this point', and 2) batteries need a lot more than a 'tweak' to improve range etc. But all that will come, and come pretty fast. I suspect that in a generation (20 years) people will look at mainstream Lithium / Nickel / Cobalt EV battery tech as belonging in a museum. It also doesn't help that global reserves of key current ores are concentrated in places like DRC, Russia and China. Seems like some pretty amazing ideas being explored right now: https://www.netscribes.com/ev-battery-technology-evolution/ https://www.azocleantech.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1651

I like driving cars / bikes fast. That's invariably meant ICE powered. Today's ICE represents 100+ years of evolution - but it's still basically 100+ year old tech. Massive amounts of money and brainpower are being focused, globally, on the EV industry and frankly it's all still early days. But I'm sure an EV brought to market 10 years from now will be hugely different from an EV on the market today in terms of battery capacity, charging time and safety. Even three years ago I couldn't conceive of buying an EV. Now I have a cheap(ish) Chinese one and I'm generally very impressed. Sure it doesn't have the fueling convenience of an ICE but I'm coming round to the understanding that this just requires a little planning, and that many other features of an EV ride offset this considerably. IMO tech and the times are moving on. That also means there's many new drivers who'll not have ICE experience, so will just accept the EV experience as the way things are. Can't resist the march of progress and all that.