revgreen

I have it on good authority that the Thai Army are building an indoor driving range.

Unrelated, but... there's currently an outdoor range by the golf course, right? Anyone know hours and prices?

I've always seen quite a few students hanging at Central Phitso. None really buy much except for food though - I imagine a Central here would have the same fate. After school hangout more or less.

lol so why offer in the first place? Whatever dude. Thanks anyway.

So is that a no-go?

I was hoping to find something around 2k per month.

Yeah - no luck from anywhere when I first got here about 8 months ago, so I bought a bike. Just sold it yesterday as I'll be moving next year and the price was too good to hold out on. Wasn't sure if maybe I overlooked something back when I first searched.

Shit.

Any options? Need something on a monthly basis.

I have used a night bus to come home ,about 4 hour journey,for me ,total bus journey time 6 hours ,Lomsak to Bangkok ,half an hour before I get off, he stops for a 30- 40 minute break ,I need that like a hole in the head,but call it sods law.

I regularly go Phetchabun -> BKK back and ime the night bus never stops for a break? Still about 5.5 or so hours though.

drive around with these souped up exhausts deafening people

I would say you sound like my grandpa, but even he can appreciate when a bikes sounds good.

So instead you just sound like my grandma.

Depends what you call good.. there are bikes around here (under 250cc) that sound so loud you would think a group of HD's are revving up. I once stood in traffic next to an other ninja 650 he had an exhaust that hurt my ears. So it really depends. I have no idea what he exactly means but there are a lot of gradations of sound and as a bike lover I have heard quite a few that are far too loud.

Of course there is 'too loud'. Somchai slapping a 1500 baht slip-on on is CBR 150 isn't going to sound good. But there are plenty of bikes that sound great (without sounding obnoxious) with aftermarket parts that may be be a bit louder than stock.

drive around with these souped up exhausts deafening people

I would say you sound like my grandpa, but even he can appreciate when a bikes sounds good.

So instead you just sound like my grandma.

So I went for the Ninja 250.

I'm glad I did. It is way more fun on the road than the Phantom ever was. Tires that came on it are crap, looks like they've never been changed. So changing is my first order of business..

But man.. as I was driving the 250 away they were wheeling out a fresh green 300 SE. My heart aches.

Just spent my first day on my Ninja 250 - absolutely love it so far. Great in and out of traffic, though my town isn't remotely comparable to BKK.

I'll never understand the 2 deep parking here... even when I'm on my little Honda Click it's still impossible to get out of the front row most of the time.

Oh and the other thing - I often catch people sitting on my bike taking pictures. That gets me too

My CRF250 was ordered out of the 'big bike' area at Central Festering in Chiang Mai - the sign did actually say 'Over 500cc'.

I noticed the sign at Central Airport says 'Over 200cc'.

If it says over 500cc then yes you were wrong. Must hurt for loads of the 500cc guys. I would say anything over 250 is big though 250 is a nice bike for sure.

The thing is even a 250cc costs 2-3 times (or way more depending on the bike) as much as most the scooters you see. Plus the scooters tend to jam in making it difficult to get a bigger bike out of the parking spot. I wouldn't want my bike crammed in or bumped into. At least surrounded by other 'big bikes' that isn't a worry.

I know owned a 250 before. But rules are rules else the big bike section gets too crowded and the bigger bikes have no room they are even more expensive and heavier in weight.

I'd be okay if it wasn't for the cramming in. People on scooters don't realize that a bigger bike needs a lot more room to maneuver in and out of parking. They just see it leaned over and park as close as possible without realizing that once it stands back up it needs a lot more room.

My CRF250 was ordered out of the 'big bike' area at Central Festering in Chiang Mai - the sign did actually say 'Over 500cc'.

I noticed the sign at Central Airport says 'Over 200cc'.

If it says over 500cc then yes you were wrong. Must hurt for loads of the 500cc guys. I would say anything over 250 is big though 250 is a nice bike for sure.

The thing is even a 250cc costs 2-3 times (or way more depending on the bike) as much as most the scooters you see. Plus the scooters tend to jam in making it difficult to get a bigger bike out of the parking spot. I wouldn't want my bike crammed in or bumped into. At least surrounded by other 'big bikes' that isn't a worry.

Wow. Buying mine was painless. Just had to have a Thai person there for some translation.

Plus I got crap helmet, crap jacket, AND, crap gloves.

Friend of mine got 1000 knocked off when he bought his. That's the most I've heard of.

Yeah no ABS on the Kawa. From my understanding the Ninja 250 will outperform the CBR 250 easily. CBR has more low-end, but the Ninja will leave it far behind in the long run.

I was in a hurry when I went to look, didn't snap any.

Same price as a CBR 250 (just twice as many miles). I'd be able to pay it off fully fairly quickly, then hopefully break even when I resell.

So the newly arrived Ninja is a 2012 FI model. 12000 km. Tires look new (though they're the crappy Road Warrior stock tires which I'll swap soon), brakes seem alright. Everything seems to be in decent shape. Doesn't look as good as the 300 imo, and I'm not crazy about the decals (which I'd probably remove) but the white color is nice. Took it for a small test drive (just through the parking lot) but I'll take it out on the road before buying.

87k total. Which is a good bit less than I wanted to spend.

Worth it?

http://autobikegallery.com/2011-kawasaki-ninja-250r/2011-kawasaki-ninja-250r-white-front-angle/ <- that's the bike.

Looks like it's a 2011, not 2012. But it's definitely FI either way.. There is a FI light on the instrument panel.

Yup!

It's amazing the fun you can have on 150cc.

Everyday for me: town & country.

More often than not I'd prefer a 250 over a 600+. More fun to flick around, plus you can run the pants off of it. And they're much cheaper if you happen to dump it

Which is exactly why I'm not trying to buy a huge bike only to turn around and sell it when I leave.

A 300 would be perfect. Good price and more than enough to have fun on while I'm here.

250 would honestly be okay I'm sure, I'm just stubborn at this point.

Eh, by the time I can afford that I'll be long gone from Thailand.