bkksteve123

Would be very interesting to see how they actually gather the data and make these estimates.

The arrivals should be rather straight-forward, but to calculate the spend per tourist and total tourist $ is essentially impossible. It also seems a bit strange that spend per tourist is UP, when the baht is so strong. I could believe that arrivals are at same levels as before thanks to Chinese tourists, but that they are spending more than ever in THB seems unlikely.

1 minute ago, seahorse said:

Noise rage is a thing. Sometimes Violence is the only thing that makes people see sense. 

So murder is okay then?

I can appreciate a nice sounding motorcycle, but those small single cylinder bikes with loud pipes are the worst sound ever. Why would anyone do that?

Either way, hope the cop pays the full price for this. He could have just fined the guy, or confiscated the bike, legally they have the right to as any modifications are illegal in Thailand.

There will be a wide range depending on the following factors:

1. How much AC do you use per day?

2. Do you pay government rate (4-5b) or not (6-8b)?

3. How old is the AC?

4. How big is the condo? More than 1 AC unit on every night?

Lets say you use AC 10 hours per day, but if you have an old AC and pay 8b per unit, your bill will be probably twice to three times the amount of someone using the same 10 hours AC per day but with government rate and a new AC.

"I'm not superstitious, but I'm a little stitious" -Michael Scott

I have a Honda Super Cub 110i (2018). Total piece of junk, quite slow, no storage space, shockingly bad brakes (drumbrakes front and back), but it looks great, small/flickable, and fantastic fuel economy (60km per liter).

I would probably go for the Yamaha Aerox 155, basically Yamaha's response to the PCX. Overall it's a bit smaller, has ABS, looks better (IMO) and 10-20k cheaper.

With 2500€ you will have a roughly 8500b (220€) per day, should be enough unless you intend to go crazy every night.

Realistically, and if you only pay for yourself, 1500b for food per day is enough - 200b for breakfast, 400 lunch, and a decent dinner 500-900b with drinks. I personally eat all meals out, sometimes thai, sometimes western, and rarely spend more than 1000b per day on food. I think average is closer to 600b.

Lets say 2000-3000b for drinks - cheap bars will be 100b per beer/drink, expensive bars/clubs 300b. Let's say average 200b so this would mean 10-15 drinks per night, that should at least get you buzzed.

This still leaves you with +4000b per day for other activites ?  In my opinion it is more than enough, you could have a full service massage and LT every day.

In Bangkok you will probably spend 300-400b per day on getting around. In Pattaya not so much, mostly walkable or can use the 10b songthews.

I only use it [Grab] for motorbikes (in BKK) and as far as I can tell the prices have been the same for about 1 year.

I almost feel bad for the drivers as it's a bit too cheap, but of course I usually tip them a bit (depending on how much time we spent stuck in traffic - fares are fixed for bikes).

If it goes up 20-30% I'll still use it, but say 50-100% increase I may just get in a metered taxi instead.

Usually thieves will target popular scooters such as PCX, Aerox, because they want an easy job and easy money (quick to sell for parts).

Big bikes are not really targeted as much, especially if you mostly just park at home or other places with security, very unlikely to happen.

I think you are allowed to use your indian license if it's international, up to a point. But would be wise to get a Thai driving license, and actually a surprisingly fast and cheap process (compared to western countries). Just go to the DLT in Chatuchak, bring all documents with you. Check this guide: https://iglu.net/how-to-get-a-thai-driving-license/

To register a bike in your name you need either a WP or certificate of residence (obtained from your embassy in Bangkok). If you can get that sorted, then no problem.

To rent will cost you about 2000-3000b per month for a scooter. To buy a second hand scooter you can get a decent one for maybe 25 000b, check FB marketplace and buy/sell groups etc.

So in the end you may save a little bit, but if it's worth it is a different question.

For me personally, having a bike in Bangkok is now a must. But I managed just fine the first 2 years without one. You are used to driving in India, so this should be a walk in the park :)

On 21/01/2018 at 3:23 PM, OneMoreFarang said:

I will definitely have a look at the DUKE. I read somewhere (don't remember where) that the 200 and the 390 have the same frame. So I compared the technical data. Both the 200 and the 390 have the same wheelbase of 1367mm and the same length of 2002mm. But the 390 is wider (873mm compared to 730mm for the 200). I also compared the Yamaha MT-03 and BMW 310. Bother are longer and have a longer wheelbase than the KTM. And on the other side my Suzuki Raider 150 has 1220mm wheelbase, almost 15cm shorter than the KTM ...

Most likely just the mirrors that are making it that wide?

You can swap out the mirrors and cut off part of the handlebar to make almost any bike narrow, the issue is with wheelbase, this cannot be easily fixed.

I currently ride a Monster 821 with smaller mirrors and can get through most traffic without any issues, but when having to "change lanes" when cars are bumper to bumper, that is when I get stuck due to the long wheelbase.

Hi,

I've been thinking about selling a bike which still has financing on it (21 months left around 200k). I was planning on paying off the entire loan next month and then sell it for cash, but the new buyer doesn't have enough cash and will need financing anyway.

I've tried asking Krungsri Auto about this, but I can't get any clear answer due to, let's call it "language barriers".

Has anyone here had experience with this before? What is the process of transfering the bike to a new owner while it has financing left? Would Krungsri Auto essentially refinance the loan of the bike with new terms (i.e. different interest rate) depending on the new owner (buyer is Thai). Or just change my name to his?

Also, what is the process for this? I assume I would need to go to Krungsri Auto with the buyer and process the whole thing there?

Regards,

S

Selling my Triumph Bonneville T100 Black, bought in August 2017 at Britbike RCA and driven for 2 xxx (km).

Asking price: 420 000 THB
Location: Sukhuvmit/On Nut, Bangkok

Modifications (all made by Britbike RCA);
Exhaust: N7 slip-on (16 500 THB)
Removed carburetor
Changed air filter (3000 THB)

Very nice sound ??

First service done at 1000km (Britbike RCA) in September 2017.

Next service is at 10 000km (oil should be change at 6000km)

All original parts (exhaust, carb) included in price.

Contact LINE steffen11bkk or phone 0968013706

On 20/10/2017 at 8:41 PM, Berkshire said:

How do you know for sure that "At no point is it mentioned that one of us is a foreigner?"  C'mon, your "dressed like a whore" companion obviously spilled the beans.  Is it really that difficult to figure out?

That's what I was thinking, maybe if you show up with a tattooed bargirl then they assume only a farang would drag this around.

But, in this case we don't know anything about this guy or his GF. He could be a decent bloke with a nice thai girl.

As someone else mentioned, it's probably uncommon for Thai couples to show up on a motorcycle to a national park, and also the bigger build, despite hiding the face and skin color, gives it away.

8 minutes ago, eisfeld said:

Interesting that they kept the 821 engine, thx I missed that they already did the unveil yesterday. Seems like no game changing upgrades apart from maybe the availability of quickshifter/autoblipper as an option. Might affect the existing 821 resale but probably not by a big amount. I was sure though that someone at Ducati told me they'd bring a Monster 939. And they made it a bit of a secret not telling journalists what's going to be unveiled and now it's just a small-ish upgrade for the Monster 821? Expected a bit more. Though I guess any reveal before EICMA can't be too big, they wont the big guns for the show. Maybe a Monster 939 coming next month anyways? But that would be weird as well. Dunno, in either case I think it's never good to buy a bike or decide to buy one just before the big unveilings of new bikes at EICMA. Can never hurt to wait another 3 weeks.

Was thinking the same.

Obviously they are keeping the 803cc (797) and 1200cc lineup in tact, and now with this new 821 confirmed it seems unlikely that they would release a 4th Monster with 939.

797

939

1200

That^^ would have made a lot more sense for them from a marketing perspective.

Having said that, the new 939 engine on Hypermotard doesn't really have much more power (1 or 2 HP?), and only slightly more torque so in terms of performance it's not a big deal.

Well this is confusing, a new Monster 821 apparently unveiled yesterday.

So let's see what happens: "The 2018 Ducati Monster 821 is the first of the five new 2018 Ducati models. The other motorcycles will be revealed at the Ducati World Premier on Sunday, November 5, 2017."

2 hours ago, eisfeld said:

I think there's a new Monster coming soon. Not sure why they'd keep the 821 engine around when there's the 939. Ducati has sent an invitation to jounralists for a naked bike reveal in the coming days. Maybe a Monster 939 coming? If so, that should give another boost to depreciation of the 821.

 

There have been a lot of problems in the past with Ducati service if you are outside BKK. BKK has some good mechanics. I see the new Ducati dealer in Phuket also investing a lot in new dealership and more staff, changed all mechanics. So there's big improvements being done. Maybe they improved parts availability and prices, quite a few insurance companies stopped insuring Ducatis because of the high costs and lots of claims.

 

There are many more Ducatis out there than Triumphs. The larger the second hand market, the lower the prices due to competition. Triumphs newest models are fairly recent and much lower numbers. Ducati is selling many more bikes, has been around longer (in Thailand) and has many new models every year. That's not good for depreciation :)

That makes a lot of sense what you say regarding the size of the second hand market for Ducatis. There are so many out there at the moment.

I also read rumours about a Monster 939, and it makes sense they would upgrade the 821 to 939, since that's exactly what they did with the Hypermotard (from 821 to 939).

If they release a Monster 939 then I guess that would be Q1 or Q2 2018? If that is the case then there's really absolutely no point in buying a new 821 now. I will wait and see, either go with a second hand 821 which hopefully drops even more in price when a 939 is launched, or just go for a new 939.

2 hours ago, CMKiwi said:

I think you have it pretty well summed up.  A few years ago Ducati was having a few problems with reliability of their machines...perhaps a bit of mistrust within the market was a result.

 

It appears Ducati Thailand has sorted out these issues although a few reports still come in as to their after sales service which apparently is quite expensive and somewhat slow. Reports of customers taking in their bikes for a service (Which they had to book in advance) only to be told on pick up that there are other problems.

 

The bike then sat in the workshop for 3 weeks until parts were sourced.  This has not sat well with the customers.

 

As an aside I saw a convoy of Hypermotards out my way (Mae Rim, Chiang Mai) on Sunday just gone.  Personally I do like the look and sound of that model, there must have been at least 10 of them...and I was jealous!

Thanks for the reply.

I heard about similar horror stories regarding service (waiting for spare parts for months) when I asked around.

So do I understand correctly that the 2014, 2015 and 2016 models may be lemons, and thus the unusual depreciation in value? Consumers are pricing in the fact that these bikes will have a high maintenance cost and there is a mistrust for the models manufactured in those years?

Could this mean (in your opinion) that were I to buy a new 2017 model, then the value would not depreciate as fast as the previous models? In that case I would go for a new one.

I also heared about high service costs and asked about it at the dealer, they have significantly brought down the cost and service intervals (they showed me the cost/schedule), nothing unusual there, about the same as with my Triumph and any other manufacturer I assume. I wonder if the new `lower service costs are only for the new bikes and old bikes will have the older pricing? Any ideas?

I tested the new Hypermotard 939 yesterday and that thing is a beast! Didn't like the driving position at first, changing gears was a pain, but I can see myself getting used to it. Very fun bike!

Hi,

Lately I've been looking to buy another bike, specifically looking at the Ducati Monster 821.

The price of a new one (2017 model) is exactly 500k thb.

I've also looked around at second hand options on Facebook groups and Kaidee, and seeing some 2015 and 2016 models ranging from 290k - 360k with milage as low as 5000km.

QUESTION 1)

My first question is, why are Ducati's depreciating so fast in Thailand?

I bought a Triumph T100 this year, and looking at second hand T100's they seem to keep they value significantly better compared to Ducatis  i.e. after 2 years the asking prices are still around 350-400k for second hand 2015 models (new one is 440k at the moment of writing, so only a 10-20% depreciation)

QUESTION 2)

I know the general things to look out for when buying second hand motorcyles, but is there something specific to Thailand that I should be considering?

It seems to me that the much wiser deal is to buy a used 2016 Monster 821 for around 300-350k. And let's say I ride it for a year, then most likely the value would still be around 300k depending on the milage of course.

Whereas if I buy a new one for 500k, drive it off the lot and the value is 400k. After 1 year maybe 350k.

Am I missing something?

/S

52 minutes ago, webfact said:

The body – with one gunshot wound to the chest and another to the right temple – was found in a pool of blood while a pistol was found nearby.

This part I find a bit odd. But I guess it's possible he first shot himself in the chest and realized this is going to be too slow, and then the right temple to finish it off.

Well I'll be damned, here I thought I had an easy question to which I'd receive a clear and easy response with instructions :D

One issue here seems to be that there are many different ways to go upon completing this task.

The proposed 7-11 solution, while it sounds great, I can only imagine the empty look I'd get when I go there to ask them if I can pay insurance and tax there....ALAAI CANNOT.

I suppose I will go ask around the DLT which is just a 5 minute drive for me.

Thanks for the replies though.

Hi,
 

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I did a search and couldn't find the information I needed.

I will need to renew the insurance and tax soon (bike is less than 5 years old), I've never had to go through it before, so thought I'd ask here since there should be some useful knowledge and previous experience.

So as I understand, I need to pay the compulsory insurance first, and then go to the DLT nearest me (that would be Bangchak) to pay the tax and get a new tax sticker, bringing with me my greenbook, receipt of insurance paid, and of course some ID/license. Is this correct?

So the question is; where can one pay this insurance and what do I need with me?

Thanks in advance!

/S

1 hour ago, bkk6060 said:

Every major city in the world where they have these type of commuter transport are crowded.  Gee, maybe that's why they have them?  I have been here for almost 2 years and never had to wait for more then one train.  And that was maybe 2 or 3 times.

  

This place has its act together compared to let's say: Los Angeles.  And much better then many other cities that suffer from poor planning.

Walking up the stairs?  It's called exercise I know an unknown concept to some. But if it is too much they do have elevators at several of the stops. 

The rabbit card is fantastic not only to expedite your travel, but can be used to buy food at the mall and several restaurants.

If one still does not like it then there is always a nice airconditioned Taxi where you can sit and relax in bumper to bumper traffic where it takes 4 times as long to get someplace at 5 times the cost.

Bangkok is a great city and MRT/BTS/APL fantastic and efficient ways to get around.

 

I love it....

Sure, love it all you want. I've lived here for 4 years and used both the MRT and BTS quite a lot before I got my own motorcycle.

I've also lived in Hong Kong, London and Barcelona where I used public transportation systems regularly and found them all to be much better than here. Obviously also visited countless major cities where I've used public transport.

I'd still rate BKK one of the worst, and there is a clear lack of any action from them to fix it.

There is nothing wrong with exercise, which I do daily, but I prefer not to have to walk up many sets of stairs in 40 degree heat wearing jeans and a shirt on my way to work.

I would say that the MRT and BTS suck just as much.

They have been overcrowded for years already (or more like a decade), with seemingly little done to fix the issues (they still need to add trains and frequency). When they extend the system and add new stations they should consider that x amount people will start using it and adjust accordingly, but sadly they don't. Greed?

I also don't like the whole ticket system. It's fine if you have the rabbit card, which I did when I was using it daily, but now that I don't use it daily I can't be bothered, so it's a pain to first exchange money and then buy the ticket separately. Walk up the stairs in 35-45C heat and wait 5-10 minutes with sweat dripping down my face and back, then finally it shows up beyond full capacity and I have to try to squeeze in.

Yeah, whoever says the BTS/MRT is good, I don't know what they are talking about.