bkksteve123

If you don't want to drive through central Bangkok and cross the Krung Thonburi bridge, then there's a motorcycle ferry below Bang Krachao. Should save some time. Here it is on the map:

11 hours ago, Senechal said:

Levels:

 

Door policy? None.

 

If you enjoy loud crowded dance clubs filled with semi-pro, broke women pretending to be hiso  -- while prowling for suckers, sponsors and boyfriends (if that isn't redundant) -- you'll love it. If you present well and throw money around, you won't leave alone. I've spent a few nights there. I've "met" a few extremely beautiful ladies though... But I'm pretty sure everyone in Bangkok has "met" the same ladies.  Can't stand the scene, really. But if I was on holiday in Bangkok for a couple weeks, I'd hit it.

 

MIXX:

 

One day it will catch fire incinerating everyone in it. It's a fire-trap waiting to happen -- architected with as much flammable material on the walls and ceilings as possible, and having the world's tiniest exit for a club its size. Through a narrow tunnel (cleverly lined with foam rubber which will create deadly, noxious fumes when it burns) there's also a smoker-friendly club with is apparently designed to give you lung cancer in just one single evening. Hold your breath before entering, and throw away your clothes when you get home. For a table you'll want to buy a bottle. It's about 50/50 working girls/normal girls, with a smattering of farang women wondering why no one is looking at them.

 

If you're going to go, go on Wednesday for ladies night. DJ's are better than average. Dance floor is better than the rest. Despite the fact that this place is a disaster waiting to happen it's a good dance club. 

 

Get a table near the door. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spot on!

On 25/08/2017 at 9:16 PM, Rdrokit said:

Must have been a lemon. I had my Scrambler 400 for 6 months and the only problem was a faulty ECU which was replaced under warranty. I ride with a guy who has over 20,000km on his CT400 and has only had the same problem with the ECU. The replacement ECUs were new models now on all the 400s.

I'm sure it was a lemeon of some sort. The ECU that had to be replaced (twice). Both times it went on the warranty. They took care of it, so I'll give them that, but still, it made me not really trust the bike.

There were also other minor issues, if you gave it full throttle and hit more than 4000RPM you could notice a lag, like it was giving too fuel to the engine with a delay, this was an issue if I wanted to accelerate and change gears at high RPM's. They were never able to fix that.

I had a Stallions CT400 for 8 months.

I had a lot of issues with the bike and had to pay a visit to the factory in Samut Prakarn 3 times, 4 times to the dealer in Bang Kapi, and they were not really able to fix it. The quality of materials is also not good and will rust easily.

For the price it's not a bad deal. Still, I'd recommend buying something of higher quality such as the SR400, unless it's the first time you try a "bigger" bike and mainly as a transition bike into something larger and of quality.

Stallions is not a quality bike, but I'm sure everything realizes that given the price.

I've had 2 new bikes (in Bangkok). Never was I given red plates or any temporary plates, also don't recall ever seeing a bike with red plates.

Not been an issue though.

1 hour ago, JonnyF said:

I use Sumo Big Bike wash just off Nawamin Road, just before Chocolate Ville.

 

They always have some high end bikes in there and know what they're doing, washing the breakable bits by hand instead of using the jetwash that they use for the other bits. Owner is friendly as well and all prices are listed on the board so there's no attempts to add Farang tax. They do a good chain clean and lube as well. Air con waiting area (bit small) and a free water.

 

It's a fair distance from you but if you fancy a little ride...

Thanks! I'll check it out.

Been meaning to pay Zeus Customs a visit, which seems to be next door so that would work out nicely.

On 19/08/2017 at 9:42 AM, thaiguzzi said:

Don't say I did not warn you if your "ride by wire', ABS, ride modes and ECU take a shIt....

I checked it out and decided not to let them clean my bike seeing how they did another one.

If you want something done right, you just have to do it yourself.

BTW, what do you use for chain oil/lubrication here and where do you buy it? Checked both Tesco and Big C near me, neither had any product specific for that. Tips?

These numbers make absolutely no sense.

In 7-11 / supermarkets a small beer in Thailand is about 40b = 1€ per bottle. You can get a beer for the same price in almost all european countries (many cheaper i.e. Germany, Spain), and usually of better quality. In fact, Hong Kong has cheaper beer (per liter) than Thailand. To say that Thailand has the cheapest beer is complete nonsense.

A pint of beer in a bar/restaurant/club in Thailand varies a lot, but usually at the very least 100 baht, but for example some trendy bars in BKK it will be 200-220b for a SMALL bottle of Thai beer.

So let's say cost of a pint in Bangkok is on average between 100-250 baht or 2.5 - 6.5€. If you want craft beer, it will be 10€ or more. The study said 60 baht. Not even close to the reality.

I've been here for 4 years and very few places can sell at that price (usually a large beer for 80 baht is the best you can get), if they do, it's most likely a very thai restaurant not in the city center, which you can hardly use as the measuring stick for the entire country.

A pint of beer in the more expensive European countries will usually set you back about 5-10€ depending on what you are drinking and where. So not too much of a difference there especially when factoring in the quality.

My first new bike I had for a month until I got plates. I was stopped one time and showed them some papers, they let me go, no problem.

Now I have a new bike again and the dealer said it will take 2 months to get the plates.....Oh well, 2 weeks in, no one has stopped me. I do keep all the paper work with me, but of course I'm avoiding the usual checkout traps (Rama 4), prefer not to have to deal with them even if I had my plates etc.

Last time I drove down to Pattaya I was stopped 4 times on the way, so might not be making that trip until I get my plates and greenbook.

/S

On 17/08/2017 at 0:12 PM, nandele said:

Normally use grip at A square on soi 24...really happy but not cheap..good thing is that u can eventually leave the bike there and pick it up when convenient
Price around 600thb


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Thanks, this seems to be exactly what I'm looking for. Will go check them out soon!

Tax rates of the Personal Income Tax

8 minutes ago, johng said:

You could do it yourself with a bucket and a couple of liters of water, soft rag and old tooth brush for harder to reach parts...no need for a hose at all.

Sent from my ASUS_Z00LD using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

I thought a hose would be quite essential to reach some parts, and obviously to reduce the amount of time spent completing the task. I guess I will give it a shot if I can't find any good places that will do it for me. Thanks for the comment :)

Hi,

I know there are cheap bike washes around every corner, but I've had issues before with my previous bikes where they just spray (pressure) water EVERYWHERE which can cause damage to some parts. Sometimes my bike wouldn't start after they washed it, and it had strange issues after the wash.

So I'm a bit reluctant to take my new Triumph to a cheap 100b wash and have some thai genius damage it. Unfortunately my condo will not allow me to use the hose for me to do it myself in the parking area, so I need to find a solution to this.

I live in the On Nut area, so around that area would be good, but willing to travel. I tried Googling this but did not get any useful results.

Any tips on this are welcome!

/S

Thanks for the replies.

I decided to go with the Triumph. The riding position and overall feeling of the Ducati Monster just wasn't for me. In the end, an easy choice.

52 minutes ago, thaiguzzi said:

I presume T100 = 900cc?

Do you not want to check the T120 out? 1200cc and apparently a torque monster.

Yes, been looking at the 2017 Bonneville T100 which is 900cc.

The T120 is tempting, but the price here is 120 000 thb more than the T100, which is a bit of a stretch. In other markets (US/UK) it's typically just 1000€ more (40 000b).

The T120 is a bit heavier but with a lot more power, has a 6th gear, twin disks (front brake), and some minor things. Not sure I need the power though, and I can live without a 6th gear. I just don't think it's worth the extra 120 000 baht.

Also, I wouldn't buy a Triumph for the performance (power). More about the feeling and style.

16 hours ago, eisfeld said:

Can't talk about the Triumph but I've owned a Ducati Scrambler for more than 2 years now which the Monster 797 is built upon or shares lots of parts with like the engine for example. I had tons and tons of problems, the saga is documented on another forum. 4 oil leaks, warped front rotor, burned out clutch, starter motor issues... list goes on. Just now I'd like to get rid of it but guess what? Can't sell it as the odometer stopped working. Need to wait 2-3 weeks for a password from Italy so the dealer can reset it. And that's quick, I'd had to wait for some replacement parts up to 3 months to ship from Italy even though they have a factory here. The old dealer in Phuket was completely incompetent. They had to fly a mechanic in from BKK in order to look at the clutch issue. They closed that old dealer and now there are some new mechanics, not sure if they are better. The dealership is some old Thai residential house without showroom, borrowing space from the Volvo one (same owner). I know of one farang who was interested in buying a Ducati but decided not to just because he saw this. As for rust, I had some tank screws and a washer on the rear exhaust pipe rusting. Nothing major and easy to replace.

Note that the engine gets really REALLY hot. It's air cooled after all and I'm not sure if it would be a great bike for BKK if you are stuck in stop and go traffic for extended periods of time. As long as you are moving, it's fine. An aftermarket exhaust without cat helps quite a bit in that regard.

The oil leaks and clutch issue were also experienced by other people.

 

That being said, I've heard good things about some branches (not all) in BKK. Vibhavadi should be good I think? And since you are in BKK, things should be going much better for you.

 

I think the two main differences between the bikes that you can check during a testride are 1. Heat 2. Throttle

By Throttle I mean throttle sensitivity and low speed handling. The 2015/16 Scramblers have a very twitchy throttle and shitty fueling at slow constant speeds. The 2017 Scrambler had a new throttle tube and fuel map but not sure about the 797. Have you considered the 821 btw?

 

In any case, both bikes can be a ton of fun I'm sure. As long as you get a bit lucky in the reliability department, it'll be a very rewarding ownership experience.

Thanks for the honest review. Sounds like after sales service is not good, at least not in Phuket. Might be a different story here, but nevertheless, would probably have to wait for months for a spare part here as well, which sounds really annoying to me.

Very true what you say, with these brands it's more about luck (or should I say badluck) than anything else.

I just got back from test riding the Bonneville T100. It was very nice, a bit heavy, but still smooth and powerful enough. Breaking could be better.

Tomorrow I'll test the Monster. The 821 is also an option, I guess the main advantage being it's liquid cooled and won't get too hot? Aside from the extra power of course.

1 hour ago, Kwasaki said:

 

Admire your enthusiasm only you can decide which one by riding them.

 

1..You can get breakdowns with any bike there's always a black sheep in the production line.

2.. Different dealer different treatment and expertise in my experience, find the one for you.

3.. A bit of spraying with say something like WD40, keeping the bike clean & polished, a good quality bike-cover will do the job.

 

Bangkok ??  l would add a good security chain with bike attached to something that don't move will be good idea. 

 

 

 

 

I was recently the owner of a very unreliable bike, which I had known if I had just asked before deciding to buy it and avoid the entire brand.

Obviously all brands will have black sheeps, point was just to see if there are many of them within either brand. As far as I'm aware, both Ducati and Triumph are known for quality and reliability. So in this case the most important aspect would be after sales service specific to Thailand. Sounds like Triumph wins in that department based on eisfeld's experience. I would definitely not want to wait for months for a spare part to be shipped from Italy.

Hi,

I know the bikes (Bonneville T100 / Monster 797) are very different styles, however I'm looking to buy either one. I'm more accustomed to the style of the bonnie, but the Ducati Monster also appeals to me.

If you have experience with either brand, please feel free to share your experience, especially regarding the questions below. Thanks!

1. Breakdowns/general issues with the bike?

2. Service quality - is it easy to get things fixed and do they actually listen to you and make an effort? (I live in Bangkok)

3. Rust - I unfortunately have to keep the bike parked outside during the day time, and my condo doesn't have fully covered parking either. Is the bike going to rust quickly? What is your experience, and how do you deal with it?

Any general advice is also welcome.

I will be test driving both this weekend, and hopefully can make a decision by then.

/Steve

1 hour ago, Stevemercer said:

I don't think the mechanic at the shop where I brought my bike is very good. Hopefully I can find a decent mechanic somewhere if I start to have problems. You could try advancing the timing somewhat (higher revs), as per the above instruction, to see if it helps. But only try if it is still stalling. Otherwise leave well enough alone.

 

This morning my bike stalled once while still cold. It restarted easy enough and seemed fine when hot. However, it always takes 5 or 6 turns of the starter motor to fire up. Most bikes with fuel injection seem to start on the first turn so I'll have to see how mine goes over the first 12 months. The revs at idle on mine always seem to wander a bit, although they stay above 1500. 

 

I've got an early model CT and have heard rumors that the ECU mapping is not quite right (but has been fixed on the 2017 models). If the oxygen sensor goes, the engine management light should go on. If it is an intermittent wiring fault between the sensor and the ECU, or the ECU/ignition timing is a bit out, the light won't go on.

 

I'be tried kick starting a few times, but with no success. It would be nice to know if there is some technique to it, so as not to have to worry about getting stuck with flat battery. I can get to kick back a bit, but not to start so far.

It hasn't been stalling since my visit to Stallions on Tuesday, so I will leave it alone for now.

The engine management light has gone on on 2 or 3 occassions. I've simply stopped, turned off the engine, waited a minute, and then started the engine, and after this there's no more engine light. These kind of things make me worry a lot though. I'll go to the shop next week and specifically ask to check and replace the oxygen sensor, and see if that solves. Any idea what "oxygen sensor" is called in thai?

Not sure if you've already seen it, but here is a video of someone successfully kickstarting the thing:

1 hour ago, Stevemercer said:

I have the CT 400 and it idles in the range 1,500 (hot) to 2,000 (cold). I attach the page from the manual for the British variant. According to the manual, RON 95 should be used, but the odd tank of RON 91 will do no harm. 

 

Have you ever tried to kick start the thing successfully? The symptoms you describe is most likely a combination of the things mentioned by other posters. However, I would expect the bike shops to have looked at the obvious things like the air filter, spark plugs, air leaks, clogged injectors, bad fuel etc. A faulty oxygen sensor (or more likely the wiring) could be causing problems, but I'm not sure how you can check this at home.

Thanks for posting the image from the manual.

I've tried to kickstart it but I was not successfull after 10 attempts or so. However, from what I understood this is not an easy bike to kickstart even when working perfectly.

I agree that you would expect the official Stallions shop to have checked the obvious things, and tried to fix it immediately to get rid of me, since they weren't making any money on it. I've been there four times now in 2 months, yet, they still have not solved the problem with low RPM's while idling. I also remember it being higher before, around 2000 when cold. Now when I start it, it seems like it could die any second, give it some gas, it gets a bit better, but never above 1500, typically it will hover at 1400, then temporarily drop to 1200-1300 and bounce back up.

I'm not knowledgable in these things at all, so will have to take it to the shop and explain what I want them to do, and of course pay for it, to make sure they actually change the parts and do the job. You'd just think that they would have cracked this case by now, they are supposed to be the experts.

12 hours ago, Badbanker said:

After living here in Thailand for half of my life and owned 5 different motorcycles I think I am in a position to comment.

 

When I buy a motorcycle, the day I buy it I put a high quality fuel filter on it!  Strangely, after that, fuel and carburetor/injector problems disappear!

 

One of my Thai motorcycle mechanic friends says he makes huge amounts of money because of bad fuel and that fact that he has to clean fuel systems so often.

 

Many Thai motorcycle mechanics say you shouldn't put a fuel filter on a motorcycle because it wasn't designed for it the design is faulty!

 

I think thats wrong!  I have had a Tiger for 10 years and it runs like a song!

Thanks for the comment.

In this case they never charged me at Stallions in Ramkhamhaeng (went on the warranty), so there was no incentive to "keep me coming back". However, it could simply be the case of not knowing any better.

12 hours ago, Rdrokit said:

Sounds good but it is a fuel injected engine. it could be the oxygen sensor.

 

The typical signs of a faulty oxygen sensor include increased exhaust emissions due to poor air fuel mixture, engine hesitations, engine misfires, stalling, rough idling and increased fuel consumption. The oxygen sensor is a crucial component of a vehicle's electronic fuel injection and emission system, and it relays information to an on-board engine management computer that regulates fuel delivery to the engine.

 

Sounds like your problems?

 

My Stallion Scrambler 400 idles at about 2000 when cold and 1600 when warmed up.

That sounds like a BINGO. The bike no longer stalls randomly since my last visit to Ramkhamhaeng, very happy about that. However the RPM's are still low (and wandering) at 1300-1500 when idling (cold), need to fix that.

I'm not sure exactly what they did at the shop, there is quite a language barrier, but they removed and emptied the fuel tank and I assume they cleaned some filters along the way.

I didn't know that I should only be using 95 with this bike, I thought 91 was okay. Was this possibly the cause of all the problems? I had no idea it would make any difference, now I know better....

Will look into getting the oxygen sensor replaced.

Hi,

Seeking some advice.

I bought a new Stallions CT400 in late November, so had it now for roughly 3 months with about 2100km on the odometer.

The first month was great, no issues at all. But at around the 1000km mark I noticed the electric start getting much slower (taking many seconds to start) so I took it to the shop that sold it to me (in Sathorn, Bangkok). They changed the battery and did the first service (oil change) as well.

After this, things slowly got worse. The new battery did not solve the slow start, it got worse and the bike started stalling on me. So I took it to the Stallions dealer in Ramkhamhaeng. They worked on it for an hour or so.

After this, it got even worse. Sometimes it wouldn't start at all and the RPM's got lower and lower (around 1000-1200 when cold), and it would stall in neutral if you gave it some gas, and also when I shift up while riding (at higher speeds and high gears).

So I took it back to Stallions again, they did some work on it again, but same issues remained, more or less. This became a real hazard, since the bike would stall while riding in Bangkok traffic, and it wouldn't start back up.

I've been to the shop again yesterday and had a thai friend translate the issues I'm experiencing and they worked on it for roughly 3 hours. I managed to ride it back home all the way (40 min drive) without it stalling or having any issues, but the RPM still jumps around when on neutral (between 1300-1500).

Has anyone had this type of experience with their Stallions bike, or any other bike for that matter? What are your RPM's when on neutral (just as a reference)?

It's gotten to the point where I don't trust the bike to run smoothly, every time I shift gear I'm afraid it will stall on me.

Thanks in advance for any comments.

/S

That's disgusting. I remember once seeing some street chef bath her baby in the same plastic bowl that was used to clean the dishes, all at the same time :)

To flush away possible pythons lurking around, waiting to bite a c*** off? Seems pretty valid to me. I can afford the 20baht per month 

A waste yes, but there are much bigger waste problems going on in this country and globally.

I think about it all the time. Thailand doesn't have the same appeal to me any longer (after 6 years), mainly because I have changed and I got bored of drinking, the nightlife and thai girls, and let's be honest, after that there's not much left. But, there are still some nice things about living here, I have some very close friends, and I think I have a pretty nice and easy life, so I'm complaining and packing by bags...yet. I certainly also have a lot of frustrations with the local people and culture, but that happens everywhere, just a bit more here...

I'm still fairly young and earning more or less the same net income (and save as much) as I would back home, so financially it doesn't make much sense to go home, considering the purchasing power of my income is much higher here. If it weren't for that, I'd probably be gone already. Of course, one concern is that I'm not contributing to any pension scheme at the moment (but let's see how that worked out for my friends in 30 years), so it really is up to myself to save and manage that money wisely, and another future worry will be healthcare.

In terms of career opportunities and progress, there's no debating that Thailand has little to offer to foreigners (not to say it's impossible), whereas back home I would most likely be on a clearer path to progress.

If I had a thai wife and family (which is unlikely given I'm not into Thai girls for relationships) then of course I would seriously consider moving back home.

If I had to guess, I'll stay here another 2-3 years and then head on somewhere else, but not home. I've long been interested in South America.

Go to Spain