eastbay

Thanks Andy! It is the case that she has no other visa. The only time that she has been out of Thailand is when we went together to KL for one of my visa runs.

Hello, tried a search without joy, but apologies if this is discussed elsewhere...

I would like to meet my Thai GF in Mexico for a 10 day vacation (I'm in the States). She has kids and a family, a job and property, but she is poor, not high-so.

Does she have a chance to be approved? Can she go through the process by herself, or should I get her a lawyer to help, and if so, any recommendations?

Thanks in advance!

I agree that the 300f is more of an adequate workhorse than a sport bike- not that you can't have fun on it (like you can on anything really), but if thrills are at the top of the list than I would look elsewhere.

I think that it depends on how much highway you will be doing. It has more than enough power around town, and the highway is fine but it won't go as fast as the speediest cars/pickups, so you have to keep an eye behind you for one closing fast.

I've taken mine from Rayong to the north, had a great ride for 10 days with no problems at all, so it can do it. Since 90% of my riding these days is commuting in town it is still fine. Yes, I'd like a bigger bike but for the money it will get the job done.

Somehow I don't like the 500 that much, but that CB®650 does look sweet. Mucho dinero though.

I also run in Rayong and will second the "bend down like you're picking up a rock" method. It works, they run for it.

The owners of the dogs often call them off me as well.

It is an annoyance because you do have to break stride and deal with it, so I'm also developing routes that have fewer dogs- through the rubber forests, through the agriculture fields, and along main roads with lanes on the side for scooters (of course none of these solutions are perfect), but still, I'd rather be out in the fresh air and enjoying the scenery than on a treadmill or going around a track. I also get shouts of encouragement and a lot of smiles and thumbs up- some of the locals seem to like seeing someone out running.

I'm (usually) glad to provide some entertainment for my (usually) gracious hosts while I am in their country!

Where do you put your foot on the peg AllanB? I've got 45's and just finished 12 days on my CB300F- the MHS loop and north before returning to Rayong via Nan and Loei. I never had any problem shifting, but I ride with the ball of my foot, not the arch, on the peg (except maybe for long straight highways for a change of position) and so my left foot has to move in order to shift up or down anyway- in other words it is never trapped under the shift lever or resting on top of the shift lever, it just goes there to shift and then back to the peg.

Thanks for the replies. I'll report back on what I find.

Does anyone have any advice or experience for parking a bike for a week?

Also, is there anything that I should know about the approach and exit- I can't go on the toll road I know, is it hard to get in or out of there without being on the toll road?

Thanks!

I agree (with you) that it hinges on the agreement. It isn't perfectly clear, but I believe the agreement is between you and your wife, that if she told you something in confidence that it would remain a secret, correct?

Well you have to honor that commitment, simple. It is too late now, but if you couldn't honor it you shouldn't have agreed- but you did, and you're stuck with it. No hinting, no bullshit- you honor your word, that is all.

If the whole thing were ever to come out your friend should understand that a person's honor is their word and unless it involved child abuse or something that simply cannot be tolerated (I guess that there could be debate about that threshold, but I don't see this crossing it) you wanted to tell him but you had to keep your promise. It could admittedly compromise your friendship in a couple of ways, but that is the burden that came with your promise.

Look at the chart that I posted above, from the International Building Code- up to 75mm plus coverage required for grade beams (cast against and permanently exposed to earth), down to a minimum of 37mm for columns and beams not exposed to earth or in contact with the ground.

In the western USA those concrete blocks are called "dobies", don't know where that name comes from. "Chairs" refers to stands for the same purpose but made of formed wire or plastic.

They should be placed as required to maintain alignment and coverage, and also to prevent movement or displacement of the reinforcing steel (rebar) during concrete placement (pour)- they are secured in place using the little wires.

Coverage, per IBC:

Thanks all- (ex) wife veto'd the motorbike (she has more sense than me obviously) so we're flying now........

You divorced her just because she won't go on a motorbike with you?

"JUST BECAUSE"? Good God man, have you no standards?

I would like to leave my CB 300 F for a week while I travel. If I understand the website correctly, it looks like 70 bht/day.

Has anyone done this, any recommendations on which garage, level, etc.? From what I can suss out I'd like to avoid the outdoor, long term parking.

Thanks!

As a newbie cue ball head myself, and also using a regular razor, does anyone have any observations as to the best way to cue ball? Is it a blade razor or should I think about an electric razor? How often? In the shower or at the mirror? Any lotion or anything deployed?

Any tips appreciated!

Question:

How many people shave their heads to hide the old age of greyness?

I'm hiding baldness not greyness (although it would be grey if it were there) but others may vary........ I could go for the Skullet (like a mullet with dome top) but no......

Thanks for the replies all, very helpful.

Thanks all- (ex) wife veto'd the motorbike (she has more sense than me obviously) so we're flying now........

As a newbie cue ball head myself, and also using a regular razor, does anyone have any observations as to the best way to cue ball? Is it a blade razor or should I think about an electric razor? How often? In the shower or at the mirror? Any lotion or anything deployed?

Any tips appreciated!

Thanks, very helpful! Wow, no daytime running lights.... who'da thunk it?

Considering riding (with my son) to Angkor Wat- on another thread in Thailand Travel, it was stated that I would need a Carnet for my bike at the border.

Does anyone have experience with this? Where do I get one, what do I need.....? I've never even heard the word before!

I don't have the greenbook yet, although I do have my white plate. The greenbook should be in any time, they said about 2 months and it's close to that.

Yes Rok straps are it!!!!

I just did a 1000 km + weekend with a regular daypack backpack on the passenger seat, and a Steinberger guitar on the passenger footpeg to the tail section, with two (only) of the smaller Rok straps.

I hope someone knows where to get them here, I'd have used at least one more if I had it.

Still: strapping and unstrapping at the beginning/end of the day was a "click click" procedure- easier even then purpose made luggage.

Two important points on power. Note, I don't have the CBR300R, but the CBR250R. But I looked up the specs and both bikes are single cylinder and the 300 only has about 2-3HP more than the 250. So I assume performance will be nearly the same on both. What I can tell you is the power band where you've got some decent torque doesn't really kick in until you hit about 7,000 rpm. This means off the line that these bikes are relatively slow and at a stoplight for example you will probably find these small 125-150cc bikes, like the one that you have now, are much faster initially when the light turns green. The other thing I noticed is when you have a passenger on the back that the power drops tremendously. So if you are planning on riding with a passenger on the back much of the time then you might find the bike's performance is a lot less than you expected. I hope that helps.

@WingNut,

thanks, it does help. I don't do a lot of riding with a passenger so that isn't a problem. Nice to know about the other. I'll give one a good test ride before I commit.

David

Ummmm, I'd have to respectfully disagree. On my 300 I get power (what power there is) right through the rpm range, in fact I usually shift at around 7-8 k and don't see much benefit in going above that except maybe in some special case.

And no way is a Wave or anything like that going to give me any trouble off the line at a red light. They and all the cars are little dots in my mirror by the time I am up to cruising speed (125 kph or so).

+1 on the IRC tires. I've had a CB300F for about 6 weeks or so now, and last week with about 3,000 km on it had Rosso 2's put on, at a cost just under 8,000 baht (pricey).

The IRC's had been giving the random small slide occasionally, plus one big spin up for no apparent reason accelerating out of a driveway onto a main road- I mean, okay I was on the power, but 28 hp power, right? Nothing caused a crash but the spin up got pretty sideways......

The Rosso 2's have stuck like glue- I went to Khao Yai (per other thread) and scrubbed them in, chicken stripes all gone, right to the edge (not hard to do with these narrower tires- they are not the huge meats you'd have on a big bike), and they have never been less than perfect. The change in turning in characteristics took a few miles getting used to, but I would expect that, they drop in to a turn a lot easier due to the profile.

As for the 300- I would also agree with what's been said above. On the faster roads I wish for a bit more power, I can cruise at 125 turning about 7500 rpm, and it will go 150 given enough time, but what that means is that there are "throttle stompers" in cars, SUV's and pick ups that will catch you on the straights and I'm more accustomed to being the fastest thing out there if I want to be. If I don't have a spot to move over and let them by it is possible to wind up being tailgated, which I hate. If there is a turn of course they are way back, except for one Honda civic that could corner at speed. I'm finding that many drivers in Thailand are really uncomfortable with cornering g forces, maybe they know something I don't.

The other interesting question is the CBR vs CB- OP you are right that with the CBR you get the windscreen, and if I had it to do over I might very well go that way. Of course my reasons for not having done so originally still hold- CB a little more upright and easier around town, better rearward visibility in the mirrors (important!), and if you drop it less damage done. I think that I would still go CB over CBR because I spend more of my time around town than on the highway. And I think that I would still go 300 vs 500 or bigger, because it is plenty most of the time and the price difference is significant, plus the 300 is easier to handle day to day while still easily able to stay ahead of cars up to about 130/140 kph.

Thanks dddave, I just saw this, I've been off for a few days. I bought my bike about a month or so ago, I don't have the green book yet although I could check the dealer, it may be in- but how do I get a Carnet?

This does sound like a good option. I just took a few days road trip to Phimai through Khao Mai and really enjoyed just motoring through the countryside on the back roads. I think that he might like it as well, with the reward of AW at the end.

Rear Height Adjustment

If your shock has a ride height adjustment and you wish to use it, you must measure the ride height (as for Rear Sag). We are recommending to make adjustments of only 5 to 10mm increments at a time. Larger changes will cause the bike to steer considerably quicker, and if you're not ready for it, you may find yourself in trouble! Raising the rear ride height will put more load on the front and may make it necessary to tighten up the front to compensate.

From here:

Thanks Craig! I would love to see Angkor Wat as well. Best way to get there from BKK? And is there diving at Snooky (I don't know what that is)? I think Phuket and Samui will be teeming a couple of days before Songkran, don't you?

Hello All, my 16 year old son will come to Thailand for his spring break, and I will take the week off to travel with him.

He arrives on Sun, April 5 and his flight out leaves Sat, April 11- just before a bit into Songkran I guess.

So we really only have Monday to Friday for full days- I live in Rayong and own a 300cc motorbike, so one option would be to chuck him on the back and go to Kho Chang or some other fairly close destination. In a way I like this idea as we would experience some adversity (rain, heat, hours riding) that would be good character building and adventure training, but I also don't want it to be TOO tedious.

Another way would be for me to meet him in Bangkok and both fly somewhere. One idea I have about this is to fly to Phuket and have a couple of days diving, then fly to Chang Mai for a couple of days in the mountains.

Diving (more clear the water the better), wildlife, ancient ruins would be the priorities. On the diving I thought possibly of flying to Myanmar instead of Phuket if that is easier to access Andaman Sea islands that aren't overrun. Quiet places off the beaten track to enjoy nature and history preferred!!

Thanks in advance for any thoughts and suggestions!