Agusts

All this booster rush seems to me due to two things; 1)- The western countries have too many vaccines and don't really know what to do with it, spent all the public money to buy so much and don't have the heart or courage to give it to poorer countries with shortage, so what else but recommend booster after booster, where does it end...., not anytime soon, expect booster 4 and 5 and so on. 2)- There are some people in western countries (or any country for that matter) who refuse jabs of any kind, not even one...! So they catch the virus and spread it and also most likely fill up hospitals, the governments can't force them to have the vaccine, however, they can encourage the ones who do like getting vaccines to have more of it, extra boosters, more and more, no problem..., this way they can increase total public resistance to virus in general and reduce spread and hospitalization... . But even 10 or 20 million of 2nd shots or 3rd boosters won't be as effective as say 100,000 first shots of those refusing vaccine, but it's better than nothing I guess....!

I guess you're going by theory, in practice lighter rollers reduce top speed, I particularly know this about Forza, read and heard the same from numerous practical reports from others who tried it on Forza and some other scooters, and of course from my own experience...

I think OP you got really expert advice here, and here is what I know of CVT; from what you say your lighter rollers make the engine rev higher before the pulleys are pushed together...., so , the clutch only engages a bit later but with higher rpm... In this case I reckon the clutch shoes and clutch assembly can't smoothly engage, can't take the speed and force, due to this high rpm, hence the shudder. As mentioned bigger shoes might help, another option is to use weaker torque spring, this spring also prevents clutch engaging earlier - that's the contra force on rare drive pulleys, hence the name contra spring. This weaker spring (no idea how the rating works, 800rpm, 1000rpm etc., I'm sure you figure it out) may help clutch engaging at lower rpm, but still give you more torque at mid-range on the hills...! maybe... CVT is in a fine balance, trying to improve one thing causes issues other places - I use lighter rollers and have more acceleration now, but lost some top speed..., as expected. I'm always warry of suggestions that says can improve everything and make my 300cc bike be like 400cc by just tuning CVT...!!! ????

Bike like that has "no" value, unless it works and he actually tries to sell it, any estimate now is useless.... !

Reminds of an old TV my dad had and wanted to sell, asked a TV repair shop how much it's worth, he said " if they buy it you should sell it " ....! He came home and told me what kind of answer is that - apparently he repeated it on his query again... , I thought about it a bit and released what he meant..., it was so old and useless that he thought nobody would buy it, so couldn't put a price on it...! But if a buyer is found, should accept any offer... If your bike works I'm sure some Thai will buy it, accept their first offer... ????

From what I hear the most important thing in USA is proximity to a dealer , and if they have fair prices for service and repair - I guess that's for every country....! But in USA things could be 100s of miles apart.... Best to do some research in forums in your area for dealers and feedback on their service... (specially hourly labor rate !).

I also have Pireli Angel Scooter on my old 2016 Forza, good tires for the price... Go to a big bike shop, forget Honda, check that they have the proper machine for tire changing , 1)- If they use a big ranch or screwdriver to take tires off they can damage and scratch the wheels, 2)- also they must balance the wheels - Forza can do 130+kph , it's not a small scoot, need a proper balance... Also ask them to call and order the tire for you from their supplier, their price is usually competitive and mostly includes installation and balance - well worth it... But wait there and ask them to call the supplier and confirm the dates on the tires, shouldn't be more than a year old, otherwise maybe try to find a newer ones - if buying from Lazada also ask the dates.... Finally, be very careful on first 100km on new tires, I was lucky didn't go down coming out of the garage right after the tire change, slipped really badly but survived...!

It's all good but they seem to forgot putting gear 5 for going over 110+ kph....!? Would the engine blow up then.... lol And before you say Wave can't go any faster than 110, sit couple of heavies on it and go down a steep hill..., it could fly...! ????

I think the idea is if the service is done by 3rd party and wrongly and it damages the bike, then warranty is void..., say if put wrong oil and blow up the engine, then not covered... But all this is hard to prove either way, so for piece of mind people go to dealers...., if sure and can prove service done right then can fight for the warranty if ever needed....!

You are right in that respect.... But the conversation I had was some years ago when there was a bragging right about having dual channel ABS and having it on rear brake, while most bikes had it on front..., in fact as you might know or experienced, a disk rear brake locks up so easily and give the fish tail effect , far easier than front ....- done it myself a few times... ???? So this rear ABS was kind of luxury and worth boasting about - these days most ABS are dual channel and on rear and front... I guess drum is poor man's only option anyway...., front or rear...!

No, that's called a death-trap... ! ???? Front drum brake goes way back (mostly before ABS), well, that's on a descent bike, most quality bikes I have come across in the last 20 years had front disk (and some with front ABS) but many still with drum rear, so that conversation I heard was about rear drum brake, not front...

Do they offer Forza 750 in Thailand, what's the price...? That is this Tmax competition..., sort of...!

There is also a Bajaj Dominar 400, it was offered in Thailand last year I think..., if any think that might have a bit more juice considering the heavy chassis on these bikes...

Dealers , spare parts, aftermarket parts, mechanics who know how to properly repair it - well, let's say they repaired a few before yours. ...., take all that into account..., if I was in India it would have been an option with all the above for Bajaj bikes in every corner, in Thailand there are better options...

A while ago someone said drum rear brakes are like poor man's ABS, got me laughing first, but later I thought he wasn't that wrong...????????

As long as your "health regiments" doesn't effect other people..., a six year old knows that....!!! Smoke as much as you like, but not in my face, drink yourself to death, but don't get behind a wheel and kill others...., boy... , I thought we got around understanding these things some 30 or 40 years ago...! ???? Get Covid and die, just don't give it to others, no problem there ...

I think I had a post about this, or rather good English Breakfast a while ago, and had some good replies, do a quick search... I tried a few, but I ended up going to Quenchers after that, it was okay for me..., always good service and consistent standard every time, something hard to find in LOS....!

There is a website with lots of YouTube videos reviewing helmets, can't remember the name, but they test helmets in real conditions, not just show it on a table and talk about it... They measure temperature inside/outside and noise inside going at 100kph or more and other tests... I was quite surprised to see many well-known helmets are not as good with noise, and have 100+ decibel wind noise inside at 110-120kph - apparently anything over 100db is not good.... They say this is equivalent to being next to proper big chainsaw working at full speed, although I don't hear as much inside my helmet, but that could be deceiving I guess....! This is what made me think about putting earplugs on long/high speed trips...., when/if I remember...???? As for your custom ear plug business, you only have farangs maybe interested, Thais have other things to worry about than earplugs..., you can't pay them to put earplugs while riding, what about their phone and music and exhaust noise...????

There's been a lot of talk about this for a while now, we are wondering what the chassis will be, it can't be the same as ADV150, so would it be more like ADV750 or the Forza...!? I think that would make a big difference ultimately as what kind of bike it will be, handling and seating position, off road capability etc. etc. , need to wait for test drives reports, not what they put on paper... I think it's an exciting entry for Honda, it brings a new (affordable) option to the range, ADV150 is just not up to it with power for us big farang, and although ADV750 is an amazing bike but way too expensive for what it is, this could be a nice alternative... ????

Anything less than 150cc won't really be comfortable for inter-city travel, in my opinion... Honda PCX 150 , Yamaha Nmax 155 will be okay....or for bigger and more power Forza 300/350 and Xmax 300 .... Now if you are on the heavy side (lol !) and like more long distance travel and have money to burn, get the XADV 750.... ????

There were always a couple on Patong beach, but not sure if there are still renting those..., normal price was 1500b per hour, 5 or 6 months ago they gave me Covid price of 1000b...! The others I know of are big resorts after the airport up north of airport (Marriot for example), I asked last year before Covid and it was same as normal price in Patong ... I'm guessing most resorts that have one for guests and you can see it on the beach would rent it to you at a price, just walk and find the guy in charge and ask, but will not be cheap.... I very much like taking one out for fun but I always do it when I go on a trip to Ao Nang / Krabi. Most resorts there rent for 600/700b and let you go (alone) for 2 or 3 hours, no problem, I have done it many times....(never in Phuket though... ! not sure if they let you go alone either...!) I just remembered there was a lady on Facebook had them for rent around Chalong pier, but only pricy daily rates, I guess it's worth it for 2 or 3 people day out... Of course there are courses and lessons on sailing etc, at Ao Yon beach near Aquarium, they have their own dingies and qualified instructors, give you recognised certificates at the end of the course, a few years ago quoted me 60k baht for a two/three weeks course if I remember right..., something I liked to do but never got around..., I am no expert sailor, more of an enthusiast, if that...! lol . I capsized one a few years ago in the wind, and it wasn't fun getting it back up, needed a lot of help.... My best sailing days were renting hobie cats for half a day for $20 in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, and go to nearby islands, fishing and having lunch with a cold beer, not many tourists around those days, a bit like Covid Phuket....! ????

As far as I know UK only accepts vaccine certificate from UK, Europe or US...., not sure about other European countries..., and also things change..., they should really start accepting vaccination from other countries...!

Good to hear people get CoR for free, I will try next time....????

So my feedback in Phuket offices: -- 2 years ago immigration office insisted I need 2 x certificates for car and bike , 2 x 300b , but the land office said only one is needed with a copy, I kept one in case needed somewhere else...(it's valid for 1 month) -- No standing ground etc in Phuket , as far as I know , 300b needed , or no certificate, no receipts given to me ever over the years...! (it's a tip, tea money , call it what you like). -- Health certificate was needed for 2 years to 5 years license renewal, no idea about 5 to 5 years... -- Some years ago (maybe 5 or 6) I got CoR when I was on single entry tourist visa (not visa waiver entry though) , I used that to open a bank account after trying 3 or 4 branches which refused me and finally one accepted... -- For CoR they check on computer if you have registered your address correctly, via TM-30, or nowadays my landlady does it online for me - well, she gives me her phone and I do it ..lol ! (she's registered with them).

Not in Chalong, but I had a fan fixed here, good job: https://maps.app.goo.gl/2wvcyS4d8VaX5SAFA