Agusts

The riding and driving licence test is a joke here, I was at DLT a few months ago for a friend computer test, so watching the practical tests outside...., If you see them how they qualify, you laugh...???? Even truck drivers were there, I couldn't believe it, is it really what they have to do to get a truck licence....!!!? Just reverse straight, and go around a few bends at 10kph....! I hope this is not for big trucks..., it's shameful comparing to say a UK test...???????? Thai government should really wake up and do more ...!

I'm not sure about statistics here, they say there are a lot of motorbike accidents, but comparing to what, which other countries...!? Are they dividing the number by kilometers ridden by bikes annually in this country...? Do they even know that number..., say if that is X in some western country, then it is million times X here...., There are so many people ride bikes here, it's not comparable...! So it's more risky, as oppose to what, smoking, drinking...? Now on another note I think bike accident numbers are actually really low here considering the riding and driving habits of Thais, it's a miracle, I can see them every day, just a millisecond or a few centimeters here or there and they should smash to each other, only Buddha saves them....!!!!!? As for OP the license or even helmet won't save anyone on bike, specially in a hard accident..., 3 things save her, training, experience, and cautious riding...., Try to provide that...!

I think you can make it with some care, it's not like going through a hilly twisty road, and you have the main front brake to use anyway...

Story or not I say let's learn a lesson...! Keep your belongings safe from pick pockets... And I would never engaged in such a situation, just shout loud at them and they would run off... Thieves like that probably have weapons, knife, guns etc. , and Thais never fight fair and attack in numbers....! Credit Card and even bike can be replaced, ruptured kidney or liver can not...., it could be the end, and not worth it...! ????

I think RE Interceptor has dual channel ABS, maybe there is a fault with the valve or something there...!? Does it lock up and activate the ABS at say 50kph if pulling the leaver hard...?

Last year I had strange behavior from my brake caliper with two pistons... Took it to the guy I know and made him check everything I wanted, he first told me all okay - typical Thai "mai pen rai" attitude...! But on further careful examination, it turned out one of the pistons was stuck and wouldn't come out. I got him to remove the caliper and pads, block the good piston, push the leaver many times until it finally came out...., Then cleaned it a bit and tested it....! You need to stand there watch them like a hawk, and tell them what exactly to do..., otherwise it's a waste of time with this lot...! ????

Didn't you register the green book under your name...? The DLT checks the number plate and chasis number with all the paperwork at that time...

Phuket is always more expensive, they keep saying it's an island, but it's not really, connected with a big bridge with highway road ...! Even when I questioned Honda parts pricing being higher, I was told the same, it's far and it's an island ...! , while no such issue say in Krabi or even Songkla which are further away....!? But the problem is not the price, almost 80% of bikes for sale here are ex-rental and have been trashed by tourists at some point in their lives ..., best to try and buy a non Phuket number plate bike that is brought here, or better go and buy from provinces and ride it back, then can change the plate and put green book in your name at DLT here... (what I did before and will do again on my next one...).

I saw a quote of 35k baht to set up a company to buy a house in Phuket, does that sound about right... ? It's not much...????

There is a little app can get from the web and save into a bootable memory stick ( or CD ROM if applies) , then boot the computer from that device, it will then safely wipe the hard drives by setting every bit to random 0s or 1s..., multiple times...! This is what we used to do with our office computers 10 or 15 years ago.... ????

I think that needs to be clarified, sounds like vinegar is recommended for some jellyfish stings, but not for these blue man o war....! Although it's really hard to see what stung you, I've been stung a few times with jellyfish, but I didn't want to stick around to see what it was..., swim back quickly and lifeguard poured on vinegar... , fortunately for me they were not bad. I've seen kite surfers in Hua Hin some years ago with nasty scars, they said might never fully disappear...!!! ????

Once it's properly prepared and cooked, no poisonous, very healthy and lots of protein, they have it BBQ on sticks in Krabi night market, I have seen boats fishing for them there, he told me they get 80 baht for a kilo of them (a few years ago), and I've seen some really large ones there....!

I actually had this on Thursday, all day, finally took Imodium at night as it would not stop, got better on Friday, and okay today ... Severe diarrehea and I had some body ache too, I thought must have been one of those 24 hour bugs we call ... I now wonder, can I get it again, or have some resistance built up...!!?

Not a bike really, it has 4 wheels, maybe an ATV....! ????

@NoshowJones I read a lot of Honda Forza gen 1 (pre-2018) forums and groups , as mine has just about everything go wrong with it, but I never heard of starter motor issue, so don't worry about it ... Belt is very critical, but check it first before changing, I changed mine at 24k km according to service schedule, but later looked at it and it was almost new. Battery of course, and rear brake pads need regular change..... . And don't get me started on clutch shoes, one of mine broke off ..., and it never works that well, vibrates and stutter, all my forks and shocks leaked, engine leaked from the water pump, idling issue, LCD blue light gone, headlight bulbs both gone at the same time ... !? etc. etc. At 53k km you might want to adjust valves, I'm at 42k now, but not bothered, so many other things are failing, saving money on that one....! Right now I have issue with front wheel, maybe shocks etc, at very slow speed, nobody can diagnose it, sightly lean to one side or the other, but it might be something to do with steering stem connection to handlebar, on this scooter a lot of panels have to come off to get to that part...! ???? Honda bulletproof my back side, I will try Yamaha for my next bike, see if any better...!!!

A Triumph 400cc bike at 140k baht new....!? I don't think so..., More like 240k or higher... !

I don't think so ..., He said they have all the docs to transfer, so I think they fake the signature on all docs and on green book , have copy of ID, must have got this when the bike was pawned..., even the power of attorney form they can sign it fake, so can go to the DLT office and do the transfer...., there is the bike, all docs, green book, and all signed...., DLT happy.... But later, who knows, the owner can come after the buyer....!?!? I'm not sure if they do stuff properly in the pawn shops here, legally when someone pawn something in a pawn shop, they sign a contract, say a watch, that says if money not returned within specified time, the watch belongs to the shop...! No issues with the watch as the pawn shop just sells it on... But with a bike, the owner needs to sign stuff for DLT transfer, and I don't think this is done at the time of pawning and getting the money, later of course he won't turn up to sign anything...., but maybe he has signed the pawn contract , that could be legally binding...! The truth is though, they are selling the bikes at much lower price, so that tells me something fishy is going on...!?

I saw a bike dealer has very cheap, less than half price, bikes in good conditions for sale. So asked some questions, he tried hard to say all is legit, has green book all documents etc. , when I persisted he finally said it's a pawned bike...! So I said in this the case you have green book, and probably copy of owner ID, but you don't have permission to sell this bike ? (I hazard a guess the owner has not signed the green book as a seller, and not the transfer form...!). Then he went quiet and not replied, again said all is okay. So I wonder what the story is with these bikes, this was in Bangkok, I have seen another guy in Krabi advertising cheap bikes, they have many bikes, and very active on Facebook, and answer all questions and say all is legit etc. ...!? I wonder...????

You're confusing service centers and mechanics in Thailand with the West....!!! Never go to a mechanic or service center here and tell them to check a bike or service it ..., Must always tell them exactly what to do, what to change for a service (what oil or pads or chain to use) and say precisely what is wrong with the bike for a repair.... Never go to a mechanic here if nothing seems or feels wrong, and have checked online a bit first, they for sure find something (else) to repair ... !?

I am particularly interested on this as I like to rent bikes to try them out, but to really test drive and enjoy it, I need to take it out of Phuket and maybe to Phang Nga area for a day trip... Almost all rental shops here refuse to rent me a red plate bike to take out of Phuket province for day...! We couldn't really understand this and my friends reckon this is more of a shop not wanting their new bike go on a long km trip just for one day rent - basically not a good deal for them rather than the red plate excuse....! But from this thread I guess it's a bit of both then ....????

I have no idea how people actually learn and get trained here, with so many complex cultural bullsh*t that goes on, like losing face, egoistic approach and pride, I can never tell a Thai he/she is doing something wrong....! It will be a disaster if I confront them, mechanics or even phone repair shop or whoever else, they look at me in disgust, like I just shot them ....! Imagine if I told that Thai mechanic he was turning the knot the wrong way ....!!!!!???? No idea what goes on in schools or unis or training institutes, how kids are corrected and shown their mistakes...., hard to learn and improve in such culture as far as I can see, hence far behind ...!?

How much is the fine, for motorbike, for out of province, and after dusk....? In Phuket 80% of rental bikes have red plate (or no plate !), and run around all night....! ????

You leave your bike with a Thai mechanic and go away for two weeks....!!!!!? I can't even turn my face away from them for a few minutes, they mess it up big time.... ???? Examples: I took the bike for oil and oil filter change, walked away for a few minutes, he opened the gear oil bolt (scooter) and emptied it - never asked for it , I had that changed a few weeks before....! Went to get coffee , another morron didn't know the water pump propeller knot opens clockwise, not the usual anti-clockwise, but he didn't give up until he broke the knot/propeller/shaft....!!! Leave bikes with Thai mechanics at your peril.....????

Generally speaking there are so many devices, not just tv box, that hook up to Wi-Fi and come from China or some unknown source and nobody knows what software or firmware is in them....! I use a different Google account on my tv box, never put any personal data or anything sensitive on it, and the idea that these try to go on my network to attack other devices , well, my other devices have firewall, antivirus and other security defences, otherwise anyone can attack them anyway....! So taking some sensible measures could go a long way, I think the video is very informative but a bit too scary perhaps....

Interesting the op post was about not using unknown Android tv boxes, but the thread ended up as box recommendation ...! ? Nobody's worried about the malware then....? ????