pseudorabies

Blame it on Google maps but I once rode my Versys 1000 2-up, fully loaded with top and side cases over a pedestrian bridge onto the grounds of temple in the Chom Thong section of Bangkok.  Considering the narrow road I was on going forward just seemed like the better option.

21 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

 

Thanks

 

Coming back to the theme of this thread, how is the Triumph service in Thailand?

My KTM Duke is a great bike. But the available service in Thailand is just bad. So next time no KTM for me anymore.

How about Triumph service in Thailand? 

The only thing I can say about Triumph in Thailand is that they are very popular with Thai motorcyclists AND that many of the models are built here.  Other than that I can't really comment.  Hopefully others can.

My experience at the two Kawasaki dealerships in Thailand has been fine and actually better (so far) that my experience at those in the US.  I think that the other side of the question you are asking is how reliable are these bikes, i.e. how often will you need to depend on the dealership to fix problems that are common to a particular model/brand.  The KTM's are great performing bikes for sure but in the states I heard horror stories of new KTM bikes that were in the shop more often than on the road.  I recall the experience of one owner who had to get a lawyer in order to force KTM to honor California's lemon law.  

I don't know if this will be the case for others (hopefully not) but I just got my email notification from Immigration that my 90-day due date was coming up.  I noticed that the due date was not 90 days from my last due date but 90 days from the time I submitted my last online application to notify the kingdom of intent to stay longer than 90 days.  So effectively my 90 day period has shrunk, and will continue to shrink to 75-76 days unless Immigration fixes or reverses this policy.  Not a big deal as long as online reporting works but disingenuous. 

Regarding online appointments is anyone else having issues with the new site?  It now requires us to confirm our email with a OTP code before selecting an appointment date and time.  I've tried two email addresses, different domains multiple times over the last 24 hours and each time nothing is sent (yes I checked junk/spam).

Although I haven't ridden one (yet) I'll second the Triumph Trident and also the slightly larger and sportier Street Triple.  I'm looking to get a second, smaller bike to add to my large Versys 1k which I typically tour on and the Trident is at the top of the list.  Before I moved to Thailand I had a Triumph Sprint GT and the fit/finish/build quality was superior to every other Japanese bike that I've had. 

And to  me the sound of a piped triple is absolutely intoxicating -

2 hours ago, rumak said:

If i knew my pain was going to be gone for even 3 years i would be in the hospital tomorrow !

btw :  Nobody has said whether the actual shot was VERY painful or not too bad .  

Good luck going forward ..... maybe surgery time .    but gotta see a specialist

For me the most painful part was when the doctor delivered the steroid which was a volume of a few milliliters.  If she or he is in the right location I would feel crushing pain down my leg that lasted for 5-10 seconds.  Pain when the doctor was positioning the needle wasn't too bad since local anesthetic is injected ahead of the needle that delivers the medicine.  Injections done by one doctor in the US gave me considerable pain later that evening.  Injections by other doctors, including the pain doctor that I see at Bangkok Hospital, have been relatively pain free.

3 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Sounds like you have reached the point where surgery may be indicated, provided you are a good surgical risk (i.e. not elevated risk from other underlying conditions).  Surgical approaches have advanced a lot in recent years and now include less invasive approaches e.g. minimally invasive decompression without fusion. Every case is different and some people may still be better off with a fusion but for a lot of people a minimally invasive decompression surgery will work wonders. Recovery is fast as muscles etc are not cut tin the process.

Not to hijack the thread but maybe give the OP a sense of where it could go - I've consulted with a surgeon recommended by the pain MD who then ordered nerve conduction tests.  There was some impact but it wasn't too severe.  After reviewing the results we both felt that surgery wasn't indicated. Yet.  I appreciated his honesty and reticence to just get me on the operating table. By contrast I encountered a surgeon at Bumrungrad in 2018 who basically wanted to cut me open then and there.  

For the OP - One question I would ask any doctor performing the injection is where they get the steroid formulation from and how the hospital knows that it is really sterile.

I've had injections at L5-S1 2-3x per year for the last 8 years for disc herniation, stenosis and disc degeneration.  These were done in the US until 3 years ago when I moved to BK and began seeing a pain MD at BK Hospital's Spine Center.  Until recently injections would give me relief from lower back pain as well as nerve pain affecting my left leg and upper right leg. Relief would last for about 5 months and return to baseline at ~6 months. Along with the injections I also perform stretches and exercises.  If I was experiencing acute pain from walking, lifting heavy objects or just sleeping in the wrong position I would take prescribed opiates (thank God for those).  Last year I noticed that the benefit that I would get from the injections was less pronounced and would last for shorter periods of time.  Early this year I gave up on them completely as it was no longer worth the cost.

I've never looked into doctors in Chiang Mai however when I lived in Hua Hin for several months I would travel to BK for injections and consultations.  If I I had moved to Chiang Mai and was still getting injections I would definitely travel to BK to have the same MD perform them. If you're looking for a doctor in CM I think you want someone who is both competent with injections AND willing to prescribe "pain killers" as needed.  The last point can be tricky as pain tends to be under-treated in Thailand and if you ask up-front then the doctor probably will see you as a farang who is shopping for narcotics. Good luck.

1 hour ago, sikishrory said:

had a gaggenau glass induction cooktop break about a year ago at work because the engineer stood on it. They're not as strong as you think. They're good but gotta be careful

I'm not surprised that it broke.   Also I would not want to drop anything on it capable of scratching it for fear of it shattering.  Look at what shards from spark plug insulators can do to a car window.  On the other hand hundreds of thousands of thousands (maybe millions?) of hobs have been installed into countertops all over the world without issues.

In August I submitted my 90 day application 13 days before the due date.  several days passed and my application was still pending so I booked an appointment at CW scheduled a few days after my due date just in case.  Sure enough, my due date passes and the application is still pending.  The morning of my scheduled appointment I got an email saying that my application was approved.  I doubt that the timing was a coincidence.  Luckily my appointment was in the early afternoon and I had not left the house yet.  My advice is to schedule your appointment later in the day  if you are going to do this.

I applied online 12 days early.  Yesterday was my deadline and still my application is pending.  I planned ahead for incompetence and made a reservation for in-person reporting last week.  It's still a hassle to travel to CW but I guess that's the point of the online system not working like it had been.

17 hours ago, webfact said:

Riley managed to rescue his son, Darwin, but not before sustaining injuries from the monkeys’ bites and scratches. The family subsequently required shots for tetanus and rabies, reported the Daily Mail.

I would be more concerned about Monkey B virus than rabies.  Like rabies, fatal in humans but much more prevalent among the macaques.

I finished transferring my retirement visa extension and multiple entry permit to my new US passport today at CW.  During my 90-day report last month I got the transfer form from the information desk. On the back side of the form there is a list of docs needed for transferring stamps.  8 items; nothing about the bank book is mentioned.  After arriving at CW I went to the document check desk where I presented everything including my bankbook which I had updated the day before (thanks to this thread).  I was quickly informed that I needed to have the bank book updated to today's date AND that I needed to provide a them with a photocopy.  I resisted the urge to point out that the bank book was not on their list of required doc's. Luckily the bank branch downstairs was able to perform the simple update quickly. No letter from the bank was needed.

From there everything went as smoothly as anything else I've done at CW.  The on-topic info in this thread saved me from having to make a return trip to CW and a lot of aggravation.

On 12/12/2022 at 6:39 PM, Kwasaki said:

650 then 1000 your fault,  thank Bridgestones for the warning.

What exactly is my fault? Please share your wisdom

And to those who recommended 29 Tires - Thank You.  Very good service and I can see why they are so popular.  The owner ordered the tires at 1pm and by 4pm they were on the bike.  I couldn't have done a better job myself.

Thanks.  I've sent 29 Tire a Line message and am waiting for them to reply.  I've been here for two years and haven't yet come across 29 Tire so I look forward to checking out their shop when I visit.

I've never tried riding on Dunlops.  I had a Versys 650 back in the states and the stock Bridgestones were fine and never slid for me on pavement even when ridden hard. Same for my ZRX.  Since buying the Versys 1000 the stock Bridgestones have routinely underperformed and slid on me many times under normal cornering on dry pavement.  At this point I want to go with a tire that I have experience with to serve as a reference point.

I've just completed a Mae Sot to Mae Hong Son to Chiang Mai ride and have decided that it's time to ditch the (barely) mediocre OEM Bridgestones on my Kawasaki Versys 1K.  I've had very good experiences with Michelin's Pilot Road series on my other bikes over the last 15 years and want to stick with them.  For reasons that I don't understand the Kawasaki dealership where I bought and service the bike is unable to order Michelins.  Does anyone know of any shops, dealers etc in Bangkok who stock, sell or can order Michelin motorcycle/"big bike" tyres?

Thanks in advance for any helpful info.

I've used Hua Hin Cab many times over the past year for myself and friends - 

http://www.huahincab.com/

1800 THB for a very nice camry from Bangkok to HH one way.  They offer other vehicles as well.  Always had reliable, prompt, & professional service and wouldn't hesitate to use them again.

29 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

What do you drive ? How do you set your fog lamps to flashing ? I can do that with my indicators but not my dog lamps as far as I know.

I ride a Kawa Versys 1000 with some aftermarket LED fog lamps that are 40W each IIRC.  I bought them last year off of Lazada.  If I quickly cycle the lights from ON - OFF - ON they will change from steady to flashing.  One more cycle and the flashing frequency increases.  Another cycle returns to steady ON.  Flashing seems to help a little bit on the straights but has limited effect on hills and curves where oncoming drivers can not see.  But too many roll the dice and attempt to pass anyway.  Insanity.

This is one of the biggest dangers that I face while touring through rural area of Thailand - guys in pickup trucks that take insanely unnecessary risks while passing.  Usually when I'm on country roads I'll set my fog-lights to flashing in the desperate hope that oncoming traffic will see that I'm not riding a scooter and think twice before trying to pass whatever is in front of them.

My apologies if these observations and experiences have offended anyone.

2 hours ago, Nojohndoe said:

Took my old hilux in for an oil change today. Asked me what oil and I said same grade as original specification because I know Castrol GTX meets that but is also the cheapest. There is always the attempt at  "upsell" for  better profit margins.

But your suggestion as to possible error in draining sump and failure to replace is a possible but  for sure will never be admitted to is so!

 

And then you're left wondering if you actually got the oil you requested.  On every motorcycle I've owned it's been easy to distinguish good synthetic oil like Motul or Mobil1 from dino oil by the way the transmission shifts.  On my last oil change I requested Motul synthetic but I'm pretty sure that is not what I got.

11 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Interesting.

 

Watson wrote a textbook which was used by very many schools, many years ago.

However, did he actually write it himself, do you know?

 

Re:  You "would see Watson occasionally at Cold Spring Harbor"

 

Did he ever visit Stoney Brook, do you know?

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm guessing you are referring to Molecular Biology of the Cell by Alberts et al?  There were a number of authors that contributed to their relevant sections.  I'd imagine that Watson did in fact write his section but who knows?  I've written sections of grants for PI's during my time in grad school and never got credit (not that big of a deal imo).  I think that any good grad student finishing their thesis in one or more of the sections covered by the book would be able to write for MBC.

Not sure about Stony Brook as I never spent much time out there.

I would see Watson occasionally at Cold Spring Harbor and knew women there that he interacted with regularly.  Later in life he was interested in connections between female hirsuteness and sexuality.  A scientists's version of a foot-fetish I guess.  In any case, since his leanings were towards the more plump ladies he probably would have been disappointed with Pattaya.  I don't know how he felt about Asian ladies.  Probably either extremely positive or extremely negative.  

If it was me I'd want to make sure that what ever solvents are used for the spray do not affect the shell.

I grew up in the NYC area, lived in the SF bay area for nearly 20 years and southern Florida for 3 years.  Driving in southern Florida reminded me of driving in the SF bay area but with less traffic.  In other words, the senile senior drivers were very similar to drivers of a particular Asian origin country that are prevalent, sometimes a majority, in SF Bay area towns.  Thai drivers are nothing like those from the Asian country I'm thinking of.

But Florida lacks the reckless, suicidal scooters that are practically everywhere in Thailand and really define the driving experience.  So, no, I don't think driving in Florida is similar to Thailand.