Lickey

Yes, im afraid the old git is right, your next text will be the PP is ready for collection, and thats it! luckily,as we live 600ks fromBKK the GFs daughter is in Uni there and was able to collect her PP and call us with the good news, i think it was a total of 8 working days we waited,

I must give credit to Oldgit, he did tell me not to write "War & peace" in my covering letter, in fact, i only wrote in the section provided, and to supply pics over the years together, not to fake things by doing loads of pics on the same day with change of clothes ect, and to get every releavant paper translated into english, Hope you did this with your work permit ect?

You can imagine an ECO sitting there with your request [no46 that day] and suddenly sees a thai page and 4 pages of handwritten english as to why she wants a visa ect, yep! auto print refusal!

Wish you the best Guano, please keep us posted, thanks, Lickey,,

Ive found what my UK daughter wanted for her wedding present, its a wooden carved elephant table lamp, now the very delicate shade wont seperate from the main piece, so would we have problems with this in hand luggage, knowing the way other baggage gets thrown around! the main reason im asking is because its electrical, well, wire switch and a bulb, !!

Thanks for any advice, Lickey,,

DDavies, the carpark near the bridge as you drive towards the bridge is on your right side, just before you get to the bridge do a u-turn, then its on your left side, loads of tuk tuks and look out for a new 7 11, turn in left, go between the 7 11 and shops on your left, the secure carpark is right in front of you, make sure they understand that you will leave it for 2 nights, sorry, cant remember price,,

Top Mansion is the place! parking at the rear, and very good new rooms, UBC,fridge,shower ect, and lots of falang bars/resturants close by, they do thai food as well,

Cheers, Lickey,,

Opps, i knew i shouldnt have mentioned it, but thats what we did, before drilled grooved stainless came along a lot of bike racers would do this also, well, at club level anyway, in a wet race it can give you a braking advantage into the corners,

I used to turn the hacksawblade round so it would be a controlable pull cut, does that qualify me?

My ex russian mrs borrowed 1000quid off me for plastic surgery, i never did get the money back and i dont know who to look for!!

3 times married in the UK, and living in Thai with my GF now, for 4 years, to be honest, ive never known such devotion, she knows i miss my life and family in the UK, and does her best to make falang dishes, in fact, we are going to the UK next month for my daughters wedding, mrs is paying half for the air tickets ect,

Im sure when you find a good thai girl and after you have done the gold thingy, the house/buisness, get married if you want, help out with some money when needed, you will be on a stable and good footing for many years,

I agree with you PP & Cul, EBC andAP are the best after market pads available, choose the pad for the application and how you want to use your vehicle, and i suppose someday these super pick-up trucks will catch on to what motorbikes have as standard, stainless steel discs,drilled grooved and wavy,

Years ago when bikes had solid cast discs, we used to cut extra grooves in the pads, just a criss-cross with a hacksaw about 16in deep, it greatly improved wet weather braking, and in 30 odd years in the motor repair trade, i have never seen a pad loose its friction material, its always still bonded to the steel, no matter how worn..

And another little piece of info, many american stock car racers cut off up to 50% of the right side pads, it gives them the bias into the left hand corners,and it passes the scrutineers,

Whats a BREAK? tea break,coffee break,lunch break?

Lars, Take the bulbs out of bonnet and boot light fittings, see if things improve,

Yea that was me. Now there is no 2T problem and it smokes consistently and no excessively. Enough to see if you look but not enough to really notice if your just driving, or were to watch me driving it. Yes it seems like there is engine starvation as it gets warm most noticeable in the mid rpms before the power band, but still a bit noticeable if it hits the power band. The engine oil and cooling solution has always remained at the appropriate level since I changed the piston.

Which seal were you referring too that might let air in if it was too worn out?

While I'm at Kawa I could get them to replace the engine seals too. I'm sure it wouldn't cost too much.

How much should it cost to replace the carb jets and engine seals? Cheap parts, but relatively complex labor.

Sorry Lenny, ive no idea of prices ect, the way i used to test for induction leaks on all engines is with a can of Easy-Start, its an Either spray, usally to help big diesels to get started in very cold climates, overuse of this was said to have made the engine reliant on this to get started, bit like a drug addict,,

Spraying this stuff round the inlet manifold of Petrol and Diesel engines is a quick way to determine if the gasket was at fault, the engine note would change at tickover, with 2 strokes, its a bit more complicated, do the manifold tests when the engine is hot, then remove the [opposite side to primary drive] cover, spray either as near as possibble to the turning crank where it comes out of the crankcase, again,if the engine note changes, the seal is leaking,

With the drive side seal, best you can do is check the GEARBOX oil level, and the exhaust smoke smell, if it smells like roasted peanuts, could be a problem with that seal also,,

Thing is, Seals, like us tend to get old and weak, they loose there abbility to expand in the engines heat, they go very hard and crack on the mating surfaces, also seals have a small spring inside to help them adjust to the crank diameter, or bearing surface,, considering the age of your bike, i would go for crank seals, and do you think the ex owner would have changed the jetting??

I need advice on float switches or valves available here for installation in my raised water tanks. I have a piston pump located about 20 metres from the tanks. There are four 1000 litre Eco plastic tanks in a group. I intend to plumb them together so I can fill all tanks from one which is fed by the pump.

Back to pump control, the real issue. My thought is to use two electric float valves to govern on/off power to the pump rather than using a mechanical float. I have fitted a pressure control switch to the pump but would rather not have the plumbing from the pump to the tanks pressurised all the time.

All thoughts welcome.

Isaanaussie

Hi IA,

What i did 3 years ago was buy a timer for the borehole pump, it was a bout 2.300bht, then a 2.300thousand litre clay thai round water tank with a 2in outlet for 900bht, then a vane type water pump for 3000bht, [2hp] and an electric float valve [commonly known as a Luk Loy] for 500bht,

The reason for this was to irragate at nights, so the hot sun didnt vapourize the water so quick, so, i would set the timer, the bore pump would start, when the tank is filled, the booster pump would start,and empty it obiviously quicker than the bore pump could fill it,

The system works well, in your case, IA, i would put the delivery pipe into the top of the 1st tank, and join all 4 tanks together at the bottom with 2in pipe so they fill evenly, put an electric float control in the last 1 to cut the motor, if the motor is stopped, with a tank top fill, it only has the waterpressure in the delivery pipe to contend with,

Just an idea, you might want to clean out the sediment in the tanks sometimes, so drain valves in each tank and by pass piping might be the way to go?

Hi Barry, good to see you posting again!

Seems like your pump is already working at its max capabilities, sucking from 10 mts, perhaps you need a bigger depth pump or even a borehole pump down the existing bore, my 1hp franklin will pump from 23 mtrs and then deliver uphill 240mtrs to power 3 big sprinklers, when we extended the banana plantation, the pipeline was 540mtrs, thats when i fitted the booster pump ect [as above] ..

If for eg, you suction pump could lift from 20mtrs, i would raise the pipe 4 or so mtrs above the ground and camoflge it in some way, [paint it green?] this way, your pump should always have the advantage of water wanting to come into it, well good luck with what you decide to do,,,

Cheers, Lickey,

Lenny, if i remember, you bought this bike from a farmer somewhere, he used it to go to his farm and potter around the village ect, its about 15 years old?

You posted before about smoking ect and converting it to fuel mix, no problem there,and getting the exhaust cleaned out,

You say it seems to run lean at revs, this would suggest a timing side seal leaking, and it still smokes? this could be a primary drive side seal leaking, Check you gearbox oil level, if its low, could be the engine is sucking in the oil, causing smoke, if its the other seal, it will suck in air causing a weak fuel mix, you could have the engine pressure tested, or just have the seals replaced for peace of mind,,,

I ran a pan european construction company / employment agency with sites ranging from east germany, almost to poland, berlin, on one side and the belgian / french border on another.. Men were paid in cash (I would be carrying 250k - 400k euros in cash weekly) and were visitied every week.

It wasnt consistent year round, it would drop in the winter, but summer months were pure crazy. For a long period when I had a big berlin job, I would be up 4am on a thursday, do anything from 500 - 1000 kms around holland and belgium, go home (south holland) to shower, then drive overnight to berlin, meet the men, get a bar cheque from the client, cash it at his bank, and drive home friday night to get home early hours saturday, munching uppers and coffee and caning down those autobahns. That was a ballpark 2500kms in 48 hours and I did that week in week out for months. Add in the mon / tues starting new men on sites spread all over n europe and those are the kind of miles we put in, my car was my office and I worked 7 days a week 18 hours a day.

Fun times, fast cars, huge money, good game for a young guy.

When i have time, i look through older posts, this one caught my eye, i have travelled in Europe a lot, 38ton artics and fast bikes, now, to put the above post in perspective, 2.500ks in 48 hours is an average speed of nearly 53ks an hour, So? should the poster be driving for Audi at Le Mans? the winning Audi [with 3 drivers] done 5405ks in 24 hrs, average speed 225ks,, but hey, i like a laugh and a bit of BS now and then!!!

well I'd like to replace all of them if needed.. needle jet, jet needle, main jet, pilot jet, air screw, slider valve..... and have it looked at by someone who knows what they are looking at... i've done some research but still couldn't do it myself..

it's probably the easiest to just get it all replaced, but i'm not sure if one will just be able to look at the inside of the carb and figure out which part is the issue.. maybe it's something as simple as the main pilot air screw making it too lean...

Sounds like the crank seals are shot,

Ok, what did i post about 2 months ago? that a goverment fella is going round the Issan provinces buying up land parcels of 2000rai, of nor sor sam land, 100k a rai with producing or 6 year old trees, or barren land NSS, at 70k a rai, apparantly, he is still in Nong Khia province now,

The goverment wants to control rubber prices, and take a big slice for themselves!!

I am a bit concerned about the Premier class in MotoGPs future, mainly about the depleted grid, i mentioned in a post about perhaps the top 5 or so riders in GP2 could make up the grid in GP, but looking at lap times, the fastest 2 rider was 4.5 secs slower than the slowest GP rider so thats a no go!

I did find this post by an american journalist which is interesting,

One has to ask why spend tens of millions of dollars on prototype bikes for virtually nothing? Jorge Lorenzo’s fastest lap at Silverstone - identical circuit, identical weather, same time of year - was 172.3 kph. Crutchlow managed 171.22 kph. That’s 1.08 kph difference - or a $5 million WSBK budget compared with $25 million for MotoGP. And in case you are not comfortable with kilometers per hour 1.08kph is around 0.6 mph - the speed of an infant tottering across the room to meet its Mom. That’s the real-world difference between MotoGP and WSBK!

Rossi going to Ducati to "see if he can do it" will be interesting, but when will GP be as interesting and as exciting as Moto2 or WSB?

Guano,

I recently made a successful application for my GF of 5 years, a family visit visa to the UK, we have been together near 4 years in Thai,

What you have so far is a good start, on the paperwork front, but i would get those thai things [work permit & contract translated to english} ...

Also do you have any mails from your UK bank, Pension company,letters from mum , anything with your address on it from the Uk, photocopy the headers and include in the folder, anything to prove [if you do] live here full time, and also, copy every page of your PP, and return every page of the application, even though the last 2 are info and check boxes,

In the boxes asking about GFs income ect, we put approx figures, she does own a busy salon and a 40 rai fruit farm, the salon is a registered buisness and she pays tax, my covering letter told the embassy that this was my present to her for working hard non-stop for 3 years, thats why Gfs bank book was not with application, Did i read that your mum came here? if so, get mum to write a letter stating that in return for your GFs kindness, she will sponser a trip to the UK for both of you, and as a footnote, stick to the dates of return, or it might stand you in dire straights for the next application,

Cheers, Lickey..

So all you cassava farmers, its not ants that carry the bug, so what else can it be??

And the rain seems to stop the infestation, now, i wonder, why is that? is it because rain on your chemically killed soil produces new weed shoots [until you spray herbicide again] and thats where the bugs will go? it seems in my mind that the bugs need fresh green shoots, and if your land is killed by cides, the cassava leaves are the only place to find them,

We dont grow cassava anymore, and i have banned cides on the 40rai farm, the fruit trees and banana plants are fed on organic stuff, and are doing well, no sign of bugs like before that decimated 9 rai of pappaya,

No, i am not preaching that you should give up cides ect, but perhaps you farmers with a lot of cassava rai could put aside perhaps 1/2 with no cides, see how it goes?

Ray23 hit a dog on his way to my place, he hit the brakes, locked the front wheel and over he and mrs went, if i remember, he had to pay 5000bht for the dead dog and about 8000bht for repairs to his bike, he will confirm this if he sees the posting,

Im sure it was posted on here!

If its inevitable that you will hit an animal or human, personally, i would lay off the brakes until the incident is over, because a locked [braked wheel] can do a lot more damage than a free-turning wheel to the victim,

Here i have a Yam 1200, my speed, 80k, because of the blinkered thai drivers, Home, i have ZZR1100, tour the continent of Europe, speeds of 280k on the autobans, no problem,

Easy thing to do is adjust your speed to the envoiroment,

If you dont replace/clean a dirty filter, its a quick way to burn out your blower motor,,

Thankyou all for comments, most helpfull,

I conered my mrs tonight and it was like a "Hard Talk" debate as on BBC, I insisted on knowing how much SIL owed and how much she paid bank monthly, mrs said she owes 700.000bht and pays 7000bht a month, which isnt quite enough to meet a 3 year deadline, but i dont kow the exact dates!!

On the other hand, SIL has on her part of the farm, 12 rai of 6 year old rubber trees, about 1600 trees, up for sale for 1mill 950,000 bht, again, nor sor sam land, I will be a bit sad if she sells this, its at the top of the hillside farm and has brilliant views over the village and mountains,

The farm value far exceeds what is owed to the bank, having to get papers from bank and of course the greasing ect, mrs would make small money for what is rightfully her land, so she doesnt want to go down that route, I do know of a falang in the same situation, but he went ahead and built a bungalow, he should have the papers next year, if the land owner doesnt fault on his payments, but even if he did fault, what would happen?

Thanks for more comments, Lickey..

A friend of mine has fell in love with a piece of ground for sale on mrs family farm, Problem is, and like most of us Europeans want is an official document on the sale of the land,

The land is not offically segmented to individual family brothers and sister, but 4 years ago, mrs sister gave land document to the bank to secure a loan, unbeknown to other family members,

Mrs told friend not to worry about this, she would do paper with the village boss as witness that would garantee his right to the land, [its 1/2 rai on 36 rai ], sorry, i forgot, its nor sor sam titled,

His GF understands totally, and agrees all will be ok,

Friend wants to do a usufruct [spelling?] on the land and house build, as a security in the case of a split or divorce or something,

Sister has 3 more years to pay of loan, then the papers will be released,

Finally, the site has electricty,water, and at least 3 different access points,

Thankyou for comments and views, Cheers Lickey,,

Has the open return ticket been stopped? always done this a few years ago, the return would be valid for the lenght of the visa, up to 6 months, had to book a week in advance for Thai Airways,,

What i did near 5 years ago was to print off 2 sets of the relevant forms, one set, i filled in as many things as i could, like acommadation adresses ect, anything that she could not possibly know,

Doing this meant she had to fill in the application form herself, so perhaps the ECO thought, this lady means buisness!! and Pan got her visa,

The other docs were 6months of bank statements, copy of house ownership,about 10 pics of our first and only meeting in thailand, and a covering letter stating,

I have always been interested in SE Asia culture and food, and i found this lady on the internet in the province i wanted to visit, Pan took me to all the local Buddha temples,a boat ride on the Mekong,Historic parks ect,

I really want to repay her kindness and if you would grant her a visa to visit UK in the spring time, 6/8 weeks max, i would consider it a great kindness, I will cover all costs, Thanks, ......

Its a lot different now i would think,or at least reading the posts on here it is,

Been here 4 years full time, going to UK in Sept for daughters wedding, i think i had to supply more proof than the mrs that i am here pemantlley, well, she does have a registered buisness and employs staff,

I would sugest as above, 2 copies of the relevant applicattion forms, you fill in one, GF copies onto another,

Copies of what is relavant to your life in the UK,

Pics,

If your GF has anything atall with her name in it, [ie goverment document] blue book, car/pick-up book, land paper, hire purchase agreement,bank book, Definiteley get translated certified copies done, every little helps,,

Anyway, if you try and fail, the good news is, the fail is what youve got to work on''''

As in Vocals pic above, big machinery would have sealed brgs, or a grease nipple or even an Autolube system powered by electric and would pump thin grease through small bore pipes,many 80/90s HGVs had this, but mainly for spring shackles, king pins, steering joints, gear ghange linkage ect, but no effective way for propshafts and the like, all hand pumped grease,,

A few hints and tips on bearings, if you pressure wash your motorbike, try not to wash too much near the wheel centre, sealed brgs have a tiny air gap allowing for heat expansion and pressure washing will wash the grease out of the brg,

If its easy to remove the brg, wash in parrafin or diesel, hold inner race, turn outer race, if any notchines is felt, look inside the brg for pitting, both inner and outer races,

Insitu test, put bike on centre stand, get front wheel in the air, wiggle brake caliper till there is no brake drag on disc, spin wheel, put hand on fork leg, if you can feel any vibe atall, brg is on the way out,

Car/pick-up, non driven wheels, jack up the wheel, kick the rubber near brake calliper a few times, this should push the pads back to allow the wheelto free spin, do the same test, turn wheel and feel for vibes,

Cheers all, Lickey,

Way to big for a road going truck, Thailands 40 tonners would have a brg size of max outside, 8in, and inside 2.5in, I regulary drove and maintained a 68ton low loader on road planing jobs, total of 7 axles, 24 wheels, the more weight, more axles, and all hubs would have taper roller brgs, for adjustment as ness, and 1 seal on the inside of the hub, to keep the grease in ,

Did you notice if these large brgs were taper roller or just plain ball OP?

And i wonder why they were de-waxing them? perhaps some old stock where the preservative wax had melted off? or they had an imediate use for them,

Another possible could be for a water pumping station, as a support [pressure fed] pedastal for the propshaft to the pump, we used similar in the UK, on the fens, a few years ago, i replaced a brg that was 69 years old, pressure fed ball race, I asked the boss man, and as records state, it was the first time they had a brg problem, I asked him how many litres a minute do the 5 engines shift? he laughed, he said you tell me boy!!, last time we tested, it was 200 tons per engine/pump per minute, and as far as i know, the other 4 engines prop brgs are ok,

Sorry for getting carried away there, perhaps im missing the above?

Interesting thread, could do with more like this,,,,

Bkksw, find a long downhill road, select neutral, turn off engine, dab the brakes a couple of times, to exhaust the servo, then try progressive braking to bring you to a stop, is the feedback from the pedal better now?

Alternately, put a ton of sandbags or something heavy in the back, this will bring the rear brakes into play more,

Yes, you are right, i agree with you that changing the discs/pads wont help, its a master cylinder issue,