Issanman

Soon I will drive from Phuket to Bueng Kan and back again in a 4 door pickup and would like to do it this time without going too near to Bangkok. I don't mind driving on highways 2 and 4. It's the BKK mess in between them that I don't like. Is there an easier way around the west side of BKK without getting into the BKK traffic?

Makes one wonder how they can be the number one cable news channel for over 20 years. Forbes: The latest cable news ratings show that, every year since January 2002, Fox has been #1 in total day and primetime viewership as well as #1 in the key 25-54 demo.

The 2023 Aerox just appeared on the Thai Yamaha website.

Black Rock viewpoint above Nai Harn.

We just drove past the Windmill and it has reopened. Quiet neighborhood very close to Yanui beach.

I did the same conversion in Bueng Kan. No problem.

I still like the bike and plan to repair the deterioration. It’s actually more fun to ride than my NMax.

I bought a new GPX Rock about a year ago. The bike runs OK although my Suzuki will stomp the <deleted> out of it with only a 4cc advantage. The finish on some parts of the bike are aging quickly. Rusty screws, black finish on mag wheel coming off, rusty chrome on exhaust shield. Very poor paint on swingarm, etc. I had a cheap Keeway 200 for 5 years that had none of these premature aging problems. My 6 year old NMax has very few signs of corrosion or premature aging. I don't coddle my bikes, but they are always kept under a roof and do not sit out in the direct weather. Only occasionally ridden in the rain. A one year old bike should not show this kind of deterioration.

Go look at the Burgman 400 in person. It is quite impressive. I wish I had a place to keep one.

Never seen a Kymco in Thailand. Suzuki is selling the Burgman 400 in Thailand for 239000฿. Sym Thailand sells 300, 400, and 600cc scooters.

The place above ^ in Phuket is open. i went there a couple of weeks ago.

Walked past again this morning and the Windmill is still closed but it looks like the garden and parking areas have been cleaned up. Also, I just heard that they are looking for workers for a reopening.

The Suzuki Raider J Crossover would make a good base for this kind of light-adventure touring. I bought the first one in Phuket and did a few modifications by replacing the rims, tires (Michelin Anakee Street), shocks (YSS gas shocks), and adding a rack and box. It comes with 31mm front fork tubes. NMax fork tubes are only 30mm. The wide handlebars give lots of leverage for tight handling. This seems to be Suzuki's idea of a heavier-duty street scrambler version of the Wave class of bikes. I ride it mostly on the road here in south Phuket where we have a good amount of twisty, tight roads. I have owned over 40 motorbikes/cycles in my lifetime and I don't remember any that were as much fun as my new Suzuki Raider J Crossover. 56900฿ before modifications.

Kawasaki E-MTB for 174000฿ Kawasaki knows how to do high quality. Might be worth a look.

The Windmill is a nice place, but hasn't yet reopened from Covid. Pictures from my walk this morning:

I saw a new Van Van yesterday at the Suzuki BigBike Shop in downtown Phuket.

I sent a telephone by EMS up to the NE and it was delivered yesterday, Sunday.

According to BP, the main road is open for motorcycles now.

Suzuki Raider J Crossover 56,900฿ at Suzuki BigBike Phuket downtown Phuket. It's a new model for Thailand and it is the most fun I have had on 2 wheels in quite a long time. I bought the first one of this model sold in Phuket. It's 112.8cc but they call it a 115i engine. It's enough power for my current riding style at 69 years old. I also have an NMax but the Suzuki is way more fun. I changed the wheels, tires, shocks, and added the luggage rack and box. They really need these bikes for the farm country up where I stayed before in NE Thailand, but there are so few Suzuki shops up there that it probably won't even be seen by most of the people who could really use a bike like this. When I stayed up there, our closest Suzuki shops were about 100km away from our village. I am waiting for the drier weather so I can take my Suzuki out there and explore more of the secret roads that cover this island. Some of the roads are barely passable without a vehicle like this. But I don't like it when they are slippery in addition to being very steep. This is not a motocross bike. ???? But seriously, I think I am probably having more fun than anyone else on the road, while I am riding my new Suzuki.

It appears that the authorities are attempting to renovate another way over the mountain. It would go from Chalong to Patong. I believe that road will connect to the southern portion of Hasippi Rd. I am thinking this is the same road that my daughter and I attempted to navigate on our scooters a couple of years ago. But we were advised by the locals that the only safe way to traverse that particular road is by walking. They said it was not passable by scooters. I have been meaning to go back there and try again since I got my new bike, but I just haven't gotten around to it. https://thephuketexpress.com/2022/10/24/local-road-from-chalong-to-patong-to-be-renovated/

A Patong-Kathu shortcut does exist, but you would definitely need a high-clearance 4WD vehicle or a small and light motorbike that your can maintain control of while sliding around on the steep and muddy hills that you must traverse along the way. Once it dries out, it will be a lot easier. I talked to a woman on the Kathu side that walked the road and she verified that it was possible but said that I should not try it unless I had better shoes. I was wearing flip-flops. So I rode my bike around the one hour detour through Kata/Karon to Patong and up to the top of the mountain. There I met 2 separate persons that had ridden small, automatic motor scooters up from Kathu and they asked me if they could get to Patong if they followed the road that I had just come up on. I happily told them yes and they each took off down the road smiling. Going from Patong to Kathu, here is a picture of the first slippery and steep hill: The steepness never seems to actually show in the picture. But be aware there is a surprise ditch in the road just as you come to the top of the hill, just big enough to upset the progress of the bikes with the smaller wheels. Shortly after that, you will come to a fork in the road. Google says to go left at that fork. But knowing I already had one steep and slippery ass hill that I had to go back down, I turned around at that point. If I would have had actual shoes on, I would have traveled further. Picture of the fork: Lucky my bike has semi-dirt tires on it, so I made it safely back down the hill. I have always enjoyed climbing hills on my bikes, but always hated going back down the particularly hairy ones. The route is plainly marked on Google maps if you look for it. It runs between the Wat Doi Thep Nimit Monastery above Patong and the เคียงเขา Forest & Cafe at the bottom of the hill on the Kathu side. Me, I will wait for things to dry out a bit and then I will put on my boots and go for it. You guys go ahead and report back.

https://goo.gl/maps/YoKcwnXAn9eM3JEX7

The stock HD pipes are quiet enough, but most all of them are swapped out for the noisy pipes at some point.

For 2022 Yamaha has 7 different models in the 150~155cc range:

As long as he is keeping up with the traffic, I don't see a problem.