JonnyF

... my mechanic says he can't source the tube. Which means ebaying it from outside Thailand, dealing with customs, possible damage in transit etc.

I just figured it might be easier to have it repaired here if I can find someone reliable. Or try another mechanic who might spend a bit more time looking around for me for the replacement part.

Dear JonnyF,

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that OEM Suzuki parts for my GSX-R 1000 K6 were CHEAPER to order through Red Baron here in Bangkok than I could get them in the US. Plus you won't have any shipping costs or worries about damage in the post and/or unexpected taxes. You can call Red Baron and they'll tell you the price for a new fork tube over the phone or stop by and ask- I remain incredibly impressed by the professional service there.

Ride On!

Tony

Thanks Tony, I emailed their spares department today and they said they could import from Japan but I didn't ask them the price because the last quote I got from them was 30,000 baht for a gauge cluster for an '04 R6 which I felt was way over the top.

Maybe that was a one off, I'll ask them to quote for the part.

For years we have always repaired slight damage like this by having them rechromed. It is the cheapest, quickest and most reliable option.

Do you know someone who can do the chrome plating? I only know someone here in Pattaya.

Thanks a lot, I was looking for confirmation that this was a viable option. The replacement part is about 5000 baht which isn't a massive amount but I prefer not to deal with Thai customs if possible.

Searching TV I've found this place...

Anan chromium.on soi Anamai Srinikarin road.Tel. 02-3215317

which seems well recommended by a few posters. I was kind of hoping for a one stop shop but it looks like I'll have to get someone to take the forks off and dismantle them and then take them to this place to get them rechromed, then back to the shop for re-assembly. Not too bad I guess but I'd rather just drop it off and pick it up again, maybe if I put my mechanic in contact with them they can sort it out between them.

JonnyF, is it a scratch with rough edges or smooth edge marking?

I'd say rough edges. A bit of googling suggests that hard chroming might do the trick but I don't know much about the process.

JonnyF, save yourself the hassle of paying for removal, possible shoddy hard chrome work in Thailand, pulling it apart, trying to get it done right etc etc et al and just buy yourself a new lower and have it fitted with new seals and bushings (your probably won't need bushings)

Yeah that was the original plan but my mechanic says he can't source the tube. Which means ebaying it from outside Thailand, dealing with customs, possible damage in transit etc.

I just figured it might be easier to have it repaired here if I can find someone reliable. Or try another mechanic who might spend a bit more time looking around for me for the replacement part.

How did you manage to get scratches there?

Not sure, looks like someones knocked it with their bike while it was parked.

JonnyF, is it a scratch with rough edges or smooth edge marking?

I'd say rough edges. A bit of googling suggests that hard chroming might do the trick but I don't know much about the process.

How did you manage to get scratches there?

Not sure, looks like someones knocked it with their bike while it was parked.

If the scratches aren't too deep maybe worth a try to get them polished out.

Probably too deep for that.

Hi,

I've got a couple of small scratches on the lower fork leg of my gsxr. Nothing major but I think it's going to start damaging the fork seal if I don't fix it or replace it. Does anyone know if you can repair this sort of thing by chroming over the scratch? I've seen all kinds of smashed up forks repaired so I'm guessing a few scratches can be repaired, or should I replace the lower leg? The scratches aren't deep enough to cause a leak or anything.

If it can be repaired, does anyone know or can recommend a shop that does this kind of work? I guess a chroming shop could do it fairly easily. Or a crash repair shop? In Bangkok.

Yeah I'm in see you tomorrow.

Me too

is there anything to suggest that Suzuki makes bikes of lower quality than Honda or Yamaha? (or Quack, for that matter?)

No

Great quality, spec on par or above, great auto and powerful engine

Absolutely, not really talking about the autos here but having heard all the rumours about the Suzuki gearboxes being sub-standard etc, I owned 2 RM125's and a RM250 and they were both totally reliable and handled fantastic.

I bought a gsxr600 k5 recently and the reliability will be proved over time and will be largely dependant on the previous owners maintenance - but the chassis is fantastic, absolutely planted in corners and smooth as hel_l. I think Suzukis are a nice balance, they have the Jap reliability but they've got that little bit of something about them that's hard to define - not on a par with say a Ducati or a Triumph but as close to that as a modern Jap bike can get. I'd love it if they started a decent operation here selling the complete range.

Hi Monkeyofdoom !

Take your time ! Don't jump from 250R to 600 CBR or 1000 sportbike.

They look the same, but their behaviour are very different from your 250cc, in terms of Torque, and power.

I would suggest to go for ER6 Kawa, then when you feel that this bike has no more suprise for you, then you can go up in power.

My first bike was a 660XTZ tenere , then a 600 Bandit, then a FZX 750 cc, then a GSXR 750 ( but i did not like the riding position ) so i took a XJR 1300 SP, then now i have a z 1000 2005 (130HP), but i have never push it to the limit.

I have driven around 12 000 km on each bike prior to change to a new one.

But most of all, in 20 years of riding, i have buried too many friends who thought that they could handle bigger bikes, only because they could afford to pay the price, so Take it easy, and enjoy the ride step by step

Sylvain

Depends on the mentality of the rider as well. Changing bikes all the time tends to cost money, and they only go as fast as you twist the throttle so if you're relatively sensible and can ride, then there's no need for an interim bike between a 250 and a 600 inline 4 IMO.

I'm happy with either pitch, but the lack of replies suggests we're at Sathorn this week?

I'd go for a 600. I'd be surpised if there were more than a handful of riders living in Thailand that can use the power of a 1000cc supersport bike on Thai roads. Then you have the downsides of the 1000cc - the increased weight, fuel economy etc.

I don't find the 600's too revvy, in fact I like to use the power of the bike and shift to find the amount of power I'm looking for at the time. If you want to ride them fast they're still very very quick above 7000 rpm, and the lack of grunt at low rpm can be quite nice when you're riding on a wet greasy road - I quite like that I can stick my 600 into 6th and just cruise amongst traffic without worrying if I'm going to lose the rear end.

You can pick them up relatively cheap. RedBaron had an 04 R6 for 250k (fully legal book) for a while although it was high mileage and a bit rough around the edges. I picked up a 05 gsxr600 for the same price, again with fully legal book, low mileage and in good shape.

Why not make an ER(2.5)n based ont he Ninja 250?

If thay can make an Er6n from tme the Ninja 600, I think they can do the same with the Ninja 250/

Misread the original post, a naked 250 might not be a bad idea.

If this actually happens, what a shame they're using the parallel twin in the ER6n/f frame.

A modern 400cc inline 4 in the style of the 250R would be an awesome bike. Obviously more expensive to make but that would be pretty much the perfect bike for Thailand IMO.

I got the matte black full face one about a month ago from Ladprao 136, the shop is on the corner as you turn left into the soi from Ladprao Road heading away from The Mall Bangkapi. Pretty sure it was 1500 baht although it might have been 1400.

I'm quite happy with it so far, I use it for short trips around Bangkok as my Shoei was getting scratched with the usual day to day 7-11 queues etc. The only fault with the Real one is that the visor seems to scratch more easily than other helmets I've owned. It feels much better than the other cheap alternatives like Index etc.

Hi, cheers for that. I would be really grateful (seeing as you own one) if you could answer the following for me: Has it got the double DD ring type chin strap (My personal favourite) or the mini car seatbelt type ugh! What do you get in the box? any spare parts, stickers, cloth helmet cover etc, can you buy lightly tinted visors for them. And finally.....does the visor pull in tight and seal well. Might seem like a moot point really seeing as how I will be piloting a new Honda Click PGM-FI ha ha ha. Still wanna look cool though.

It's got the seatbelt type unfortunately, I prefer the D ring as well.

Mine came in a nice enough helmet bag, the type of sports bag that you can sling over one shoulder, but the woman in the shop knew I was on a bike as I pulled up outside so maybe there was a box that she didn't bother offering me as I obviously couldn't carry it?

Not sure if you can buy visors, I guess so. I'll need a new one soon as I've lent it to a pillion a few times and they butted the back of my helmet when I braked hard and it scratched quite bad, luckily on the edges of the visor so I can still wear it.

The visor seals well and I find it comfy to wear, it's noticeably noisier than the Shoei but then I wasn't expecting the same quality for a 10th of the price. Under 100 kph it's not noticeable so on an auto it shouldn't be an issue.

I got the matte black full face one about a month ago from Ladprao 136, the shop is on the corner as you turn left into the soi from Ladprao Road heading away from The Mall Bangkapi. Pretty sure it was 1500 baht although it might have been 1400.

I'm quite happy with it so far, I use it for short trips around Bangkok as my Shoei was getting scratched with the usual day to day 7-11 queues etc. The only fault with the Real one is that the visor seems to scratch more easily than other helmets I've owned. It feels much better than the other cheap alternatives like Index etc.

Hi, cheers for that. I would be really grateful (seeing as you own one) if you could answer the following for me: Has it got the double DD ring type chin strap (My personal favourite) or the mini car seatbelt type ugh! What do you get in the box? any spare parts, stickers, cloth helmet cover etc, can you buy lightly tinted visors for them. And finally.....does the visor pull in tight and seal well. Might seem like a moot point really seeing as how I will be piloting a new Honda Click PGM-FI ha ha ha. Still wanna look cool though.

1.

Here are some dealers, including the one I used.

1) Scootex (Lat Phrao – Wang Hin) Tel. # 0-2942-2093

2) 118 Bike (Lat Phrao soi. 23) Tel. # 0-2938-9618

3) Chai Sawat ((Lat Phrao soi. 136) Tel. # 0-2377-7795

I got the matte black full face one about a month ago from Ladprao 136, the shop is on the corner as you turn left into the soi from Ladprao Road heading away from The Mall Bangkapi. Pretty sure it was 1500 baht although it might have been 1400.

I'm quite happy with it so far, I use it for short trips around Bangkok as my Shoei was getting scratched with the usual day to day 7-11 queues etc. The only fault with the Real one is that the visor seems to scratch more easily than other helmets I've owned. It feels much better than the other cheap alternatives like Index etc.

After a recent enquiry I can confirm that RedBaron have a one off joining fee of 10,000 baht and then a yearly fee of 1000 baht thereafter so it's 11,000 before they'll look at your bike (unless it was bought from them).

I've heard Dirt Shop are pretty good but 7500 seems a bit steep to me just to tune a power commander... If the price of 20,000 is close to the price elsewhere then I'd just buy it from them on the condition they install and tune it.

Sure, sounds good. I'm going Sunday morning and Graeme has agreed to have a look at it then. Not sure if it's open practice that day but if it is I'll probably do a few (very steady!) laps to see what the circuit is like and test the changes, although I've heard nothing but good things about the setup at Bira.

By the way, what is everyone getting for fuel usage? Went tooling around yesterday at 80 or so just enjoying the views and during a break in the sonne thoke today decide to refuel as the light hadn't come on (why couldn't they install a fuel gauge like American models have?) and I was getting up there in mileage. A fill up of 9.8L at 320 km...32.7 km/L seems high doesn't it?

I'm getting about 25 km/l now but a lot of that riding is either in Bangkok traffic or with a pillion. It's improved slightly as the bikes continued to break itself in. It's done about 15,xxx kms now and the gearbox feels a lot smoother now as well.

I had my ex-bike setup perfect for me. But the cock that bought it thinks otherwise. So what works for others may not work for you.

Didn't you mean to say SOFTCOCK

I didnt realise you bought TM's old ride.

i made a funny, but i fear the comeback

OP, Do as TM says & make sure you keep notes, its easy to get confused elsewise. Nobody can tell you how you would like the suspension, its up to you to experience the setting and adjust it accordingly.

I take it you are happy with the front end? (forks).

No the front end is the same, it's been set up properly but for someone 20 kgs heavier than me, so the front and back have virtually no sag when I get on the bike, maybe half an inch or so when an inch and a half would be better.

I could do it gradually over a period of days/weeks but i want to get it as close as possible as quickly as possible so I can start to enjoy the bike more. The engine and gearbox are fantastic, just need to get the suspension close and then I'll make the fine adjustments myself if needs be.

It would be good if that were the case, but I was in Kawasaki Rama 9 HQ a couple of weeks ago getting the 250 serviced and when I was speaking to the main salesman (can't remember his name but there's a few pics of him on here on a ZX10), he said they weren't going to bother because the ZX10 isn't selling many units and he said the ZX6R would only be about 50k cheaper so he didn't think that would sell either.

At the BKK motor show one Kawi guy said they wouldn't import at all and the other Kawi guy said the end of the year for about 600k.

At least the 600k part sounds consistent and that's about what I'd expect. Hopefully it'll arrive as the 09-10 model is rated very highly by reviewers. Not sure I'd pay 600k though.

Thanks Tony - Graham at High Side Tours is an excellent suggestion, I've been meaning to have a look at Bira for a while anyway so I could kill 2 birds with one stone.

I considered just reducing the preload myself but I don't have a bike stand or a C spanner, plus I believe these settings can also affect the chain tension. I also want the front and rear rebound to be consistent and I don't trust myself to get it right. Basically I'm a mechanical retard and I'd rather pay someone who knows what they're doing .