JonnyF

I'd be interested in a kickaround depending on the time, but I probably couldn't get there before about 6.30pm if its a weekday.

I've PM'd you some info, just let me know if it goes ahead...

Yep it was pretty grim, I'd planned on spending a few hours there shopping and watching the shows but I just couldn't stand the noise of all the stages competing with each other. The stalls that I saw (before diving into The Duke of Wellington for some peace) only seemed to be selling the same type of food that you can get at any Thai food stall. I saw the beer stands but when I passed they were pretty empty, presumably because no-one could sit amongst the noise for long enough to eat or drink.

A bit of a shame as it was a good idea and could have been a good event.

They sell them at Kawasaki HQ, Rama 9.

I was at Kawasaki Rama 9 today and asked about the ZX6R. He smiled and said maybe next year, when I asked him how many months he said he didn't know. Same story when I asked an approximate price. I didn't bother asking whether/how it was going to be restricted as it was obviously going to be the same answer. Quite disappointing...

Hard to blame the sales staff really- they only know what management tells them, which is obviously very little... I'm guessing we'll learn more about new Kawasaki models coming to Thailand at the Bangkok Motor Show in April. Till then I'm having a great time on my Ninja 650R, just as I did on the little Ninjette 250 and ER6n. Can't wait to see what will come next. ZX6R? KLR650? Z1000? Kawasaki certainly has some awesome bikes to choose from!

RIDE ON!

I agree, I'm not blaming the individual - it just seems pretty obvious that the management should train their sales staff about the current and future product line up.

I had a good look at a black 650r while I as there, I was quite impressed, much nicer looking than in the photos and as most of my riding is touring rather than track based I'm starting to think it might be worth the upgrade from the 250. It's a shame they don't do 24 test drives, maybe I'll have to hire one for a day, do a few hundred k's and see if it's worth upgrading.

I was at Kawasaki Rama 9 today and asked about the ZX6R. He smiled and said maybe next year, when I asked him how many months he said he didn't know. Same story when I asked an approximate price. I didn't bother asking whether/how it was going to be restricted as it was obviously going to be the same answer. Quite disappointing...

Kawasaki sells the Vulcan 900 but it's in the 4xx,xxx baht range. Don't see too many second hand ones either...

That's by far the nicest looking screen I've seen for the ER6n. The shape of it really suits the bike and clear looks much better than the darker ones IMO.

The fact that Phuket is a disgrace in terms of public transport is no secret.

I didn't notice it when I lived there as I had my own transport and the numbers of a few trusted local taxi guys in my phone. I went back there a few weeks ago as a tourist for a break from Bangkok with a mate who was over to visit and it was a real pain in the ass to get anywhere, especially if you fancy a few beers and don't like drink/driving. Not just the excessive fares, but the general sneering attitude of these guys leaves a bad taste at the start of a night out.

Unfortunately this latest crackdown will be about as effective as... oh never mind

There's no manual clutch, you just change gear normally with your left foot but don't pull the left lever (because there isn't one).

TANK BAG:

=> Still missing a magnetic tank (was looking for rapid transit reckon 19). Any proven recommendations forr alocal BKK supplier from whom I could grab a tank bag right way this week ??

Try Panda Rider for the tank bag, they've got them for as little as 1200 baht. They might have some of the other things you need as well.

http://www.pandarider.com/Panda/Product_Accessories.htm

I owned a DT125 a few years back, it's basically a pretend motocross bike, too weak for serious off road riding and clearly a poor design for touring, pretty uncomfortable. I rode mine from Bristol to London (not far - about 200 kms) and found it quite painful despite being only 19 at the time. They're solid bikes, no issues with reliabilty but too upright and high revving for long trips and the tyres make the handling pretty dangerous on tarmac, maybe a bit better with Supermoto tyres?

But I don't think they sell these in Thailand anyway, even though I've seen a fairly new one near my apartment in Bangkok I'm pretty sure it's a grey import. If you're thinking about a second hand bike with a suspect green book then I'd be a bit careful.

Ideal for shortish trips around poorly maintained roads and dirt tracks but there are much more suitable bikes that are available for 400km trips.

Well the zx10r is essentially an import, not like the 250R, and when the Zx6r arrives it is expected to not be an import and not require import tax. If that holds we should see prices around 350K to 400K on the road.

I hope your not holding your breath for a price of 350k to 400k......me thinks its gonna be higher than that.

zx10r is "sourced" from Malaysia, thats Asean no import duty as of January 2010, just 35% excice tax pluss VAT. If kwaker can do the same with Zx6r price should be less than 450k. From January 2010 taxes are the same in LOS for Asean made bikes as Thai made bikes. Unfortunately Japan is not in Asean.

Well that ASEAN deal is (good) news to me. Hopefully that's the reason for the delayed release, to wait for Jan 2010 and import without the tax. Between 420-450k would be a steal IMO, not far off UK prices with lower depreciation, cheaper fuel, cheaper insurance and cheaper servicing costs (not to mention the lower speeding "fines" ).

I really hope you're right

He looks like a scaled down version of Poncho off CHIPS

Looks and sounds like a good bike for someone.

It's a real shame that the big 4 don't seem interested in 250 and 400 cc 4 cylinder bikes now, an updated (FI) VFR400 engine in a modern chassis would be awesome for Thailand.

Tank Bag is a much better option IMO. On a faired bike you hardly notice they’re there and they're protected from the wind, at high speeds you tend to lean on them further decreasing the chances they will detach. They’re right in front of you so you can keep a bottle of water/phone/map etc in them for easy access. They don’t ruin the look of the bike and you can take them off when you’re on short trips. They’re also cheaper, and mine doubles up as a rucksack when you get to wherever you’re going (no need to unload stuff when you get to the hotel, just pick up the bag and go). Easily swappable between bikes as well.

On a step through boxes might be OK, but on a bike with a tank I don't see the point. The thought of the rack failing while riding is pretty scary as well, not to mention all that weight high up over the back wheel

Does anyone have an educated guess about what it will mean when the bike is homologated? I understand it will be restricted, but how much? Impossible to know, but do you know of other comparable examples? Are we talking about 10% down in HP or what?

Are other bikes like the ZX10R and Daytona 675 also homologated for selling in Thailand or is there something special about ZX6R?

compare California spec to other US spec. Sometimes no difference in power, sometimes a few %. Its not really restricted, there is usually another ECU program, EGR valve and cat to make it run cleaner emmision. Restricted is more like reducing hp to adapt to local hp limit laws or insurance requiremnts.

ZX10R, yes, unfortunetely also restricted on hp since the thai sold units (so far) are sourced from Kwaker Malaysia where there is a hp limit. Check with member "Dunder".

Everything sold officially by Kwaker Thailand is homoleg. Makes it easy to sell from many dealers, cause all they have to do is to pass on the paperwork to local Land Transport Office. Also makes it hasslefree to own, since its readable in the reg book this is an officially central government approved bike.

Triumph I have asked owners to post their reg book to see how its been registered, but so far no reply

I wasn't aware that the ZX10's were from Kawasaki Malaysia. Does anyone know if the ZX6R will come from Malaysia as well?

I'm assuming the hp limit on bikes is fixed irrespective of cc? In which case it shouldn't affect the ZX6R as the limit would presumably be higher than the 115 (approx) bhp that the 600 produces?

I did mine myself. There's loads of guides how to do it on the Ninja 250 forums, it took about 3 hours. I cut mine, the replacement part is cheaper than the "no cut" kits and I guess when I sell it the buyer would prefer the fender removed anyway because it looks terrible.

Sounds to me like one of the old 2 strokes...

Kawasaki KRR150

Yamaha RXZ150, TZR150

Honda NSR150, CBR125

They start at about 5000 baht for an old dog, up to about 25000 for a nice restored example. Ive seen them advertised for more but always assumed the seller was trying his luck. Good project bikes if you've got time and patience.

I've always found the bike scene in Thailand to be pretty laid back and friendly. In my opinion it can do without the kind of gang, patched up, hardman, tattooed, colours kind of mentality that seems to spoil certain events in Europe and the US.

I don't think it will get very far here anyway, assuming they use their usual methods of generating cash they'll find themselves stitched up by the locals who generate cash via the same methods.

Very little body armour in those CK's.

functional airbags tho..

Functional?

Big hands, long feet - possibly fictional

Strange, 15 years I've been in Thailand and I haven't experienced such *serious* problems. Maybe it's because politeness with just a little Thai sentence like "Kha . . . dai mai?" goes a long way to show the driver you value him/her as a fellow human being?

Why didn't I think of that?

Seriously, if you like drivers hocking up phlegm for 10 minutes and then stopping at the side of the road to spit it out, drivers stinking of booze, refusing rides if they don't fancy the route, poorly maintained cars, no seatbelts, no change at the end of the journey etc then you'll love 'em.

Not *serious* problems (unless you crash of course). I'm not fussy with these type of things by any stretch of the imagination, but to say it's a great service makes me wonder what you are comparing it to. My (Thai) girlfriend dislikes them more than I do, believe it or not she says kha and has been here even longer than you have. She'll happily get the bus but refuses to get in a cab alone after dark after a few incidents - that were in fact extremely *serious* - with female friends of hers. But no doubt everyone who experiences problems was forgetting to say "kha" "dai mai" etc and therefore deserves whatever comes their way

Just a cross-section of normal chaps trying to make a living for their family, when other means are limited. Some are prats, most are not.

Great service, always there and cheap. Use it constantly. Would have to mess around on public services in London or be permabroke.

Find something else to complain about. Taxis in Bkk. ain't one of them. Definately one of the cities many positives.

I'd agree that they are good value for money purely because they are so cheap. I'd also agree that the level of service is in line with the low cost. But let's not pretend the service is good just because they're cheap. The fact that they are worse in Samui (or anywhere else) is irrelevant.

It's not moaning, it's just giving an honest account after using them a lot over the last 18 months...

With BangkokBank you can do it via their website in a couple of minutes once you've filled in the forms at the branch (and have work permit etc).

The annual limit is your annual salary...

The taxis's are really cheap but you get what you pay for. To be honest I'd like it if there was an option to pay a bit more to have the crackly radio less than 100dbs, the aircon switched on, a driver that didn't look (or smell) half pissed muttering about the traffic being bad every 5 seconds, seatbelts etc.

I've used them for 18 months now and I'd like to keep using them but I recently went to look at new cars because by the time I get to my destination I'm normally pretty pissed off, sweating, headache etc.

Asking them to turn up the a/c, turn down the stereo etc normally gets results for 2-3 minutes before it's returned to the original setting...

Not as bad as Samui/Phuket though, at least they use the meter...

Oh yeah, taking a "long-cut" so that he can refill with LPG while the meter is still running is another favourite.

No worries, yeah I was on a scooter, this was before I bought the Ninja... If I'd known how bad the road was I'd never have attempted it on a Nouvo...