jackcorbett

It's red with just 7000 kilometers on the clock.  With almost new Pirelli Scorpion tires.  Although there was nothing wrong with the brakes, I spent $2000 to replace them with Brembos.  Replaced the stock Pirelli Phantom tires with Pirelli Scorpions for improved handling.  Also added a center stand.   Will take 150000-baht firm.    The bike can be viewed at my Naklua residence.  Interested parties can email me at (removed) or message me through my Facebook account under Jack Corbett.    

The only reason I wish to sell my Street Twin is I am buying the new 900 Triumph Speed Twin in green.  Love that shade of green.   

About the reliability of Triumph.  I've had my Triumph Bonneville 900 c.c. Street Twin for close to 3 years now.  Perhaps someone here might help me on this one.  Although it has never let me down and always started, there is one issue I have with it that is very perplexing.  It will start straight off for several days, and then it will fail to start.  I can hear the electric fuel pump deliver fuel  and then when I hit the start button, it starts right up.  And then for no reason at all, it will fail to start.  And the reason why is the fuel pump fails to deliver fuel to the injectors.  I can hear the lack of sound.  Then I will turn the key off and back on again.  And once again my Triumph will fail to start.  When this occurs (once every three days or so) I will typically have to switch the key on and off 4 to 8 times and each time I can listen to the fuel pump's silence.  And then, voila, I can hear the fuel pump delivering the fuel and the bike starts instantly.  I have googled this issue and found out other Triumph owners report the same problem.  Various solutions are mentioned but none of them work for me while my dealer here in Pattaya tells me I'm doing something wrong.  

I am not faulting my dealer.  For one thing I think the Triumph dealer here in Pattaya is absolutely first class with customer service that is a notch better than other dealers I've dealt with (for Yamahas and Hondas).  

Other than this issue I have only good things to say about my Bonneville Street Twin.  For a big bike it negotiates traffic in Pattaya city traffic almost as well as my Yamaha Nmax.  It is extremely comfortable for one or two persons.  Has loads of usable torque.  And it delivers almost unbelievable fuel economy for a 900 c.c. bike.  I don't have to wash it very often and its lack of chrome makes it nearly impervious to rust (unlike my previous Yamaha Yamaha SR 400 which required a huge amount of maintenance keeping it relatively rust free due to my living 200 meters from the beach).  

I would listen to most of the replies here.  As already mentioned, Thailand is a very dangerous place to drive a bike.  But it's not in the top three or four countries in the world.  Thailand has the most lethal roads in the world, bar none.  

I have over fifty years of experience driving all sorts of bikes, from dirt bikes to a 140 mph BMW K-100 RS.  So, like others here I have motorcycles in my blood.  I presently own two bikes, a 155 c.c. Yamaha Nmax and a 900 c.c. Triumph Bonneville, Street Twin.  I have the Triumph because I love bikes and it is a true classic that brings me back to my younger days.  Do I need it?  No way.

I very seldom drive my Triumph at night here in Pattaya.  There are several reasons for this.  First off a bright red Triumph sends a message to any policemen in the area.  "Here's a rich falang with lots of money to give me."  So it's not a good idea to be flashing my wallet at night, especially if I've been drinking.   The second reason is a 200 kg Triumph does not drive at all like a 127 kg Yamaha Nmax.  I am used to the sharp turning ability of the Nmax and my ability to throw a 280 pound bike around.  One cannot do this with a much bigger bike such as a Triumph.  Try to do what you  can do with a "scooter" on a 900 c.c. Triumph and the weight of the much bigger bike is going to take you down.  The third reason is the "little" Nmax 155 is the safest motorcycle I can think of for driving in cities such as Pattaya and Bangkok.  It's got ABS and disc brakes front and rear, so on a 280 pound machine it has terrific stopping power.  Its handling in city conditions is supreme.  And for some reason it stays glued to the road even in the rain.  It is in my opinion the best all around bike for Thailand at any price.  You can do just about anything with it short of high speed driving on the motorways, which by law you cannot take a bike on anyway.

In Thailand road conditions the Nmax is fast.  For example, an Italian restaurant owner friend of mine has a friend who drove his Nmax from Pattaya to Chiang Mai in just 11 hours.  Google maps shows that by car you can drive to Chiang Mai in a bit over 10 hours, provided you use the motorways.  Obviously I can identity with those who feel the need for a real motorcycle that's much more powerful than most scooter type bikes.  Because I am that kind of guy.  But one should know what he's doing driving one while  being scared sh--less of all the idiots he has to share the road with .  

You made the right decision.  In my opinion the Nmax is the best bike one can buy for the kind of driving I do around Pattaya at any price.  It's got a superb chassis that makes it incredibly stable.  It's got superb handling.  Quickness and by far the best brakes that 80,000 baht can buy.  And it has A LOT of power for all driving conditions I encounter.  All of these qualities come together when I have a long line of slow moving cars and motorbikes ahead of me.  I can pour on the power, go into the right lane with impunity, and pass all those vehicles.  I have the acceleration to do it and if suddenly another vehicle suddenly appears in my lane, the bike is small enough that I can tuck into the line of traffic I'm passing and jump on those wonderful brakes.  Yamaha engineered this one to almost complete perfection. 

Speaking of the Nmax.  Yes.  It has fantastic brakes.  Also lately been doing more two up riding and not just with my gf.  For example.  I had my gf on it and a friend who weighs more than 200 pounds so it was 3 up and the bike felt very stable considering.  Then today, had another friend on it with me.  Normally he rents PCX's.  Handled very nicely with good pickup.  And we went about 12 kilometers 2 up.  Rory weighing over 180 pounds and myself at around 170.

 Then I discussed the two up riding with another good friend who recently got an Nmax 155 and then sent his 150 PCX upcountry for family use.  Richard's take on the Nmax is it is rough riding compared to some other bikes such as the PCX.  (while the upcoming Xmax should have a really cushy ride).   This is due to the firmer suspension of the Nmax which makes it have a harsher ride.  However, he did comment that it is much better than the PCX 150 for taking on heavier loads such as I've been undertaking lately.  Richard is thinking of getting an Xmax when it is available.  But we both agree that the Nmax is a fantastic bike.  

17 minutes ago, Happy Grumpy said:

Well, I put alphapro Jackcorbett into google.

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=alphapro&oq=alphapro&aqs=chrome..69i57&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#q=alphapro+jackcorbett&*

 

And all I see is his guides to strip clubs.

I didn't mean to send you to all those places I used to hang out in.  I have my own private google setup on my web site.  So if you were to go to my alphapro main page or many other pages on the site  there is a search engine box at the bottom.  YOu can use it and type in Yamaha Nmax 155 or you can go to the main Google search engine (outside my site) and type in "Honda PCX 150" or "Yamaha Nmax 155"  In both later cases I should be in the top 10 of Google.

5 hours ago, Happy Grumpy said:

How's the acceleration compared to other scooters? 

If you can find my in depth review on my alphapro web site, I have compiled stopwatched acceleration times for the PCX 150, the Nmax 155, the Honda Click 125, the Yamaha SX 125, the Yamaha Nouvo Elegance 135, etc from 0-50 kph and 0-80 kph.  The Aerox uses the same engine as the Nmax 155.  But it weighs slightly less.  This means you can compare the Nmax times on my web site to all these other bikes, and then figure the Aerox will do a tad better.  

I can assure everyone that the NMax is a terrific machine in heavy traffic.  My Yamaha Nouvo Elegance was the same width of the Nouvo SX, and now that I'm used to the NMax subjectively it is every bit as good at getting through the tight spots.  It's also very good at highway speeds.  Plus it has a lot better acceleration and far superior brakes so when you factor these two attributes in it's even better than an Elegance or Nouvo SX in city traffic.  And as far as the Aerox is concerned I sat on both at the dealership and the Nmax has better seating position for me.  And, it's got  better  brakes than the Aerox. That much larger fuel capacity is a very huge deal for me.   Having the best brakes could be the difference between life and death.  So based on this criterion alone it's superior to its stable mate.  

I've done my stop watch times of my Yamaha NMax today on the road to Rayong today.  Did three sample runs from zero to fifty and three runs from zero to 80 kph.  But it's going to take a lot more time to complete my head to head road test of the Honda 150 Pcx versus the 155 Yamaha NMax.  I have posted my times on my alphapro web site so those who are interested can use the search function there to find these stopwatch times compared to times with the Honda Click, Yamaha 135 Elegance, Yamaha Nouvo SX, etc.  The Yamaha NMax totally outclassed all the other bikes (and the Honda Click 125 is fast and so is the Elegance).  I predict the Honda 150 PCX just might outdo the Elegance and Honda Click but I don't think by much which would still leave it well behind the Nmax.    

I tried to open the bike up.  I had a tail wind but I also was just cresting a long uphill on the way back to Pattaya.  I got 119 kph registered but the speedo was still climbing and I had still not quite hit level ground.  I do believe this bike's variable valve timing was giving it a big boost.  You watch the speedo and start thinking, this bike's gotta be out of steam now, but the speedometer keeps climbing.  The traffic was getting pretty congested. THat's why I chickened out at 119 kph.  

As for the 13 inch tires--no problem.  This bike is structurally very tightly put together.  This is an awesome little bike. 

6 hours ago, Bealo said:

Hello Jack, were you able to get a test ride of the Aerox at the Yamaha dealer?

 

i want to ride one  before I make up my mind on changing my Nmax for one.

 

ive been looking at the Pattaya rental companies but I haven't found a company that stocks the Aerox yet.

 

do you know of any rental company who have an Aerox to rent?

 

thanks

The only test ride I've gotten at Watchara Marine is of an Nmax, and this was limited to the parking lot.  Even so, I immediately saw that the braking of this bike was far superior to other bikes I've driven such as my Elegance, PCX, etc. 

Perhaps someday I'll find a convenient rental of an Aerox that will make me want to review this bike.  However, I'm not very excited about the Aerox, which I consider in most respects to be inferior to the Nmax which shares the same engine.  

What I am excited about is doing a review of my gf's Honda 150 PCX to my own Yamaha Nmax which is now close to being broken in.  I've  not even done one hands on review of the Nmax due to lack of available rentals.  I've got a good stop watch.  I've already stop watched such bikes as the Yamaha 135 Elegance, the Yamaha Nouvo SX, and the Honda Click 125 S so it will be really nice to soon add the Nmax and the PCX figures to what I've already compiled for these bikes.  

These bikes have a single shock on the rear versus the two shocks for the Elegance or Nouvo SX.

Yamaha TMAX has only 1 shock and this is the best sxooter in the world

Not the same thing at all. Bikes like the Click use a single shock, about the same size as those used by Honda Waves, Yamaha Elegances and so on. The difference is a Honda Wave, Elegance, etc has two of them because the engineers think it takes two of equal size shocks to get the job done. Also.....the shocks on these inferior bikes are off to the side, which might not seem to make a difference to many but to someone such as myself who's been around a lot of machinery farming it becomes evident that it can make a big difference. The load is simply not equalized with such an arrangement. Tell you what....Go do a test for yourself. Take a Honda Scoopy and put a 250 pound guy on the back, drive around a few miles, then repeat said performance with a Yamaha Elegance or Nouvo SX. Then come back and tell us which came out best. IF you tell us the Scoopy or Honda Click did better you are lying.

The 125 Yamaha Nouvo SX is at its greatest disadvantage versus the Click 125 I in acceleration at slow speeds. At high speeds there's from what I can determine not nearly as much difference between Nouvo SX versus either a Nouvo Elegance or Click. But the stability of the Nouvo SX is incomparably better at higher speeds than the Click and I'm sure the same thing will be equally true for a Honda Scoopy, Fino, etc. These bikes have a single shock on the rear versus the two shocks for the Elegance or Nouvo SX. Such bikes are cheap cheap cheap and not up to something on the order of a Nouvo. Then when you look at a Nouvo that's been taken apart to expose the upper bracing and how all that bracing is linked to the back section of the bike, you realize....hey.....all of that costs money. You can therefore see how both Yamaha and Honda can significantly reduce production costs at the expense of their buyers who will get substandard performance as a result. Yamaha does need to put a bigger fuel tank in that Nouvo SX however.

In my Jack Corbett motorbike reviews in my highway driving test loop from Naklua to Rayong the Honda Click got 59.8 kilometers per liter while both the Yamaha Nouvo Elegance 135 and the Yamaha Nouvo 125 SX got 53 kpl. In my city–highway mileage loop the Nouvo Elegance 135 achieved 41.9 km to the liter while the Nouvo SX 125 got 44.5 kpl. I did not test a Honda Click for the city–highway loop. The reason is in order to do these bike tests in most cases I actually go out and rent the bikes. As for the Yamaha Nouvo SX to complete my tests I rented two different Yamaha Nouvo SX’s from two different German rental shops.

One cannot go by what a little onboard computer indicates for fuel economy and one most certainly cannot go by when a light goes on to signify when the bike "goes into reserve or warning mode." When my friend Peter and I did our comparison test between his Honda PCX 125 and my Yamaha Nouvo Elegance 135 we drove both bikes to the Naklua gas station. There we filled both bikes up at the same gas pump so the lean angle of both bikes was identical. We’d also hold both bikes up so that the angles were 90 degrees in order that the two tanks could be filled to the brim and then we told the attendant to fill each tank to the brim.

We then drove the two bikes to our destination which was just short of Rayong, and then we switched drivers on the return to Naklua. I weigh 75 kilos while Peter weighs over 90 kilos so we made sure that both bikes carried identical loads. By the time we reached the halfway point where we switched drivers, I had made up my mind to sell my Elegance and buy a 125 PCX. The fuel tank of my Elegance was already reading half empty whereas the fuel tank of the PCX showed was still three quarters full. I was now fully convinced that the Honda PCX really did have state of the art modern day technology that catapulted the PCX into a new category of superstardom that made all other 125 c.c. class bikes totally obsolete.

When we got back to the gas station in Naklua we immediately fueled up, again making sure we held both bikes at the 90 degree position and directing the attendant to fill both bikes to the brim. Surprisingly the two bikes turned in identical gas mileage figures. So what we had here was the perception of poor fuel economy versus the reality of actual results. You can go a lot further on a 6.2 liter tank than you can on the 4.8 liter tank of the Nouvo Elegance if the fuel economy of both bikes is the same. So on arrival at Rayong you unquestionably have a lot of mileage left in your gas tank with the 6.2 liter tank. There is also significant error in the gas gauges on most of these bikes so what you are oftentimes seeing bears little resemblance to reality.

Without question that 125 c.c. engine in the Honda Click 125 I is a terrific power plant. Unfortunately Honda dropped this marvelous engine into a very inferior body. If you took the same engine and fitted it to a Yamaha Nouvo SX and upgraded that puny little 4.3 liter tank to the 5.5 liter tank of the Honda Click you’d end up with the greatest motorbike in the 125 c.c. class on the planet. But even so, the difference in fuel economy of the Yamaha 125 SX and the Honda Click 125 i really isn’t all that much.

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You're reviews are spot on

I had a nuovo elegance 135cc before the nuovo sx and I actually preferred the carb with the extra 10cc and 800 ml extra fuel capacity over the sx

My elegance got stolen and I checked the classified for another one and that's how I ended up buying a nuovo sx but preferred the elegance tbh

I try to be very thorough with these reviews. I now have the Yamaha SR400 as well as the Nouvo Elegance and I truly love them both. The SR400 is a very addictive machine to drive in these parts. It is very narrow and it handles extremely well. I won't part with it. On the other hand I don't need it. But driving the SR400 with its much larger tires,greater weight and terrific overall balance, I realize just how terrific the Nouvo Elegance is for the kind of driving most of us do around here. It's definitely faster than the the SX. Noticeably so in fact. But the SX has more than enough power. It offers the same terrific handling especially when equipped with good Michelin or Pirelli tires and for around 60,000 baht when you consider its all around prowess, comfort, and overall performance it really is the king of the hill on the basis of value for the dollar. I do wish, however, that Yamaha had increased that 4,8 liter tank of the Elegance to a larger size tank on the SX. Instead Yamaha went the wrong way when it went to the 4.3 liter tank. That is the only thing that irks me about the SX--certainly not that the Elegance is noticeably faster. It's a great ride too. It's also very smooth and that fuel injection engine simply inspires confidence that this thing is going to start easily every time. It packs a lot of goodies in a very compact package that's up to just about anything.

Everything about it is dreadful except it looks OK or cute people say...

For an extra 15k get a nuovo sx with injection, bigger wheels and fit good tyres like tt900s or something similar

Miles better bike, I often do 100km a day around bkk and it never skips a beat... Only wish it had a larger fuel tank because I need to fill it every 2nd day

You are spot on about the Yamaha SX. It, and the Yamaha Nouvo Elegance that preceded it completely outclasses the likes of the Honda Click in all departments except for raw acceleration (where the Elegance will match and even exceed the latest Click models) while the handling and overall road performance of a Yamaha SX puts a Honda Click and similar bikes to total shame. Just read the Jack Corbett bike reviews and you will see why this is so and the road test figures that present actual fact.

Okay--but here we are talking about a Vespa specifically. The Vespa has World War II technology, which was fine for the 1940's and 1950's. Now I am not talking about electronics here or fuel injection that the later Vespa models have. I'm talking about much of the original design concept that exists in the latest models. For example, there's the direct drive from a Vespa engine to the rear wheel versus the relatively long chains and belts one finds in Honda Waves and automatics such as the Yamaha Nouvo and Honda PCX. Although there might seem to be some great advantages to this direct drive system of a Vespa, it does have an Achilles heel and this Achilles heel is fatal. The engine needs to be very close to the real wheel and this arrangement does not permit larger size wheels. This is why most modern Vespa models still have an 11 inch diameter front wheel and a 10 inch diameter rear wheel. So when you compare a Yamaha SX with its 16 inch diameter wheels to such such small wheels the result when it comes to overall stability is like comparing a real motorcycle to a roller skate. Now, there's nothing really wrong with roller skates so long as their application makes sense such as was the case in the 1950's and 60's when attractive female car hops skated around the parking lots of A & W root beer stands serving hamburgers and A & W root beer to all the customers sitting around in their cars, but I sure wouldn't want to be roller skating down the highway at 60 miles an hour.

Many people here are too young to remember that during the 1960's a revolution occurred in the motorcycle industry worldwide. Honda took the entire world by storm when it introduced its technologically superior Super Cub motorcycle that resembled a girl's bicycle. This revolutionary bike was the first widely produced underbone. Today, all Honda Waves, Honda Airblades, Yamaha Nouvos, Sparks, etc are the offspring of the Honda Super Cub whose basic design was 60 years ago and still is totally superior to a Vespa. In the late 50's and early 60's, all motorcycle sales worldwide increased on a quantum level, and it all started with the total superiority of the Super Cub underbone design that permitted larger wheels and vastly improved stability combined with Honda's advertising expertise (You meet the nicest people on a Honda) that paved the way for the Japanese invasion that would dominate the motorcycle invasion for the next 50 years.

Here's an interesting link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Super_Cub for those who want to get the History behind the modern underbones they are driving today. However a lot of people today are completely not interested in History. For such people I will sum this whole thing up as Vespa=World War II tech combined with roller skate stability.

When I first read this, I was carrying a Swiss Army knife in my pocket. I try to carry it everywhere, especially when I head upcountry with my girlfriend and drink beer with her brothers. I need it for opening beer bottles. Even in my own condo where I have a pretty good assortment of tools, I am constantly using it to work on light fixtures and other repairs. I have four Swiss Army knives but two of this type as it is small enough to be practically unnoticeable in my pocket while it sill has a very useful of the most essential tools for my needs. I have lost two knives of this model so I keep a spare because I find it to be that essential. As for a weapon, I'd prefer using my fists if it came down to it (I avoid all potential physical confrontations as my first line of defense), because its blades are too small to be very effective in a defense situation and the knife is too short to have an effective reach whereas my fists do not have this shortcoming.

Jack, I really enjoy your youtube video reviews, and they have been helpful to me in deciding on my next bike. Good job.

Keemapoot...I'm glad you enjoyed the video. So what bike have you decided upon?

Those are Two valid points. We are going to a new lawyer who is handling other issues for us so I am sure she can advise us.

For years our condo has hired a security company here in Thailand, and for this we get two security guards, a day time security guard and a night time security guard. Our daytime security guard has now been with us for over two years and this man is utterly terrific. The problem is the night time security guard. Over the past eight years we've had a large turnover in the night time security guards and most of them have been unacceptable. Most have been sleeping on the job, are unfriendly, etc. So it appears to me that we are getting the castoffs from the security company....that is those a condo community wouldn't want in the first place. My dilemma is we really want to keep our daytime security guard who is simply wonderful. What happens is our daytime security guard must work the night shift as well as the day shift say 25 % of the time so he winds up being overworked. But he does receive the income that normally would have been received by the unreliable night time guard at the price of having to work three or even more shifts in a row without sleep. If we switched to another security company we'd lose our daytime guard due to his not being our employee and being an employee of the security company we've hired. We could of course hire our own security guards to work for our condo, be on our payroll and who would have to accept our rules. But no matter how we'd do this we need to insure our security staff. For example...What happens if the night time security guard assaults one of our condo residents and the resident sues our community in court? Or suppose there is a theft in the building and our security guards is sleeping on the job. There is a fire in the building and the night time security guard is unable to perform?

I've already been informed by my insurance broker who handles my car and motorbike insurance that it's nearly impossible to insure one's own security staff and to keep hiring a security company no matter what the price is. In our case we are overpaying for the two security guards we need while they are being underpaid by the company we have contracted with. And the company is not providing good service due to the inadequacies of the hand me down night time security guards it provides us. Any ideas?