jackcorbett

I ordered a new Honda Civic nearly a month ago and put down a deposit. I was told there is definitely a black one coming in June. It's now June 28 and there's only two days left.

Broke my clavicle test driving a 250 CBR motorcycle and that's what finally convinced me to get a car. There were four cars I was considering when I booked the Civic....the Honda City, the Civic, the Mazda 2 and the Ford Fiesta. Was really liking what I was reading about the Fiesta in the car magazines and liked what I saw at Big C when they had a small auto show there. The flow of cars into the Honda dealership seems to be a mere dribble due to the problems in Japan. We have a new manager at our condo now. She's been waiting a long time for a new Accord and she's telling me that she thinks I'll be waiting for several more months for the Civic to come in---equipped as it is and in black. She might be right, then again she might be wrong.

My thinking is to wait until the end of the month to see if the Civic has arrived as promised. If not......I'm thinking of going to the dealership where i'll politely explain that I was promised a car in June, that I've broken my clavicle and need a car now, not later, as I do not wish to reinjure myself and that I will want my deposit returned. After that my latest thoughts are to go straight to Ford and get a new Fiesta. There are a number in stock and even if I prefer another color it would take only several days to get one from the factory in Rayong. I'd save well over 100,000 baht--albeit I'd be getting a different class of car, the Fiesta being smaller than the Civic. However...the car seems to be at the top of the curve technology wise. So what are everyone's thoughts about the incoming supply of cars from HOnda? Is it realistic to expect that the car I've ordered could well take a couple more months to arrive?

How do you die from acute diarrhea.. i've had it for years and it's never gone away. Those people are really weak or what?

Lots of people appear to suffer from various forms of oral dysentery which tends not to kill. However acute diarrhea actually kills thousands of people worldwide on an annual basis. The moral in Thailand is watch where you eat ---- no matter how long you've been here -- hygiene does not appear a high prioroty in many markets/restaurants.

Years ago my now ex wife and I both got food poisoning in Cairo, Egypt. She got it while on the plane to Luxor where we were planning on visiting the Valley of the Kings and I got it around 12 hours later. We were so weak we could do nothing for several days, in my wife's case, not to even leave the room to go out to the pool area. What we got was dysentery, not diarrhea as both of us had no control over our bowels whatsoever. You'd just lie there shitting in your pants while lying in bed. The cure was antibiotics.

So where did we get it? From the Cairo Nile Hilton Hotel wondrous buffet where they had all these terrific salads and vichyousse soup made from leeks, onions, potatoes, cream etc. The way I understood it is flies were allowed to settle down on fruits and vegetables, meat etc in the market and to lay their eggs. And of course the Hilton Hotel got a lot of its food stock from the market. What surprises me is although I've had my share of diarrhea here in Thailand I've never had anything remotely close to being as debilitating as what I got in Egypt. And I've been living here for six years now.

I maxed out around 120kmh too.

If your bike is slowing down, your variator pulleys and/or belt may be worn so it's not transfering all the power to the final drive.

According to its speedometer I got my first Nouvo 115 c.c. MX up to around 108 kph. It might have done a tad faster had I stayed in there longer. I've had my 135 c.c. Elegance up to around 110 but I'm sure it would have gone faster had I kept it wide open longer. Where the Elegance blows the older MX away is in acceleration more than top speed.I doubt it will go 120, however. I once owned two 185 c.c. Honda XL's which were on off road bikes around the same weight as the Elegance. Fastest I got them up to was 75 miles an hour and that would be on a good day. I'd call the 185 XL a 120 kph bike and it takes 185 c.c's to do it so I feel that although some will claim the Elegance will get up to 120 kph, I just don't think it's quite got the CC's or the horsepower to do it.

I bought mine for 52000 about 2.5 years ago. The shop is on the East side of Sukamvit South of Pattaya Thai--I believe it's near Thepprasit. This is a large Honda shop which not only has the small scooters but the 500 TMax all the way up to the 1000 c.c. R-1, Yamaha outboard engines, and boats.

Just got my first 5 year license.

The procedure, in Bangkok:

Show 1-year license - expired, not more than year

Show passport with non-immigrant visa, original and copy

Certified resident adress from embassy or work permit, original and copy

Original medical certificate, thai form, not more than 1 month old

I got a queue number, and had the license within 10 mins......

Will probably be getting my first car license on Monday or Tuesday. Let's see if I got this straight. I need passport and my current motorcycle Thai driver's license, my American car and motorbike license. Letter of residence (and copy), Medical certificate (and copy), copy of main passport page and copy of visa inside the passport. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have copies made of the driver's licenses as well and of course I'll need pictures.

Well, I've done it. Put a deposit on a Civic automatic. There's a black one arriving sometime this month. Was tempted to go top of the line for a leather interior equipped car they had in stock. Silver with upgraded 16 inch wheels, cruise, airbags, built in GPS. The one I'm getting has a grey cloth interior, 15 inch non mag wheels with no cruise control, air bags or GPS. Will get GPS at Tuk.com or wherever. Should cost in the neighborhood of 10,000 baht. Can do without the cruise control or airbags. Torn between the top of the line model. Car is silver (easier to keep clean) and the leather interior plus 16 inch wheels most definitely enhances the cars looks....but at 200,000 baht more? The sales girl pointed this out to me thus reinforcing the very substantial increased cost---- $6000 just for accessories. The sales girl said if I really wanted a leather interior I could do it through a third party much cheaper.

The sales girl told me there's a lot of places in Naklua that can upgrade my wheels and tires for me. Anyone here have any suggestions? Especially in Naklua? This would definitely dress up the car's outside appearance while giving me improved handling as well.

I agree with the parking of bikes situation having lived here in Pattaya full time for six years. That's why I've never considered a car until now. Just contending with the traffic when it's bad would drive me bonkers. But I got this little feeling in my clavicle that tells me another story, kind of like that deep feeling in the pit of the stomach. If i had a car I'd probably do the same thing as I did last night.....driving my motorbike to a bar on Naklua Road where I parked it, then my gf and I took a baht taxi to the Dolphin round about. Ended up near Soi 6 in a restaurant then walked all the way back to the Naklua bar where I had a couple more then took my Elegance down the back way back to the condo...my gf driving of course as my clavicle is screwed up. So there still is a need for the motorbike, but in less risky situations. THere will still be a need for walking, baht taxis, etc. But if I want to go to the hospital or to Sukamvit, even to Lotus where there is ample parking for cars...even Carre Four, the car might be the best route to follow. You are right......if you pencil this out the cost of ownership (of a car) can buy a lot of taxis, plane tickets,etc. But, my shoulder gives me a little different viewpoint now.

EVen before my accident I've often thought of having a pickup truck so that I could be the potential killor rather than the killiee. People tend to get out of the way of pickups due to their intimidating size. Hard to park though.

I'm now getting a different slant on all this. Just got back from Pattaya Bangkok Hospital to have new x rays taken and conference with my surgeon. Then my gf and I looked at Hondas. Really liked the Civic which is a little bigger and has a bit more power than the City. Cities in very short supply now because of problems in Japan. I do not care for the driving position of the City anyway, but really liked the position in the Civic. Car is a bit bigger. And no doubt smoother on a trip, say to Krabi where I often go. At this point that three inch long titanium plate in my shoulder are is giving me new messages. It's all about that one time when things don't go just quite right that you cannot measure in dollars and cents. That trip to say Nong Nooch where one takes the motorbike or car. You think, if I am really careful that bike ride there will really be nice. So you go for it and pay the ultimate price. I've driven BMW motorbikes in the U.S. at 220 kph on a crappy two lane so on one level I'm not easily scared, but I had an intuition about this one. I rented that CBR 250 just to come up with another bike review for my online magazine. The 250 Ninja would have been next. So I woke up early, filled up and mentally prepared my bike test to Rayon. I have a friend named David. Do i visit him or not? Been to his condo once but not sure how to get there. No....I shouldn't. Let's get onto the business of the story, Jack....forget about seeing your pal. But no, I have to call David and he gives me some really crappy directions. I end up 10 miles from where I should be and I'm driving the CBR all over the place. I call him three times. So following his directions I wind up on Sukamivit Road in Rayong. But my pal doesn't even tell me how far I have to travel on Sukamvit. So I"m driving and driving. Make a final phone call when I see the light, the light I should be turning on....if I can trust his directions this time.. The light is working. I've pulled off to the side of the road talking to David. When I get off the phone with David, I'm now pretty sure I have to turn right on the green arrow at the light. But the traffic suddenly gets pretty thick, I get out into it and accelerate way over to the right. Then I work my way through the cars to the far right getting close to the light. Then I hear the police car' s siren behind me. I figure he sees me on a brand new CBR and rightly figures I've rented it. Probably figures I am a tourist and don't have a Thai driver's license. Now figuring he sees me as a mark for an easy 500 baht in his pocket. I'm now about to make my right turn at the light and there's others behind me wanting to make the right turn. There's three lanes of North bound traffic heading back to Pattaya and it's then I notice that the light has stopped working. No green arrow coming and the northbound traffic is stopped. No doubt everyone's wondering whether to go for it or not. I am too. But I'm on a bike and people don't respect bikes and respect pedestrians even less. So what to do? I give it a shot and shoot off to the right across three lanes of Sukamvit and wind up making it. But out of force of habit decide to slow down, get off to the far left side of my lane and look back to see what that cop is doing. And that's when the bike goes right from under me. No warning, no sliding of the tires. Suddenly I'm down and my shoulder is in severe pain. I had put the brakes on while hitting a slender patch of sand that I never saw.

If I hadn't tried to go visit my friend, if he hadn't given me crappy directions, if the cop hadn't suddenly appeared behind me one lane to my left blasting his siren, if that light had not suddenly malfunctioned, if I had not decided to slow down so that I could stop and survey my situation vis a vis the cop, if that sand hadn't suddenly been there, I'd be okay right now. If I had four wheels instead of two I would not have been so apprehensive about cutting across Sukamvit knowing some drivers are crazy enough to go right for a pedestrian or motorbike and the patch of sand would have had no effect on me whatsoever.

Right now whether I pay say 625,000 baht for a City versus 150,000 baht more for a Civic seems to be pretty inconsequential or even if I move up to a more delux model. It's that one time you take the bike instead of the car that might make the difference from being crippled for life and emerging unscathed.

As an old boss of mine, was fond of saying, ''If I was an alien and just landed from Mars, a logical first step would be to drive what the earthlings drive''.

So, what do Thai people drive ??

There were two Fiesta models at Big C--the Hatchback and the sport both at 695000 baht, insurance included (but how good is the included insurance?). Both were designated as top of the line and both seemed identically equipped. One of our fellow condo owners saw me at the pool yesterday afternoon and he told me about the little auto show and he made a big deal of the Fiesta Sport telling me, "You will love it and buy it," I much preferred its appearance to that of the hatchback. There was also a Chevrolet priced at about $1000 less or so and it had dual fueling--NVG and gasoline. NVG tank is good for 150 km per tankful the salesman told me. Orders for the single fueling system are backed up although the car is cheaper. ONe of my German friends in my building had 'urged me to go see the Chevrolet as it could be had for 500000 baht or so. It is much roomier than the Ford. In a Consumer Reports video the Fiesta got very high marks except for its lack of rear seat room.

Another German fellow condo co owner showed me his Honda City. Has a top of the line Mercedes back in Germany but he's been extolling all the virtues of the City. Has a lot of trunk and rear seat room. Willie told me, "In Thailand FOR YOU there are only two choices...Toyota and Honda. You can get either repaired anywhere. Do not buy the Ford." However Car reviews of the City tell of a flaw...'It is great in the city but once you get it on the highway, it's automatic is not so terrific when there are hills. I gathered it does a lot of shifting at the wrong times.

Some of the switches and other minor controls on the Fiesta seem flimsy to me. That said, as soon as I opened its door I was much impressed at how balanced and weighted it felt. And overall its quality seemed top notch. Headed for a checkup at BAngkok Hospital in half an hour. When finished will check the nearby Honda dealership out. My girlfriend loved the Fiesta but afterwards we went to the guest house I stayed at. The woman who now owns the business told her that a Ford would make no sense due to the scarcity of dealerships in Thailand. This swayed my gf back to Honda. I'll buy what I like, however, not what she might prefer.

When I was living in the U.S. I had two vehicles...a special edition Mazda Miata and a Dodge 4 wheel drive pickup in short bed sport configuration. Frequency of repair for both was about nil and I had nearly 100,000 miles on the pickup (bought it because I was a farmer then and farmers need pickups). Whether practical or not if I could buy a Miata sports car here in Thailand for 700,000 baht I'd do it in a heartbeat. But I'd have to pay double for this car than I'd pay in the U.S. You might say I value great handling and performance more than practicality. And from what I've read both the Mazda 2 and Fiesta capture that sports car driving experience much better than the competition. Neither has sports car like power however.

I like the fact that if the manual transmission Fiesta gets 40 miles to the gallon highway its 6 speed auto gets 41. Ford has to have superior technology at this point in time. Not that 35 mpg versus 41 for instance will make much difference to me. But it does show the high level of thought and engineering that's gone into this car. I have read that Ford promises parts within 24 hours. I think Ford's parts commitment and service here in Thailand will go up or down in relation to its sales performance in the next five years or so.

Tough to beat the Mazda 2 at 570000b. Mine sits in the garage most of the time however.

Just checked out the Ford Fiesta at Pattaya Big C. Beautiful. But 695,000 baht.

To get TH DL car, bring passport and certificate of residence. Tests as usual. Or ad US lisence and avoid some tests.

Car, go to Ford dealer and get a FiestaS hatch. Unbeatable spec in TH compared to the others. Smaller and less versatile than Jazz, but if you want good handling, 6 speed dsg auto and best power there is no alternative

I am really warming up to the idea of the Ford Fiesta S hatch. It has outstanding reviews with some of its strong points being terrific handling, excellent quality and a strong sales record combined with a superior automatic transmission. I've read also that Ford guarantees parts within 24 hours. Perhaps its weakest point is the lack of rear seat room. However, my gf and I do not intend on taking others with us. That being said, my nephew should be visiting us again in October so it would be nice to take him along on a nice little trip (he's six feet tall). A plus would be if the hatchback could accommodate two bicycles although I suppose a bicycle bracket could be put on. Ford is also an American company although the car's components will be from Europe, Asia, etc. Didn't feel this way before in those days when American cars were overly large and not up to Japanese quality standards. Now from what I'm reading, the Fiesta is not behind the curve but perhaps at the cutting edge--at least with this model.

To get TH DL car, bring passport and certificate of residence. Tests as usual. Or ad US lisence and avoid some tests.

Car, go to Ford dealer and get a FiestaS hatch. Unbeatable spec in TH compared to the others. Smaller and less versatile than Jazz, but if you want good handling, 6 speed dsg auto and best power there is no alternative

I've heard great things about the Fiesta---car of the year sort of stuff so it will be one of the first on my list.

what happened to the Honda Cbr250??????

sorry to hear about your accident.. But the clavicle heals fairly quickly... been there done that

Many thanks to everyone for your answers (and please keep them coming). Thaicbr. Here's the article CBr 250 roadtest which explains in detail how this accident occurred. I've been very reluctant to place the link in thaivisa's bike forum where we are both active figuring it might not be well received. It's a bike enthusiast's forum so most people there have made the choice of fully appreciating a bike for what it is while ignoring the obvious danger factor. Here most members give a lot more weight to the very real dangers of riding a bike--especially in Thailand and get cars which up to now I've viewed as an unnecessary expense that doesn't begin to offer me the all around utility of a bike. Now I'm jumping at the bit to start shopping for a car right away. I cannot drive my bike for another five weeks, have a good friend temporarily staying in his old condo building next door to mine, so perhaps I can get him to start driving me around from dealer to dealer. Which brings up another question. I presently have a five year motorcycle Thai driver's license. But I'm not licensed for driving a car in Thailand...Have valid U.S. driver's license. Thinking of getting this handled a week or so from now and I'm wondering what paperwork I'll need aside from passport, pictures and present driver's licenses. Then with the combo driver's license in hand go out and get the car of my choice.

Just finished testing the new Honda CBR 250 for my online magazine but the test almost finished me as I wound up getting a broken clavicle. So, I will be keeping my Nouvo Elegance for short runs where my risk of being a human projectile will be relatively small but looking for a car for longer runs. If it hadn't been for that patch of sand I never saw, and the policeman behind me with his siren blaring and the fact that suddenly the traffic light went out on Sukamvit stopped functioning I wouldn't be writing this post but the bottom line is all contributed to the fact that 2 wheels are not nearly as safe as four. Leaning towards a Mazda 2 primarily because i like its looks and several car magazines rate its fun to drive factor as tops in its class, but I'm also considering the Honda City and the Ford Fiesta--possibly others. Not too mobile at the moment due to the broken clavicle so I haven't yet gone to Pattaya's dealers. Back in the U.S. I've had two Mazda Miata sports cars so I'm well acquainted with Mazda's focus on good handling. Car would be used primarily for my girlfriend and me only with very sporadic need for taking others along. Any thoughts?

Almost 22,000 on my PCX and still lovin' it.Got a complement today, one yesterday also. Have ridden the click and the scoopy, the PCX is a much smoother ride. I have to go to the gas station almost every day on the chicka's scoopy, about once a week on the PCX. Don't worry about theft, just get a brake caliper lock for the bike and close the ignition. The thieves would have to pick the bike up and put it in a truck to steal it. It would take at least three people to pick it up. I'm glad there were five people helping me when I moved.

DON'T buy the Yamaha! I know someone who did and they had it in the shop for a carburetor adjustment three times. He only had five thousand km on it. Not my idea of quality.

I've admitted here many times that the PCX is a great bike but I think you are doing everyone here a disservice by your very advising people not to buy a Yamaha. You have a database of precisely one bike that according to you had carburetor problems. I've had one Yamaha Nouvo for three years with no problems and my present Elegance for 2 1/2 years now with no problems. My friend Ross has put 30,000 km on his Elegance with no problems. I tried to convince two American friends to rent PCX's because both of them weigh around 300 pounds but both wound up renting Elegances which they were very happy with. Neither even considered renting PCX's.

Now let's take a worse case scenario of your friend filling his carburetor with mashed potatoes and gravy. He could replace the entire carb for a pittance based on my very recent experience renting a 250 CBR. Got out of the hospital yesterday after being operated on for a broken clavicle. Took the rental to the Naklua Honda dealer to replace a few parts and the total bill was 2900 baht. (I'll be calling my forthcoming article on my web site "Jack Corbett Crash tests Honda's new 250 CBR"). My point is repairs can be ridiculously inexpensive compared to repairing the human body.

Three days ago I broke my clavicle when I drove a motorbike from Pattaya to Rayong. Went to the hospital in Rayong where I got this xray taken. Doctor told me I had two choices...a sling or surgery. Today went to BPH where I saw Dr Dumronk Thanachanant. This is 8 minutes from my condo. The Doc said it was a big break. When I mentioned a German doctor who is a friend of a German friend of mine who is urging a 2nd opinion and most likely surgery, he said Europeans usually opt for surgery. (hinting Americans do not. Anyway---Have an appointment with Dr. Thanachanant for May 28th after he told me he goes to Baum----- on Friday May 27. He said if I had an operation the meshing of bones would be much more even. Other than that he seemed to favor the sling over an operation. Meanwhile my nephew who is an emergency room RN in the US has consulted two American doctors who tell him the non operative route is the much favored treatment. Wikipedia states in90-95 % of the cases, there is no operation. An American friend my age ---64 had a broken clavicle. He urges no operation. Two German residents in my building are of the same opinion one of them telling me m[uch can go wrong with an operation Meanwhile my friend who has the german doctor friend is urging me to go for yet a 3rd opinion at the number one hospital in Bangkok.

I can well tolerate the pain. But Im wondering what to do. I have a lot of confidence in Bangkok Pattaya Hospital and have been operated on there twice. At least two of my fellow condo residents have the same level of confidence in BPH as I do. My initial impression of Dr. 'Dumronk Thanachanant is very favorable He seems to be taking the attitude..."It's up to you but I for one am in no hurry to operate.

Ok, this has NOTHING to do with 250's, but I just couldn't resist. There are just SOME things you shouldn't do on a bike of ANY size, and this is one of them.

You meant driving without a helmet of course, didn't you?

I knew there was something fishy about that variator.

As I keep saying all along, you will find the best engineers in the world working for such companies as Honda, Yamaha, Mazda, Ford, Chrysler and so on. There's really no free lunch. If you want a race car you have to sacrifice fuel economy, reliability and even tire longevity. One is lucky to be able to finish a race on one set of tires in some of the Grand Prix's for example. Yamaha sacrifices plushness and the smoothest ride ability when it produces the Nouvo Elegance. The PCX sacrifices low price and the sports car agility and smallness to get into small places such as you get with the Elegance and smaller bikes. A 650 Kawasaki ERN6 has fine touring capabilities and much greater speed than scooters possess but it only gets around 16 km/liter which is a lot less than half what a PCX or Elegance gets. I might have had a lot of fun souping the first Mazda Miata sports car I bought but when the transmission finally went out at 140,000 miles (no doubt from adding another 50 % horsepower) I bought a stock special edition 2002 model with a 6 speed overdrive manual transmission because I figured I'd wind up getting at least 200,000 relatively maintenance free miles out of it.

I will be happy to sell you a J Costa variator and/or a J Costa exhaust.

I had Honda install a J Costa variator. Is it faster, yes and no. In some cases it is and in others not, my top end is now 119 km/h were before it was 109 km/h tops The down side is I was getting 45 - 50 km/l and now it is way down to 35. In the end it wasn't worth the cost to me, but you will have to decide.

Isn't this why most of us should "settle for Honda and Yamaha engineering"? The reason I tested my friend's stock PCX against my Yamaha Nouvo Elegance instead of renting a Costa variator equipped PCX from the owner of Nunn Massage is I had this deep seated feeling in my guts that the fuel economy of the PCX would suffer enormously and that for this reason only a very small percentage of PCX owners would want to sacrifice this kind of fuel economy for a little more power. From what you are telling us for 6 miles an hour increased top end you are reducing your fuel economy roughly 30 %.

Here in BKK, plenty of Thais are rolling the PCX and NE135.

I often see Thais riding BMWs, Ducatis, and other big bikes too.

There's even some Thai cop near me riding around on a new GSXR.

Maybe a police repossession, or he's just making so much in bribes he can afford a bike like that.

So I don't think its so much the size of the bike/car, it's about the money.

I often see the NE135 used as a taxi bike too, but never the PCX.

The Thai working at bike rental shop just down the street from me just backed off his statements about Nouvo Elegance coming out with fuel injection in the next month or so. I saw the German owner going into the shop so I immediately stopped my motorbike and went inside to talk to the man for clarification on "his ordering one or two bikes equipped with fuel injection." My question did not ring a bell with the man. The Thai employee was standing next to him and he was very quick to say, "Yamaha not have fuel injection until December". Then he said Yamaha was having trouble with the Elegance getting quick smooth acceleration with fuel injection. I now think this all was so much blue smoke. If Yamaha wanted a smooth operating fuel injection setup on a Nojvo Elegance it could have it tomorrow. As I've mentioned for years it's had it on the XMAX bikes in Europe and elsewhere.

I had bad info on Yamaha's being about to offer fuel injection on the Yamaha Elegance. However-----I will still recommend this rental shop as its rentals seem to be all relatively new bikes and are well maintained plus every bike getting rented out of there is insured.

Still think they need more if they wanna get up where the PCX is, i have had Novo since they came to Phuket,,,,, but now,,,, Honda PCX is the best,i cant understand the problem that its a little bigger than the Nouvo, it took me about half a day to get used to the PCX, i dont think i will look back

Well maybe the PCX is the best for Phuket, but Pattaya I am not so sure with the at times very heavy traffic. I find our Fino estremly good for that and my wife loves it. The PCX price tag also keeps me off I must admit.

I think at some point logic might enter into the decision process as to what is the best bike for Thailand, the U.S., Europe, etc and for each person the process will be different according to what features of a given bike is more important to him. I have a friend, call him Eddy just to protect the guilty because Eddy is an idiot. Eddy keeps talking up the Yamaha TMax and he's absolutely correct, it's a wonderful machine for U.S. interstates. But what do they cost here in Thailand--something like 600,000 baht? An Elegance is 52,000. Eddie also has a pickup truck so long haul cruising on a bike simply isn't going to happen for him. I doubt if Eddie has ever taken his Airblade more than 80 kph. Furthermore I'm dead certain that if Eddie had to drive a T Max everyday in Pattaya traffic he would be whistling a different tune because there is simply no way a T Max will keep up with its much smaller sibling, a Yamaha Elegance, in heavy Pattaya traffic. But if Eddie actually had bought a T Max he'd never admit he had made a mistake simply because Eddie is a master at denial.

If we were to compare say five bikes for driving in Pattaya conditions--say the Yamaha Fino, the Yamaha Elegance, the Honda PCX, the Yamaha XMax 125 and the Yamaha T Max we'd arrive at five different conclusions for which might be the best bike. The smallest and lightest would be the Fino. It would be the easiest to park for example and the least stable of the five at high speeds. But put yourselves in this situation. You are driving along North Pattaya Road and suddenly you realize that Songkran has arrived one month early. The traffic is impossibly backed up all up and down the East bound lanes of North Pattaya Road. So you decide to take a chance on the police not seeing you or if they did not getting to you through the traffic. Fortunately you are driving a Yamaha Fino. So you pick your bike up and you carry it over the curb, walk your bike over the divider, set it down and zoom off to the West in the direction you came from. That shouldn't be too difficult. Now...change bikes. YOu have the Elegance. I'd say carrying the Elegance over the curb would be more difficult than managing the Fino but most of us could still do it. Change bikes again to the PCX which comes in at 280 pounds. Some of us can still manage to get the PCX over the divider but those of us who do all wind up at Bangkok Pattaya Hospital with hernias. Try this maneuver with a 450 pound T Max and we'd all shake our heads and not even try, resigning ourselves to keeping in line with all the cars and wait two hours to finally inch through the traffic. Now for the X Max. First off there aren't any in Pattaya. But they are 360 pounds in Europe. I think we'd be mired down in traffic just as we would had we been driving the T Max or a car if we were driving an X Max.

My point might be that Yamaha has thought this all through and decided not to bring the X Max over to Thailand simply because although it might be a great match for European driving conditions it does not offer the most rationale choice for Thailand either from a manufacturers viewpoint or the consumer's. First off, Yamaha might figure it's too heavy just like the T Max is. Secondly Yamaha might decide it's too expensive and most potential buyers won't buy it. Then again---perhaps we might see an X Max in Yamaha's future for Thailand and find it being offered here at an affordable price say next year and in the meantime Yamaha is coming out with the fuel injected Nouvo Elegance as a stop gap measure due to the possible mindset that fuel injection is a magic wand and that if you don't have it you might as well be driving a bicycle.

Truth is both Yamaha and Honda have motorbikes under wraps that they already have introduced in other markets across the globe that most people here have never seen or driven before. From what I've read the 125 c.c. X Max will outperform a Honda PCX by a significant margin, but at what cost to us for one if Yamaha should ever decide to produce it in Thailand? And if that's not big enough or powerful enough there's also the 250 c.c. X Max, but it probably weighs 400 pounds. Simply because the XMAX exists somewhere else might make many of us think that Yamaha enjoys a significant technological edge over Honda when it comes to building small displacement scooters. But then there's the Honda 300 SHI and it's been available in certain European countries for something like 4 years already. It's got about 285 c.c's and it will do about 85 miles an hour, is appreciably smaller than Yamaha's T MAX and is no doubt an all around stellar performer. My point is there are some people here who seem to feel that Honda is some kind of magical genie who can wave his magic wand and produce bikes that Yamaha is not competent to manufacture, but the reality is both manufacturers are capable of offering more technology than most of us can even begin to appreciate.

There is a new place renting motorbikes just 50 meters up the street from my condo here in Naklua. I went in there this afternoon to c heck rental prices for both a PCX and Nouvo Elegance for a friend of mine who is arrving on April 28th. The place is owned by the German owner of Nunn Massage who has recently branched out into motorbike rentals at his massage establishment on Soi 33 here in Naklua. One of the man's rentals is a PCX with the variator hop up kit. At his new rental shop he even has a glass picture window and miniature showroom floor to showcase a bike or two. He has a Thai guy running it for him and during the long winded conversation I had with the Thai I started to ask the man which bike her personally preferred, the PCX or the Nouvo Elegance. That's when he unloaded the news on me....that next month Yamaha is coming out with fuel injection on the Elegance. When I asked him if he was sure he said he was sure and when I asked him why he was sure, he told me that his boss has already ordered one or two new fuel injected Elegances. I then asked him if it was a bigger model (envisioning an X Max sized scooter coming in from Yamaha) and he told me No....that it was an Elegance that was about to be fuel injected.

We will see how credible this report is. I will say this about the owner, however. He must be into the latest and greatest in small scoots because he already has one souped up PCX for rent. And this new shop of his that's only been open for a couple of weeks now has four or five PCX's for rent and two or three good looking Nouvo late model Elegances. His equipment line he's renting out is none too shabby.

Well done CMX. To put a couple more twists to this whole thing upon returning from Krabi I got together with Ludwig today. Ludwig's a German retired architect who had been the proud owner of a PCX until his was stolen at Bangkok Pattaya Hospital no less. Ludwig's one of these very rational logical Germans who knew just how good his fuel economy was on his PCX and who appreciated its fine engineering. But when he went back to his Honda dealer, he was informed it wouldn't matter where he'd be driving a new PCX because it would likely be snatched wherever he took it. Ludwig commented to me, 'One cannot watch his bike all the time, so he wound up opting for a Honda Scoopy. While still in Krabi I got in a chat with Big Tom, (who's over six foot six and weighs over 130 kilos) an American friend of mine who's due to arrive here on April 28 and I urged him to rent a PCX for a month. Tom's reply went about like this---"I often find myself hemmed in by people parking their motorbikes right behind me and with a Nouvo I can lift it around those motorbikes whereas I could not do this with a PCX. So today I headed for Carre Four and in the Carre Four parking lot some idiots had completely hemmed me in by parking their bikes right in the lane to my rear. Other than picking up and moving about five bikes I had to inch my Nouvo Elegance forward which I did by walking the bike along. Had I had a PCX I would have had a devil of a time. I then drove behind Carre Four and was proceeding South towards Pattaya Klang, with lots of traffic ahead of me. There was the narrowest gap to my left so once again I dismounted and barely squeezed between a car and a sign post to my left with about 2 inches to spare on each side of my front foot pegs. I absolutely could not have done that with a PCX. My reward was I was able to immediately go to the left of a long line of cars to make an immediate left on Pattaya Klang. I then made very rapid progress to Sukamvit which I took up into Naklua. So whereas three days driving that bright red PCX in Krabi made me fall in love with it, today, my very first day back, I had a great day on my Elegance and would not have enjoyed the PCX nearly as much.

Which now brings up the XMAX. I think Yamaha came out with it way back in about 2005 and now the new 2011 models are in---available to the European market. To anyone here who thinks Yamaha is a laggard when it comes to building high tech scooters in the 100 to 250 c.c. classes I invite you to do a few searches in Google or Yahoo and do a little reading up on the Yamaha XMax. There's a 125 c.c. model and a 250 c.c. model. The 125 makes about 14 horsepower. That's around 3 more or 25 % more power than the PCX or 135 c.c,. Elegance. Nearly all the reviews from well satisfied owners are complete raves. Apparently the 125 goes like a bat out of hell for a 125. These things are fuel injected and they have two disk brakes, one on the rear and one on the front. There's an ABS option too. The 125's are getting over 100 miles to the gallon or same same as the Elegance and the PCX. One owner claims he can get his up to 75 miles an hour with a slight tail wind, another claims it doesn't take long for him to get his up to 70. And------unlike the Elegance which carries just 4,8 liters of fuel or the PCX which outranges the Elegance by about 30 % due to its significantly larger 6.2 liter fuel tank the XMax carries over 12 liters of fuel so it's going to have incredible range.

But.......it seems the X Max weighs 360 pounds or so which is 80 pounds heavier than the PCX which outweighs the Elegance by 40 to 50 pounds. But the reviewers claim it's a sensational bike that does everything well. And when I read even more I found out that apparently there are two basic models for the European market for both the 125 and the 250 X Max. One has a 15 inch front wheel and a 14 inch rear wheel whereas the other model has a 15 inch rear tire and a 16 inch front. So it would seem as if Yamaha is about ready to pounce on the Thai market. But.....at what cost for all this high tech? And if we feel the PCX is not as handy in city traffic and ease of parking as the Yamaha Nouvo Elegance what would we think of this X Max coming in at over 360 pounds for a 125 c.c.?

Presently at Ao Nang Beach in Krabi and have rented a beautiful red PCX for three days. As most of you know I have a nice Yamaha Elegance and it only has 8000 kilometers on it. It's perfect. Totally outclasses the Air Blade for instance. Here in Krabi there's stunning scenery all around and it's most reassuring to have a 6.2 liter fuel tank compared to the Elegance's 4,8 and Air Blades 4.0. Last time here at Ao Nang I rented a practically new Honda CBR 150' and I really liked it. I am currently thinking one doesn't need anything larger than this latest and greatest 125 and can easily tour all of Thailand with it in comfort. The thing outweighs the Elegance by 40 or 50 pounds and I now view this as a decisive factor towards putting this machine over the top in comfort and stability. The mirrors provide an excellent view to the rear. And they do not change when I go from riding single to putting my girlfriend behind me. If everything else were equal between any two given bikes this is reason alone to go for the PCX over everything else. There is virtually no vibration. Even that hump in the seat that so many guys criticise makes this seat more comfortable to me as I can press myself back into it and this offers needed support. THe thing goes better than any 125 has a right to go.

I would buy one in bright red as soon as I get back to my condo in Pattaya except for one thing. That is, what is Yamaha coming out with to compete with the PCX? It is going to have to come up with something really great because the new PCX is really that good. If anyone ever comes in here asking, "I am new to bikes, what bike should I get?"I have one simple answer...the PCX. Nothing else comes close. For me the Elegance still is far better than anything that might be a candidate for second place however. So it's not bad to stick with it and wait say eight months to see what Yamaha has in store for the Thai market. From what i've read the XMAX which has just 125 c'c's and has been around for several years, but not in Thailand but it gets something like 14 horsepower out of this 125.

If you had gone back a few threads you would have seen my shootout between the PCX and the Yamaha Nouvo Elegance that most likely would have answered all your questions with the exception of the one about theft. Fuel economy, handling, road worthiness, ride and speed issues are all there. My shootout with my Elegance pitted against my friend's PCX is on the road from Pattaya to Rayong. Per, the PCX owner has a good friend, Kjell, who often makes the same trip with him on his Air Blade rental. The Air Blade is totally outclassed by the PCX as it is by the Nouvo Elegance as well. Won't stay with either bike on the hills for one thing.

Now...as to your concerns about theft, a German condo resident here had his PCX stolen in the parking lot at Bangkok Pattaya Hospital. He replaced his PCX with a Honda Scoopy after his dealership told him he'd face a big risk of getting any PCX replacement stolen no matter where he parked it. As for the security alarm on the PCX the sound is hardly audible so it's virtually worthless. So as far as theft you are better off with the Nouvo Elegance without an alarm than you are with a PCX with the alarm system enabled.

If you had gone back a few threads you would have seen my shootout between the PCX and the Yamaha Nouvo Elegance that most likely would have answered all your questions with the exception of the one about theft. Fuel economy, handling, road worthiness, ride and speed issues are all there. My shootout with my Elegance pitted against my friend's PCX is on the road from Pattaya to Rayong. Per, the PCX owner has a good friend, Kjell, who often makes the same trip with him on his Air Blade rental. The Air Blade is totally outclassed by the PCX as it is by the Nouvo Elegance as well. Won't stay with either bike on the hills for once thing.

Now...as to your concerns about theft, a German condo resident here had his PCX stolen in the parking lot at Bangkok Pattaya Hospital. He replaced his PCX with a Honda Scoopy after his dealership told him he'd have a big change of getting any PCX replacement stolen no matter where he parked it. As for the security alarm on the PCX the sound is hardly audible so it's virtually worthless. So as far as theft you are better off with the Nouvo Elegance without an alarm than you are with a PCX with the alarm system enabled.