jackcorbett

Got it so if anyone else has this problem, this should work. A firend in the condo headed to Bangkok where he got the Enterprise version of 2007 Quickbooks. This is $3000 for a five user version in the U.S. Well........the install was tricky but it worked. Cost him 80 baht.

For 150 baht compared to around $450 U.S. one can buy here in Pattaya Quickbooks 2007 premier edition. However, I screwed up the initial install on my desktop computer's c drive. On the package one is instructed to STAY OFF THE INTERNET while doing the install. As is often times the case I was too quick on the trigger and did not disconnect from the Internet. The serial number and product number appears on the installation CD in a directory called Crack, and I think just about every 150 baht install CD for Premier 2007 uses the same serial and product numbers so I cannot simply pay another 150 baht for a second CD. So what happens is I cannot do the install on my Desktop computer's C drive as I get an error message stating the serial number I am supplying is invalid. It isn't. The program will install onto my girlfriend's computer and I have already successfully installed it onto my laptop computer.

I believe that my first attempt at installing to the desktop enabled Intuit's web site to communicate with my computer and either created a file that would cause the serial number not to be recognized or altered an existing file to prevent the install. Anyone have a solution for me that will allow my serial number to be recognised?

Incidentally, I normally do not go for the bootleg copies or free copies of friends' software and do not mind paying. However, Intuit although it makes great accounting software, this company is repeatedly screwing its customers. Example. I am already using Quickbooks 2004 for three companies. My C.P.A. back in the states can read my files and prepare my taxes from them when I email them to him. But now a problem has occurred. He's on Quickbooks 2007. He can still read my 2004 files but there is a third company and he does all the accounting entries for this company. So when he prepares a file with his 2007 Quickbooks for this company and sends it to me, my 2004 Quickbooks can no longer read it. I even called Intuit today and asked if I could buy a 2007 download so my accountant and I would be compatible. The Intuit representative told me what I already suspected. Although I now could read my accountant's 2007 files there would be no way he could read my 2008 Quickbooks files. I could download 2008 Quickbooks but there were no more 2007 downloads available from Intuit and no other vendors offered licensed copies of 2007 from their web sites available for download. The Intuit representative told me (I was using Skype) that everyone would be happy campers if I bought 2008 and got my C.P.A. to buy it also. I told the man that since the Accountant's version of 2008 cost $450 Intuit would be very happy but my accountant and I would certainly not be as both of us would be dropping a few hundred dollars to go along with Intuit's program.

So, Intuit has set its customers (both my C.P.A. and I up) for a dual screwing announcing clearly there is no end to this company's greed. So I don't mind a little tit for tat by getting a 150 baht Thai copy which I already have done. Now I just have to figure out how to undo the damage I had invited in by not dropping my online connection during my first install attempt.

It is not just how you get the power increase, it is also the stress on the other components of the bike....for instance, the transmission in my Miata, which has proven to be the most reliable of all Mazdas which is no surprise as even though it's a sports car, its basic design dates back to 1990. Okay....take a Yamaha Nouvo which has just 115 cc's. There is also a 250 and a 400 cc. design for the U.S. market called the Reflex and the Majesty. Both employ twin drive belts whereas the Nouvo employs just one. Obviously the single belt in the Nouvo is not considered strong enough for these bigger motorbikes by Yamaha engineers. So at what point does one draw the line? At 160 cc's for an increased displacement of 45 cc's. At 180 or is it at 200? At some point the drive train starts to become unreliable and overstressed when additional horsepower is added. And how about even the brakes. It is one thing to have enough braking power to stop a bike that is capable of doing just 75 miles an hour but it is another if the same brakes are asked to stop a bike which has been souped up to do 90 miles an hour.

I would also be thinking of the overall quality of the cylinders and pistons one might be replacing on any vehicle. For instance BMW improved the quality of its cylinder linings on its motorcyles in its pursuit of gaining increased longevity. So, later model R-65's with Nikasil lined cylinders would outlast older models that did not employ it or at least that was the theory. Unless I knew differently as a certainly I'd go with original factory spec components over those designed in someone's barnyard shop for instance.

I have read posts on various forums regarding having the 200cc engine of the Phantom bored out to except a new piston from Honda Japan thus making it a 250cc... I know that 50cc's does not sound like much, but a 25% increase in power could make this bike much more enjoyable to ride...

I would like to know if anyone has had this done, if so where and approximate costs... As I live up in Issan, I would prefer somewhere up this way, but might be willing to ride to Bangkok if I have to...

Thank you in advance for any and all information...

Pianoman

I was just reading in a forum devoted to the BMW R-65 that if one wanted a faster bike then one should simply go buy a larger bike. The R-65 was a 650. A number of guys in this forum souped up their R-65's getting about a 10 horsspower out of a 50 horsepower engine. But they all had longevity problems thereafter. I had a 1992 Mazda Miata with 116 horsepower. Had it superharged and "improved it in many other respects." Blew three engines because of the supercharger. Finally took it off and drove it many thousands of miles until at 145,000 miles the transmission quit. Mazda did not design this car at least in 1992 to sustain 180 horsepower when it was engineered to have only 116. I believe the transmission would have lasted forever.

I feel if Yamaha wanted 189 cc's out of a Nouvo which has 115 cc's it would have designed it that way in the first place. Those who want to do these after market kits are going to have huge problems. Interestingly enough for the U.S. market Honda makes a twin cylinder 250 cc. called the Rebel that looks a lot like the Phantom. But it really only puts out 234 cc's and this out of a twin. From what I've read the Phantom with just one cylinder and 200 cc's puts out the same horsepower.

The Phantom is not automatic. Itis a "chopper" style bike at 200cc.

I use to have a 150CC Phantom but these are not made anymore. My biggest regretwas ever selling it

I'm think the cost of a new Phantom is somewhere in the region of 85,000. There are plenty of second hand available if you don't want to go that far.

Thanks Chavy. Cruiser/chopper style is not for me.

For hoot, I went to the BMW Thailand site and saw the 1200GS (my dream bike) for $29,000 Cdn. It's $18K here at home and that's about $4000 more than in the US. Um, no thanks.

I liked the Phantom, at least from my ten minute spin on it. It had more power than I expected and I also felt it shifted smoother than I expected after reading negative comments from Phantom riders who otherwise liked the bike. This was at night and in Pattaya. A few years ago in the U.S. my last two street bikes were a R-65 (650 cc.) which only weighed 408 pounds and later on a K-100 RS which had narrow bars and which enforced a crouched riding position. Recalling the R-65, although it had wider handle bars and although it lent itself to a straight up riding position, I sat taller in the seat than on the Phantom and I believe the handle bars were narrower. So it gave me more of a sense of being at one with the bike and really in control. This is the same feel I get with the Yamaha Nouvo although by most measurements you can hardly compare a fully automatic 115 cc. step through to a 650 cc. BMW. I just remember feeling really at one with the bike on that 650 BMW. And although the Phantom probably weighs 305 lbs dry to the BMW's 408 pounds the BMW felt smaller. Too bad they stopped making the R-65 many years ago. It felt great in city traffic and it also felt terrific cruising at 70 to 80 miles an hour. Quite possibly the cruiser style is just a bit too relaxed. It's just too dangerous around here to be too laid back on any bike.

That BMW is an intriguing piece of machinery although there is a huge price differential between it and a Phantom. Also.......service would be a primary concern to those living here in Thailand.

I have an American friend who commented to me about Phantoms, "they spend more time in the shop than outside the shop." Then he commented that the Platinum bikes also spent a lot of time in the shop. I corrected him, by saying the Phantom was a Honda whereas the Platinum was a cut rate bottom basement priced knock off of Japanese designed machines such as Hondas and Yamahas, after which David prattled on, "Same same. No real difference." THen again if this particular American friend told me wearing black t shirts made him a target for man eating tigers and there actually were lots of man eating tigers around, I'd stop wearing white t shirts and start wearing black ones instead since this is how credible this particular friend of mine is. All in all I felt the Phantom had a much heavier, and more powerful feel to it than a mere 200 cc's would even begin to suggest.

There seems to be a problem here, Richard. I replied to the original poster's query asking for information on Yamaha Mios and did not intend to quote you.

That said, interesting story. Here's my two cents. First---although I've said favorable things here about both the Yamaha Mio and Fino, I feel the tire size of the Nouvo makes it much more road worthy at higher speeds. And although I feel that either the Nouvo or Air Blade represents the best all around bike for driving in the Pattaya area, I feel that other choices are better if driving conditions include a mix that incorporates more driving on higher speed roads with less driving in a Pattaya only environment where the speeds are going to be much lower. Now that I said that a few days ago my girlfriend and I took my Nouvo to Sattahip from Pattaya with her driving and me on the back. At times she'd drive up to 80 kph (around 50) and the Nouvo seemed just fine at this speed with plenty of power to spare. I'd probably be driving it a little faster. And the other day I was talking to one of my fellow condo owners who knows someone who drives all over Thailand on a 125 cc. class bike. He just grabs a bike and goes. Unsure if he rents them out for a business, has a shop or what.

However, last night I took a Honda Phantom for an unplanned test spin. This is the first time I've driven a Phantom. I was sitting in a bar owned by a fellow American who lives close to me and his Thai girflriend asked me if I wanted to test drive the Phantom. Although it's just 200 cc's, it felt better than I expected, feeling more powerful while shifting smoother than I expected after reading a few comments here and elsewhere. This could very well be a very good machine for someone needing to do more highway driving than the typical Pattaya resident does.

But back to your story. Based on my personal experiences extensively modifying a 1992 Mazda Miata sportscar there is no way I'd want to made substantual modifications to Finos, Nouvos, CBR 150's and the like in search for better performance. After having a Sebring supercharger installed on the Miata, sport exhaust, header, larger wheels and tires, etc. I blew three engines and finally had the supercharger removed. Even so, at 140,000 miles the Miata's transmission finally crashed and burned, and I believe this was a result of overpowering it way beyond what Mazda engineers designed it to withstand. From everything I've read Mazda Miata's although sportscars are the most reliable of all cars in the Mazda lineup.

If you are thinking about extra power then buy a Yamaha Fino and modify the engine a bit, see the story

http://www.motorcycle.in.th/article.php/Tu...no-into-a-Racer

Outright dangerous but from 0 to 100 as fast as a decent sport car...

Yamaha is quite smart the way it's dressing up its Mios The new paint schemes are fabulous. The Fino is simply a Mio that is retrofitted to look just like those old style Vespas. The curves are just right. Gorgeous. That being said, I bought my girlfriend a bright red Fino and as I have mentioned here it's a charming bike costing 40,000 baht brand spanking new. But I also have a Yamaha Nouvo, the Mios larger brother although the two supposedly have the same 115 cc. engine athough the Nouvo is gutsier. New Yamaha Nouvos are 49,000 baht. The Nouvo is much more practical as it has a large storage area under the seat just for starters. Also has larger wheels and tires---16 inch diameter compared to a Finos 14 inchers. So the Nouvo is safer on the road. My girlfriend takes my Nouvo grocery shopping, not the Fino, so as much as she likes her Fino, I really think if she didn't have me and access to my Nouvo and had to do it all over again, she'd take the Nouvo over the Fino or the Mio for that matter. This should tell you all you need to know.

What I meant is there is no such thing as a 250 cc. Wave.

Lotus Eater-----Sorry not to have answered your question. The hook for the Yamaha Fino was installed quite easily for around five bucks by the dealership and it does not detract one iota from the bike's appearance. In fact it looks like the bike came with it.

For those interested I've been taking a poll in another forum with the subject being, "What bike to you prefer for all around Pattaya use?" Here are the results so far.

Yamaha Nouvo------------------------------------8 votes

Honda Air Blade-----------------------------------5 votes

Honda Wave------------------ -------------------4 votes

Yamaha or other equivalent to the Honda Wave----0 votes

Honda 200 cc. Phantom---------------------------2 votes

Honda 150 cc. CBR--------------------------------1 vote

400 CC. 1990 vintage Honda CBL-------------------1 votes

Honda Steed or similar bike 600 cc's or above-------2 votes

An expensive Harley Davidson----------------------8 votes

Honda Click, Yamaha Fino or Mio--------------------1 vote

Nope.

Is Kawasaki saying the Ninja 250 will be sold in Thailand, from dealers, with warranty? Now you're talking....

From what I have read about this machine it has about the same horsepower as the first bike I ever owned which was a Honda 350 which actually only had a 325 c.c. displacement. Both the Honda (I got it in about 1973) and the 250 Ninja are rated at about 100 miles an hour. But on the level without a tail wind the 350 Honda was good for about 90 on its speedometer, not 103 or whatever the specs said on it. But even if the Ninja 250 were good for just 90 miles an hour, none of the other 250's I read road tests on would go over 80 miles an hour.

I would be surprised, (pleasant surprised however) if the Ninja 250 will be offered in Thailand, brand new, with warranty, etc.

Anybody ever think about the Yamaha Air Blade or the brand new Kawasaki Ninja 250R (2008 model) they perform well and the Kawasaki gives even most 400cc a hard time.

Yep. I was just reading a few days ago some road tests of the Ninja 250 R. Reason is a good friend of mine had a Ninja 500 or was it a 550? Anyway, this was years ago and I had a BMW R-65, a 650. The Ninja was a lot of fun to drive and much sportier than my BMW and I was doing some research and found it was such a good bike that it's not been changed very much through all these years. Then I started reading reviews on 250 cc. bikes, the Phantom which is a 200 cc. and found that most likely something like the Honda Rebel which is a 250 cc (actually it's just 234 cc's) twin probably has about identical performance to what the Phantom offers, the Phantom being a 200 cc. single. Then I came across the 250 Kawasaki and from what I've read it's a lot faster than the other 250 cc bikes I've been reading about.

Only problem is it's probably for all practical purposes unavailable in Thailand. And if it is it would probably be hard to get parts for it.

I have the Fino's bigger brother, the Yamaha Nouvo. Bought my girlfriend a nice bright red Fino. I'm repeating myself from a former post but here goes. The Fino has tremendous looks, but that's obvious. It is a Mio in another skin.....we already know that. The Fino has a manual choke, very little storage under the seat (so my girlfriend prefers taking my Nouvo to do the grocery shopping. However, we have had a hook installed just in front of the driver's knees to add to storage capacity from hanging plastic bags from the bike. Nouvo has good storage underneath the seat. And an automatic choke. Nouvo has substantually larger wheels and tires than the Fino so it's going to be more stable at speed. The bikes have the same 115 c.c. engines but my Nouvo seems to accelerate much more strongly. And it's a little heavier. The Nouvo has a huge very comfortable seat that is going to put the seats of many highway cruisers to shame. The Fino's seat is not bad but no match for the fabulous seat of the Nouvo.

But my girlfriend's Fino is utterly charming to drive. And we do travel on it two up no problem but I weigh 76 kilos and my gf weighs just 43 kilos. Nouvo is obiously better for two up. Her bike's engine is very smooth and the brakes for some reason are smoother and more effective than those on my Nouvo. The Fino is 40,000 baht whereas Nouvos now are 49,000 baht. In closing the Nouvo is worth the extra money as it is all around a more practical bike. But I see much to like about the Fino and in Pattaya it's going to be a fine bike. As others have advised you, rent a Fino for a day, and if you can't find a Fino to rent try a Mio and base your decision on whether to buy the Fino or not on how well you like the Mio. Then rent the Nouvo for a day. Each drives very well for what it is.

I had a total of three XL models. I believe the XR models and your bike's picture indicates this is what it is, were more suitable for the dirt whereas the XL models were intended more as a dual purpose bike. I believe they had bigger headlights for one thing. Also your bike clearly shows it has a more aggressive tread design that is not going to fare well on the street but it's going to be grippier in the dirt.

My first XL was a 185 XL. It was just what I needed on the farm as it was just small enough to be easily put into the back of a pickup truck. It would do around 70 miles an hour, and from what I'm reading now the 250 XL was really no faster. Had about 18 horsepower. And it weighed around 250 lbs or so. Thinking bigger has got to be better I later got a 500 XL. It weighed around 290 pounds. I could take it on the interstate and still have plenty of acceleration at 80 miles per hour. And it wasn't that bad on pavement. However due to its weight and huge amounts of torque it was a scary when I took it out into the woods. I then got a couple of street bikes, first a 650 BMW twin and then a K-100 RS first trading in the 500 XL in for the 650 and then I had nothing that I could drive out into the fields. So when I still had that 1000 c.c. BMW I got a good price on a new 185 Honda XL. By this time i had learned my lesson. The 185 started a lot easier than the 500 XL and it was a lot of fun driving fast on the dirt roads. You could really feel how stable you were and how well the tires were gripping. By contrast I didn't get this kind of sensory input from the 500 XL. I also had a lot of fun driving it through the drainage ditches and would drive straight down them and right up the opposite side. That would be six to eight feet and close to 90 degrees. That 185 was a real handy bike I could drive on asphalt or dirt roads at 50-60 miles an hour (or faster) to get to a field and then I could drive it into the field whether it had a crop of beans on it or not, to take soil samples or check out the weed control.

The XR models weighed in at a little less and were probably not as road worthy as the dual purpose engineered XL's. Here's a 185 XL I found doing a Yahoo search. http://w2.bikepics.com/pics/2007%5C01%5C05...763829-full.jpg

Hi there,

I wonder if someone can help me out. I am visiting Pattaya in November and want to buy a second hand bike for my thai friend, from a reputable dealer in Pattaya. Looking at around the 45,000 baht mark.

Can anyone offer any suggestions of places to try and / or websites

Many thanks

I wouldn't think twice about getting a second hand motoribke here in Pattaya. First off, if you or your friend are even thinking about driving one fast, consider several things. First, there are six times as many fatalities per 100,000 motorbikes in Thailand than there are in the U.S. In my opinion the major cause is 1. A complete lack of respect for the most part of any "rules of the road whatsoever" and a complete unwillingness to enforce such rules by the police, those men in uniform in the U.S. who for the most part are proud of their model "To serve and protect." I just came back from Chiang Mai. In the taxi on the way to the airport on Sukamvit Road in North Pattaya a solitary figure was waving traffic off to the side of the highway. So far he was the only person to arrive at the accident scene. As out taxi driver veered to the right I spotted a woman lying on the pavement who was quite dead. Her head was shattered and there was a trail of brains looking like little white sausages stretching around twenty feet towards the side of the road. I don't even think this made the news because online in the Pattaya papers another motorbike fatality was covered, this one occurring on August 31. The one I described happened in the morning on Septermber 1.

For what it is worth in my opinion one needs a bike that is going to get the job done. This includes some built in storage capability so you don't have to screw around with add on saddle bags at extra cost and does not include a large machine with excess reserves of power. If a man has a lot of extra power on tap he's going to want to give it a shot, once in awhile. If a man has a bike that goes from 0-100 kph in four seconds or less, he's going to want to feel that surge of acceleration once in awhile. And that's going to be when he suddenly sees the Zombie like witless Thai driver driving his motorbike up the wrong side of the street because he's too lazy to obey the traffic rules or the tuk tuk suddenly veering into his lane, or a baht taxi coming out into the road after discharging passengers, etc. You want to be driving slow enough to be able to comprehend what all the idiots around you are doing, and trust me the average operating IQ of the moment of the drivers you are going to have around you, Westerner and Thai alike is less than that of the average potato.

I'd go with either a Yamaha Nouvo or Honda Air Blade. You can now get either one at most reputatble dealers in Pattaya for 49,000 baht brand spanking new. If you could get this kind of machinery in the U.S. for such ridiculously low prices, you wouldn't think twice about it. Both are state of the art, fully automatic bikes employing long life drive belts instead of messy chains that have to be constantly adjusted. In Pattaya driving conditions they are easily quick enough to get you around in style and comfort. They are effortless to drive, have comfortable seating positions and particularly with the Nouvo, they have seats that are wide and large enough to easily accomodate the fattest Falang asses around. For Pattaya these are what most of us need and to think otherwise is to live in dreamland. But if a guy wants something else because it makes him feel good having it or driving it, great. It's a free world.

Although I am not addressing the question directly, a huge number of Thais are now using NGV gas in their cars. And from what I've seen most taxi cabs are as well. It burns cleaner than gasoline and costs only a fraction as much. It does not develop as much power however, and I've been told one sacrifices about 10 percent on the performance end. In fact my giflriend and I just visited Chiang Mai for six days with a couple of friends and for three days straight we hired a car and driver. The car was a nice spacious Nissan. The driver said it's the same as the Maxima although in Thailand this model is called by a different name. Performance seemed entirely adequate although on one very steep grade going up a mountain the going was slow but that was on one helluva grade.

It will hold up just fine just so long as you miss the pot holes. Seriously......You don't want to keep hitting pot holes on any bike. Hit the wrong pot hole with even an Air Blade or Nouvo and you are going down down down. That being said....sure, the Nouvo or Air Blade gives you a better chance at survival if you hit the wrong pot hole. But for that matter a Harley would be much better yet for this kind of work. I know a guy who hit a dog while riding his Harley. He wound up partially crippled for the rest of his life. I've had a 220 pound guy on my Nouvo with me plus my 95 pound girlfriend and all went well. But I don't want to do this everyday. I doubt very much you will have two fat assed falang on any motorbike you buy for very long periods of time--certainly not on pot holed roads. Nouvo and Air Blade are much better shocked than the Mios, Finos, and Clicks all having just one shock. So for more serious work the Nouvo and Air Blade are significantly better. But if all you are doing is taking spins up to several miles or so on your bike and that's most of the riding you are doing, a Fino might just do you fine. My girlfriend and I ride her Fino all the time, two up. But if you have a fat ass and the other fat ass is your wife, we are talking everyday riding two up. I suggest then you look into a Honda Phantom as it has big tires, a big frame, big shocks, and big wheels.

All points well taken about the Civic. When married had one back in 1987 and drove it 140,000 miles. One problem and that was the air conditioning compressor went out but that was it over 140,000 miles.

However, even though it's slower than the Civic, in magazines such as "Car and Driver", the Mazda 3 comes off as a top gun sort of car. Handling is absolutely stunning for example, rivalling sports cars. I've had two Mazda Miata sports cars and regard them as the top sports cars on the planet all things considered. Reliability is top notch as is handling, handiness of controls, user friendliness, fuel economy, low initial cost compared to its competition, and its performance level has been increased very significantly since its introduction in 1990 to the extent that the new models performance as to top speed and acceleration is virtually the same as the Jaguar XKE's of the 1960's while its handling is far superior. Mazda's RX-8 that Mazda bills as the four door sports car is quite innovative while being extremely fun to drive. So, from what I've personally experienced out of Mazda and read the Mazda 3 is going to be an incredibly fun car to drive considering it's meant for four or more people, no doubt very reliable, but bottom line is going to be more expensive to buy while having lower resale value than the Honda Civic which is a very good car in its own right.

Phil is right. The Fino is a Mio with a different skin, but what nice curves that bod's got.

I think the Airblades have come down a little in price, at least the model with the spoked wheels. As for the Nouvo, it's come down from around 53,000 baht to 49,000 baht. I paid 40,000 baht for my girlfriend's Fino.

As far as features go, the Fino has a manual choke while the Nouvo has an automatic choke. The Nouvo has a large storage area under the seat. The Fino has enough for say a pair of gloves. But the Nouvo has a hook below the instrument panel on which he can hang shopping bags and the like. The Fino has a similar hook under and in front of the seat. But we paid a little extra to have a second hook put on the Fino similar to the one on the Yamaha Nouvo. The Nouvo and Air Blade have twin rear shock absorbers. Mios and Finos have just one. And so does the Honda click for that matter. Also, both the Nouvo and the Air Blade have a key position which is used for all purposes, including opening the lock to the seat. So if you want to use the storage area under the seat you simply turn the key while it is still in the ignition and that opens the lock to the storage area. Not so with the Fino. You must pull the key out of the ignition and then insert it into another key hole that is under the rear portion of the seat itself. Speaking of the Fino, its seat is not bad. But the Nouvo's seat is the longest and most comfortable out of all these bikes I've mentioned.

And of course there's the wheel and tire size. Clicks, Mios and Finos have smaller wheels and tires than the Air Blades and Nouvos. So they are not going to be a good when you hit a pot hole or rut and their high speed stability is not going to match the other two bikes. So you really do get a lot of conveniences when you pay more for the Air Blade and Nouvo that are lacking in the Mios and Finos. Also.....even though the Nouvo shares the same engine with the Fino my Nouvo seems to have more power than my girlfriend's Fino so it might be set up a little differently. I know my Nouvo is rated for 91 octane gas while her Fino is rated for 95 so there might be some differences.

Yep, I had the same experience coming down the mountain after skiing Snowbird and heading back to Park City -- very hairy conditions in a heavy snowstorm. Icy with almost zero visibility. We were in a (rented) automatic with front wheel drive; I was wishing for a manual box and rear wheel drive. Front wheel drive is great for going uphill but doesn't help much on the down side, eh?

Back on topic, it's true that for zipping around in Pattaya traffic a magic carpet may well be the hot ticket.... but for the occasional blasts up and down Pratumnak Hill I'd still take an NSR 150 SP if I had my druthers.

I have no doubt about that. I rented a Honda Click in Krabi for a day, but the next day I rented a Honda Airblade. Didn't like the Click at all but loved the Airblade. We took these out of town excursions going out around twenty to thirty miles one way. Roads were good and the scenery was terrific. Very little traffic. If I lived in that area, I might perhaps drive something other than an Airblade or Nouvo. But living in Pattaya for getting around on an everyday basis I really can't imagine anything more suited for the kind of driving encountered than a Nouvo or Airblade. Plus.....you have that hook in front of your seat for carrying bags full of stuff you just bought plus all that under the seat built in storage. No need for saddlebags or extra cost add ons. Here's another drawback to having a sportier or much faster machine than the Nouvo or Airblade. I'd want to use all that extra power or handling ability...at least once in awhile and it's precisely that desire combined with the bike's ability to deliver which is going to get a lot of us killed. Much more so than in places like the U.S. here the other drivers are constantly pulling the strangest, most imbecilic.stunts in the world and I don't want to be hitting a much more powerful machine's extra reserves of power of a short adrenaline rush when someone decides to pull right up in front of me.

I have had just one accident here in Pattaya on my bike. Neither my girlfriend nor I were hurt and the bike didn't even get a scratch as we were hit on the licence plate. Had a Thai woman rear end me on a speed bump as I was going REAL SLOW over it to avoid breaking the glasses we had just bought at a market. The Thai woman went down and her bike was damaged. This is what I'm talking about. I love the acceleration runs on a bike, but with so many drivers around like that, I'm sure you can see why I never want to be tempted. So instead of viewing a motorcyle here as a fast sporty machine, I prefer viewing it as a kind of glorified two wheeled golf cart that is quiet and almost electric motor like, with no shifting involved that just takes me seemlessly to wherever I need to go with little effort and hardly any thought except for what I need to be giving towards all the idiots sharing the street with me.

Your desire to use a manual transmission as a brake reminds me of the time a girl and I got caught in a big snow storm between Aspen Colorado and Sun Valley Idaho. We had been skiing Aspen with a ski club but when that trip was over we drove to Sun Valley together to resume our skiing there. Most of the driving was at night. I had a Volkswagen Dasher back then with a diesel engine and a four speed manual transmission. The driving was in the mountains and the snow was coming down very heavy. Time after time I was able to slow my descent down those mountains with the manual transmission. Had I had an automatic I think I would have been in real trouble.

So sure, if I lived somewhere else in Thailand I could well be considering other choices for motorbikes. But I live in Pattaya where most driving is on the level and the traffic can get bad. Here the magic carpet is the perfect machine. But if I lived back on the farm I'd have a dirt bike again. If I lived somewhere else in Thailand where the driving conditions were altogether different I'd reevaluate my choices.

You are the only person I know who's been around Nouvo's that make all those gearbox noises you've just described (although you did say it might have been an abused rental). I have several friends who have the automatic bikes. I own two. And I've rented a number of them as well. In fact, even with the "abused rentals" I've not yet run into a Nouvo that's like you describe.

I think my girlfriend got it right when she said, "People in Thailand are poor. Why else would they be getting Honda Waves? (and the like)." Granted, a Honda Wave no doubt has achieved an excellent reputation for reliability but so have Honda generators, 8 horsepower mowers for a farm mower the farmer walks behind we called "the man killer". But we are not talking strictly utility here or a man killer that nevertheless gets the job done. Just compare the seat of a Honda Wave to a Yamaha Nouvo's. The Wave's got a long narrow seat. Sort of like the saddles the 7th cavalry rode into battle against the Sioux and the Cheyenne at the Little Big Horn. No wonder so many soldiers from the 7th got hernias back in those days or that they lost the battle.

And compare the wheels and tires of a new Airblade against the Honda Wave. Look at the two bikes side by side. The Airblade has a very sophisticated setup with wide tires that when you eyeball them against the relatively smallness of the bike make it appear much more motorcycle like. This Airblade is simply far up the evolutionary scale compared to the Wave. Same is true about the Nouvo. The best automatics are truly on the cutting edge.

As far as excitement of these "girlie bikes", I never really got that excited about my 1985 BMW K-100 RS which would do zero to one hundred miles per hour n seven seconds flat. They are much faster now. But that just would't give me the rush of adrenalin I thought I needed and whatever it gave didn't compare to jumping out of airplanes at 10,000 feet for a forty second free fall. EVerything is relative, and I'm willing to bet that doing sixty miles an hour through Pattaya traffic is much more exciting and dangerous than going 120 mph in a quarter of a mile acceleration run on a large bike.

I've mentioned I have the Nouvo and I love it. However, the Air Blade is more closely coupled, has smaller diameter but wider tires (14 inch) vis a vis the Nouvo, and it makes you want to play boy racer more when you drive it as it seems to thrive on inputs from its driver to make it turn more often. Not that it's twitchy. The Nouvo seems to like driving in straight lines more and I think this is due to the 16 inch diameter tires. Subjectively its engine seems more gutsy with the Air Blade giving a smoother sense about it. Going to one of my favorite bars when driving my pal's Air Blade (I drove it once in awhile while he was in the U.S. for a month) I rubbed something on the curb from underneath his machine so it grounded out. Never happened with my Nouvo and after buying my girlfriend the Fino I was amazed it did not ground out when I drove over the same curb to park the bike in the bar even though the Fino is a smaller machine than the Air Blade. Air Blade does have better brakes than my Nouvo. But for that matter I think my girflriend's brakes are every bit as smooth as the Air Blade's and at just 40,000 baht her machine's the cheapest of the three.

I enjoy the hel_l out of driving all three....the Air Blade, the Nouvo or that little Fino of hers. They all drive differently from each other but all three driver very well and all are simply state of the art.

That might be true. I spend perhaps 100 baht per week on gas which is around three to four bucks. But I do not consider myself to be a heavy user. Say I even tripled this amount. That's 1200 baht per month which is about thirty-five bucks. But, I don't spend that. The other guys does. Sure feel sorry for the guy. Just think he could be driving a Porsche in the U.S. and spending a "slightly larger amount". Plus repairs...but only slightly higher. I mean, the other day I really got upset. Had to pay a shop 140 baht for changing my oil on my Nouvo, taking the wheel off and checking the brakes and airing up my tires. I really felt I was getting robbed and really wished for a Porshe so I could get more for my money.

Jack

Welcome to the future. I just posted my thoughts here in another topic area. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about CVT automatic transmissions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuously_...le_transmission

And here's another source that explains about such transmissions in a Honda Civic. http://www.insightcentral.net/encyclopedia/encvt.html

And here's a review on a 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid equipped with CVT http://cars.about.com/od/honda/fr/jf_05CivHybCVT.htm I quote:

"On the Road

Having spent some time in the Civic Hybrid MT (Manual Transmission), I was not optimistic about driving the Civic Hybrid CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission). I was blown away by how much better the CVT is to drive."

You will notice in the Wikipedia article that this setup is now even being used on heavy machinery and that it's been used in showmobiles for years. Also note the large number of cars being built to take advantage of this technology. Also note in my sources that if there is a weakness in such automatics it's in the belts or chains being used. However, belt technology has improved vastly in recent years. Also note that top line Harley Davidson motorcycles use belt drive and that even BMW's are now using them. So I imagine that the belts of today are easily strong enough to handle the 8.8 horsepower or so that is generated by Honda Air Blades, Clicks, Yamaha Nouvos, and Mios and Finos.

If you read these sources you will note that the advantages of CVT automatics are many. These include better acceleration than other automatic setups, cheaper build, less costly and more infrequent repairs, better fuel economy, jerkless shifting, and so on.

In fact, today my girlfriend today said about Honda Waves: "People in Thailand poor. Wave okay for poor people." Translated....All those manual transmissions with those messy chains that need to be kept in constant adjustment are relics. Okay that is for the person who's buy a ten year old used car but no way are they in the same class as say a Nouvo or an Air Blade. Driving the new automatic motobikes is like flying a magic carpet. They are absolute dreams.