T_Dog

Sounds great! Sign me up for two.

looks great in Black, Congratz, hope she treats you well.

Canuck.... Getting around to doing my cam chain. I finally can hear what my mechanic hears. If you come to stop and let the engine idle, you will hear the cam chain slap occasionally as the engine hunts at idle. Once you hear it, it's pretty noticeable. Looks like around 1000 baht for the parts and a bit more for labor.

You might try the Thule shop on Hang Dong road between Hang Dong Big C and the airport mall. It's an accessory shop and they have roof racks so they probably have the full line. Look for it on the west side headed toward the mall.

dam_n I didn't realize that I'd be need a jacket for Chiang Mai but it's really getting that way at night. Is it going to get much colder?

For several days somewherein December and/or January it can get as low as 12 degrees in or just outside town. If you for far out of town and up hills then it can get colder than that still, 6 degrees or so. (Or if you go exceptionally high, and there is an exceptional condition then freezing has been reported. But that's truly exceptional.)

So yes, get a light jacket or fleece or something. Especially if you ride a bike.

When we left Doi Angkhan two years ago, the motorcycle and all the cars in the parking lot were all covered with thick frost. Very nippy start to our riding day! Morning temps were below zero.

Got my CBR150R today =) here is a pic.

Congrats Jah! You are the man! If you've driven the old CBR-150, how about letting us know how the new one drives? You are about the only on on this whole thread that knows the real deal. Will be interesting to see who posts the first CBR-250 report and pics.

I've got a well broken-in long sleeve chamois shirt on. Love the cool season.

That tail pipe cover looks like it was made by Kenwood or Moulinex.

I tend to agree, but if you look at other mfrs like BMW they have that same appliance style!

i sat on the 150 and is much larger than the old one. felt better balanced. again the dealer didnt know to much about the 250. but kinda confirmed the price when i told him. said next month, and that was a kp honda shop. who ares upposed to be ap hondas retail side

I sat on it too but it's pretty hard to tell how it will feel when it is rolling. My old 750F felt really awkward at rest, but once moving it was very nice. But that was an old school heavy bike. With the extra weight and bigger tires, I doubt the new CBR will feel as peppy as the old ones but you never know until you ride it.

Was at the Honda shop ordering cam chain parts and saw the new CBR150 yesterday. Really glad to see they came out with this as now our old engines will continue to have parts. The new bike sure looks bulky with its bigger tank, bigger tires, and bigger muffler. Makes me wonder if Honda was trying to make it look like a liter bike. With that said, if I didn't already have one, I'd be pretty interested. I've got mine running so well I'm going to stay a retro-grouch for a while. Here are some pics....

Wat Doi Kham... How do you get to that ? I've been up the Samoeng rd. many times from the canal intersection and never really noticed how to get there. Any tips ?

no need to go as far as Samoeng Rd if coming from the city, on Hang Dong Rd turn right at the traffic lights (as if going to the Grace International School) before the Samoeng Intersection, then go straight over the Canal Rd (traffic lights again) onto Ratchapruek Rd.. (alternatively, cut H.D. Rd out altogether and approach from the city on the Canal Rd itself) at the roundabout bear right skirting the Ratchapruek site.. you'll pass a factory on your right, just after that on the left is the entrance to Wat Doi Kham.. (up the hill)

Its a nice (fairly local for me) place with great views to be had from the terrace.. the large Buddha is quite impressive too..

Spot on Goshawk. Wat Doi Kham is indeed a nice spot and it has the friendliest Wat dogs in Thailand.

Another temple to put on the radar is Wat Prae Bha See Roi west and a bit north of Mae Rim. The drive up is very scenic and steep. Definitely not on the normal tourist circuit but it does attract a lot of visitors from Bangkok.

But mid life crisis even hits men (mainly) who are very successful i.e made a huge load of money, have property cars etc, but find out that more STUFF doesn't make you any more happier. I think I've had a couple of mid life crises, but have finally worked out that having good relationships at work , home or wherever, gives life its meaning. Sure good sex is great but even that becomes less important as you get older - even in Thailand. I'm never bored because there is always too much to do, or think about, or laugh at. My wife and I both think we're a bit crazy - to me thats a compliment.

Enough rave, mid life crisis is caused by boredom, loss of meaning, and never taking the time to ask yourself what's really important.

Tim.... Nice refreshing post. Thanks for that!

This new bike (I hate to even call it a CBR) is great for a person looking for a commuter bike that is fuel efficient. I thought Honda would try for a performance machine akin to the CBR-250RR which is a hoot to drive. Someone put out a link

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/News/newsresults/New-bikes/2010/October/oct2710-honda-cbr250/

and I couldn't agree more with what commenter coombs says about it.

Also.... Did you notice on the video from RichardBKK at 2:02 that they tested this bike in Thailand?

Tastes do indeed change over time. If someone would have told me 15 years ago that I would be catting around on a 150 cc bike, I would have laughed until I turned blue!

What cycle are you talking about?

The Thai CBR150 is 125 cc.

The Thai CBR was (old model) 150cc and the to be released new 150 is also 150cc

Honda Thailand do produce the CBR 125 but for Ero countries only. Not available in Thailand.

Thanks Visions! Sometimes folks don't know what they don't know, and I consider myself in that category most of the time.

gotlost gave some good advice to only deal with the main office. I bought an unlimited 3G stick on Wednesday from a sales booth and as of today, Friday it still is not working. 5 calls to the help desk and finally I have a manager calling me back. Turns out the sales booths either sell un-registered SIM cards with the sticks or do not know how to get them registered. The Help Desk manager is quite empathetic and understanding but still no resolution. Arghhhh Seems AIS has some some serious growing pains and processes to get working. Take the time to go to the main office and if you can, bring your laptop to ensure it will work. The sales booth salesman has been totally unresponsive.

Don't discount the elephant camps up the Mae Taeng River. There are a couple together, and then if you climb up over a pass and back down to the valley again, there is a camp in a very natural setting where they seem to care a lot about them. Can't remember the name of that camp at the moment, but it seems to be well run, and they don't have the elephants do tricks for cash.

This indeed is Elephant Nature Park, and they don't come any more natural unless you want to spend hopeful weeks in the jungle.

Almost every animal (and there were 33 at the last count, including several babies) have been rescued from abusive owners or just plain bad conditions or disease by the Foundation that runs it.

This shows that the els don't have to do tricks and give treks to be enjoyed, just for what they are, one of the most loved and interesting animals in the world.

The Park's office is on a corner on Moon Muang Rd, south of Thapae Gate and you can get a mini bus from there. At the Park, the inclusive all-you-can-eat Thai buffet is also excellent. A truly great and educational family day out.

Thanks FlatOut! That is indeed the place. We found it to be the most welcoming and educational of all the camps around.

Don't discount the elephant camps up the Mae Taeng River. There are a couple together, and then if you climb up over a pass and back down to the valley again, there is a camp in a very natural setting where they seem to care a lot about them. Can't remember the name of that camp at the moment, but it seems to be well run, and they don't have the elephants do tricks for cash.

Hey T, There's a large Home Mart on the Super Hwy, between the 1001 and 118 I think, on the south side frontage road. They have a big selection on display, but mostly standard fittings; not sure exactly what you need.

Then there is another category of shop that doesn't display the fittings, a traditional parts house with everything behind the counter, so you have to take a sample, sketch or photo of what you want, or be prepared to describe in Thai. One of the most complete is Chiang Mai Tools, on the SuperHwy, north side frontage road, near the river. If you are on the Super Hwy going from Kwang Sing intersection, pass Lotus and cross the river, you take the first exit left and immediate U turn back toward the river, and it's right there before the Faham/Sanpeesua road.

Also there is a shop in Mae Jo that comes up with parts and tools from his back room that always amaze me when he has some of the odd ball stuff that i am looking for. It's Chalern's shop on the corner of the three way intersection as you come into town, accross from the south end of MJU campus; fluent English with Chalern or his son. Or Email me notes and pics and I'll ask there for you.

Thanks Doc! Will check those out.

And Jackr, Global House and Home Pro do not have the large size I need with the right threads.

Am trying to find some plumbing fittings to go from standard bathroom fittings to a larger threaded pipe. Can anyone recommend a store/location that has a larger selection of pipe fittings/adapters than Home Pro or Global House?

very interesting, thanx fo the kmz, but only have downhill bike and motorbike at the moment

any more gps files in the area?

It's a bit of a confusing area with lots of intersections. You could ride it with a downhill bike if you have good gearing as the weight would not be too much of a factor on the small (but frequent) climbs. I wish I knew how to download a route from my Garmin Forerunner GPS but that eludes me so far. I'll try to get some more kmz's next time I ride it.

AIS 3G . 20 Kilometers from Chiang Mai. I'm in Doi Saket.

I'm on 30 GB per month at 1500 baht.

I don't think 30gb is an option for new customers. These are the current 3G packages.

1,500 baht doesn't seem to be an option any more either

You snooze you lose. AIS only had that offer for three months when they first started up their 3G. As long as I pay by 4PM on the 28th of the month they let me keep it. I top off on line and I just did yesterday.

My experience with a borrowed AIS stick has been similar to yours out of town in the Night Safari area. In town around Nimenhemin or CMU, the speeds are about one-tenth of that with frequent disconnects. (Yep, that bad.) I don't think the in-town infrastructure can handle the capacity yet, but it should improve with time I hope. Would be interested in other reports within the city to see if others have better results.

Don't getlost gotlost

Too late for gotlost to get lost cuz he already gotlost. It does feel like winter season is upon us.

The (supposed) specs say max torque 17 N-m @ 8500, and max power 19.5 hp @ 10500. But 17 N-m @8500 comes out at 20.3 hp! So power at @ max torque is higher than max power ---- a contradiction in terms. I think this casts doubt on all the figures.

Methinks some one is playing "think of a number".

Incidentally, at18.6hp and 128kg wet for the old one, and the quoted 19.5hp and 138kg wet for the new, the new one has 4.8% more power and 7.8% more weight. This is progress?

As for the looks ---- the old one (imho) is slim, purposeful with clean lines, the new one is anything but. And as for those indicator stalks......!

Welcome to the thread, 13! Nicely put post and I feel exactly as you do about the performance data and the aesthetics.

Interesting. It is water cooled and the water pump is located right on the gear box (I think.) I will have to check it out. Also, yes there is that other 2T hose that goes into I don't know where. I'd like to check it out but don't feel comfortable opening this area up. The tubes runs into that stator chamber and then enters in the area below the piston head behind the stator.

Could 2T make it turn white? The only reason I'm connecting the 2t to it is because of the recent incidents where there seemed to be lack of 2T after driving it hard/wot for 30 seconds. This is with the 2t screw is set almost all the way open. So either the pump is faulty or there is 2t leakage. If you warm it and drive it around moderately or even redline a couple times and then stop and rev to 10,000 rpm, the 2t emissions are satisfactory, but if you go wot through all gears and drive it hard for a minute or so, and then stop, rev, and check, then there is no visible 2t at max rpms. I will keep on the look out for rising oil levels a couple days before changing.

Like LivinLOS posted, the head gasket is supect #1. The oil and water galleries usually go through it, so if the head is loose or the head gasket fails, then the water can get to the oil or vice-versa. I had a head gasket fail on a Mitsubishi pickup and the inside of the oil filler cap was covered in yellow foam from the water in the oil. It was yellow from the anti-freeze coloring. You might just try re-torquing the head and replacing the gear box oil to see if that clears it up. Pulling the head and looking at it shouldn't be too hard. If it's okay, then suspect the water pump shaft bearing/seal.

Also, every two-stroke I ever had liked to be pushed hard at high RPM as it clears up the oil that generally will load up in the bottom of the crankcase at lower rpm. Plus the hotter temps keep the plug cleaner, etc. Keep us posted on what you find.

Me too.

But what top speeds are listed at on spec sheets, and what you can get them up to are often very different.

The top speed for the new and old one are both listed as 160kph though.

It sounds like exactly the same engine but FI, with bigger heavier wheels and tyres, a heavier pipe, and much nicer fairings.

Errr, I was with you up until the part about nicer fairings!

Is it water cooled?

If so, it could be the water pump seal.

On my old 2 stroke the water pump shaft & gear was linked to the clutch flywheel, when the seal went, the water seeped into the gearbox.

Lennya, It doesn't take much water at all to create a white or yellow foam. Now you have to figure out if and how it is coming from your cooling system water. I doubt you would have a lot of condensation water collecting in only 5 months so it is most likely cooling system water.