BigBikeBKK

Thanks Allan

R or RR is doesn't really matter- in either case those old light weight high revving aluminum frame 4 pot screamers were light years ahead of the sorry new CB'r' in terms of performance, features, specs and engineering.

But at least the new CB'r' is cheap...

And let's not forget the ZX-2R. A REAL 45 HP (50% more than the anemic Ninja 250), lightweight (82% of the weight!), inverted forks, a proper sized rear tyre (the 'Ninja' 250'r' just got the same sized one), etc, etc, etc.

But at least the Ninja is cheap and got so embarrassed by the CBR both in the sales room and on the track that Kawasaki had to make it MUCH more cheap just to keep selling them.

Cracks me up how much you hate your bike Dave... Hope some day you can own a bike that makes you happy. Best of luck mate!

I think it's great that Honda's weak offering in the 250cc "sport bike" class has pushed Kawasaki to improve on their already class-leading Ninja 250R.

Honda put themselves at a real disadvantage by choosing to go with a thumper platform to lower cost. It's not like they can just add a cylinder to try and keep up Kawasaki...

Piece of cake for Kawasaki to tweak their venerable old bullet proof twin to remain the undisputed 250cc class leader.

It's clear that in the 250cc road bike class Honda wants to compete on the basis of price, not performance.

Nothing wrong with that. If you want a cheap, uninspired (imo), fuel efficient 250 buy the Honda.

If you want a bike with more power, better handling and cutting edge looks buy the new Ninjette 250.

And if you have to settle for the CB'r' because you can't afford the Ninjette, well, you have my sympathy

Hi Tony,

Are the Thai made Diavels similar in concept / spec to the bastardised version Thai built Monster 795's?

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Saw the Thai-made Diavels (Standard and Carbon versions) at the Bangkok motor show and asked about differences between them and the Italian made Diavels. Was told that the Thai Diavels are about 2Kg heavier due to larger exhaust canister required for the Thai-made Diavel to comply with Thai noise and emissions standards. Silly I know, but TiT right?

Otherwise than the exhaust the bikes are supposed to be identical.

AFAIK BMW doesn't make any small displacement motorcycles (the smallest BMW scooter is 650cc (647cc to be entirely accurate)) so perhaps they're coming up with something entirely new for production in Thailand?

BMW makes plenty of 250cc bikes - just Google them and you'll find plenty.

Somehow I think the old BMW R26 and R27 might have a bit of trouble getting past Thai emissions

these are what I'm talking about Thais will probably love em probably a few ferang to just what Thailand needs more scooters lol

That's the C1 and it went out of production in 2002

AFAIK BMW doesn't make any small displacement motorcycles (the smallest BMW scooter is 650cc (647cc to be entirely accurate)) so perhaps they're coming up with something entirely new for production in Thailand?

BMW makes plenty of 250cc bikes - just Google them and you'll find plenty.

They stopped making the C1 over 10 years ago. It was a small displacement scooter, but sold terribly.

Presently as far as I know BMW only offers a pair of 647cc maxi scooters:

But go ahead and share that google link why don't ya

You can dress up a pig, and hire spammers to promote it, but it's still a pig

Honda only made one REAL CBR 250. It's a shame they've lost the will to make class leading small sport bikes.

Tony.. welcome back......you managed to put the wrong picture up... that's an RR the R was faster but not as pretty.

Thanks Allan

R or RR is doesn't really matter- in either case those old light weight high revving aluminum frame 4 pot screamers were light years ahead of the sorry new CB'r' in terms of performance, features, specs and engineering.

But at least the new CB'r' is cheap...

You can dress up a pig, and hire spammers to promote it, but it's still a pig

The 2013 Ninja 250 still gets embarrassed by old CBR150s if under 9000rpm then.

I thought they tried to fix that.... as well as putting on embarrassing supersport fairings to dress porky up a bit.

Keep fooling yourself- everyone else knows you're spouting complete nonsense as usual

If Ducati is going to introduce a Hypermotard it will likely be a regional model, which they can sell at a lower price level without upsetting Hypermotard 796 owners. So if they will introduce an Asian model it would likely be a Hypermotard 795.

Tell that to all the happy Ducati customers who paid top dollar for Italian-made Diavels when the Ducati-Thailand sales staff knew full well that Diavels would start to come off the Thai assembly line for a full 400k baht less than the ones imported from Italy.

Now that's what I call taking care of your customers, Thai Style!

Great news but such a poorly written article the mind boggles.

Who wants to take a guess at what BMW model(s) will be produced in Thailand first?

AFAIK BMW doesn't make any small displacement motorcycles (the smallest BMW scooter is 650cc (647cc to be entirely accurate)) so perhaps they're coming up with something entirely new for production in Thailand?

To each their own, but to me, the twin cylinder 650's are the hole in the range. They have these stonking four-cylinder liter-class sportbikes, then no proper mid-size [600 - 750] true sportbike with proper power, suspension & brakes.

Ya, lotsa 'Busas in the US, mostly poplar with the stunter-wannabe sheeple. Some truly sweet custom work on them is displayed each year at Monterey BIke Nights when MotoGP comes to town. Box Stock, they are cruise missiles and have a well-integrated visual composition. If I wanted a sport-ish cruiser besides my stored-away Ducati ST-4s back home, the 'Busa would get consideration along with the Kawi ZX-1XXX.

Absolutely to each their own- I personally have always thought the Hayabusa is one of the most butt-ugly bikes on the planet, but there are plenty of people who love them.

Busas are crazy-popular here in Thailand among the rich kid crowd who are obviously trying to compensate for something

I already addressed the poor sales of proper 600cc supersports in Thailand- because the 600cc supersports are not much less expensive than a 1000cc they simply don't sell well.

The racing scene here in Thailand bears this out as well- the SuperBike race scene here in Thailand is dominated by the 1000cc class, and 600cc aren't even allowed to race in SB. R2M tried to get a 600cc class started last season and they had ONE 600cc bike show up for the race. Clearly the focus and demand is on liter bikes in Thailand and I don't see that changing any time soon.

Sales manager at Yamaha, Thailand (back when they were still located behind Esplanade on Ratchada) told me several years ago that the R1 outsold the R6 by a factor of 10 to 1 in Thailand because the R1 cost only a little more than the R6. Back when Yamaha were selling the R6 in Thailand it was only 120k baht cheaper than the R1.

Given the pricing and the "bigger is better" attitude of your "average" Thai supersport buyer it's no surprise that R6 sales languished to the point that Yamaha stopped selling the R6 in Thailand.

Despite that fact that it's a great bike, it just didn't sell well here.

Yet for some odd reason they're now trying to sell the FZ8 in Thailand for 480k Baht yet you can get the FZ1 for only 110k Baht more.

Seeing as how the FZ8 is basically just a sleeved down FZ1 I would expect the vast majority of buyers to pony up the extra 110k Baht for the FZ1.

The people who buy these bikes aren't going to sweat such a small price difference and go for the smaller bike just to save 110k baht.

I guess that's Thai marketing for you

Kawasaki is no where near producing inline fours in Thailand. If you want more than a twin you'll be looking at an import.

as in the Ducati mini-monster, if the engine is imported they can still price it in LoS such that there is a six month waiting list. here's hoping Big Green can work something out with Board of Investment to minimize the taxation and really sharpen their pencil with the pricing. They have a big hole in their line-up between the big bikes (litrebikes) and the pea shooters that a proper four pot mill bolted to decent running gear would fill.

Big hole? I don't see it... They have KSR 110's D-Tracker and KLX 125's, in the 250 class there the D-Tracker, KLX and Ninjette), 650's (ER6n, Ninja 650, Versys). Restricted ZX10R sold horribly because most buyers in Thailand are willing to pay more for a full power liter bike, but by all accounts the Z1000 has been selling quite well.

Supersports remain luxury vehicles in Thailand. 600cc supersport bikes have traditionally not sold well here because price wise the liter bikes haven't been that much more than the 600s so most buyers just spring the extra dosh for the 1000cc.

As much as I would like to see more model choices, most Thai buyers will choose a Z1000 over a Z750 or Z800 so I can understand Kawasaki, Thailand's desire to not clutter the field.

Still hoping we'll see the new ZX14R from Kawasaki, Thailand this year. It already kills the Suzuki Hayabusa in performance. Price thrown about at the Bangkok Motor Show was </=800k Baht which would make it a Busa killer. Saw a few on the roads in the US during my summer tour and they are stunning bikes!! Red Baron can't import them fast enough. I predict Kawasaki, Thailand will be on to a winner if they offer it here.

You can dress up a pig, and hire spammers to promote it, but it's still a pig

Honda only made one REAL CBR 250. It's a shame they've lost the will to make class leading small sport bikes.

Hasn't there been reports of a CBR 400?

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No, no reports, only vague rumors and of course the classic "my dealer told me" nonsense

IF Honda produces a CB'r' 400 in Thailand no doubt it'll be another overweight underpowered thumper, or maybe, just maybe a twin.

If you want a real CBR400 you'll have to try and find one of these bad boys-

Kawasaki is no where near producing inline fours in Thailand. If you want more than a twin you'll be looking at an import.

Yeah the stretch from Phuket to Hua Hin is pretty awful. I lived in Phuket for 2 years and there's a semi decent route to Ranong and a semi decent route to Trang but nothing special IMO. There might be some good roads down south but I've not really seen many.

I'm talking about north of Bangkok, around Khao Yai, Wang Nam Khieo etc. Or further up near Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Nan etc. is where the good stuff is. You can certainly use a bigger bike up there.

The Ranong coastal highway is fantastic and you can whack it when it's dry, but more often it's wet and slippery; some of the roads connecting the Ranong coast to the east coast are awesome too!

When you were in Phuket did you never go riding in Krabi? Gorgeous roads there.

Some good stuff down in Yala too!

Well I am betting the 250 will beat most bigger bikes on the twisties, As for having a bit more is 150kph not fast enough here!! The CBR is very quick away and will be very quick up to it's top speed, it's fast enough for this country in my opinion.

Well maintained highways where is this then? I drive up to Cha Am quite a lot and the highway is awful, big holes and big stretches of road that would not look out of place in a farmyard!!

Ah the tired old "250 is big enough for Thailand" line...

Sure, if cheap economical transportation is your goal, but then why not get a 150?

If you're looking for a little fun and excitement on two wheels you should get out more and not limit yourself to only 250cc- Thailand, despite her many shortcomings, is blessed with some absolutely fantastic sportbike roads.

One of my personal favorites-

Happy Trails!

Tony

Toney sent you a PM from New Mexico, with numbers give a call if you come thru.

Cheers mate, New Mexico in August seems ill advised, especially with the heat wave currently cooking much of the continent.

We're going to stick to the coast where it's nice and cool and slowly make our way up the California, Oregon and Washington coastline, finishing in Seattle where my son will start school this fall.

Ride on!

Tony

Gawd, nice to see I haven't missed a thing during the last 4500 miles of blissful touring on my K1200LT.

Time to hit the road- another 1500 miles or so to go!

Happy Trails!

Tony

Just wanted to give a quick shout!

In the middle of a 9 state, 6000 mile US tour with my son. Presently relaxing with family for a few days in northern California.

I'll be back in Thailand at the end of the month. It will be hard to leave my son and the K1200LT behind...

Happy Trails!

Tony

Any watercooled offroad bike will damage the radiator in a fall. That is why most people fit braces to them. There will be one available for the CRF soon enough. Rads are expensive. It will be intersting to see what a new one runs for. Taninthai will most likely need a new one.

Crash my KLX all the time, never damaged the radiator...

regarding the Takegawa high compression piston, chekc this out: http://j-mart.biz/j-...oducts_id=16392

You need these

• Cylinder boring is required when stock cylinder is used
  
• Use together with FI CON2 (SP Takegawa 05-04-0005) is required
  

So, it means lot of job inside the engine and you need to use only their fuel controller?I am sure other brands should be fine.

So, it costs around 10.500 thb for piston, 5000 for API TECH fuel cont. plus boring the cylinder and engine job. So, i assume, it costs around 20,000 to 25,000 thb to go for it.

It is costly man but the most important here is finding a competent enough mechanic to do it without screwing your engine and wallet.

Does it worth to blow one third one fourth of the bike price to piston swap?

Does anyone can recommend a good mechanic to undertake this kind of job?

regarding APi Tech, i could not go to their shop this weekend as busy with work. I will check them next weekend for sure and will inform you guys about the result.

Thanks.

And after all that it just might be able to keep up with a Ninjette 250

Triumph Sprint ST 1050 for sale!

Single owner, purchased new in December 2009 from BritBike official authorized Triumph dealer.

Located in Bangkok.

Legal plate and green book. Special number "1".

Mature rider, bike has been very well cared for. Always stored in doors.

Lots of extras:

Trident exhaust UK 25,000THB (Sounds awesome!)

Bagster leather tank cover 12,000THB

Triumph tail pack 7,500THB

Rapid Transit tank bag 7,000THB (two layer magnetic)

Brand new Chain and Sprocket set (1month old 14,000thb)

New battery 1 month old (10,000thb)

Full Triumph service history

Panniers (included)

Mileage is presently 39,653km

Tires are nearly new.

Price 650,000THB ono

Contact : Neil 086 777 1962

Once leather gloves start to stink its time to buy new ones IMO

Ouch, mine are only 4000km (2 months old) :S

Wash your hands much? (That's a joke, btw)

That's pretty weird for gloves to go rancid that quick...

I think prevention is the best solution- just make sure they are thoroughly dried out after a ride and kept somewhere cool and dry.

Once leather gloves start to stink its time to buy new ones IMO