Hog Head

I have an Idea:-)

We can let all the people with cars that can not run on Gassohol borrow more money at 18% interest so that they can buy a newer and more expensive car than the one they already have. This will also help the Thai GDP by consumer index pricing going up and more people will be richer (The ones that is already rich)

A brand new 30 million + Ferrari will not run on gasohol. Hopefully one of those selfish rich Thais you refer to has just bought one and has more clout than you or I. Then again maybe he owns the ethanol companies and is laughing all the way to the bank.

ENERGY MINISTER IS DECIETFUL

The Ministry of Energy is using the Oil Fund Levy to get the oil traders to do their dirty work for them in eliminating petrol 95 from the market.

As of Nov 5. 07 , with the exception of petrol 95, the levy for all fuels was reduced by 40 stang per litre. The pump price to the Consumer remains the same, and this 40 stang goes right into the pockets of the oil traders. Margins on oil trading have become very thin, and this move means that the oil companies earn 40 stang per litre less on petrol 95. This is a very strong economic incentive, and as stated by the President of Bangkok Petroleum, will force oil traders to drop petrol 95 from the market. .

The government has had a long standing policy to remove petrol 95 from the market and backed off on this policy after the car manufacturers would not certify that their vehicles are 100% gasohol compliant. The fact that there are vehicles in use that cannot use gasohol is undisputable, While I take exception to the governments position that this numbers 500,00 vehicles, the fact remains that a considerable number of Thais simply cannot use gasohol.

Energy Minister, Piysavasti Amranand, promised to make petrol 95 available as long as vehicles incapable of using gasohol were in operation. The Energy Minister is fully aware of the economic squeeze he has put the oil traders in. His current economic disincentive is simply a well thought through means to achieve the governments goal of removing petrol 95, while he can claim to keep his hands clean and maintain his promise.

Mr Energy Minister, be honest in your approach, and think of the Thai consumers that must have petrol 95.

A - Other bikes are 2x what they cost in the states, so 60K isn't all that bad.

B - Richard, I went to a Kawa dealer in CM and was told that the KLX300 is 230,000, can have 10,000 off BUT... no license plate! The dealer can't even get a license plate. So that defeats the whole purpose of buying a new bike from a dealer. I can't really think of any reason unless they import these as parts?! Could you ask your Kawasaki-dealer friends what's up with that? I am not interested in a bike w/o license plate.

A. The other bikes are 2X due to freight, duty, excise, and VAT

The US price also includes freight, duty, and tax.

There is no duty on made in Thailand bikes, only excise and VAT. Looks like a book is worth 10K

the 60K difference is difficult to explain away

B. I am in the market for a dirt bike, but no plate = no sale. I may as well buy a grey import, or parts build special for 60K less

The Holiday Inn ... and is very kid friendly.

All the reason to stay away. There is nothing that annoys me more than shrill voiced, ill behaved children .

met a guy last night here in CM that has a BMW CS-650 for sale. Clean, undamaged, 17000 km, 325,000B

I told him about this site but if does not post, PM me and I can put you in touch

Get an attorney, do a USUFRUCT, do a will.

On every piece of property my wife owns, should she die, I have an absolute right to use it as I please until the day I die. I can rent it, lease it, live in it, ignore it....but it is my choice. As heir to each and every piece I can also legally sell it. After 11 years of marriage, the chance of divorce is slight, but even than I maintain the same rights. If we wish to sell some property, I have a right to resend my Usufruct.

Sunbelt did a great job of setting this up for me.

What is a Usufruct?

The Kawasaki KLX300R, which is fully road legal, if bought from Kawasaki comes with all the paperwork, including a shiny new green book...

I wonder if registration is included or is it off road only?

How can it be road legal without turn signals and a horn?

Is this Kawi not made in Thailand?

If so, then why is it some 60,000 B more than the same bike in The States? The green book value added is not near 60K price differential on a duty paid USD price.

I am tempted to buy one, but gall at the extra 60K

I wonder if registration is included or is it off road only?

I have a 66 Beetle that I am using as donor for a Speedster replica.

I do not need anything beetle, IE engine, box, F&R suspension, brakes, body, etc

PM me with what you need

Thank you for the form

Will you insure custom cars, IE American style hot rods rather than factory classics like the 450 SLC given as an example?

How about kit cars like Speedster replicas?

I read on TV that the new TV Insurance would be providing cover for Classic Cars.

What is the status as I have not received any reply

there is one for sale on GT Rider now

I have my wheels at Richco right now.

The best quality work available in Thailand at a fair price. I have seen him redo parts that I thought were more than acceptable.

There is always someone that has a business model of doing it cheaper, but remember the various meanings of "cheap" in English. You may find it cheaper, but not better.

Freight cost is nothing in the overall scheme of things, and will be there from BKK overnight.

His use of the bike is everyday practical usage, shopping, running errands, commuting.

Last night having dinner & a nice bottle of wine HE decided that the Harley simply is not practical for him & potentially dangerous & would constantly worry about theft to use everyday, and for the money would much prefer a pickup truck, which he can use in ALL kinds of weather (rain or shine), air cond & comfortable & can run on inexpensive deisel fuel. Admitted that initially was motivated by the show-off factor (yup, ego) as many have mentioned. He'll keep the Phantom for fun and show-off enough for him, but would like the image costume. Boots, chaps, jacket, gloves, helmet (which he has, but wants new one) etc.

Buy a used pickup for rainy day use and a Harley too. You will not regret owning a Harley, and as others have pointed out they hold their value. Modern Harleys are as practical as any bike, no more dangerous, and it could be argued that the size, presence, and noise gains cage drivers attention. If fuel use is the issue buy a Wave.

I have owned HD's for 35 years, along with a host of other bikes and currently own a Dyna Sport and BWW R-1150-RT. Harleys are special and if you can afford it, go for it while you still can. You only live once and may as well live large.

Forget the image outfit on the Phantom as nothing looks sillier than a poser dressed in all the biker kit on a silly little jap bike.

Save 27,000 and buy him my BMW instead

There are several nice Harleys at Richco Motorsports on Whulahi Rd in your price range. Go take a look as FL's are not for everyone, and may seem a bit big for some in CM traffic.

Skirtsters are girls bikes, but the older ones vibrate nicely.

Thanh - if I had to explain what Harleys are all about, you would not understand anyway.

I have a new, never used, set of Dunlop Model 702 - 205/40/17 Z rated tyres that I want to sell.

I want to get some new tyres for my honda car 215/45/17. They should just be regular street tyres (not race spec) but have very good wet/dry grip. Preferably they should be quiet too! At the moment I have falken ziex. They wear well and are quite grippy. They have 40K on them now but one of them is quiet noisy. Does anyone else have recommendations?

Thanks..

The new Richco Motorsports shop on Whulai Rd. in Chiangmai has been appointed by Powerstation Bangkok as a sales and service outlet for new Harley Davidson motorcycles.

No more grey market - Yahoo !!!!!

Kurt

The event will be held on Jan 6, 08 as the Chiangmai Childrens Day Toy Run.

Meet at 10:00 AM at the Tesco on superhighway, parade through CM, and end up at HTT Lake on the canal road to Mae Rim at 1:00. There are 2 parade routes, around town and directly to the lake, or around town and via the Samoeng looop to the lake. Toys will be donated to charity at the lake, and distributed to needy children on Childrens Day the following week.

Everyone is welcome from Aprilias to Zundapps, and the only entrance requirement is to bring a toy.

email me directly at [email protected] and I will take you up on the offer to promote the event to the clubs in Chiang Rai.

When there is a certain date for it and all is organized as needed, I can pass on the info to some of the clubs in Chiang Rai, too. The following link http://www.openbike-ut.com has some of the clubs posting messages. It may be a good place to get the message out to the Thai bikers, once things are organized. They also post other upcoming events on that site.

Cheers

Kurt

I am bringing my boat here, but am registering it in Canada so as to avoid the VAT, but will will need to post a bond.

Be aware that you will need a Thai Cptn Certificate to operate a Thai boat.

Note that it is assessed value for VAT. Be prepared to document the cost

Buy my BMW R-1150-RT

The practice of dictating that I shall pay an extra x% for "service" annoys the hel_l out of me, and I refuse to patronise such places.

In controlled conditions 95 E-10 gives anywhere from 2-5% less than gasoline. In the real world however it will range from 10 - 20% less depending on the vehicle and the driver.

Cars designed for ethanol fuels will show little difference with E-10, however this is not the case as ethanol levels increase. Note the government has stated that they intend to introduce E20

At current pump prices for the average older car and driver , E-10 is no cheaper.

The question of compatability remains.

Stay tuned for the government to fiddle with taxes and subsidies to increase the cost of gasoline in order to support the ethanol companies who have added capacity far in excess of market demand. The government will be under great pressure from powerful individuals behind these ethanol companies to soak up their capacity, or allow export of ethanol.

What happened to TV Insurance?

I read that classic car insurance was to be offered, but nary a peep when I inquired

I have been thinking of renewing my type O retirement as a married visa this year. The thought is that given all the rule changes lately, perhaps the married visa will be affected the least.

Went to CM Immigration today to do so and was told that the 1 million in the bank would not suffice and I need to show 40,00 month income letter from my Consulate - OK I see the rule has changed and can supply such a letter

Immigration then fell over themselves insisting that a retirement visa would be better for me and that a married visa is a big hassle. I take this as meaning more work for them.

One concern is that while I can produce a Consulate letter today, in forthcoming years I may choose to shift my assets offshore and live on investment income. No verifyable income will make a Consulate letter difficult if not impossible, as the Cdn Consulate in CM wanted proof of income, and I am able to show my Cdn tax return.

Perhaps the UK Embassy would issue a letter based on investment income from Gurnsey - any Brits know?

The other concern is that I am currently grandfathered at 800K for retirement. If I choose to go the married route, and God forbid my wife dies before me, I may have to qualify for a higher amount and may not want to have that much money sitting in a Thai bank, or get remarried.

This presumes that grandfathering will continue

Any thoughts on if the married rules are less likely to be dicked with, and if one should switch or stay with retirement.