Garry

If you are interested in lowering the unsprung weight but I don't ride at a level that would justify them. If you do OK. Plus on the road I am not sure if anyone can. Sure they look cool and if the price is right.

I believe I am right when I say that for road bikes Honda uses conventional forks because the telescoping part is up and away from road grime etc.

This being said I did put some on a Honda wave just for effect.

Hey, where's your thumb brake?? How are you supposed to do any type of decent trail braking without it

I had to look twice and I realised you guys were talking about Chiang Mai to Phayao. I first thought I you guys were mentioning Chiang Rai to Phayao, which would have to be one of the boringest pieces highway road I've had to travel on. Will definitely keep the CM-PHAYAO-CM loop in the back of my mind though, thanks

Yes Garry, CM-Phayao is a great ride. Rather short if you just go CM-118-120-Phayao. Better IMHO to go this way: CM- north 107 to Chiang Dao, hang a right (east) on the 1150 to Phrao, then on over the next mountain range to Ban Pong, right (south) on the 108, left (east) on the 120 to Phayao. An awesome full day ride! Next day ride on to Nan and some of the very best motorcycle roads in Thailand.

Happy Trails!

Tony

Thanks Tony, taking note of all this. I'm looking forward to riding a lot of roads this year given time and the purchase of my new beasty

As for actual riding I always think there are two things to know that may not seem obvious...

Cow shit/buffalo shit means cows/buffalo on the road around the next corner...

Tree branches on the road are the Thai equivalent of safety traingles/traffic cones... slow down, take care...

and also, there is no such thing as 'my side of the road, your side of the road', only my bit of road and your bit of road...

Good advice.

The cows are especially a surprise the first time. They sometimes block your lane, or both lanes. Don't honk at the cows, just go around them slowly.

We have our own road hazards in Chiang Rai.

Get out of the way ya dopey buggers..!!

I had to look twice and I realised you guys were talking about Chiang Mai to Phayao. I first thought I you guys were mentioning Chiang Rai to Phayao, which would have to be one of the boringest pieces highway road I've had to travel on. Will definitely keep the CM-PHAYAO-CM loop in the back of my mind though, thanks

Drove to Kaeng Krachan Circuit once to watch a previous Pirelli Track day and it was a lot of fun.

Can't quite recall how we got there, but getting to Kaeng Krachan is easy, and once there we just asked for directions and found the track without any difficulty.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source...mp;t=h&z=16

Hoping to make it to this one, on a bike this time

See you there!

Tony

Ah good, I got it right then. I have a half a brain afterall, must not brag though

I don't want to drive to the shop to get him to do some easy servicing on my bike, and have been reading in the manual about proper procedures, but have a couple questions....

1. For the air filter it only says use an airbrush and put it back in, but mine is a KN filter so shouldn't be washed and then have oil applied?

How can I do this at home, with basic shit, and cheaply. On the KN sight it just says to buy their cleaning kit...

What should I clean it with, and what oil should I apply after it is dry before putting it back in.

2. For cleaning the drive chain, in the manual it says to only use kerosene and other stuff it too powerful and can damage the o-rings.

Anyways, it didn't say to take the chain off.... Do I just prop the bike up and turn the wheel as I clean it, and then rinse it? Just as I would when applying chain lube?

-Lenny

The K&N Filter Cleaning Kits: http://www.knfilters.com/clningacc.htm

The K&N Filter Cleaning procedure: http://www.knfilters.com/cleaning.htm

Go to Fast Corner in Pantip Plaza, Chiang Mai, they should have the cleaning kits in stock My kit for my R1 I used many times. Don't know why they are saying its a one off?

Get yourself a gt-rider map and if you need some motivation, checkout some of Tony's trip reports.

Aw, shucks, yer too kind

I seem to recall you posted up a pretty nice trip report recently as well.

Ride On!

Hey isn't Tony that pesky guy who always showing off those good trip reports and being a closet ER6N whore

Rider Resort on Srinakarin Road behind Seacon Square. Great place for a piss up

Rider Resort on Srinakarin Road behind Seacon Square. Great place for a piss up

Cool- only been by there during the day. I'll check it out!

Somebody mention piss up..!

Charlie,

Might go down just for a ride. Is there a better map? The one given is upside down with no road numbers on it.

I looked on Google Earth and may try again but was throw by the upside down bit. Also I have to conver 12, 52 . 99,54 somethibng into normal decimal coordinates.

I tried to make head or tail of the numbers off the website, was I close as I haven't been there? 12°56'53.535N 99°57'42.400E

Okay I did a name hunt based off the directions, is this the place? 12°54'28.98"N 99°39'4.82"E If you cut and paste the highlighted area straight into Google Earth search, it will work

Charlie,

Might go down just for a ride. Is there a better map? The one given is upside down with no road numbers on it.

I looked on Google Earth and may try again but was throw by the upside down bit. Also I have to conver 12, 52 . 99,54 somethibng into normal decimal coordinates.

I tried to make head or tail of the numbers off the website, was I close as I haven't been there? 12°56'53.535N 99°57'42.400E

Nice one guys (insert jealousy smiley here)

Man, I'm jealous of you guys..thanks for sharing

The bus driver did the right thing: spotted the smoke, pulled over, everybody off the bus, wait for help.

GIVE HER THE MONEY

It wont be the last

A Thai Policeman friend of the family says no motorcycles of any size are allowed on the toll roads......pay up.

motorbikes allowed on toll ways, seen many times but all have one thing in common guys dressed in brown carrying guns etc. wife is correct no bikes on toll way Thailand except the cops

Bikes certainly cannot ride on the tollways or even the main ringroad around Bangkok.I suggest you give up gambling.

Yep, pay up.

Mind you I wish it was allowed to go on Toll Roads though, considering some of the POS cars and trucks I've seen on them at times.

Is it any better to take trains, that derails once a week, (if they are not on strike), or drive yourself? Try One Two Go Airline maybe?

Let's face it. When you come to Thailand you remove 3-4 years from your life expectancy. I recently followed a bus down Doi Suthep and watched in horror as the driver over-steered more than just a couple of times. Like all Thai drivers he was , well, a poor driver. This post will probably be removed for criticizing Thai drivers, but it is time to call a spade a spade, especially when Thailand is trying to cut in half the number of road deaths.

I was following a really nice passenger coach up the mountains from Chiang Mai onto Chiang Rai; 'You know the ones that are all decked out with all the mod cons for the passengers and fancy paint jobs'. Too bad about the driver though, he was driving like he was in a sports car. I didn't think buses could lean that far, but I am since the wiser. On hindsight I should have gotten my wife to take a photo.

It is funny how the fellas that no nothing about bikes and helmets feel like they have to add their two penny worth... With the '' I know nothing about '' qualification first of course

Anyhow I have three full face lid.. An Arai, an Airoh and a Roof.. All were bought in UK and hand carried no problem on Emirates, Air France and KLM..

As for the local lids.. Well 'Real' is about the best of the bunch and my GF uses on in town on her scooter.. She has a heavier ( and quieter ) HJC which she wears on longer rides as a pillion on my sports bike..

As for the rest of the local brands in Thailand.. you may as well wear a pumpkin.. They don't fit well and are made of cheap light weight materials.. Liek most things here style is more important than substance.. 700 baht for a helmet.. No thanks.. My head is worth more than that...

Oh and on the fake Ducati business,,, Funny enough I was just getting on mine some Months back when a guy ( farang ) walks up and asks me '' is that a real one mate ''

Yes I know this is Thailand but....where the hel_l do you buy a 'copy' Ducati ?

If you have a decent helmet and you plan to do a lot of riding around it's worth bringing.. But be prepared to carry it about with you or lock it VERY securely to the bike when not in use..

A copy Ducati. Ha ha ha You know I've seen & heard about some interesting brands copied / emulated in Thailand, but that must take the cake. Would love to have been a fly on the wall and taken a photo of the expression on your face when the numbty asked the question. You should have told him right then that it was a new V-twin Haeysong (spelling?). Glad you kept your cool and filed him under an appropriate folder in your head. Dipsh*t comes to mind

Back to helmets. I know they can ask a mint for the high end Arai, Shoei etc. I'm an AGV fan but don't if anyone sells them in Thailand?

Link to the TV News section: Tour Bus crashes into +10 Motorcycles

Well, I hope they all made it okay.

I have both of these and they were enjoyable to watch. The Superbike school be the better one as the master class was more advertising program than anything:

Ron-Haslam-Superbike-Masterclass

James Whitham Superbike-School

But intend picking this up in the new year:

Twist-of-the-Wrist

Buy a "Real" brand here- they are quality helmets if you are just going to rent a scooter. Or if you don't want to bring over an expensive helmet, perfectly understandable, look for a closeout over in the states - you can find Nolan, KBC, etc all DOT approved for $99- $150. You won't have to worry about a $600 Arai or Shoei making the trip.

Yeah, as long as the helmet works the once and saves your bollard, fine by me

From another thread

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Motorbike-Licence-t304023.html

International Drivers Permit

An International Driving Permit (IDP) allows an individual to drive a private motor vehicle in another nation when accompanied by a valid license from their home country.

The document is slightly larger than a standard passport and is essentially a multiple language translation of one's own existing driver's license, complete with photograph and vital statistics. It is not a license to operate a motor vehicle on its own.

Never had a problem with any of mine to Thailand. Last one was carried on as hand luggage (without the box). Not that its Thailand but British Airways let me bring my new TT helmet on board when coming back from the UK. It may also just be down to how full the aircraft is and how nice you are to airport staff & crew.

Oooops......sense of humour failure, folks?...... Anyways, Nappy Hoel to you and back to Canaveral for me, I guess

contritely,

Brewsta

All is forgiven Brewsta, but next time use a smiley eg: so that you automatically don't get tarred & feathered

Hey, I know some good Songteaw drivers, she takes my son to & fro to school every day, but I wouldn't trust that guy

"She-Guy" - interesting occupation(s)? TIT.

Brewsta

Captain Common Sense to the rescue...

The songtaew driver is a female (she), Jatuporn is a male (guy). The poster trusts the songtaew driver, but he doesn't trust Jatuporn.

Next.

Thanks for the common sense BP, I didn't realise there was so many rocket scientists (eg: Brewsta) on the forum. I kind of thought it was fairly obvious what I meant as well

Someone should 'take out' Jatuporn. No really, in Thaksin's day a guy like this would have had multiple multi-million baht law suits slapped on him for libel, and would have pipped down by now. Yeah, let the whole thing go to court, when he's failed to convince us all that 'get rid of' (probably the word 'ting' in Thai) does not mean kill someone, he should be fined for contempt of court and parliament, perhaps stripped of his MP status, better still banished to Dubai, and have his tongue cut out for good measure.

This <deleted> is everything Thailand doesn't want to be in the future, he's the archetypical dodgy, mouthy, unintelligent, deceptive politician we're trying to discourage. He serves to be a songteaw driver, no more.

Hey, I know some good Songteaw drivers, she takes my son to & fro to school every day, but I wouldn't trust that guy