floridaguy

Ok, this is driving me crazy, I want to see the darn thing running properly! OP can you get a video up on Youtube? Even if you just use a camera phone and upload that, bad quality or not, it would help us alot to hear it runing. Walk around it and let us hear the exhaust pipes, put it close to the cylinders so we can hear those. Rev it a few times.

Ok, let's get back to basics. What makes you say it is running hot? Does it shut down after riding it? Does steam come out? Does water pour out of the coolant reserve tank if you have one? What is going on? Do you have a temperature gauge, and if so what does it say when you think the bike is hot? Some bikes can run hot, and get over 100 degrees C, but it is normal for the bike. Usually, if a bike overheats, it just shuts down for a few minutes. If you are relying just on the temp gauge, maybe the gauge is faulty. Also, as I mentioned above, maybe the thermostat is faulty. Also, Thailand is hot. I had a v-twin like yours that just ran hot. I installed a larger fan on the radiator and a manual switch so that I could turn the fan on anytime I wanted, and I never had a problem overheating again. Now, I didn't just mask an underlying problem, I live in Bangkok, and the bike would overheat in traffic sometimes. Also, do you have oil flowing? If your oil is not circulating, your engine will run hot also.

Holiday Inn on Beach Road around under the hotel. Parking is free and they don't ask if you are staying there. There is a Harley covered up there, been there for weeks last time I saw. I park my truck there all the time.

Ok so I am confused. OP said only one cylinder was firing and it was running hot. Now, both cylinders fire, still running hot, but he knows the water pump works but there is no water flow. Ok, so some very easy things to do, and OP can do it himself even though not a mechanic:

1. Take off the radiator cap, start bike, as it is warming up give it a couple of quick twists on the throttle, and before it gets hot, squeeze the radiator hoses. Now look in the radiator, is the coolant level to the top? If not, top it up a little with 50/50 mix distilled water and coolant.

2. Now, look again at the coolant in the radiator, is it moving/flowing? You should see the coolant coming in at the top of the radiator through the large hose coming from the engine block. If the water isn't moving, then you definitely have a blockage.

3. Are you sure the water pump is good? You may consider replacing it with a known good one to see if that helps. Is the fan working if your bike has one?

Your cooling system is relatively simple. You have a pressurized system with water flowing from hot engine to cooling radiator (water pump). You need pressure to keep the boiling point down (radiator cap) and you need a regulator to determine when the water flows and when the fan kicks on (thermostat). You need good cooling in the form of a radiator with unbent fins and a working fan if your bike is equipped with one. That is pretty much it. Make sure those things are working and you should be good.

As for timing, well, I think you need to worry about fixing your cooling system first, if you say you have no water flow, but both cylinders fire.

Hope this helps!

OP, go to any open air type market and you will have many different stalls selling t-shirts from 50-300 baht. These markets are everywhere you look, and geared towards locals, not tourists. If you go to any of the tourist malls, the same t-shirts are 200-400 baht or more. For example, next to The Mall on Lad Phrao Road is an "open" type mall, it just happens to be in a building, and the prices are as mentioned. You want to look for them on the street, away from Sukhumvit. And the quality isn't all garbage. 150 baht gets good quality, 50 baht is junk, and maybe second hand.

Some additional places

Next to Big C Ratchada, MRT Thailand Cultural Center

Across from and also in the parking lot of Tesco On Nut, BTS On Nut

You should be able to hundreds of different shirts at those 3 places I mentioned. BTW, if you are looking for long sleeved tees, they are only at the Mall Lad Phrao

normal bikes and bigger bikes , a group of us are planning a boys trip away to Kanchanaburi and a few people need bikes.

I just did that trip last week. Make sure you take a half day to ride from Kanchanaburi town to Sisawat. The mountain twisties between them are amazing, and when I was there last week, only 1 car on the road with me on the twisty part. You can definitely drag a knee and get rid of any chicken strips if you want to on that road. Great mountain view also.

I have never seen any BMW motorcycle for sale for 150000 or 230000. The price seems way too low. It could be stolen, you just don't know until you try to register it. They will do a search in their database. This is often why people don't register vehicles even thought they claim it is legally imported with papers and taxes paid. I would back off the deal unless as suggested they get the green book in their name and then transfer it to you. It will only run you and extra 2-3000 baht to transfer the book to you. Small price to pay for peace of mind.

Check the BMTA website, there is plenty of free and low cost parking around Bangkok, including what you are asking for. It is called Park and Ride, to encourage people to take public transportation to relieve traffic in the city. Here is one, there is more if I remember correctly.

http://www.bangkokmetro.co.th/map.aspx?Lang=En&Menu=9

Just my experience, but the only place in Bangkok that rents big bikes that I know of still hasn't resolved our little dispute from 7 months ago. They say I damaged their bike, I say I didn't, they won't return my calls and they haven't returned my deposit of 5000 baht, and they wanted to keep my passport. Maybe a fluke experience, but I have never before or since had a problem renting big bikes from Thai run shops all over Thailand, never been accused of damage I didn't do, but did have problems with this foreign run establishment in Bangkok. So, if you rent one in Bangkok, it is on Rama 9, and take your own photos at the shop and agree on all damage. It looks like they upgraded their bikes recently, but I would still be careful before you drive away.

I think you would be better off both hassle / stress / financially to return the bike you have to Vietnam. Sell it there and put the money towards a bike in Thailand.

You could go through all the procedure of legalising the bike for this country but it'll probably end up costing more than the bike is worth.

Another option would be to use the money you would have to pay on taxes and registration etc and have a bike in Thailand and a bike in Vietnam!

I second the idea of selling it. A quick search reveals these are being sold for approximately 10,000 THB in Vietnam. I am not an expert on that model, but it looks similar to many many Honda and Suzuki scooters here for the same prices. It is only 10,000, if you can't be bothered to sell in Vietnam right now, park it and buy another scooter here to ride that is legal for about that cost. Then, in a few months when you need to make a Visa run, take the bike to Vietnam and sell it. Unless of course it has sentimental value, then pay the 20,000 or 30,000 THB to register it, or pay the 200 baht fine every month for the next year and hope it doesn't get confiscated.

Not a bike week, but just seen this posted.

ขอเชิญเพื่อนนักขับขี่ big bike ทุกท่าน ร่วมขับขี่เดินทางท่องเที่ยวนครวัด, กรุงพนมเปญประเทศกัมพูชา กับนิตยสารไรด์ไทยแลนด์ ในระหว่างวันที่ 6-8 กรกฎาคมนี้ 2 คืน 3 วัน ราคา 3,900 บาทเท่านั้น ใช้เอกสาร พาสปอต, ใบขับขี่, ทะเบียนรถ สนใจติดต่อก่อน 15 มิถุนายนนี้ รับ 200 คันเท่านั้น

July 6-8 riding to Angkor Wat, Phnom Penh, Cambodia with Ride Thailand magazine. 3900 baht. Need passport, driver's license, and vehicle registration submitted before 15 June.

Broadly speaking premium unleaded fuel is 95 octane benzine and as rare as hens teeth in Thailand. Regular unleaded is 91 octane benzine, as stated above the red pump, and if rumours are true due to be phased out in the coming year. Should be ok for your bike.

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Thaivisa Connect App

I hope they don't phase it out, as there is now a big push by AP Honda for big bikes in Thailand. It would be a shame if Honda customers couldn't fuel up their new biks. As for 95 blue, I must be blind because I don't see it. I will have to look for it, but for my bikes 91 benzine is fine.

Any gas station with it, go to the red colored pump. That is 91 octane. It is the closest you will get in Thailand. At the pump, you can ask for it by calling it "benz" or "benzine" and they will understand you. If you get 95 octane, it is gasohol. Next best option if nothing else available and you are out of gas, but try to avoid it. Runs hot, poor fuel economy, and not recomended for your bike.

I was gonna wire a charge socket onto my bike the standard cig lighter type ,but the two port USB sounds a better idea was it already to wire into the bike our did you modify it

I modified it a bit. I soldered the ground wire to one of the prongs on the sides and ran it straight to the battery, and the power lead from my rear brake light switch to the center metal piece on the adapter. Attached is a photo of the same type of USB adapter I used. It cost I think 100 baht at Pantip or just about anywhere in Thailand, and the top slot is 10w for iPads/tables, and the bottom slot is 5w for phones/GPS (iPhone, Blackberry, etc.). There is a blue LED light near the 2 slots that lights up when it has power. I wired it to the brake light switch so it doesn't receive power unless the key is on so it doesn't drain my battery. So for 100 baht for the adapter, 28 baht for 2 meters each of ground and power wire, and about 10 baht worth of solder and electrical tape, and I can charge my phone, and if necessary, my iPad (not while I am driving!).

So, I bought a Garmin Nuvi 3790 from the US and loaded the Thai map from ESRI Thailand last year. All works great except Junction View only works on Garmin units purchased in Thailand. Bummer, because I tend to make my navigational mistakes at junctions by flying through (slow down much?) and going on any one of the multiple tangent roads branching off from many intersections in Bangkok. 3D map, with many buildings around Bangkok work well. New maps released a few weeks ago, so I updated the Nuvi, and still no JV, but 3D works.

Well, I can confirm that if you load the new Thailand produced maps, version 12.1 onto your Garmin Onboard app in your iPhone, it WILL display JV. Tested and confirmed today on a run around Bangkok and down to Pattaya with the iPhone mounted on my motorcycle. It doesn't speak street names though, but found the audio useful nonetheless. It will fade out your music and give you quick audible instructions that were good enough for me to navigate without taking my eyes off the road and look at the screen. You should have headphones in, even if not listening to music, or you won't be able to hear the audio from the phone, and the earphones will act as earplugs anyway. Having the screen off also saves battery, and any GPS app will suck your battery dry very quickly, especially with your 3G going. I don't have that problem, since today I wired a 2 port USB charger onto the front of my bike that has a 5W and 10W port. But, without it, last week, my battery was down to 40% after 2 hours of 3G and Garmin, and I was turning the Garmin app on only when needed to conserve battery.

The app itself is great. I probably will never use my Nuvi unit again, even in the truck, it works so well. Look up function for items of interest around you is great, such as fuel stations and restaurants. Pretty accurate and many many choices. I think this is a must buy app if you use GPS in Thailand. Two gripes, the App thinks you are in the Central Mountain time zone in the US, so arrival time is not correct and so far I can't find a way to change that. Also, you cannot import your saved Favorites from another Garmin device like you can with standalone Garmin units, you have to manually enter your favorites in. Time consuming to do by manually adding coordinates.

It is a somewhat aggravating process to get the map, 3D map, and JV map on the phone, but if you want to try, PM me and I will give you the link for the website I used.

Hope this helps!

BTW, should this be in the GPS section?

I am not sure what the power of attorney letter you keep mentioning is. I don't think I have ever used one. Just copy of ID card and tabien baan of seller, ownership transfer form or sales receipt, your passport and residency docs and the green book. Easy peasy.

Well, I am in the process now, so here is what I did this time. Bought a bike with green book. Got a receipt (standard Thai language vehicle purchase form, anyone who sells a vehicle will have it) filled out in Thai, signed by me and the seller and a witness. Got a copy of the owner's Thai ID card and house registration, both must be signed. You must register the vehicle in your (or someone else's) name before their ID card expires.

For the rest, I use my insurance company, as they only charge me 300 baht, and it is worth it. I have done it myself, and it takes several hours. I wanted to see the process, now I know, and I pay them to do it for me.

The process is they take the green book, sales receipt, seller's ID card and house registry, signed copy of your passport to the Department of Land Transport. This can be done in any province. The DLT may want to inspect the bike's serial numbers to match the book and check the database to ensure it isn't stolen. Fill out the ownership transfer form (Thai language only) available at the DLT office. Once that is done, the DLT keeps the book to update it, it usually takes about a week, and they will have the green book ready with your name in it. The charge depends on the purchase price of the bike and the CC size of the motor. For a 400 CC Virago, expect about 2000 baht or so. That's it. You don't actually need to be there at any stage.

So for me, the girl at the insurance company is a little cutie, so I had her hop on the back of my bike and take me to the local DLT. This was in Kanchanaburi. The inspection and signoff took 5 minutes. Got her phone number and the rest is history. I wouldn't have done any of this myself, but she loved my matte black sport bike and wanted a ride on it. All that is left is they pick up the green book from the DLT and they can either mail it to me or I can go pick it up. Obviously, I will pick it up and see the girl again.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the reply, although it doesn't seem to answer my question.

But . . . I'm puzzled. It sounds like both you and the seller are together in the same region where the bike is already registered. The "vehicle purchase form" you talk about (signed/witnessed etc) must actually be the standard "change of vehicle ownership" form. This is all straightforward and just the usual paperwork.

What I am struggling to find out is what steps and documents are needed to buy a bike that's located and registered in Chiang Mai and then transfer the ownership and registration to my name in Surat Thani.

Cheers

R

Well, you don't need anything special. Unless you want to change the plate, then you run into a couple of bumps in the road. I bought the bike in Bangkok, registered in Bangkok. I went to Kanchanaburi and put it in my name. My permanent address is in Kanchanaburi. But I didn't change the plate, so it still says Bangkok. All done at the local DLT.

Now a couple of years ago, I bought 2 bikes registered in Bangkok. I didn't like the plates, so I went to the same local DLT in Kanchanaburi and asked to change the plates. Because my permanent address is in Kanchanaburi, they had to change it from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi. All the same documents, same procedure, except the book had to go to Bangkok DLT to authenticate and make sure they weren't fake/altered/recycled. I could have had the bikes inspected in either DLT office, but since I live in Bangkok, I took them to the main Bangkok DLT. What a hassle, lines of people, mostly taxis, took forever. Do the inspection locally. Maybe then I could have gotten the same girl to take me to the local one. Oh well.

Both procedures are the same for you. No special documents. It still should only take a week or so.

Hope this helps!

Practice is in the morning, qualifying early afternoon and the races are late afternoon, according the the timetable from the organisers (which I can't find at the moment !! )

Will you be going?

Courtesy of BigBikeBKK

I have never been to BIRA, so I will make a run down there in the morning to see the Motorcycle Magazine races. I can't stay all day, I have to meet with my mechanic about my other bike in the afternoon. If anyone is going and would like to ride together or meet up there I am up for it. I will be leaving from On Nut around 7 or 8AM, but am flexible on time.

I have a legit bike, and am original owner taxes paid etc. and am wondering, where I can get a smaller plate, something not sooooooo big and fugly looking. I have seen bike with much smaller plates out and about while driving. . .

Much rather ride without it.

Trying to tidy up the rear. . .

And will just keep a copy of all my docs on me for the ocassional stop. . .

Not trying to hijack the thread

Thnx in advance. . .

All new plates are the larger size. The smaller plate is not issued anymore. You can have them made off your old plate at many smaller mechanics shops, but these are novelty and not road legal. But, I guess if the numbers match your registration, then it shouldn't be a big deal. They make them at the Harley shop in Pattaya, and all over Bangkok I see many shops with license plates out front.

Well, I am in the process now, so here is what I did this time. Bought a bike with green book. Got a receipt (standard Thai language vehicle purchase form, anyone who sells a vehicle will have it) filled out in Thai, signed by me and the seller and a witness. Got a copy of the owner's Thai ID card and house registration, both must be signed. You must register the vehicle in your (or someone else's) name before their ID card expires.

For the rest, I use my insurance company, as they only charge me 300 baht, and it is worth it. I have done it myself, and it takes several hours. I wanted to see the process, now I know, and I pay them to do it for me.

The process is they take the green book, sales receipt, seller's ID card and house registry, signed copy of your passport to the Department of Land Transport. This can be done in any province. The DLT may want to inspect the bike's serial numbers to match the book and check the database to ensure it isn't stolen. Fill out the ownership transfer form (Thai language only) available at the DLT office. Once that is done, the DLT keeps the book to update it, it usually takes about a week, and they will have the green book ready with your name in it. The charge depends on the purchase price of the bike and the CC size of the motor. For a 400 CC Virago, expect about 2000 baht or so. That's it. You don't actually need to be there at any stage.

So for me, the girl at the insurance company is a little cutie, so I had her hop on the back of my bike and take me to the local DLT. This was in Kanchanaburi. The inspection and signoff took 5 minutes. Got her phone number and the rest is history. I wouldn't have done any of this myself, but she loved my matte black sport bike and wanted a ride on it. All that is left is they pick up the green book from the DLT and they can either mail it to me or I can go pick it up. Obviously, I will pick it up and see the girl again.

Hope this helps!

Theres plenty of helmets with clear visor and built-in drop down sun visor... Problem solved?!

Yep that's what I've got, a HJC with the internal visor. Press the button on top of the helmet and it slides back up into the helmet. Works great, 5000 baht from the UK

I think that is 3900 here in Thailand from the local shops

I am reading this correctly, there is nothing between now and October?

You can get almost any LED light at Autobacs that plugs into the same socket as you have now, no modification. LED's draw much less power and are much brighter and last longer. But, billd766, you have a problem in your charging system. Your bike should be able to power all your accessories, and then some, under normal conditions. Have your entire system checked out. I know you said that it is putting out the correct power, but it may not be reaching the battery. Check your regulator/rectifier, check your cables. Have it checked if you can't. Unfortunately, electrical gremlins are very hard to find sometimes.

You are correct.

I was out with a mate in March and clocked about 900 km in 2 days riding with little night work and the bike was fine.

Last month I went up to Chong Yen in the Mae Wong national park about 50km from where for an overnight stop having charged the battery a couple of days beforre.

The bike wouldn't start on the switch and there is no kick start but I managed to roll it and do a bump start OK.

As the bike is due a licence renewal this week I thought I would pull the battery and charge it on the bench.

When I pulled it out of the cradle it looked like this,

The red string is just to make it easy to lift the battery out and to hold it while I disconnect the leads.

As you can see the battery is actually bulging in its casing on both sides and the bottom and it is 11 months old.

Luckily I looked really.

I suspect it is overcharging like crazy.

I will get another battery in the next couple of days and use the old one in the bike until then.

Wow, I have never seen a battery bulged that much. It is a good thing you looked! It looks ready to explode.

I have encountered many of these dogs here in Thailand. Don't assume they are street or soi dogs. They do have "owners" just not in the traditional sense. I say this because if you hurt the dog, the person caring for them, who thereby benefits from watch dogs, will be angry. I know this first hand. I considered and tried many options, but here is what worked best:

1. Stick/club/pepper spray - these work, but are temporary fixes. This makes the dog your enemy as you are now an invading rival "alpha dog" and he will attack again. If you do this, it is a constant battle. But if you do, chose the alpha dog. The others will follow his lead.

2. Avoid/ignore - this one actually works better than you might think, but it takes balls. When you ignore the dog, he perceives you as an alpha who is asserting your control. Your ignoring him is a show of strength, he is beneath you, and dogs do respect this. If he does bite you, see #1.

3. Feed them - if you encounter the same dogs in the same place every day, carry a bag of left over food with you and feed the dogs. Do this several times by hand, or as close to it as you can so that they can learn your scent. After a few times, they will recognize you and expect food. When that happens, just do it intermittenly, but don't forget for a month. If this works, see #2. If this doesn't work, see #1.

I also considered poisoning a pack of particularly aggressive dogs who did bite me and one of my friends who came to visit. All my Thai friends advised me to poison them. I couldn't see myself killing these dogs, they are just doing what their instinct tells them. In the end, I tried all three, and feeding them ended up being the only thing that worked.

As for Animal Control, there is such a thing in Greater Bangkok. Have a Thai friend help you find the information, I can't remember that far back how I got their phone number. They will come pick up the dogs if they have bitten someone. But it takes awhile, even in Thai time (a month?), and they will only come if you have been bitten and can't work it out with the owner. I didn't do it because the dogs "belonged" to a house at the beginning of my soi, so I didn't feel like getting into a pissing match with the owners, and since there is no liability to the owners for dogs biting, then why bother?

My recommendation is to feed them scraps. They will not bother you after a few days. They only chase you because you are a moving target. Their instinct is to chase. So stop your bike, walk it towards them as you are getting the food ready.

Good luck!