xbusman

You never owned the house, you never owned the property. You are a foreigner who violated the rule of Thailand, that rule which cannot be broken.

NEVER PUT MORE IN THAILAND THAN YOU CAN WALK AWAY FROM

Because, now its time to walk. Like thousands on thousands before you, hand someone the keys and pack your bag, its time to move on.

Life teaches us all lessons, some easy, some very hard. Be thankful you are alive to fight another day, many before you did not get a second chance or took an early flight off a high balcony.

I always stock up, the food on a plane will kill you faster than a crash into a mountain.

Favorite on the LA to BKK

A big Rueban on rye from Al Cantors kosher deli, a few of those monster garlic pickles so everyone in the plane can share the experience. On that note, a few Cinabons, the extra huge and hot model, that will drive people crazy for the first few hours. Usually a really really premium fruit salad loaded with fresh strawberries and pineapple, and a few salads of various compositions round it out nicely.

I get a huge amount of dirty looks as I refuse that dog food when they come around. You can bet I say it loud and clear "NO THANKS, THATS NOT EDIBLE".

I have never been stopped with food getting on a plane. I dont think anyone has even asked me to open it up. I used to carry a thermos of Starbucks finest but those days are over. Dont forget at least four or five deserts. Not too sloppy, cheesecake, carrot cake, a few pie pieces.

I dont ever want to sit next to an @sshole like me on a long flight......

raybkk, you are dead wrong. Jerry, this is really bad advice, I think you are being wise and prudent keeping that queen in the US garage where she is safe and happy. Do not hand your bike over to the mafia importers that in league with the mafia customs, you will live to regret it.

Okay, this is top secret. It is so secret that to tell you, first you have to be killed and then you can be told.

I took my bike to the Honda dealer and had them change the oil and wash the bike, promised to pick it up in a few days. Worked like a champ, they took excellent care of the bike and got all the routine maintenance done while I was in Lao. Dont forget to tip freely and generously for safe storage of your mount.

Now you have to swear not to tell anyone else or this will become common and be ruined.

Oooooops, public forum......

Triumph now manufactures the whole kit in asia and assembles in Thailand. The English name and corporate structure is little more than a marketing front.

I manufacture a raft of parts for aftermarket and specialty motorcycles. Tried to bring some to Thailand because the skill set is here and Triumph has built a great infrastructure (vendor base) for what I make. Unfortunately the baht killed the business below about 38 and it all moved back to Taiwan two years ago. Very little being done in Thailand now except for captive parts for Triumph and those are not much use to anyone else.

We manufacture specialty bikes in the US and are selling kits all over the world as fast as we can put them together. Australia has become a huge market in two years and about 200 bikes per year are going there. Thank you worthless dollar, the price of US motorcycles is painfully cheap.

I could arrange rollers or kits for you in Thailand, they can be registered and at current exchange rates should sell well. You might be able to set up manufacturing here on a limited basis, engine/gear box will be the key component though. Might be hard to get a hold of anything worth owning. To date I have not found a chinese engine that is worth owning at any price and the boys that make real engines are running at about 120% capacity, not interested in taking on new customers. We have engines available but I dont know how many extra we would part with, thats not my part of the business and I could not address that unless I had real buyers.

Taiwan is where you want to look for a majority of what you need. I know all those vendors so could help you get started. You could bring the parts to Thailand and assemble them here, would have to crunch the numbers to see if its viable. I know this, it takes very deep pockets to play that game.

I have heard of the bore out for the Honda Phantom but never been able to pin it down. Ran into a tour group on Phantoms one time and the group leader who operates out of Pattaya and owns about 15 of the machines, swore by it. Might have been talking into his hat though.... In any event, if anyone has info on this I would also like to know the details.

With a bike that nice, do not believe anyone that says they can help you. The only way you can be helped is having your load of money lightened.

Just do a search, lots of info on how it is done. I know because I do it every week. Take it from me, you dont want that baby put through the mill, you will not be happy.

As a newbie, here is the hard and fast rule of surviving here. Never put more here than you are willing to walk away from. Even if you did get that bike over here, and you could at great expense, would you be willing to walk away from it one day? Here is another consideration, I am guessing that bike was built under the US kit laws, using a certified engine you got a once in lifetime title for your homebuild. Well, you did get a title but its not EPA nor DOT nor FMVSS certified so once it leaves the US there is about a 99.99999 percent chance you can never take it back, even with a legitimate US title.

Its a great bike, that style of naked Cali hot rod happens to be my favorite. Do yourself a big favor and just forget the idea, lots of overpriced junk hardware here for you to start fresh with.

Should be no problem, particularly for someone who cannot work the search function on Thaivisa.

It will be nice to see that machine on Thai roads though you might not be happy about the new owner.

Perhaps you would care to explain your rather bizare post? I'm perplexed.

Okay, because you obviously have a California bike and have asked about finding organic food in Thailand as well as importing your parrots, I can assume we are dealing with someone from the left coast. So I will clarify it a bit for you since you asked.

If you would have simply used the search button located in the upper right corner of your screen, and done a simple search about importing motorcycles or vehicles or any such search term, you would have found around 19,000 other people have asked the exact same question as they were also technologically challenged. You would have then found around 6 million answers that range from "probably not" to "commit suicide before attempting to import".

If someone is so technologically challenged as to be unable to do a simple forum search, attempting to take on Thai Dept of Customs might be well outside their abilities. Dealing with them requires mastering the asian business manuals written by Douglas Adams and Lewis Carroll, and even then success is limited to your ability to pay and pay and pay and pay.

At best, you will fail and have your bike shipped back to Frisco slightly beat up from shipping but mostly intact. At worst, some happy Customs agent will tool around Bangkok on your bike so that you can catch a glimpse of it now and then, and that after many thousands of dollars in costs that are paid up front. I think Tuk Tuk Mike sees his car now and then, chime in if your out there Mike.

I dont know why but bikers seem completely unable to master the technology of searching. You dont see the same question being asked in the IT section every week and yet every week some biker thinks the secret to beating the Thai system is secretly hidden on Thai visa for them to learn after getting the secret handshake. The reason there are not a million big bikes in Thailand is because the door is for all extents CLOSED.

Mods, pleeeeeeeeeeeeze pin something well written about importing any vehicle into Thailand.

I have a few extra home style sewing machines laying about in our shop. I would be happy to cut you a great deal on any one of them. Have to look at the books but I would sell them for the current asset value which I doubt is more than 4000 baht. Each of them has a nice cabinet and have been electrified.

PM me if you are interested. I can even arrange the delivery for you.

Should be no problem, particularly for someone who cannot work the search function on Thaivisa.

It will be nice to see that machine on Thai roads though you might not be happy about the new owner.

Current price for a LAX-BKK-LAX ticket is about 19,000 baht including taxes. Does not sound like much of sale.

This order is for a four part series, music books. Each is about 20,000 each and has to be done to US standards. Means paper quality, size, and general quality as well. This customer is an absolute stickler for color reproduction, the publishing house is run by a professional artist that demands perfect color match.

Yes, we fly to Singapore regularly to work on this order, the good news is that once we have it set up its just a reorder year after year after year. So heavy front end costs with plates and travel but a cash cow over the next decade once costs are recovered. If you PM me, I will forward the company we work with in SGP, be advised though, the actual printing is done in Malaysia, Singapore is just corporate HQ.

The Thai printing houses were just one level above completely clueless and hopelessly inept. The really good news is that purchasing from Singapore means I dont have to pay VAT and wait a year to recapture it. On an order like this can be over 100,000 baht. I never get 100% back so it is a big savings up front.

Thats a great ratio for Thailand. Twenty one emails and you got a reply, normally I have to hit about fifty for a single worthless quote.

Printers in Thailand are pretty poor at best. We have had to go to Singapore to get our printing done. Difference is like night and day. They are very professional in SGP, get a quote quickly, dont mess with your artwork and color reproduction is excellent, at about half the price of Bangkok printers.

Just got done on a three week tour of Issarn. Bangkok-Buri Ram- Mukdahon-Roi Et- Ubon Rachatani-Udon Thani-Nong Kai- Koen Kahn

About 3500 kilometers on my Phantom (200ccs of raw power). It was a great trip, very comfortable. Cant wait to get back out on the road.

A few notes.

It is extremely dangerous, all sorts of strange things on the road from sleeping dogs to iron buffaloes cranking along at top speed of 1.234 kph. Only, and I mean ONLY drive during daylight hours. Goggles help a lot, lots of crap blown up on the road. Keep the sun off you, it feels good and seems cool when you are moving but in reality that sun is giving your lily white the what for.

Rubber side down.

Five years and about 70,000 kilometers without a real accident. Was hit from behind three times, and touched the back of taxi acting erratic on Sukumvit.

Never a single drink before driving my motorcycle. Complete and total focus on the driving, no wool gathering. I keep a bubble of death around the bike at all times, the three that snuck up on me from behind were still my fault, its my job to keep my area clear front, rear and both sides.

Seen a lot of ugly ones, sure dont want to join them.

This is not an environment for amateurs.

We keep careful budgets and track of expenses. No feeling or fudging about it. Our costs for overhead have risen about 11 percent. Goods have risen about 6 percent in baht terms.

All our vendors have come to us for increases. We ask for decreases and if we dont get reductions, the products go to China. About half our products have been resourced to China over the past year.

The TISI standards have a lot more to do with sizing standards and construction then actual usage. The simple impact test they administer is more to determine that the materials are not flawed then a truck running over the helmet. TISI has some pretty sophisticated testing, I spend a lot of time there, but their standards are generally written to keep imports out of Thailand and protect local businesses. The helmet standards are one such category.

I get my information from having worked hard to get a Thai manufacturer to supply helmets for use in the US. They cannot come close to passing any real standards and are quite happy to pawn off their junk on the local population. That was a few years ago at 41 baht to the dollar. Now, they have no chance of competing with the huge amount of chinese suppliers that are DOT certified. The US and EU certification process is very expensive, if I remember correctly somewhere around 25K to get a single model certified.

As stated before, a helmet is something I would take particular care in selecting.

I have spoken with Index about exporting their helmets, they are an interesting company.

Their helmets, and all Thai helmets for that matter, meet absolutely no standards anywhere in the world. There are no standards in Thailand and no way to test to other standards. If Thai helmets could be tested, they would not pass either US or EU testing.

Helmets are an interesting subject, particularly in regard to certification and safety parameters. EU and US each test for different circumstances, and having a DOT cert does not mean that the helmet can get an EU cert and vice versa. DOT requires more padding and less shell strength, EU certs the opposite.

Usually the high end Arai. Shoei, Bell and such do meet both standard by incorporating carbon fiber and high tech padding materials in their helmets, thats why they cost so much.

There is a lot of argument in the helmet manufacturing and rider groups. The statistics are really varied and do not show any clear patterns. Does temple protection mean more accidents because of restricted peripheral vision? Do heavier helmets cause more neck injuries? Despite the massive research done in this field, the results are highly varied and most often support the funding source assertions. There is even an argument that helmets cause more injuries than they prevent.

Here is what experience teaches me. Old timers wear good helmets. It seems like the cheap helmet crowd dont make it to old age on motorcycles. When the face comes into contact with anything, the face almost always loses. I would choose a helmet, gloves and shoes very carefully.

Today I moved a rather largish amount of money from the US to Thailand and got 32.4 as the onshore rate. My US Bank is quoting 32.1 as the offshore rate.

Over the past two weeks, I have watched the onshore gradually decline a baht and the offshore shoot up about 1.5 baht, they are now almost at parity.

Anyone want to take a stab at what this means, why its happening, and what is going to happen when they merge again?

As with most rules in Thailand, I think it was created for a very small subset of the ruling class. I think its one of those "if you have to ask, it does not include you" style of laws.

I would strongly recommend against anyone trying to import any type of vehicle except for those people with massive cash reserves to waste. The pity is, if you have enough money to buy your way through the bureaucracy, well then you have enough for a vehicle already brought through and you get to save all the hassles of dealing with customs, a special treat in itself.

Glad to hear you made a good effort submaniac and we can finally put that weird loophole to bed.

Charly, good on ya. You have the good sense not to present the same arguments as the last 100 posters who were sure to get it done. Lots of motorcycles for sale in Thailand from big to small, plenty to choose from and most have all the work done.

Now, because you are new and have good sense.

You should consider only buying a motorcycle with a green book. Also, if its bigger than 200 ccs, do your best to make sure it is not stolen and the green book is valid.

Some great roads in Thailand, have fun.

Charly, up at the top of this screen, you are going to find a "SEARCH" button. Click on it and enter "import motorcycle" in the box. Now search and you will find some 14,132 posts which will clearly tell you in each and every case:

DONT DO IT!

Mods, please pin.

That is all.

It could be on the cover of Sleazy Dives. I would not keep my dog there.

Oh lord, dont get me started. Have not thought of the stories for years, nice part of being in Thailand. When you always get introduced as the "bus guy" the questions come fast and thick. Fun for the first year, a bit thin after ten, when I left after twenty I just may have moved to Thailand to get away from all that. Then there is the added fun of taking care of people years after they buy someone elses product form a company who subsequently went bankrupt (low bidders often do). Then the late night emergency calls from MR XX (fill in the blanks) who want YOU to do something about it IMMEDIATELY are nowhere near as fun. Its nice to be gone.

But stories, oh yeah, there are stories. Life on the road in the busses always has stories. Away from home, on tour for whatever reasons, people do goofy stuff to keep from going mad. So there are so many I have forgotten most of them. Only the really bizarre stand out and that is stuff that stays on the road.

I think Ray Dolbys story was wonderful. How he started, what he faced, the people that stood by him. I love the Merle Haggard stories, that man was an old roadie when he started. His driver was with him for over twenty years when I met them. Worse than a married couple. Amazing how close you can get to someone in a dark quiet bus over millions of miles and decades. Too close sometimes. Then there is the story of my company taking on the Toyota Corporation AND WINNING. Letters from Bill Clinton and Mr Matsusita trump Toyota legal department no matter how big and how smart. Lots of Bill Clinton stories, he seemed to take to the road quiet easily. Ray had some interesting times, he loved to drive but that was kind of exciting for the rest of us. Even Joe Adams, Rays right hand, was interesting in his own right. I dont know if it was true or not but he claimed to be a veteran of the only black fighter squadron in WW2. If you knew Joe like I knew him, you would not doubt his claims either.

Then there was life on the set. We spent a lot of time on movie sets keeping busses operating and ready. We also made mobile editing and daily screening coaches. You can see our busses in a few movies, the one I like best is "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil". Clints bus is in the movie a number of times, parked in the back of the shot. A big grey Prevost, built in about 88 or therebouts, with rear windows that leak. Try as I could, I never did get that fixed and Clint was always so patient and good natured about it. I would not have been if it were my million dollar toy. Set life was funky, people hopping in and out of each others bus and testing the suspensions. The bus drivers always know too much about everything. You business agent might be there or might not. Your road manager comes and goes. People in the cast change daily, but the bus driver.... He is with you every minute you are on the road and let your hair down. If you really want to know, ask the bus driver.

So many stories. And to top it off, I became the historian for the company which invented custom coaches in 1952. I interviewed the old timers and got their stories about Elvis Presley, Hank Sr and the like. Hundreds of em. Most of them true and the ones I doubted should have been true. Lots of tragedy too. That world can be wild wild but the falls are bigger and harder too.

I would love to write them down some day but I know road stories have to stay on the road and die with us. People need their dreams and dont need to see the humanity of their heroes.

I might write Ray Dolbys story down some day though. In my opinion, that man is deserving an biography for the rest of us.

Anyway, enough for now.

That Swedish bakery is a killer. The food and coffee were excellent. Weekday morning required about forty minute wait for an outdoor table, well worth it.

Around the corner from the bakery is a French crepe house. As good as the left bank in Paris. I mean drop dead crepes. Coffee as only the french can do, better than good sex in England. Continue further to the intersection that the Cultural center is on and there is an Indian fusion restaurant. Again, really good and unusual.