ClareQuilty

Is the Honda Phantom TA150 a two stroke? How can I 'tune for torque' my two stroke bikes? Though I like two-strokes for their simplicity and greater durability/reliability, I prefer torque over high-end power.

The older 150 was a 2t that looked like a 4t.. you tune the expansion chamber. I remember a LONG time ago riding a ta150 around samui. It wasn't until about 5 years later that I found out they are 2t.

I see! Very interesting. What about those old Suzuki two strokes one sees with the straight pipe exhausts, I think they are Suzuki RCs:

http://www.suzukicycles.org/photos/suzuki-history/1991/1991_RC100D_black_450.jpg

I wonder if that straight pipe was about producing torque over horsepower? (I'm really keeping my eyes peeled for one of these antiques, but they're extremely hard to find).

On the subject of two strokes in LOS. Let us not forget the Honda Phantom TA150. Same engine as NSR but tuned for torque if one can use torque in a two-stroke thread!

Is the Honda Phantom TA150 a two stroke? How can I 'tune for torque' my two stroke bikes? Though I like two-strokes for their simplicity and greater durability/reliability, I prefer torque over high-end power.

The current Thai rulers have set a path to ban all sorts of corruption. Corruption with vehicle registration is something the current military government takes serious, it one of the biggest and most profitable corruptions in Thailand. People riding illegal vehicles should understand that Thailand is still under Martial Law.

Heh heh, they're pretending to 'get tough' about corruption. Part of the show.

Its interesting - to the Asian mind, this sort of government is more 'lawful' or 'clean', but to the Western mind, it is absolutely lawless by definition.

Where to get 5k bikes? Might be nice to buy a couple and gifting them to village friends that don't have a bike.

Generally speaking the only place I know to find cheap old bikes in good/reasonable condition in any quantity is to go to large urban or large-town dealers and look in their 'back rooms'. Most dealers will accept old bikes in trade but not sell them on as they make the front of the shop 'look shabby' to Thai eyes. They sell them to wholesalers once every week or two for next to nothing.

Some dealers will pass this savings along to the friendly impecunious farang visitor, some won't. It depends if they have good sense about 'clearing out the stock' or just want to make every baht possible off of every bike, however long it takes...

Picked up this black Belle R in KK..Well put together little machine..First underbone in my collection.

I've looked at those Belle Rs in that shop so many times - they appeal more to me than any of his other old-new bikes. One still sees loads of Belle Rs on the road here in Isaan - incredibly durable and well-made bikes. Just one question - is it a 3, 4, or 5 speed?

And here we go again.....

ClareQuilty, the hub of "engine rebuilds".

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To be fair, Turkleton, I've had excellent luck with two-stroke rebuilds - in most cases they really do refresh the bike completely, and at minimal cost. It is four-stroke rebuilds I've found problematic and not really worth doing.

But to be honest, those teachers should pay more and also get paid more but that's another story. Even security guards ride new bikes.

It is funny you should mention that, namdocmai, because we 'farang teachers' often describe our status within the Thai hierarchy as 'lower than the security guards'.

Can you feel much compression if you kick over the engine slowly.

A bit, but, I'd have to say not nearly as much compression as I feel when I kick over my 110 Wave..

Was this the bike yo were told had run low on oil before you bought it you mentioned a few weeks ago ?. You got it for the right price , electrics now sorted (why did they burn out on a 6 year old Honda ?) now an engine rebuild is needed for maybe 5,000 Baht.Still a cheap bike if another 5,000 sorts it.

The mechanics quote 2,000-2,500 for a rebuild on this one, Nigel, but they also say it might be possible to run it for quite a while as it is.

Actually this is not the bike which had been run without oil from a few months ago - this is the bike I bought instead of that bike. The running-without-oil was done by a renter over just the last 6 weeks or so (I have been changing the oil in rented bikes every two months, perhaps I will go to once a month).

A 5000 baht scooter that had the be rewired. Now it needs a rebuild...how much have you spent fixing this bike? Are you late for work often trying to start this bike?

Just sounds like false economy to me. Did you really arrive here with no money, got a job teaching for a thousand bucks a month and have no savings to even buy a reliable form of transport?

Just wanted to apologise for the above comment. It's none of my business how much money you have and doesn't help your original question........

That's quite alright Bung, I do understand your point of view. However, you'll find, I think, that most teachers here do in fact have very little money - otherwise why would they be willing to take such a job!

sotsira, that explanation makes perfect sense, and fits what the mechanics are saying - that the bike needs a rebuild. Thanks.

Lesson learned I think. You would have spent a lot of money on fixing it already and sounds like more coming. I would sell it for 5000 and spend at least 20000 to get something reliable. That's less than $650 USD for a vehicle, really not a lot of money for anyone surely.

Yes, that's a lot of money. I'm a teacher in Thailand and rent these bikes to teachers for just 1,000-1,500/month. When you're making only 30,000 baht/month, 20,000 is a very high price to pay for anything. I'll probably just avoid automatics in the future and go back to my old two-strokes, which are invariably quite reliable even when purchased for less than 5,000.

Are you sure it doesnt have a carb , and its reluctance to start is because you arent using the choke ?. Does it have a lever on the carb , or a knob on the "dash".

No, there is definitely no choke there, nigel. I drive old two-strokes, so believe me I know chokes - use them every day.

I found these NOS Kawasaki 2 strokes at a Yamaha dealer in Sakon Nahkon.Refugees from the 97 crash.2014-07-11-10-21-58_deco.jpg2014-07-11-10-21-58_deco.jpg2014-07-11-10-21-58_deco.jpg2014-07-11-10-17-48_photo.jpg2014-07-11-10-17-48_photo.jpg

Wow those look so interesting to me, and I'm not that far from Sakhon Nakon here in Sarakham. What's all that c**p hanging off them though? (I can't see because can't open your pics to larger size).

Any idea how much he's selling these for?

5,000 is a lot of money for some of us, II2.

VocalNeal, I don't know about the fuel injection, but given the age of the bike (first generation Click, about an '07 or '08), I'd assume it is carbureted.. on the other hand the absence of a choke suggests it might be fuel injected.

I'm pretty sure the battery is not the problem as it is very strong. The bike turns over very strongly and as long as you like to try it, but it just doesn't start.

That said, I noticed today in the warm sunlight the bike started via electric start after 24 hours sitting, so maybe its just related to the cold rainy weather.

The autos... where they really hit your pocketbook is in repairs and breakdowns - figure twice as many repairs at twice the cost for each repair as your auto gets older compared to older clutch or clutchless bikes.

I know. It's terrible. My Elegance is getting very expensive to operate. The other day I had to replace a bulb in the headlight. Cost 40 baht. Five years old now. I think I'll go out and buy something else before I have to replace a belt in the next five years for 800 baht.

Well five years old is practically a new bike. When it is 10-20 years old like my reliable old two strokes, let me know..

Not to be difficult, but the necessity of rebuilds is - according to mechanics I talk to - much more frequent on automatics than 'regular bikes', even with the same engine. Something to do with the way the engine is boxed up in a compartment with poor ventilation and made to run very fast all the time- leads to hotter, more wearing operation.

For example the old 110 Waves frequently ran 100-120k kilometers without rebuild, but a Click with virtually the same engine will often need rebuilding after 30-50,000 kilometers.. the difference between a regular Yamaha and a Mio/Fino is somewhat less marked, but still very significant - most Mios I've had have needed a rebuild at about 60-70k, while Sparks last quite a bit longer.

I bought a first generation (circa '08) Honda Click for 5,000 baht a while ago, as some may remember seeing reported on here. The bike ran and drove well, with low kilometers, and the engine was in good order. A few months into owning the bike the wiring burnt up (complete with smoke), which led to an expensive repair and continuing electrical problems which have taken months to sort out.

Now, finally, the lights, battery, horn, starter, and all that seem to be working fine, but the now the bike's engine is in a bad way. Its a rental bike, and though the oil was changed every other month, it apparently was run with very low oil by the last renter, and now the mechanic says the engine is 'mai-dee' (as they say).

The way this manifests itself is not so much in the running of the bike - it still drives quite well once its warmed up a little - but in the starting of the bike: the bike will only start via the electrical start if the engine has previously been run a while and is nice and warm.

For cold starts - the first start of the day or in our current chilly, rainy weather after the bike's been shut off say an hour or so - the engine will only start via kick-start (though it starts without much difficulty that way).

What I can't figure out is why this is the case - there's loads of battery, the starter is turning the engine for ages, but it just won't start that way when the engine is cold.

The autos do cost more to run fuel-wise, but where they really hit your pocketbook is in repairs and breakdowns - figure twice as many repairs at twice the cost for each repair as your auto gets older compared to older clutch or clutchless bikes.

I think your Toyota is so old it's either not power brakes or a very old generation of power brakes, nothing like a 2002, gonna take some getting used to

No, the Toyota has power brakes and they work just right - progressively. That is, there is some travel and a smoothness to the pedal action. The Hondas I've tried its either no brakes or suddenly 99-100% of brake action from just a light touch. Very very sudden.

37 replies to find out he hasn't got 'grabby' brakes. He's hitting the brake pedal like a mule.

Not at all, I apply the brakes very softly and judiciously. I'm the type of driver that does everything very smoothly and easily, both to make a pleasant, comfortable ride for myself and any passengers, and to save money on fuel and repairs. You know the old saying - 'Drive like you have an egg under your foot'.

I think VocalNeal has the best answer - I've tried a few other Hondas since then as a kind of research, and they all seem grabby and over-powered.

Does anyone know if older Hondas are known for rather 'sudden' brakes? I'm considering buying an old Honda City around 2002 model. The car is in excellent condition, well kept, and runs well.

However, it has extremely sensitive brakes - just a light touch causes the car to jerk suddenly to a stop. A very different feel from my Toyota's more 'even' or 'progressive' brakes, and frankly I hate it.

My friend told me that 'older Honda's are like that'. Can anyone comment if this is in fact the case?

Got the RX-Z back today and drove it back home - about an hour drive. The mechanic seems to have done a good job - the engine ran great. Though I must say the bike is still no powerhouse.

The bad part was, about halfway home I needed to use the horn and signal lights and found they didn't work. They worked fine before the rebuild.. so this remains a mystery. Maybe he forgot to put the battery back in, or didn't hook it up. Will look into it Monday.

Glad to see you here Dutchbike, great photos (though they don't include my favorites, the old/new Belle Rs and Alphas).

Do you happen to know if that shop is open on Saturday? I had told them I would come get my bike on Friday, but it won't be possible.

Just had the engine on this bike rebuilt over at the Yamaha dealer in Khon Kaen (the one that seems to have a lot of experience with older bikes). I haven't picked it up yet, but they told me the total bill is 2,130 baht. Can't wait to have a chance to go pick it up.

Btw, when I dropped the bike off there last week they still had all the old-new bikes for sale: everything from big bikes to Tiaras to old Belle R's with no kilometers, still standing on the showroom floor!

For a while now I've noticed that my mechanic shop puts 20W50 oil in my 30 year old Corolla, which is I think a somewhat unusual grade or weight of oil. I remember back in the USA they usually used 10W30 or something like this. I asked the mechanic about it and he said that a 'heavier' grade of oil was appropriate for such an old engine.

Can anyone comment if he's following a good policy here? I do find that there is a very long period of valve clatter (and oil light) when the engine is first started up in the morning.

got any photos of your corolla ? I'm also a KE-70 owner.

Your car looks very nice, sobmx. Mine is absolutely original, it used to look rather decent but not so nice now (in this photo you can't see the accident on the left front):

http://www.directupload.net/file/d/3599/ujqo7ebf_jpg.htm

Thanks for the posts and pics VocalNeal. WarpSpeed. The car's been starting fine now for a few days. Also I completely forgot to mention that about ten days ago I had new 'points' put in the distributor.. not sure if that could have anything to do with it..

Failure to start? Intermittent? Difficult to say without being there but did it make clicking sounds or did it grind away slowly and not catch? If it happens again, turn on the headlights then turn the key and see if the headlights go dim. If not, it is not the battery/charging circuit it is the starter relay or a loose connection. If no clicking at all it could be the key switch. Also could be stuck brushes in the starter, wallop oops sorry tap stater with a hammer!

When the problem occurs it clicks but no grinding whatsoever. That is, the starter does not engage at all.

WarpSpeed, the repairman did mention that (in Thai) as a possibility, but you know it wasn't super clear at the time.

I guess a new starter may, in the end, be the cure.

Just a thought - if the car doesn't start due to this 'dead spot' in the starter, could I simply push the car slightly and let out the clutch to nudge the starter/motor into a different position? Or would doing that not effect this position?

The car started fine today after 2 days sitting, took it in to my regular shop today, he said the battery and alternator were fine, tip-top even, but that he wasn't 100% sure about the starter, so he sent me to an electrical specialist shop. There they checked it out and said all three were fine - battery, alternator, and starter. The car continues to start perfectly. So.. I wonder what is going on? Intermitten problem? Those are the worst.