ClareQuilty

Never understood the teachers that come here pleading poverty, simply go back to your own country and teach(need qualifications obviously) where you can earn 4-5 times as much, there is no way i would try to do the job im qualified for over here i would be on about 20% of what i could earn in my home country

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Teachers here merely have a degree. The qualifications to teach back home are very specific - in most countries you essentially spend most of your university career planning/preparing to be a teacher.

Obviously people with those specific qualifications that do work here typically get a higher salary (typically in international schools in Bangkok), but they are only a tiny percentage of 'farang' teachers in Thailand.

But lets get back to the topic of old motorbikes, eh?

My stepfather works in Thailand as a teacher and he is neither in a state of poverty or desperate...........

Nice to see you have a big broad brush that you tar all and sundry with as being the same.

My apologies, I meant no offense. Certainly some people have other incomes from 'back home' and are only working for amusement or the 'teacher visa'. But for many of us, we actually live on the salary paid, so - objectively speaking - it isn't a lot of money.

I'm surprised there's such a big market for old 2 stroke bike rentals in

Issan, even the poorest family seems to have a bike or two up there.

Who are you renting them to? It must be a thriving business if you need 9

of them, I'm surprised you have time to handle all the comings and

goings of your customers seeing as you're so busy teaching you don't

have time to even pick up a bike from the police station.

To foreigners, obviously. Who else would rent a motorbike? Typically teachers cannot afford to buy a newer motorbike, and if they will only stay a year (or sometimes less), its not really worth the trouble. Let's face it, generally speaking the foreigner teacher is in a state of poverty here - only the desperate would consider working for 30,000 baht/month.

However I don't really need 9: I typically only have 4-5 rented. I just like to play with old bikes. About 3 of my bikes are really just 'projects' in a sense, with 5-6 of them being really solid and reliable. The old Honda Tenas and the Smile I have are just as reliable as any new bike.

Sounds like you have an amazing collection of unreliable rental bikes.

They're extremely reliable, as I said above. Typically the rental bike will need a repair once in a few months. Very good bikes. The niggling problems I've had are mostly with the 2-3 bikes I have just for my own toys (clutch bikes - the renter can't drive clutch typically).

How do you just forget about leaving a motor bike in a car park? Was it registered?

I knew it was there, I just forgot to go move it. Time slips by when you are working a lot.

No I haven't picked it up yet - I find it difficult to visit the police station during 'business hours' as I'm busy during that time. I have been told by Thai people that they keep the bikes pretty much indefinitely - don't normally sell them off. I'll make it down there one day, I'm sure.

The bike's not that bad except that after running for about 15 minutes it konks out. So, for 15 minute runs, its fine transportation.

One minute you're complaining that repairs cost a few hundred baht, and now you can't be bothered to spend an hour or so to collect a bike that's worth several thousand baht?

I'm not sure if you're trolling or just lack the ability to prioritize. I suspect the former, but just in case I'm wrong, I would suggest you sell all of these old 2 strokes (assuming they actually exist) and put a deposit down on a new 110cc Honda Wave. The amount you would save on repairs and fuel bills each month would probably pay for the monthly repayment on the new bike. And in 3 years it would still run great and be worth 60% of what you paid.

No way buddy. I rent these bikes out. And a Wave like that would be boring. If I wanted to simplify, I'd sell all but the best 2 or 3 of my bikes. Actually the marvel with my old bikes is not anything negative but the fact that most of them are so reliable. The several old Honda Tena two strokes I have virtually never break, and always run well. And also generally speaking, it is the older four-strokes which tend to give more trouble than the old two-strokes.

Basically my only problems are very few considering I paid less for a dozen bikes than one new automatic would cost: I got one Yamaha Fresh that was a total lemon, and out of about 9 two-strokes, two have had some minor fuel leaks and slight insufficience of torque. Not so bad eh? So lets leave aside the idea that 'newer is better' - its not.

As for 'trolling' - why would you think that? I merely share the ordinary experiences of a poor teacher in Isaan: there are many of us. I will eventually go pick up the Fresh from the police, but as I have said - the bike doesn't really work, and I know it isn't going anywhere, and finally I work for a living, so I have no time to go get it when the police office is open.

No I haven't picked it up yet - I find it difficult to visit the police station during 'business hours' as I'm busy during that time. I have been told by Thai people that they keep the bikes pretty much indefinitely - don't normally sell them off. I'll make it down there one day, I'm sure.

The bike's not that bad except that after running for about 15 minutes it konks out. So, for 15 minute runs, its fine transportation.

I forgot one of my old Yamaha Fresh's on a parking lot for a few weeks, and they had the police come and haul it away (I know because the security guards told me). The bike's a bit of a lemon and doesn't really run very well for very long, so I haven't been motivated to go to the police station to try to get it, and its been there a month or six weeks now. Does anyone have any experience with this sort of thing? What charges might there be? If there's anything significant at all I won't bother to pick it up.

Ahh the usual weekly cry for help, by CQ

CQ,

Do you have a spare bedroom and beer? Sounds like I need to come for a week end and have a gander at your bikes.

Well, you should bring a big truck with you, to load his/her collection of unreliable crap dinosaur bikes and recycle them to something useful..

Well thanks VocalNeal you're always welcome, I have a couple of spare rooms but like most spare rooms in Thailand they're useless because no air-conditioning.

As for you Turtleton, I wouldn't call my bikes 'unreliable' - I mean, they get me where I'm going just fine 99% of the time. To say a bike 'is lacking in torque' doesn't mean it is unreliable. Its just a minor adjustment. It is true I've had one lemon and maybe one or two so-so bikes, but after buying at least a dozen in the 3,000-6,000 baht range, most of them are good - a 90% success rate isn't bad.

I finally got my Suzuki Akira's long running fuel leak problem fixed - a 650 baht part was replaced and it hasn't leaked since.

However, there's another problem that is I'm sure unrelated to that fix, as it manifested long before and hasn't been effected by that repair - the bike has a lot less torque than when I first got it. This manifests itself both off the line, and in its ability to maintain speed in very high gears. Basically 6th gear is virtually unusable now, and the bike will not go over 80 - it used to pull along very nicely at 80-90 in 6th. Now, if I shift into 6th, it just slowly loses speed even with the throttle all the way open.

What could be causing this? No parts were changed, just different mechanics fiddling with the 'tuning' or 'mixture' of the bike, I assume. I haven't changed the gearing or anything.

It still accelerates fairly well if you 'wind it up', but there's almost no power at all below about 3,000-4,000 RPMs. I know everyone will say 'its a two stroke', but it really wasn't like that before, there was a nice strong pull up to 4,000 and then more above that. It really isn't very enjoyable to drive a bike that as nothing below 3-4k.

Frightfully dangerous, yes. Probably unreasonable to do it, but... those of us who teach here can't afford cars, so that's it - either ride a motorbike or just sit at home when the song-taew's not running (or not going where you want to go).

I've been going out for about 30 minutes each afternoon on the bike, just in the smaller local lower-speed type of sois to get a pad-grapao beef and head back home. Always get doused but not too badly - they don't 'ask' me if it is ok though! Then, I shift to the car for the rest of the day for longer trips. I couldn't take this stuff for more than those 30 minutes to be honest, and I don't think it would be safe to drive a bike either very fast anywhere or at all in the 'designated water-throwing sois'.

Did get squirted once right at the cash register of my favorite local Amazon Coffee, (in the air-conditioning!).. but it was a tiny squirt gun and done fondly (I go there every day), so I didn't mind a bit.

Denouement of this story: the friend traded this Hayate in on a nearly new Honda Spacey. The Spacey was priced at 29,000, and after valuing the Suzuki at around 7,000 baht, and knocking off a bit for title transfer costs, etc., it only reduced the cost of the Spacey by 5,000 in the trade in. I almost jumped in to buy the thing for 7,000, but too many people around here know it as a 'death machine' to be able to rent or sell it.

The Spacey is much more economical than the Hayate, but also a lot slower.

don't think the poster who claimed he has 4m Baht in cash is a teacher making 50k Baht a month.

Funny thing is, the great majority of we teachers make a lot less than 50,000 baht/month. In fact 30-35k is not unusual. And this at a time of very rapidly increasing cost of living (and salaries) in Thailand. In fact Thai teachers typically make about the same as 'farang'. So, its even worse than you think.

They have any Cheers in stock?

So it probaly was the fuel tap leaking into the manifold, this would give it extra fuel, perhaps raise the carb needle on the throttle slide to richen it a bit, should run better,,

How can I communicate 'make it run richer' to the mechanic? I know that 'run' is 'wing', right? So, I usually just say 'wing mai-dee'. But how to specify 'richer' I have no idea...

Less than 6,000 baht.

Thanks all for your comments. Today I bit the bullet and spent 105 baht
to have the oil changed.. bike's running and driving fine, no apparent
damage after a week or two of running with about 50% car oil in it. I
did examine the oil when he drained it and the color did look really
weird - kind of a light-honey color

...probably get a couple years the way he is using this bike anyway having more than 1 bike. Oil on the road a drag but thats a different issue entirely.

Just a little point about the 'oil in the road' - the oil leak is much too slow to effect the road. Its maybe a drop every few minutes or less, and takes nearly a whole month for the oil to get 'low'. So, it leaves a puddle in the parking area over a day or a week, but in a normal 5-10 kilometer trip there will only be a few tiny drops left on the road - not enough to cause anyone to slip or something like that.

have about ten bikes, harrry.

Awww don't be greedy - lemme have one

Most of them are for sale, wolf - around 6-8k mostly. Or rent

Yes! Love Don Muang.

There are numerous posts like this. I just don't understand why people harp on about the good old days with DM being a far better airport. How quickly people forget. It was a horrible, dreadful airport. Too far away, horrible parking facilities, no mass transit option (I'm not counting Don Muang railway station), dark and dingy, terrible food and beverage outlets. It was awful.

In every respect SVB is a far superior airport. Seriously, why the love for DMK?

For me, mainly it was cheap. I was able to eat there quite a bit more cheaply than at SVB. I really like dingy, old, cheap, shabby things, and despite the new and shiny.

Oh yes almost forgot - there sure was a mass transit option and I used it all the time - the 'airport bus'. I only ever used the Sukhumvitt line (never stayed over there in nasty Cow-san), 100 baht into town and 50 from town to the airport. Great deal and convenient.

Yes! Love Don Muang.

Hang on ....so you have 4 bikes or are a troll. I suspect the latter from looking at the threads you have started.

People wonder why when they place a=genuine posts they do not get replies, it is because of trolls.

I have about ten bikes, harrry.

Finally took the bike to a different mechanic, and he has totally sorted out the fuel leak - however, the bike is considerably weaker. There seems to be a clear relationship between the leak and the bikes optimal running. Why would this be?

Absolutely unbelievable! Why aren't you cable tying an old baked bean tin to the underside to collect the oil that drips out? You wouldn't have worry about using your fresh oil resources then.

Actually that's a great idea! I never thought of that. Anyway it would keep the parking area at the house a bit cleaner.

It drips out so slowly it would only be necessary during periods of parking - not during driving!

Where does the lost oil go? The answer is into the air as pollution and onto the road as a road hazard for all road users.

With the low cost of labour here and the high cost of oil it is worth considering fixing te bike.

It drips out on the ground under the bike, making a puddle where it is parked. If its parked just a few hours its just a little 2 inch wet spot, at the house where its usually parked there's a big oily patch.

They say it can't be fixed, reporting that 'someone has epoxied up the engine' or something to that effect in Thai.