mania

I think that clip kind of over emphasizes the sound because it is an on board camera & who knows where it is mounted

They dont sound as bad whizzing by

But yeah still not a roar of pistons

I like both Love at First Bite and Butter is Better, but IMO, Butter is Better is the better of the two. I don't think that the prices are much different, but have not thought about it much.

I have actually never tried BisB deserts

Because when I am there I leave so stuffed on banana pancakes & bacon I

never look .

Will have to remember to stop in one day on a desert only mission

Not making much horsepower for the weight, though it does have impression torque figures

Well actually that is true if we use a Panigale as a yardstick

But given the current crop of what is widely available here I think

their 113hp@414 lbs is not too bad

Power to weight ratio of 0.27

Other examples in Thailand would be

Ducati Monster = 0.23

Kawasaki Z800 = 0.22

Honda cbr600rr= 0.25

Kawasaki 650 = 0.15

Kawasaki Z1000= 0.27 ....same as this Yammie

Now back to that Panigale 0.54 baby !!!

Oh I wish I had one for grins

you are right mania.

fz8 is 8900 usd - 275.000 thb in USA and it is 500 k here so we can see fz 09 less than 500 k if the dealer will not get greedy.

Actually $7990 MSRP in USA

http://www.yamahamotorsports.com/sport/products/modelspecs/685/0/specs.aspx

Says available September 2013

in the USA

it is a a lot of bike for that price and i liked the possibility of seeing it here in Thailand for 500 k THB.

It is going to retail in the West for less than 248k THB

So even using the cost twice as much here rule it should come in under 500k

Looks like a really tight track...motards maybe?

it is a tight track layout and the photos are deceptive on the depth of field. This is on 35 Rai of land and not 35 acres, so its compact

I like tight

The tighter the better I say !

Yes tracks

As a side note look at track shapes from the MotoGP site.

Pretty cool to see them all on one page

http://www.motogp.com/en/calendar+circuits

Would greedy be a better term to use?, banks are taking 4 lots of profit on one transfer, first you have a charge to send the money,then another charge from some intermediary bank,then a charge from the bank in Thailand to receive MY money, then another profit on exchanging the money into Baht, The banks know we have no options ,so its easy for them to take advantage of the customer, I don't expect the service provided to be free,just fair. regards Worgeordie

Personally having used the services many times I just dont see it as greedy

I looked back at my records & a transfer of $25,000 USD cost $25 all in

$10 BKB-NY $15 in Thailand

edit: sorry had a mistake in there & re-typed.

But I do think it is reasonable as when I lived in the US & used my own bank the charge

was 40-45 USD

Ever use some US banks? Or worse yet something like Western Union etc.?

I like the looks of it, surprised to see the torque number so low though, I would have thought it to be higher given it's 3 cylinders.

Number of cylinders has no impact on torque

It always comes back to Bore x Stroke 78.0 x 59.1mm

or B/S ratio which in this bikes case is 1.31

More revs & HP less torque

There is a lot to like there @ 414 lbs & over 113 Horsepower @ 10,000 RPM +

65lbs of torque

I agree some things like the 1 piece saddle would look better with 2 seat setup

but same as the Ducati Monster so a back section cover will dress that up a lot.

For a non fairing bike it is rather husky/good looking.Nice swingarm section & forks.

Exhaust setup looks good for a stock setup would look great with a black can Arrow on there.

Has nice fenders, pegs etc...

Yeah pretty nice all in all

Could be a real hooligan bike if available at full power & low price.

Yeah that whole thing at Yamaha with Cal is confusing

I imagine their budget is full or close but if Rossi does retire then Cal maybe?

But Cal is not that young either & folks are seeing guys like Marquez now.

I think it would be cool if Cal hooked up with Suzuki though.

@Kwasaki Do you mean VR is talking with Suzuki too? How long was his Yamaha contract for?

@BT: I agree what was Tom thinking eh? Also I have thought the same about Checa & wondered whats what.

it doesnt look like it is about to turn into a robot and walk away.

Thanks made me smile

This also from their page looks good & flowing too

Looks like a really tight track...motards maybe?

I think it is just the angle of that shot.

Also tracks need tight section if not it is just a HP race & very boring

But here is a full shot from their FB page. If they stick to this it does seem to have

plenty of straight

http://www.yamahamotorsports.com/sport/products/modelhome/685/0/home.aspx

Yeah agree with above posts.

I think this could be a bike we see in Thailand & yes I do think they are getting better.

The bike we see here I mean.

You know Honda & their MSX 125 or what ever they call it? They should take that concept & just

go full size & increase cc with it. I really think it would be a hit here.

I think many times Bangkok Bank gets unfairly accused of exorbitant fees for transfers.

But the reality is they are very reasonable. I have transferred millions of Baht & never been charged

what I thought was exorbitant fees.

I transfer from the US using the ACH system & go through Bangkok Bank NY but I believe the fees are the same from UK etc.

The US fees are spelled out here

http://www.bangkokbank.com/bangkokbank/personalbanking/dailybanking/transferingfunds/TransferringIntoThailand/ReceivingFundsfromUSA/Pages/ReceivingFundsfromUSA.aspx

Transferred Amount

Fee (USD)

Not more than USD 50.00

Free

USD 50.01 - 100.00

3.00

USD 100.01 - 2,000.00

5.00

USD 2,000.01 - 50,000.00

10.00

USD 50,000.01 or more

20.00

That is the fee on the sending end which goes to Bangkok Bank NY. About half of what most banks in the US charge which is usually $45+

After that there is a small % fee on the Thailand end of receiving end averaging 200 but not to exceed 500 baht again quite reasonable

I think many times what is overlooked by upset posters is the fee that their own bank had tacked onto the transaction.

That is really the place to save money.

By using a local Bangkok Bank whether that be the USA NY branch or UK,Japan,Korea,Israel,Switzerland

then it becomes a local transfer at that end & not subject to the International transfer fee that most banks tack on in those countries.

Of course transferring small amounts of $300/10,000 THB it is going to seem more costly percentage wise.

A classic, hardcore Honda 250 Supermoto

What engine is in there? The only one I remember with twin exhausts was the XR350

Good Eye Neilly

Recently I was impressed with Moto3 GP & the Honda's having the twin exhaust port.

One for each titanium valve on a single cylinder 250

I had forgotten they use to do this with the XR engine back when too. Albeit not with titanium valves

Am I right to think that getting them from immigration requires a non-immigrant visa, but from the embassy only requires some proof of address such as a utility bill or bank statement sent to your address in Thailand?

I dont know about other embassies or consulates but at the US consulate in ChiangMai I have bought 3 or 4 of these already.

They do not require any proof of anything at all except your passport.

Then you swear to live where you claim & they stamp the form & charge you $50 USD or a little more if paying by Baht

It is better to hear of a price increase than a long time business going under.

Good Luck to you & hope to try your food soon.

Seeing more of this lately online.

http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pianetariders.it%2F2013%2F06%2Fnuova-yamaha-mt-09-3-cilindri-giapponese-da-847-cc-in-arrivo-a-settembre%2F31701

I think they're intent on having small bike dragracing there as well. The crazy Thai guys and those screaming, gutted out 2 strokes.

The most scary thing on those are the bicycle tires

The problem I imagine with a silent bike is the wildlife might not hear you coming

Hey Garry what is this all about??

https://www.facebook.com/ChiangraiCircuitRaceway

They have a track in Chiang Rai ?