Motorbike Noobie: New/Used? BKK Shops? Etc.

[OliverKlozerof]

Will probably get motorbike license this week. Then probably decide on a motorbike. A friend has Honda Wave and seems pretty good for many purposes (can get around town, plus go up/down hills). Better to buy new? Good places to look/shop? Thx.

[johng]

Honda wave is a very popular, cheap, reliable and easy to fix if it does go wrong bike...there are sometimes good deals to be had on re-possessed finance bikes at the dealership

( lots of times though the deal isn't very good)  second hand you take your chances  but as said they are easy to fix.

if you "need" brand new then "up to you"

[OneMoreFarang]

If you are new to bikes it's obviously good if you have local people with local knowledge to rely on.

If a friend has a Wave and you like that kind of bike and he can recommend a good place for service then go for it.

I think many bikes in that category are equally good.

Think about what you want to do with it. If you want to use it for shopping then make sure it has some storage space.

If you want to use it all the time in heavy traffic make sure it's small and nimble.

And it's a good idea not to start with too much power. A 125 or 150cc is good for a start.

Take it easy and get used to all those crazy drivers.

[OliverKlozerof]

2 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Think about what you want to do with it. If you want to use it for shopping then make sure it has some storage space.

If you want to use it all the time in heavy traffic make sure it's small and nimble.

And it's a good idea not to start with too much power. A 125 or 150cc is good for a start.

Take it easy and get used to all those crazy drivers.

Thanks, OMF. Yes, I've been thinking about it. Yes, as you say, I can definitely see see how 'small and nimble' would be best for weaving through all the traffic in BKK. Since I plan to do the motorbike driving test in the next couple days, today I rented a bike not far from where I live. I rented a Honda Click automatic scooter up in Mae Sai last month and my friend, who had a Wave, helped me  learn to ride. The shop I rented from today didn't have a Click, but had an analogous Yamaha (forgot the model; it's down in the parking garage of my building now). Initial impression is it's similar to the Click, but seems to be heavier--leans more when turning.
Today I was thinking (after weaving through the jam on upper Sukhumvit), that yes, small and nimble would be best for this. And since I hadn't ridden since Mae Sai, my hands weren't used to it and started to feel fatigued and a bit numb. I've heard bigger bikes vibrate less and are better for longer trips. In Mae Sai, my Click was not good for riding up in the mountains; specifically, poor for the long descents, which is where the ability to downshift is essential. So, if I eventually buy, gears is best. I think his Wave was 125cc. But he said that was still a bit small for a longer trip, as it still vibrated his hands a lot. So for longer trips, maybe you need at least 150cc? Or maybe 250cc kind of minimum for say, riding to Hua Hin or Pattaya or even Chiang Mai? But then probably a 250cc would not be 'nimble' enough for weaving through BKK. So maybe there's no one bike that 'does it all?'
One guy I met in Chiang Rai said he actually had his (bigger) bike shipped from Ko Samui back to Chiang Rai for cheap (around B1000?), but that it got slightly damaged. So, if he had to do it again, he might try to put it in a crate.

[OneMoreFarang]

9 hours ago, OliverKlozerof said:

Thanks, OMF. Yes, I've been thinking about it. Yes, as you say, I can definitely see see how 'small and nimble' would be best for weaving through all the traffic in BKK. Since I plan to do the motorbike driving test in the next couple days, today I rented a bike not far from where I live. I rented a Honda Click automatic scooter up in Mae Sai last month and my friend, who had a Wave, helped me  learn to ride. The shop I rented from today didn't have a Click, but had an analogous Yamaha (forgot the model; it's down in the parking garage of my building now). Initial impression is it's similar to the Click, but seems to be heavier--leans more when turning.
Today I was thinking (after weaving through the jam on upper Sukhumvit), that yes, small and nimble would be best for this. And since I hadn't ridden since Mae Sai, my hands weren't used to it and started to feel fatigued and a bit numb. I've heard bigger bikes vibrate less and are better for longer trips. In Mae Sai, my Click was not good for riding up in the mountains; specifically, poor for the long descents, which is where the ability to downshift is essential. So, if I eventually buy, gears is best. I think his Wave was 125cc. But he said that was still a bit small for a longer trip, as it still vibrated his hands a lot. So for longer trips, maybe you need at least 150cc? Or maybe 250cc kind of minimum for say, riding to Hua Hin or Pattaya or even Chiang Mai? But then probably a 250cc would not be 'nimble' enough for weaving through BKK. So maybe there's no one bike that 'does it all?'
One guy I met in Chiang Rai said he actually had his (bigger) bike shipped from Ko Samui back to Chiang Rai for cheap (around B1000?), but that it got slightly damaged. So, if he had to do it again, he might try to put it in a crate.

If you have the chance to ride a few bikes then do it!

Vibrations are not the same on all bikes, not even the same on bike types. It is obviously important what you actually feel form the vibrations from the engine.

Personally I like gear and clutch and a front brake on the right and a break pedal. If you get used to that then you are able to ride any big bike (at least technically). I think it's always amazing how many people, also in this forum, are used to a small bike with automatic and later they look for a big bike with automatic - simply because they never got used to gears. Start with gears and you will never have any upgrade problem.

 

Here on TV are a couple of interesting threads where people look for the "best" bike. I started one of them. Maybe it's interesting for you to read it:

 

[jackdd]

11 hours ago, OliverKlozerof said:

So maybe there's no one bike that 'does it all?'

Of course there is never a bike that does it all, in theory one would need at least three bikes, but imho a Honda PCX or Yamaha Nmax is a quite good compromise. I personally travelled most of Thailand on my Honda PCX, which was ok, and driving in Bangkok traffic with it is also ok.

 

11 hours ago, OliverKlozerof said:

I've heard bigger bikes vibrate less

Not necessarily. The least vibrations have scooters where the engine is attached to the rear wheel. A Honda Wave has the engine mounted at the frame, so you feel more vibrations than with for example a Honda Click.

If you compare bigger bikes it depends on so many factors that it's difficult to tell beforehand and you would have to try it.

 

2 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I think it's always amazing how many people, also in this forum, are used to a small bike with automatic and later they look for a big bike with automatic - simply because they never got used to gears.

I've ridden (and still riding) both types of bikes, and would prefer bikes (also cars) with automatic transmission any time, much more comfortable to ride. Sadly only Honda is making big bikes with automatic transmission so the choices are limited.

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, jackdd said:

Honda PCX or Yamaha Nmax is a quite good compromise.

They are BIG, not much power but BIG size. I always see them blocking the traffic while smaller bikes would get through.

I call them bathtub but some people in this forum don't like that name. ????

 

[johng]

34 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I call them bathtub

I would agree with that name..large, bloated plastic bathtubs ????

others have called then "Katoey hairdresser mobiles"

[richard_smith237]

Personal experience: I was a newbie 10 months ago...  (and still am in many respects). 

 

For my first bike I chose safety beyond any other consideration and went with the Yamaha TriCity 155cc with ABS.

I found the two front wheels and ABS incredibly reassuring - Handheld controls were simple (fully automatic - no clutch / no gears - two brake levers - one a dual lever, the other front brake only). 

Storage was / is good - I can store the Full Face helmet under the seat. 

 

I would have no hesitation in recommend this as a first bike / scooter for city / town riding....  where as a newbie you need to concentrate on the traffic conditions, road surface, idiots around you until taking preventative action / riding 'extremely' defensively becomes second nature.

 

That said: Fully automatic will obviously not help you greatly descending the big hills and once you have 'settled in' to riding you may find you want something a little larger to 'get up' those big hills you mention. 

 

After a year I have moved on to a larger 300cc bike with gears and have found the past 10 months useful in understanding how differently motorcyclists are respected on the roads compared to cars (I've been driving here for over 15 years). 

 

I'm still in two minds with what to do with my TriCity - its only 10 months old and only has about 2000 Km on it - its still brand new and for its storage its extremely useful for a quick '7-11' or 'Big-C' run...  But, it does feel a little wasteful to have two bikes which both handle the city well and thus I may ultimately and disappointingly find myself selling it. 

 

 

There is some great advice and comments on this Motorcycle forum, one of the best forums on ThaiVisa.com IMO. 

 

 

 

[OliverKlozerof]

6 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

If you have the chance to ride a few bikes then do it!

Vibrations are not the same on all bikes, not even the same on bike types. It is obviously important what you actually feel form the vibrations from the engine.

Personally I like gear and clutch and a front brake on the right and a break pedal. If you get used to that then you are able to ride any big bike (at least technically). I think it's always amazing how many people, also in this forum, are used to a small bike with automatic and later they look for a big bike with automatic - simply because they never got used to gears. Start with gears and you will never have any upgrade problem.

 

Here on TV are a couple of interesting threads where people look for the "best" bike. I started one of them. Maybe it's interesting for you to read it:

 

Thanks again. If I get time later I'd take a look at the thread.