Chiangmai - Car & Bike Lover - Show Us Your " Ride " - Photo Gallery

[Crow Boy]

Must say I'm very gratified to see such a host of real bikes here. I'm afraid I'm one of those who consider Harleys & the like little more than noise machines. No power, which is always a help 'cos they have no brakes either.

Used to suffer a monthly Harley Club meeting at the bar next to my restaurant in London.

Ahem - most people who have never ridden Harleys have similar opinions as this. The Harley is a tourer not a sport bike although a 1200 SS sportster is a quick bike with very good handling. It will not catch a similar capacity rice rocket but they aren't designed for it either.

I have had three Harleys over the years:

This is a FLH Shovel Head, that I bought as a basket case, the motor was a S&S imported direct from the US It is 100cubic INCH stuffed full of Edelbrock aftermacket parts and very hot bike. For those of you with good eyesight may notice, on the RHS is the Kick Start, not electric start on this baby. I could leave it unlocked with the key in the ignition and be secure in the knowledge that it wouldn't be stolen because do it right and it will start on first kick unless cold but do it wrong and the slap back will either launch you over the handlebars or leave a bruise on the back of the calf for a month. I did a lot of mileage on that bike and it was very reliable. Classic machine with huge amount of street cred and presence. It had a pair of pipe on it that would sit at idle and puff at about 500rpm, but crack back the throttle and she would roar.

The second Harley - I got this one after I sold the Shovel, it is a Softtail custom which had the front end converted over to a springer. I put 68,000 kilometres on that bike in 16 months riding around Australia. I did many days of 1,000km plus on straight through runs and never had any problems. Motor got a mild Screaming Eagle warm up but was pretty much stock. The sustension is lowered and fitted Fernales Air shocks. It is not a high speed racer but a very comfortable touring bike.

My last Harley was a Twin Cam Wide Glide, it got fitted up with a 105 Cubic Inch motor and a lot of other stuff. It was used as a street ride but did pretty impressive 1/4 mile spit times. Again a GSX1100 would beat it but that bike like all the other Harleys was a chick magnet. I don't own a Harley anymore and would be extremely unlikely to buy one here. The problem for Harley was they became popular until they were like bums - every arseh*le wanted one.

I have had a wide variety of machines and all of them have different characteristics that I love and hate. I had an old BMW horizontally opposed boxer motor R85 that was a brilliant machine for touring but had pretty woeful cornering ability. I owned and raced high end Rice Rockets and spent way too much money on Ducatis, Laverdas, and a MV Agusta.

Now I ride a CBR150 which is the smallest bike I have had since I was 12 years old - I love it and it keeps me happy. The bike is reliable and cheap to maintain. No longer the days of buying two tires and having to shell out $500. A chain, front and rear sprocket on my last Kawasaki was $300 and a Metzeller rear tyre about the same. Last weekend I had a complete work over on the CBR - new airfilter, fuel filter, oils, plug, and hydrolic fluids - total price 485 Baht - bargain. I gave the mechanic a 50Baht tip and he was thrilled, the girl on the cashier desk got the 15B change. All up everyone happy.

CB

[p1p]

My experience of Harleys is, admittedly, limited. I was made heavily prejudiced against them due to manu, many years of monthly meetings congregating outside my "serious" restaurant. They used to have drag runs up the street outside and the noise was enough to shake the silverware off the tables. We did almost no trade on those days.

Furthermore, my biking friends, almost all policemen or ex-servicemen, were particularly disparaging about the breed.

On my ST I had many long runs, the longest being just over 800 miles in one day and I normally found I got off the bike almost as fresh as I started off. It would cruise all day at high speed, I once had an extended period at 145mph with a pillion passenger on an autobahn.

I accept that Harleys may not be as I have come to believe, but I'm afraid they are not for me. My old ST is the bike I really covet now.

[Crow Boy]

My experience of Harleys is, admittedly, limited. I was made heavily prejudiced against them due to manu, many years of monthly meetings congregating outside my "serious" restaurant. They used to have drag runs up the street outside and the noise was enough to shake the silverware off the tables. We did almost no trade on those days.

Furthermore, my biking friends, almost all policemen or ex-servicemen, were particularly disparaging about the breed.

On my ST I had many long runs, the longest being just over 800 miles in one day and I normally found I got off the bike almost as fresh as I started off. It would cruise all day at high speed, I once had an extended period at 145mph with a pillion passenger on an autobahn.

I accept that Harleys may not be as I have come to believe, but I'm afraid they are not for me. My old ST is the bike I really covet now.

Harleys definitely attract morons like sh1t does flies - I really went off them when the whole HOG thing was getting to be the latest craze. Every idiot and his wife had to get onto one. The Dealerships made a fortune out of selling brand new bikes for $30,000 plus to people who couldn't ride them. The same dealerships were filled with second hand bikes that were 2 years old and less than 3,000km on the clock. These same people were the ones putting big pipes on the bikes and having drag races up the street in residential areas. The real club riders would put together a scratch team and front up to the drags each month where it was run by real hard core guys who don't take any crap from anyone and are not in the least bit interested in listening to these stains. It was shut up and ride or get out. The drags were very serious and a lot of great people got involved. It had a very high level of profesionalism and was a lot of fun. The ride home past the police checkpoints were a pain in the butt though as they tried to be funny.

Most of my friends rode a collection of bikes and there was very little in the way of the marquis rivalry between them. A great group in Australia is the Ulysses Club which has the motto of "growing old disgracefully" They have no criteria on breed of bike - just keep up or meet you there and party hard.

Have to be over 40 to join and a great collection of riders with many years experience. The group I rode with was the Longriders and they did have a criteria of owning a Harley but it was for serious long distance tourers only. Weekend wannabes don't even apply, instead go to Phuket and join the Jesters or something similar

I dropped a lot of my attitude with bike breeds a long time ago and discovered that it was a lot more fun afterwards just being around people who care about and know about their bikes. I couldn't care if this person has a Ducati or a Honda - I like them if they ride not just polish the darn thing all day.

CB

[Ta22]

i love riding too , and i had done .

short trip of 600 km , to longer trip of 1000km - 1500km .

on different time frame .

and i had done it at very slow speed , so that i enjoy the view and stop offen just to take a short Nap .

riding long distance is like having a ZEN outing , where you can just listen to the one humming sound of the bike and is like some kinda meditation .

oh i do all this trip to change seng , chang kong , mae sai , lamphun , lampang , Tak , mae sot , bangkok , kanchanaburi ,

all this on my Faithful .. 100cc honda dream .

[tigerbeer]

A great group in Australia is the Ulysses Club which has the motto of "growing old disgracefully" They have no criteria on breed of bike - just keep up or meet you there and party hard.

CB

sorry CB could not resist

Edited May 21, 2007 by tigerbeer

[Blinky Bill]

This is my old favourite which I owned back in the 70's

Ducati 900SS - I had several of them and a couple of 750SS. At one time in my living room I had a two 900SS a 750SS a 900SD and the Mike Hailwood replica. Anyone who has owned old Ducatis will always have a soft spot for them despite their quirks.

CB

Sadly I stacked this one pretty severely back in '79. Lucky enough to have gotten away with skun, blackened (bruised) nuts, a broken finger and a few more bruises. Still managed to make 3 kids.

Mine was a '76 model with the gears on the left in the now conventional 1 down then all up. Back then my mate Jay had a '75 model with the gears on the right which were 1 up then all down. Both were kick start. We often swapped just to confuse ourselves.

Jay still has his along with his other 36 bikes in Oz. He is the current NSW Historical Bike Champ for old farts riding a methanol 2 stroke Yamaha 250 from the 60's. He managed 2nd in the Ozzie Championships.

[Ulysses G.]

A great group in Australia is the Ulysses Club which has the motto of "growing old disgracefully"

Thanks.

Now I can pretend that I thought up my nick with these guys in mind!

[Ta22]

Just out of FUn i am planning to get my 7th car . i am thinking of a Suzuki Sj413 -

i saw highonthai and i love his car alot -- and make my idea go weird ..

so i am planning to get one . just for fun ..

whahahah off road car here i come .. give me sometime to plan out a what kinda MOD i will do to the Jeep . and then .

if you got a Sj413 for sale let me know also ok

Anyone want a Celica classic ?

i would be keen in selling if we can agree on a price

[Crow Boy]

A great group in Australia is the Ulysses Club which has the motto of "growing old disgracefully"

Thanks.

Now I can pretend that I thought up my nick with these guys in mind!

It is a motto by with I am happy to live

If/when I go back to Oz I will see if I can get you a club T-shirt. I used to ride with some of their members but couldn't join because the Long Riders won't allow a member to belong to any other club.

Ours was Ride Long, Live Hard, Die Happy

CB

[Crow Boy]

A great group in Australia is the Ulysses Club which has the motto of "growing old disgracefully"

Thanks.

Now I can pretend that I thought up my nick with these guys in mind!

Found the contact link for the Ulysses Club Ulysses Club

CB

[p1p]

Most apt for our UG:

Even see some family resemblance somewhere there!

[Crow Boy]

Most apt for our UG:

Even see some family resemblance somewhere there!

I think UG has less facial hair and more nose

CB

[Crow Boy]

A great group in Australia is the Ulysses Club which has the motto of "growing old disgracefully"

Thanks.

Now I can pretend that I thought up my nick with these guys in mind!

Found the contact link for the Ulysses Club Ulysses Club

CB

I have been in contact with the Ulysses Club - they are now international and have a branch in Thailand. I have requested a contact eMail and will advise when I get a reply. It could be fun to set up the Chiang Mai branch of the club. We could park outside p1p's house and do drags up the street while we wait for the local police to turn up before we scatter on our assorted CBR150s and Honda Dreams

CB

[bryuung]

I miss my car...

[p1p]

We could park outside p1p's house and do drags up the street while we wait for the local police to turn up before we scatter on our assorted CBR150s and Honda Dreams

CB

:D

I really must get you to come round and hacve a drink or few. When you are here, you would realise why that is a seriously "Interesting" idea!

[Crow Boy]

We could park outside p1p's house and do drags up the street while we wait for the local police to turn up before we scatter on our assorted CBR150s and Honda Dreams

CB

:D

I really must get you to come round and hacve a drink or few. When you are here, you would realise why that is a seriously "Interesting" idea!

Sounds like a seriously interesting idea

CB

[SoloFlyer]

Expecting this to be complete shortly...

Gone from one of these:

To - hopefully - something like one of these:

Although I'd very much like to have one of these:

[BlackArtemis]

Thats a nice lil Cub

.

My Chaly is in a waiting line for paint and has parts off getting chromed.

I have already begun plans for a second. I found a honda beat (110cc 2v mini crotchrocket) which is beat to hel_l. The plastics are trash, along with 85% of the windscreen missing, the bike has been laid down many times it seems, but it has had an engine overhaul, new brakes and new tires. Soooo for 4,000B I will buy it. I will rip it apart and take away the forks, brakes, engine and maybe the swingarm. Then try to sell the frame and wheels for 1,000B!

I am going to need to cut and weld up the Chaly to fit it all, but it should be a fun project.

I doubt I could mate a cbr150 engine on a chaly

Edited May 26, 2007 by BlackArtemis

[SoloFlyer]

BA, a mate has 2 of those little scooters, we used to zip around on em but they've been gathering dust and rust for a while now. You have a good supplier for spair parts? I think one needs a new kick starter or something.

[BlackArtemis]

BA, a mate has 2 of those little scooters, we used to zip around on em but they've been gathering dust and rust for a while now. You have a good supplier for spair parts? I think one needs a new kick starter or something.

Yeah I go to a shop near (I can't spell it so I will use phonetics) Wat Nan-tah-ram. Right at the entrance there is a bike shop run by A and his wife Ning. I am there quite a bit after work learning about bikes and practicing thai haha. His friend Lek also does a lot of classic mopeds too, they are all well connected. They know their stuff, they are cheap, and super honest, though they don't speak English, but who car . Infact the three of us are headed down to Lamphoon to get some more bikes to build haha. Tell them Mark sent you if you go.

[SoloFlyer]

... some more details of where said temple is at??? - and will go take a looksee. cheers.

[BlackArtemis]

... some more details of where said temple is at??? - and will go take a looksee. cheers.

You almost got a 100% MS paint map until I remembered that this one was in the CM forum.

[SoloFlyer]

Thanxus muchus, appreciate the effort - although it took me a min to realise you'd actually gone to the effort to circle the place... there i was scouring west to east looking for the temple...Doh. Will try to check it out somethime this week.

[BlackArtemis]

Haha not a problem, Pi A (well Pi to me anyways) is a great guy, I highly recommend him for changing a light bulb on a dream to rewiring a superfour. But him and his friends seem to really like the classic bikes like C70's, Chaly's, and older Cafe racer types.

Edited May 28, 2007 by BlackArtemis

[FTB]

Greetings all,

Got a couple of bikes to plod around CNX on. here's one of them, a Kawsaki KLX 300 getting sorted after getting drowned in a surprise sink hole crossing a stream in the Ob Luang National forest. Gorgeous forest up there and unlike anything in California.

Pre- drowning

Done up in motard trim for some pavement scratching near Pu Chee Fa.

Nice to everyones taste in rides. A good eclectic mix of personalities and bikes.

[Crow Boy]

Anyone know where the shop selling Enfield bikes (Indian copies of the Royal Enfield) is in CNX? I was talking on the weekend to someone in a pub - so obviously the information is reliable - that there was a couple of them around town? I have to say I was surprised because I haven't spotted any.

Any clues?

CB

[p1p]

I believe it is in Wualai Road. Just before and almost opposite the big Philips sign on the left as you come into town. I know they do both Chinese and Indian imports.

[Crow Boy]

I believe it is in Wualai Road. Just before and almost opposite the big Philips sign on the left as you come into town. I know they do both Chinese and Indian imports.

Thanks very much - I love the Indian Enfields and the Chicom copies of old BMWs with side car are brilliant. You can rebuild these motorbikes with a shifting spanner, a hammer, and a screwdriver using cardboard from a cornflake packet as the replacement head gasket. I will check out what they have there and what they can get in.

CB

[SoloFlyer]

let us know

[Crow Boy]

let us know

If I can get hold of a 350cc Enfield or 500cc twin - mate EVERYONE will know. Now if I can get the 500cc boxer motor copied from the WW2 BMW with sidecar like they still make in China then it will be happy days are here again. I have a friend in Australia who imported one from China and it has a genuine 200,000 MILES on the clock - he opened up the motor and the gaskets were all waxed cardboard from cerial boxes. A rubber gasket seal had been made out of an old inner tube with two holes punched in it for the bolts holding the parts together. The mechanic had carefully cut the rubber around the parts and made a perfect seal. The design was brilliant and had numerous modification including versions for snow, desert, and mud. The idea was to make them cheap, reliable, and something that an rider could repair with minimum tools and spare parts. The other one I really like is the 350cc single piston Fuch but I don't think they make them anymore. In Australia there were a couple of people importing both Indian Enfields and Chinese Chicoms but the ADR (Australian Design Rules) started to bite down hard and also most people want to buy a shiny new Honda with electric start and real brakes and lights instead of a counterfeit copy of a 50 year old (plus) design. You know you have an old style bike when it has carbon contacts on the ignition and you have to cary a matchbox to buff them when they start to pit.

CB