One Bike to do Everything - Suggestions and Advice Please

[richard_smith237]

8 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

You guys arguing about ABS.............

 

I'm old school..................... had bikes all my life, ridden everything from a moped to a ZX10.I didn't need that new fangled ABS rubbish, I'm a real biker and can handle my bike...........until IT happened!

 

Around 18 months ago I was heading towards Korat in typical heavy but fast moving Thai traffic and moving through it at 100 to 120kph.  I took my eyes off the road for a split second during which another 'typical' thing for Thai traffic happened - it just stopped! 

 

I am 100% certain that I would not be here writing this if my bike didn't have ABS - I would have a Toyota badge implanted in my forehead.  It doesn't matter how good a rider you are, a human cannot react as fast as the ABS does.

 

I would not buy a bike without it now.

 

‘Experts’ will tell you that you were 'outriding the conditions' !!!... but what you have described is a perfectly normal situation on Thai roads....  Its impossible to have your eyes on the traffic in front 100% of the time.... 

 

Exactly the same thing happened to me when I shoulder-checked as I was about to pass traffic in the middle lane, I turned back and the car in front was full on the brakes.... (no car in front of that)....  my ABS came on then !

 

Someone will also point out that ABS will not make you react any quicker to the initial breaking.... which will be true but that is not what you meant....  I think you meant you had to emergency brake and the ABS reacted to a wheel locking up faster than you could have reacted to preventing the wheeling from locking up and thus prevented a skid, or you from dropping the bike... 

... Effectively ABS allowed you get the most out of the bikes braking under emergency conditions. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mikebike]

6 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

I doubt that in an emergency situation I could stop quicker without ABS though without risking dropping the bike.

It would take a me a few attempts to feel out the grip levels etc

This. Some peeps jump on a bike and feel they are comfortable. When I talk to other they seem dumbfounded that I say it takes me 6 month to a year to get to really know a bike and it's idiosyncrasies.

[mikebike]

10 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Anyone turning off the ABS on a road bike on the road would have to be a little bit silly.

I've riden bikes where it intervened way to early for my taste on the road.

[richard_smith237]

Just now, mikebike said:

12 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Anyone turning off the ABS on a road bike on the road would have to be a little bit silly.

I've riden bikes where it intervened way to early for my taste on the road.

 

Isle of Man TT or the North West 200 ????

[Kinnock]

36 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

Take a serious look at the Kawasaki ER6.  I had always had 900 and 1000 sports bikes in the UK but decided that they wouldn't be suitable in Thailand.  I'm partial to road trips but can't be doing with the BMW/Panniers thing, a backpack has always served me well. 

 

I wanted a bike that would be nimble enough for short local trips but had enough power to make touring possible without becoming a chore.

 

I saw a foreign owned ER6N for sale and bought it.  I have to say that once I got used to the downgrade in power (last bike was a ZX9), I made the right choice. I've had the bike for 3 years now (or at least I think I have - I haven't seen it since March 2020), done a few trips and quite a lot of 'local' running and I find the bike perfect for the state of the roads and the use I put it to.

 

Having ridden bigger stuff for many years I was quite surprised at how suited I was with the bike - I wouldn't part with it now.

Yes .... I think I'm leaning towards a Z400 ..... but when I sit on any of the 650 twins, they just seem to fit my 6' body better.  I don't think I need the extra power, but the extra physical size is a bonus plus the relaxed cruising.

 

I've ridden the 300 Kawasaki twin, but need to try a 650.

[KhaoYai]

31 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Effectively ABS allowed you get the most out of the bikes braking under emergency conditions. 

Exactly, I know from experience that had I had 'normal' brakes, I would have hit the car in front. No matter how good those brakes are - and believe me, the ones on my ZX9 were phenomenal, my reaction would have been to simply grab the lever as hard as I can - that's what really happens when we panic. The end result would have been the front wheel locking and me at the very least - hospitalised.

[KhaoYai]

43 minutes ago, mikebike said:

So he cut back in at stupid speed, hauled on the non-ABS brakes with all his experience, and got to see the horrified faces of 2 girls in the backseat of a jeep cj as he controlled a wavering front wheel braking inches from their bumper.

Sorry, there's no time for experience in such circumstances - the brain just kicks into emergency mode, unless your mate is a droid - he was just lucky. I've been lucky too but I wouldn't put my faith in that.

 

Whilst there are circumstances where experience counts - its rare that an emergency allows us much reaction time.

[KhaoYai]

37 minutes ago, Kinnock said:

I've ridden the 300 Kawasaki twin, but need to try a 650.

If you do go for an ER6, fit some Versys bars - much better riding position.

 

Horses for courses but you'll find the 650 a totally different experience to the 300.  Whilst for some, the 300 may be powerful enough, it would be a pain in the proverbial for me on a long run. You asked about an all-rounder - for me the ER fits that bill perfectly.

 

You should also, always go for something a little over your requirements on the basis that too much is better than too little.

[richard_smith237]

6 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

Sorry, there's no time for experience in such circumstances - the brain just kicks into emergency mode, unless your mate is a droid - he was just lucky. I've been lucky too but I wouldn't put my faith in that.

 

Whilst there are circumstances where experience counts - its rare that an emergency allows us much reaction time.

 

 

Exactly... this is where the ‘peacocking’ comes into it. 

 

An experienced rider may claim they can stop more effectively without ABS. 

 

They can... If they are riding a bike they know well, on a road they know well, with a surface they know well, with tires they know well.... when the know they have to brake from point A the will be able out out perform ABS. 

 

But, when  an uncertain surface and emergency braking situation, in the vast majority of cases, even for highly experienced riders, ABS will be the difference between scrubbing off critical speed and locking up the front wheel. 

 

Those who say they can ‘better ABS’ in all emergency braking situations are ‘full of it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

Anyway... back on to the topic....

 

Advice: Get a bike with as many rider aids as possible.

 

ABS, Cornering ABS. Traction control (if going 600cc +).

 

 

ER6N and Versys are very popular bikes for a good reason.

 

Also the Honda NCX750 which has storage for a helmet where the fuel tank is...

 

The only issue with these bikes is that they lack a ‘cool factor’....  but if you can get over that... 

 

 

 

[KhaoYai]

2 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Exactly... this is where the ‘peacocking’ comes into it. 

 

An experienced rider may claim they can stop more effectively without ABS. 

I think we've all been guilty of that at some point.  I pooh poo'ed ABS on bikes at one time because of course, I had excellent riding skills.  It was the experience on the way to Korat that totally changed me mind.

[KhaoYai]

4 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

The only issue with these bikes is that they lack a ‘cool factor’....  but if you can get over that... 

This ain't cool?

[KhaoYai]

Gutted! ????

[richard_smith237]

1 minute ago, KhaoYai said:

Gutted! ????

 

Its cool !!!

 

Actually, looks very nice.... but not quite ‘Ducati cool’... 

 

 

[guzzi850m2]

On 6/16/2021 at 12:05 PM, OneMoreFarang said:

It's definitely good to learn "new" skills and ABS is definitely nice to have.

 

I think another problem is that there are just too many (older) guys who buy the newest 1000cc bikes.

Is that a good idea? Sure not!

I had a 400cc VFR400 with about 65HP in Thailand. That thing was a rocket - or at least I thought so. Except on a racetrack and maybe the Autobahn there are few places to ride that "little 400cc bike" up to it's limits.

 

I remember when maybe 40 years ago the first bikes with 100HP were sold. Most riders though it is just crazy to have such a bike on normal roads. Now many 1000cc bikes have about 200HP. Mix that with riders who are not professional racing riders and who use the bike only on good weather weekends and then it's no surprise when too many things go wrong.

Personally I don't think I will ever buy a bike with more than 400 or max 600cc in Thailand. And I am pretty sure I will never be able to use those bikes up to their limits. What's the point in more powerful bikes for "normal people"?

 

 

Well you see very few 1000cc sports-bikes in Thailand but maybe they sell well in EU? In the bike groups I ride with here, only one has a 1000cc S.B. but he only uses it on the track and rides an adventure BMW on the roads. He say that he will likely kill himself if he do, doing wheelies at +160 km/h and all that crazy <deleted>, 555.

 

One point of having a powerful bike is the fun factor, it's huge, the power is always there when you want/need it putting a big smile on my face each time, you don't have to run it to the limit to have fun. My bike is naked so if I go very fast, I can't do it for a very long time because of the wind pressure.

The problem I have now: Most bikes feels boring as hell compared to my own bike and that's a fact. 

 

Below photo is not me but taken from MCN where they gave the bike 5 star out of 5, so we are a few that likes such bikes.

 

https://www.motorcyclenews.com/bike-reviews/yamaha/xsr900/2016/

 

 

 

[piston broke]

2 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

This ain't cool?

 

I remember the days when it wasn't cool to keep saying "cool" every other breedin' word - Now everything's breedin' cool ......

.

[OneMoreFarang]

3 minutes ago, piston broke said:

 

I remember the days when it wasn't cool to keep saying "cool" every other breedin' word - Now everything's breedin' cool ......

.

I thought the kids call everything "sick" today what we used to call "cool" not so long ago.

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, guzzi850m2 said:

Well you see very few 1000cc sports-bikes in Thailand but maybe they sell well in EU? In the bike groups I ride with here, only one has a 1000cc S.B. but he only uses it on the track and rides an adventure BMW on the roads. He say that he will likely kill himself if he do, doing wheelies at +160 km/h and all that crazy <deleted>, 555.

 

One point of having a powerful bike is the fun factor, it's huge, the power is always there when you want/need it putting a big smile on my face each time, you don't have to run it to the limit to have fun. My bike is naked so if I go very fast, I can't do it for a very long time because of the wind pressure.

The problem I have now: Most bikes feels boring as hell compared to my own bike and that's a fact. 

 

Below photo is not me but taken from MCN where they gave the bike 5 star out of 5, so we are a few that likes such bikes.

 

https://www.motorcyclenews.com/bike-reviews/yamaha/xsr900/2016/

 

 

 

Now that bike is ‘rad’ !!! 
 

ya bloody hooligan ! 

[KhaoYai]

3 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Actually, looks very nice.... but not quite ‘Ducati cool’... 

Yeah well, I'd have a 916 (sex on wheels) if I wanted to change the belts all the time but maybe not in Thailand ????.

[KhaoYai]

1 hour ago, guzzi850m2 said:

Well you see very few 1000cc sports-bikes in Thailand but maybe they sell well in EU?

Granted they ain't in hordes but you'd be surprised just how many big sports bikes come through when there's a race on up at Buriram.  Pretty sure the riders are all Thai though.

 

And yes, they sell very well in Europe.

[KhaoYai]

4 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Exactly the same thing happened to me when I shoulder-checked as I was about to pass traffic in the middle lane, I turned back and the car in front was full on the brakes.... (no car in front of that)....  my ABS came on then !

Don't want to turn this into a discussion about Thai driving but this stopping for no apparent reason thing can be a real problem.  A guy in a Fortuner did that in front of me on Mitraphap - a 3 lane highway.  He was in the outside lane and just stopped..........why? He'd seen something in the market at the side of the road so instead of going to the next U turn he just stopped, waited for the traffic to either stop or run into each other and then did a left to the market.  I just could not believe that someone would simply stop and cut across 2 lanes of relatively fast moving traffic to do some shopping but that's exactly what he did - fortunately I was in a car at the time.

 

Still, what can we say?  I saw a woman here in the UK reverse back up to a junction she'd missed on the M1 a couple of years back.

[dddave]

On 6/17/2021 at 11:37 AM, OneMoreFarang said:

Until now I didn't kill or injure anybody with a car or a bike and I try to keep it like that for the future.

And one of my bikes has ABS and I like that - even if that ABS was never active when I was riding that bike

 

What irritates me is this whole trend that more and more cars and bikes have lots of power and lots of electronic functionality to make sure "inexperienced" drivers and riders don't kill themselves or anybody else. If the vehicles wouldn't have so much power then they wouldn't need all that electronic to control it.

 

And then there are cars with so called auto-pilot. And they are sold like they drive themselves. And the "driver" can basically sleep or be drunk and look what happens. That is until the moment when the electronic decides the electronic can't handle the situation anymore. And then drivers who didn't really drive since a long time are supposed to be able to handle difficult emergency situations. What could possibly go wrong? ... 

I do wish the US in particular along with other nations had stepped motorcycle licensing; maybe 50cc-399cc, 400cc-799cc, 800cc++.  Am I correct that Japan has this system?  I really hate the fact that any 18 year old with a wad of money can walk into a dealer and wheelie-off on a 1300cc crotch rocket.

I remember when the rental agencies on Beach Road in Pattaya rented 1200cc Yamaha V-Max's to anybody with a couple of thousand baht to spend: a difficult bike for even an experienced rider.  I'd browse through the free Pattaya newspapers and it wasn't at all unusual to find a picture of one of these beasts, sunnyside down with a sheet draped body lying 100 meters away; usually some early 20's kid from the middle-east or Russia.

 

You could add every available safety feature to the most vanilla of bikes but allow an idiot rider to climb aboard and it's all for nothing.

[papa al]

18 minutes ago, dddave said:

I really hate the fact that any 18 year old with a wad of money can walk into a dealer and wheelie-off on a 1300cc crotch rocket.

Yes,

hate is good,

freedom sucks.

[OneMoreFarang]

32 minutes ago, dddave said:

I do wish the US in particular along with other nations had stepped motorcycle licensing; maybe 50cc-399cc, 400cc-799cc, 800cc++.  Am I correct that Japan has this system?  I really hate the fact that any 18 year old with a wad of money can walk into a dealer and wheelie-off on a 1300cc crotch rocket.

I remember when the rental agencies on Beach Road in Pattaya rented 1200cc Yamaha V-Max's to anybody with a couple of thousand baht to spend: a difficult bike for even an experienced rider.  I'd browse through the free Pattaya newspapers and it wasn't at all unusual to find a picture of one of these beasts, sunnyside down with a sheet draped body lying 100 meters away; usually some early 20's kid from the middle-east or Russia.

 

You could add every available safety feature to the most vanilla of bikes but allow an idiot rider to climb aboard and it's all for nothing.

That's how the Pattaya rental companies make money...

[Kinnock]

What's the view from the Expert Panel on this second hand bike?

 

Kawasaki X300 2019

Kawasaki luggage, crash bars, lights.

23,000 Km

Original tyres

109,000 THB

 

Looks in good condition, no sun damage or unusual wear, tyres look right for the miles.

 

The mileage is higher than ideal, but the extras are decent and I like the color.

 

One slight worry is when I asked about the extra switch on the bars, he said the owner was a Policeman and he fitted extra lights.  I would not want an ex Police Bike as it may have had a hard life.  Seller says it was a private bike, not a patrol bike, but that's a grey area in Thailand.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

[canthai55]

In this day and age 23K is nothing to worry about.

Service done on time ? Oil look and smell good, as does the coolant ?

Hate saddlebags myself - stops lane splitting - and Fugly

Top box, and a soft bag if away for weeks, does me fine.

 

 

[richard_smith237]

7 minutes ago, Kinnock said:

What's the view from the Expert Panel on this second hand bike?

 

Kawasaki X300 2019

Kawasaki luggage, crash bars, lights.

23,000 Km

Original tyres

109,000 THB

 

Looks in good condition, no sun damage or unusual wear, tyres look right for the miles.

 

The mileage is higher than ideal, but the extras are decent and I like the color.

 

One slight worry is when I asked about the extra switch on the bars, he said the owner was a Policeman and he fitted extra lights.  I would not want an ex Police Bike as it may have had a hard life.  Seller says it was a private bike, not a patrol bike, but that's a grey area in Thailand.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

Does it have ABS ?? ????

 

It looks like a good bike. The switch is for the spot-lights.

 

Price is good.... Don’t worry too much about the mileage if it has a service history. 

 

Double check the age from the chassis number... they could be selling a 2016 bike and saying its 2019 etc... (not saying they are, but people selling things have a dubious relationship with the truth).

 

 

Side bags can be removed so thats not an issue for splitting traffic etc and you have the bags for an option on a longer trip. 

 

For storage you could get a ’top box’ or get a ’soft box’... 

 

I added a GIVI ULTIMA 20L TAIL BAG.... fixed it to the luggage rack.

The bag expands to a full 20 litre... or it packs flat so its only about 10cm thick (high). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[alacrity]

On 6/17/2021 at 11:56 AM, mikebike said:

This is true. And tho ABS may be the saviour of those who have riden beyond their capabilities, it does not replace the brain of a compitent rider and the ability to use your hands and feet efficiently and oh so satisfactorily when something unforeseen occurs.

On a dry road, it retards the inputs from a competent rider and may do so to a greater extent on wet/icy roads. Icy being unlikely in Thailand. Depends on the location and altitude.

 

If there is an 'off' option available to experienced riders, which is available to most if not all modern sedans. Then it's a good thing.

 

Doubt there is an ABS which would be be beneficial when traveling from the Clifton Suspension Bridge to the city center on an icy day and a return journey, whilst riding over cobble-stones on a Bantam. My daily commute as a student.

[VocalNeal]

109,000 THB. Sounds OK to me if you are happy to pay it. Mine was a bit cheaper but it has more kms on it.

The switch for the Kawasaki driving lights is the button on the right. 

As there is no ABS on/off switch on the X300 it might have been added by the previous owner? If it was added for extra lights then where are they and why wasn't the switch removed when the light were? 

Doesn't matter. If you like it, buy it.

I prefer my Kawasaki green colour scheme.

What's with the chrome? stickers on the tank?

 

[papa al]

1 hour ago, VocalNeal said:

Whats with .... stickers on the tank?

make bike faster?