Tread Carefully, Mates

[Lewie London]

So I’m bombing round on this little rental bike, nothing special, just one of them standard 125s with more stickers than real horsepower. Thought I was being clever, zipping through traffic and all that. But somewhere between my soi and the main road, I must’ve clocked something sharp because I pull up to the 7-Eleven and hear that telltale hissssss, rear tire’s gone flatter than a pint at closing time, lads.

 

Now, I ain’t about to roll it back to the rental shop and have them bang me with some 4,000 baht “damage” fee, so I figures I’ll just nip to a local tire place across the road, get a cheap brand slapped on, job done for a few hundred. Easy, right?

 

Nah, mates. 

 

Roll the bike into this little open-front shop there. Blokes sitting about half-asleep in flip flops, one of ‘em watching Muay Thai on a cracked TV, the other one eating noodles straight out the pot. I says, “Just need a back tyre, mate. Cheap one’ll do.” He nods, says “Ok ok,” and wheels it round the back before I can even get a proper look at the setup.

 

Thirty five minutes later, he wheels it back and goes, “Finish. New tyre. Very good. Michelin.” I blink. “Sorry, what?”

 

He points proudly at the wheel. “Michelin. Import. Same same farang style. Good for high speed.” Mate, I’m not doing MotoGP, I’m just trying to get to 7-Eleven and back without skidding into a tranny.

 

I says, “I asked for something local, cheap, you know?” He gives me that little sideways head tilt, the international symbol for “Well, bit late now, innit?”

 

“Front also change. Same same. Now balance.”

 

“What do you mean front also change?!”

 

He shrugs. “Old tyre not safe. We change both. More safe now. Lucky for you.”

 

Lucky? I’m two tyres deep in a stitch-up and he’s acting like I’ve won the bloody lottery.

 

Then the bill comes. 3,600 baht.

 

I nearly swallowed me own tongue. “You what? For tyres on a bike that ain’t even mine?”

 

He starts pointing at the tires again, saying things like “import,” “long life,” and “very grip,” like I’m buying a high-end sports car and not patching up a rental that smells like five years of sweat and Chang beer.

 

Then, to really take the piss, some tuk-tuk driver leans in from the street and goes, “Good tyres, my friend. Michelin number one!” as if I’m gonna high-five him and thank him for the consumer review.

 

I go, “Look, mate, I didn’t ask for all this. You shoulda said the price first. You can’t just whack on luxury tyres without asking and expect me to foot the bill.”

 

He shrugs again. “You ride now, yes? Very good tyre. You see.”

 

I says, “Yeah, I see all right. I see I’m getting mugged off in broad daylight.”

 

So I slap down 2,700 baht, it's all I had in my wallet, and tell ‘em that’s more than fair for a tire change I never bloody asked for, and if they want the rest they can go chase the Michelin Man round the soi. Jump on the bike, peel off, tyres squeaking like I just did a burnout in a Makro car park.

 

Call me old-fashioned, but I liked it better when getting stitched up didn’t come with tyre shine and a loyalty card.

[BritManToo]

Always ask the price first!

[marin]

They are getting worse Lewie. Give it up. Like going back in time 30 years. 

Quote

Quote

 

 

 

[Gecko123]

Story doesn't ring true to life. If you really did speed off, the repair guys would have hopped on their bikes, easily and happily chased you down, and you'd be sitting in the pokey now.

[jvs]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

Always ask the price first!

Are you really taking this for a real story?

[Gottfrid]

Never happened

[proton]

1 hour ago, Lewie London said:

So I’m bombing round on this little rental bike

 

Go fund me next post? 😆

[StreetCowboy]

1 hour ago, Gecko123 said:

Story doesn't ring true to life. If you really did speed off, the repair guys would have hopped on their bikes, easily and happily chased you down, and you'd be sitting in the pokey now.

They’d have been chortling at getting 2,700. They were probably expecting to have to settle for 1,000 for a cheaper brand, and have to go round the back to pretend to change tyres.

[BritManToo]

38 minutes ago, jvs said:

Are you really taking this for a real story?

Not really,

But asking the price first is always important for foreigners in SEA.

[StreetCowboy]

If you’d been brought up a Christian, you’d be familiar with parables.  The factual accuracy is irrelevant to the universal truth.

[Harrisfan]

8 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Not really,

But asking the price first is always important for foreigners in SEA.

Flat tyres are free. I got a discount because i had to pay 300 to fix one

[Ralf001]

The tyres will have country of manufacture on them.

 

Throw up a pic cause I doubt they are imports as Michelin have a large tyre manufacture facilty in Thailand/

[Ralf001]

2 hours ago, Gecko123 said:

Story doesn't ring true to life. If you really did speed off, the repair guys would have hopped on their bikes, easily and happily chased you down, and you'd be sitting in the pokey now.

 

He "peeled off, tyres squeaking like I just did a burnout in a Makro car park".. Which is utter bull<deleted> on a 125 auto scooter.

[impulse]

I'd have just gotten a new tube.

 

[delgarcon]

Quite right impulse, no way your going to put new tyres on a rental. Here in KP 200 TBH for a tube including fitting.

[Gecko123]

More holes:

 

flat tires can usually be easily repaired without need for replacement.

repairs are usually done in the front of motor cycle repair shops, not out of sight in back of shop

it's inconceivable that the mechanic would have replaced both tires without first getting customer's approval

what language was all this transacted in? If English, shop could easily have used Google Translate to explain need to replace both tires and cost before proceeding with repair. relying on GT is very common in repair shops these days, even the most humble or back alley shops can do this

 

not a nice piece of creative writing if it unfairly portrays Thais as rip off artists, Bob.

[FritsSikkink]

3 hours ago, Lewie London said:

So I’m bombing round on this little rental bike, nothing special, just one of them standard 125s with more stickers than real horsepower. Thought I was being clever, zipping through traffic and all that. But somewhere between my soi and the main road, I must’ve clocked something sharp because I pull up to the 7-Eleven and hear that telltale hissssss, rear tire’s gone flatter than a pint at closing time, lads.

 

Now, I ain’t about to roll it back to the rental shop and have them bang me with some 4,000 baht “damage” fee, so I figures I’ll just nip to a local tire place across the road, get a cheap brand slapped on, job done for a few hundred. Easy, right?

 

Nah, mates. 

 

Roll the bike into this little open-front shop there. Blokes sitting about half-asleep in flip flops, one of ‘em watching Muay Thai on a cracked TV, the other one eating noodles straight out the pot. I says, “Just need a back tyre, mate. Cheap one’ll do.” He nods, says “Ok ok,” and wheels it round the back before I can even get a proper look at the setup.

 

Thirty five minutes later, he wheels it back and goes, “Finish. New tyre. Very good. Michelin.” I blink. “Sorry, what?”

 

He points proudly at the wheel. “Michelin. Import. Same same farang style. Good for high speed.” Mate, I’m not doing MotoGP, I’m just trying to get to 7-Eleven and back without skidding into a tranny.

 

I says, “I asked for something local, cheap, you know?” He gives me that little sideways head tilt, the international symbol for “Well, bit late now, innit?”

 

“Front also change. Same same. Now balance.”

 

“What do you mean front also change?!”

 

He shrugs. “Old tyre not safe. We change both. More safe now. Lucky for you.”

 

Lucky? I’m two tyres deep in a stitch-up and he’s acting like I’ve won the bloody lottery.

 

Then the bill comes. 3,600 baht.

 

I nearly swallowed me own tongue. “You what? For tyres on a bike that ain’t even mine?”

 

He starts pointing at the tires again, saying things like “import,” “long life,” and “very grip,” like I’m buying a high-end sports car and not patching up a rental that smells like five years of sweat and Chang beer.

 

Then, to really take the piss, some tuk-tuk driver leans in from the street and goes, “Good tyres, my friend. Michelin number one!” as if I’m gonna high-five him and thank him for the consumer review.

 

I go, “Look, mate, I didn’t ask for all this. You shoulda said the price first. You can’t just whack on luxury tyres without asking and expect me to foot the bill.”

 

He shrugs again. “You ride now, yes? Very good tyre. You see.”

 

I says, “Yeah, I see all right. I see I’m getting mugged off in broad daylight.”

 

So I slap down 2,700 baht, it's all I had in my wallet, and tell ‘em that’s more than fair for a tire change I never bloody asked for, and if they want the rest they can go chase the Michelin Man round the soi. Jump on the bike, peel off, tyres squeaking like I just did a burnout in a Makro car park.

 

Call me old-fashioned, but I liked it better when getting stitched up didn’t come with tyre shine and a loyalty card.

A bit of karma when trying to return the bike with cheap tires.

[stubuzz]

This site seems to be full of fictitious stories.

[SAFETY FIRST]

4 hours ago, Lewie London said:

Then the bill comes. 3,600 baht.

 

4 hours ago, Lewie London said:

He points proudly at the wheel. “Michelin

Think yourself lucky he wasn't pointing to a Pirelli. 

 

[save the frogs]

I wonder what Don Giovanni would have done in this situation

[Harrisfan]

3 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

I wonder what Don Giovanni would have done in this situation

Blamed it on the 3 ladyboys

[rough diamond]

8 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

I wonder what Don Giovanni would have done in this situation

Would have got a ladyboy to do some re-inflation and insert a new tube!

[dutch boy]

Did you get one of those little Michelin Men to mount on your bike:

[Grumpy one]

46 minutes ago, dutch boy said:

Did you get one of those little Michelin Men to mount on your bike:

He may be the little Michelin Man  

[worgeordie]

3,600 Baht would have been nowt to your alter ego ,Bob Smith,

so you Lewie are not as mega rich as him , with properties in

several countries , 2 or 3 rolex,s , ect ect...

 

Fantasy turns into reality  right Lewie

 

regards worgeordie  

[riclag]

10 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Always ask the price first!

Live & learn !

[Gottfrid]

9 hours ago, Grumpy one said:

Be kind to this guy, he is no doubt suffering from Dementia

Oh, I am sorry. Let me rephrase: Hey man, are you sure that was not a dream? Have you gone off your meds? Do you need help?

[sikishrory]

On 4/9/2025 at 8:22 AM, Gecko123 said:

Story doesn't ring true to life. If you really did speed off, the repair guys would have hopped on their bikes, easily and happily chased you down, and you'd be sitting in the pokey now.

I don't think you read the story right. 

Michelin very grip.

Much fast.

[newbee2022]

On 4/9/2025 at 8:04 AM, Lewie London said:

So I’m bombing round on this little rental bike, nothing special, just one of them standard 125s with more stickers than real horsepower. Thought I was being clever, zipping through traffic and all that. But somewhere between my soi and the main road, I must’ve clocked something sharp because I pull up to the 7-Eleven and hear that telltale hissssss, rear tire’s gone flatter than a pint at closing time, lads.

 

Now, I ain’t about to roll it back to the rental shop and have them bang me with some 4,000 baht “damage” fee, so I figures I’ll just nip to a local tire place across the road, get a cheap brand slapped on, job done for a few hundred. Easy, right?

 

Nah, mates. 

 

Roll the bike into this little open-front shop there. Blokes sitting about half-asleep in flip flops, one of ‘em watching Muay Thai on a cracked TV, the other one eating noodles straight out the pot. I says, “Just need a back tyre, mate. Cheap one’ll do.” He nods, says “Ok ok,” and wheels it round the back before I can even get a proper look at the setup.

 

Thirty five minutes later, he wheels it back and goes, “Finish. New tyre. Very good. Michelin.” I blink. “Sorry, what?”

 

He points proudly at the wheel. “Michelin. Import. Same same farang style. Good for high speed.” Mate, I’m not doing MotoGP, I’m just trying to get to 7-Eleven and back without skidding into a tranny.

 

I says, “I asked for something local, cheap, you know?” He gives me that little sideways head tilt, the international symbol for “Well, bit late now, innit?”

 

“Front also change. Same same. Now balance.”

 

“What do you mean front also change?!”

 

He shrugs. “Old tyre not safe. We change both. More safe now. Lucky for you.”

 

Lucky? I’m two tyres deep in a stitch-up and he’s acting like I’ve won the bloody lottery.

 

Then the bill comes. 3,600 baht.

 

I nearly swallowed me own tongue. “You what? For tyres on a bike that ain’t even mine?”

 

He starts pointing at the tires again, saying things like “import,” “long life,” and “very grip,” like I’m buying a high-end sports car and not patching up a rental that smells like five years of sweat and Chang beer.

 

Then, to really take the piss, some tuk-tuk driver leans in from the street and goes, “Good tyres, my friend. Michelin number one!” as if I’m gonna high-five him and thank him for the consumer review.

 

I go, “Look, mate, I didn’t ask for all this. You shoulda said the price first. You can’t just whack on luxury tyres without asking and expect me to foot the bill.”

 

He shrugs again. “You ride now, yes? Very good tyre. You see.”

 

I says, “Yeah, I see all right. I see I’m getting mugged off in broad daylight.”

 

So I slap down 2,700 baht, it's all I had in my wallet, and tell ‘em that’s more than fair for a tire change I never bloody asked for, and if they want the rest they can go chase the Michelin Man round the soi. Jump on the bike, peel off, tyres squeaking like I just did a burnout in a Makro car park.

 

Call me old-fashioned, but I liked it better when getting stitched up didn’t come with tyre shine and a loyalty card.

First timer mistake. You're a good man and make me proud. You support the poor. Thank you.👍

[Snackbar]

Good sport