OK - When I was younger I used to ride a 1000 cc motorbike - great fun, and something to do with me being a little guy with a small d*ck

Well I really fancy doing this again in Thailand! Not because I'm in my second childhood but because it would seem to be a good way to travel efficiently, especially in BKK.

Everyone seems to ride the scooters or small motorbikes, but what are the rules for farangs if we want to ride mean machines?  I have a full UK licence to ride motorbikes. Will this suffice for Thailand?  Any good shops in BKK for big bikes?  And does anyone on this forum ride a decent bike?!

cheers for any advice  

I've still got a 1978 Suzuki GS1000 S. I bought it brand new 25 years ago. It's moth balled in a mate's garage in Sydney while i'm living as an expat.

You cannot drive in Thailand on a UK license.

You have to get an international from the UK.

The RAC do them for about 4 quid, I think, valid for one year.

Go to www.ridethailand.com  or try www.siamsuprebike.com

Are you were entering Thailand on a tourist visa?

If you are only on holiday an International Bike Licence is required or a wad of 100 baht notes in the back pocket for the boys in brown.   Never leave your passport with the Bike Shop take a couple of copies before you leave home.

To buy a bike in Thailand you need to enter on  a "B" visa so as to register the bike in your name, you can not register a bike in your name on a tourist visa, and registering such a desirable bike in a Thai "friends" name will be loco!!

Last but not least check out the small print on insurance if you can find a decent policy.

Sev

:cool:

I hired a Blade last Christmas in Pattya and could not wait to dump it. The traffic and the madness just made the whole deal hard work. I swapped it for one of those Honda 125 moped things - much easier to throw around and dump ouside bars

not sure about the rest of thailand, but in phattya ya dont need anything but a passport, NO LICENCE REQUIRED, and thats to get an R1

Sevinnow -- as I've always had a work permit, I've not bothered (to my shame) finding out about other aspects of the "B" visa. If you have a "B" visa, but not a work permit, can you still buy a vehicle and obtain a Thai driver's licence? Just curious. FYI, every time I've bought a new vehicle or renewed my licence, I've had to produce copies of my work permit.

There are plenty of good big bike shops around (Siam Superbikes, Red Baron and so on). Before you buy a bike, get to know some locals first and tap them for info (which is why I recommend the two mentioned above). But be warned -- buying an older bike that will require lots of maintenance can be a hassle in respect of parts. Not recommended. And be particularly careful of any locals in shophouse-type repair shops who claim they can do any repairs. Most of these people are cowboys, so it's better not to let them touch your precious hi-tech machine (other than for the most simple of repairs). Another point to consider -- if you're riding in heavily built-up areas all the time, a cafe-racer style bike can be murder on the hands and arms because of the constant braking and accelerating (choppers are much better, at least for us oldies -- LOL).

Viragos forever,

Dex.