Another Dead Tourist

[learningcurveasia]

Tha Pattaya Mail reports today of another foreign tourist dying in an accident on beach road Pattaya on Aug 31.

The man believed to be from the middle east died trying to pull a wheelie in front of some beer bars and hit a post at the side of the road.

At present you can show your passport and rent any superbike you like with no proof of a motorcycle licence, and l think the large majority of people renting don't have one. This guy was drunk so having a licence or not would not have affected the outcome, but l think something has to be done.

Too many muppets come here thinking that they can do anything, with impunity.Raging drunk or totally incompetent as usual, and end up in a mess or dead.Sorry but my pity lies elsewhere, tough luck. act like a pri*ck die like a pr*ck, who here cares. Thai roads and Thai drivers are dangerous, and that's for those that have a mickey mouse Thai licence (which is about as respected as a library card for driving) Turn left, turn right, go forwards, backwards....ok you pass!!! duh.

I have had many friends and customers die in Thailand from motorcycle accidents, and sorry but 50% are due to their own drunken state.

Song nam na......eek!

[1stbase]

Ok I admit, driving fast to avoid people passing you isn't a good idea, since it's the guys driving faster that you gotta watch out out for. Like I said before, the main thing when riding a bike is alertness, not having a cell phone, cigarette, drinks, or looking at that sexy girl or elephant crossing the road. I am a very aggressive driver and was able to deal with the maniac speeders in Los Angeles and Stop and cutoff taxi drivers in new york with ease. I drove across the United States. I am taking a more passive look at motorbike riding and will not be swerving through vehicle gaps like you can get away with in north america. I rather follow well behind a well moving vehicle on the highway then to try to pass them all. Will see how things go. I have been doing a lot of reading on bike safety.

[higgy88]

1st base, I´ve been reading your posts in this thread with some interest, and I thought I would throw in my 2 cents now. You´ve got the right ideas, to learn as much as you can and do the necessary work to get to your goal of riding your friends R1, but I think you still need a little work on your attitude. You are right on when you say that avoiding a accident is the name of the game, but going faster and putting the problem behind you is only one way to avoid an accident. Sometimes going slower and stopping is the best way. There are as many ways of avoiding an accident as there are getting into one. You also mentioned that being alert and aware of everything going on around you is more important than experience, road conditions, etc. My advice is don´t underestimate anything. And to go along with that, absolutely never overestimate your ability to deal with anything. When you get back to Canada, you may want to consider taking a good motorcyle riding course. In the US, there is a motorcycle riding course sponsored by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. I had taken this course back in the mid-80s after riding for a good number of years, and of course thought I knew everything. When you teach yourself how to ride, you can easily develop some bad ideas on how to best handle abnormal and emergency situations, and I learned a hel_l of a lot from this course. I don´t know if Canada offers something like this, but you may want to check it out when you get back. You are probably not going to find any good driving or riding courses here in Thailand, and IMO many accidents here are caused by people just no knowing how to drive or ride because they have never been properly taught.

As far as statistics on accidents in Thailand, I don´t know if there is anything broken down between cars and motorcycles, but I do know that Thailand has had the (dis)honour of being the number one in the world for the number of traffic fatalities per vehicle mile (taking into account the number of registered vehicles on the roads and the average number of miles driven). Doing a quick google search, this is the first link that came up http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-97606013.html. I do remember reading the report in the Bangkok Post, which was done by a British firm contracted by the WHO, but I don´t remember their name. You can do your own searching if you want to find out more. But no matter how you look at it, Thailand is a very dangerous place to drive, ride, walk, or just stand on the side of the road waiting for a bus.

Good luck.

Higgy

[Tony Clifton]

It all comes down to , whatever you think will or won't happen, whatever you think you should do or not do, Thais will always cancel it all out and find a way to endanger their, your's and the life of others every few minutes or so and there's not much you can do about it.

I thought I had seen it all until this week I saw a mini-van full of school kids cutting off another mini-van full of school kids. Neanderthals.

[1stbase]

Welp, just came back from an hour ride on a 600cc Honda CBR RR and it is definitely a lot of a more smoother ride than the 400cc CBR RR. I must have stalled over 20 times on the 400cc and on the 600cc I only stalled once 45 minutes into it. The 400cc had over 80,000km on it and I found the gas lever very sensitive and not smooth at all.

One thing I did notice about the 600cc which I am really concerned about is that I took it on the highway and must have took 1st gear to about 14,000 RPM and switched to second and the rear wheel went left and right as if it was losing control. At about 100km, downshifting back to 1st and braking, I noticed the same thing. Is this normal/common? I am worried that if I take it to a higher rpm and shift harder the bike will lose control.

Is it bad to redline a bike or downshift it as much as braking when coming to a stop?

These are my main concerns right now before I get back on Sukumvit road.

[stevemiddie]

Welp, just came back from an hour ride on a 600cc Honda CBR RR and it is definitely a lot of a more smoother ride than the 400cc CBR RR. I must have stalled over 20 times on the 400cc and on the 600cc I only stalled once 45 minutes into it. The 400cc had over 80,000km on it and I found the gas lever very sensitive and not smooth at all.

Stalling is a fuel/ timing issue

One thing I did notice about the 600cc which I am really concerned about is that I took it on the highway and must have took 1st gear to about 14,000 RPM and switched to second and the rear wheel went left and right as if it was losing control.

Sorry.........but you are not using clutch/acceleration correctly. Its YOU that needs to be smooth. You have approx 120hp at around 13k rev and all this on a bike weighing about 170kgs.

At about 100km, downshifting back to 1st and braking, I noticed the same thing. Is this normal/common? I am worried that if I take it to a higher rpm and shift harder the bike will lose control.

Is it bad to redline a bike or downshift it as much as braking when coming to a stop?

The redline is there for a purpose but there is a safety margin built in. Is it bad to downshift to stop from around 100kmh? Errrrrrrrrrr try using BRAKES and downshifting.

No offense mate but if you are asking these questions then a CBR 600 is one of the last things you should be on.

These are my main concerns right now before I get back on Sukumvit road.

My concern is you having an accident which seems inevitable

Edited December 22, 2007 by stevemiddie

[1stbase]

Sorry.........but you are not using clutch/acceleration correctly. Its YOU that needs to be smooth.

So when going from 1st to 2nd at 15,000 rpm I should slow down a second and do a smooth transition instead of a fast one?

I know I shouldn't be riding if I need to ask these questions but it's hard not to do it anyways. I'll take a safety course when I get back to normalville but for now I just want to drive the things a few times.

[stevemiddie]

Ok...............Look..............learn to walk with the bike before running with it ok? The 600 is a SUPERB bike and has quite rightly won every World Championship in its class since 2002.

Just take it easy...........change gears at 8-10k instead. Nice and smooth. Drop the acceleration a little on change up and smoothly come in again.

Learn to go light on the front brakes by using two fingers only. Snatch on it............and you,re going to lay down.

Lessons would be good............but I don,t know of any place that does these for superbikes here.

Check your rubber constantly and ensure you have correct pressures.

Just..........TAKE IT EASY until you have learned what this bike can do. I would HATE to see this bike get ruined.

[1stbase]

Ok...............Look..............learn to walk with the bike before running with it ok? The 600 is a SUPERB bike and has quite rightly won every World Championship in its class since 2002.

Just take it easy...........change gears at 8-10k instead. Nice and smooth. Drop the acceleration a little on change up and smoothly come in again.

Learn to go light on the front brakes by using two fingers only. Snatch on it............and you,re going to lay down.

Lessons would be good............but I don,t know of any place that does these for superbikes here.

Check your rubber constantly and ensure you have correct pressures.

Just..........TAKE IT EASY until you have learned what this bike can do. I would HATE to see this bike get ruined.

Lol thanks, so lets say I do over rev a high RPM shift, is the bikes rear wheels going to lose control or is it just to scare the shit out of me?

[stevemiddie]

Ok...............Look..............learn to walk with the bike before running with it ok? The 600 is a SUPERB bike and has quite rightly won every World Championship in its class since 2002.

Just take it easy...........change gears at 8-10k instead. Nice and smooth. Drop the acceleration a little on change up and smoothly come in again.

Learn to go light on the front brakes by using two fingers only. Snatch on it............and you,re going to lay down.

Lessons would be good............but I don,t know of any place that does these for superbikes here.

Check your rubber constantly and ensure you have correct pressures.

Just..........TAKE IT EASY until you have learned what this bike can do. I would HATE to see this bike get ruined.

Lol thanks, so lets say I do over rev a high RPM shift, is the bikes rear wheels going to lose control or is it just to scare the shit out of me?

Both. But many variables come into play here. Speed.....gear, road, surface material, rev, Its a learning process I,m afraid and I have the broken bones in my youth to show for it.

Edited December 22, 2007 by stevemiddie

[1stbase]

Ok...............Look..............learn to walk with the bike before running with it ok? The 600 is a SUPERB bike and has quite rightly won every World Championship in its class since 2002.

Just take it easy...........change gears at 8-10k instead. Nice and smooth. Drop the acceleration a little on change up and smoothly come in again.

Learn to go light on the front brakes by using two fingers only. Snatch on it............and you,re going to lay down.

Lessons would be good............but I don,t know of any place that does these for superbikes here.

Check your rubber constantly and ensure you have correct pressures.

Just..........TAKE IT EASY until you have learned what this bike can do. I would HATE to see this bike get ruined.

Lol thanks, so lets say I do over rev a high RPM shift, is the bikes rear wheels going to lose control or is it just to scare the shit out of me?

Both. But many variables come into play here. Speed.....gear, road, surface material, rev, Its a learning process I,m afraid and I have the broken bones in my youth to show for it.

Ok so now knowing its a potential risk I won't be doing any fast high speed shifts on this thing. Nice and smooth Wiping out the bike at that speed without having anything to hit could most likely get through my armour and kill me.

[1stbase]

Ok...............Look..............learn to walk with the bike before running with it ok? The 600 is a SUPERB bike and has quite rightly won every World Championship in its class since 2002.

Just take it easy...........change gears at 8-10k instead. Nice and smooth. Drop the acceleration a little on change up and smoothly come in again.

Learn to go light on the front brakes by using two fingers only. Snatch on it............and you,re going to lay down.

Lessons would be good............but I don,t know of any place that does these for superbikes here.

Check your rubber constantly and ensure you have correct pressures.

Just..........TAKE IT EASY until you have learned what this bike can do. I would HATE to see this bike get ruined.

Lol thanks, so lets say I do over rev a high RPM shift, is the bikes rear wheels going to lose control or is it just to scare the shit out of me?

Both. But many variables come into play here. Speed.....gear, road, surface material, rev, Its a learning process I,m afraid and I have the broken bones in my youth to show for it.

Ok so now knowing its a potential risk I won't be doing any fast high speed shifts on this thing. Nice and smooth Wiping out the bike at that speed without having anything to hit could most likely get through my armour and kill me.

Lets say I did want to go fast though on a clear road, I'd probably keep it in first and then just slow down. Can I redline these bikes?

[JimsKnight]

Of course you can, you surely know this already. But you're putting more strain on the engine the more you get into the 'red' zone.

Theres a small risk of engine failure too (depending on the state of the engine).

Edited December 22, 2007 by JimsKnight

[1stbase]

Of course you can, you surely know this already. But you're putting more strain on the engine the more you get into the 'red' zone.

Theres a small risk of engine failure too (depending on the state of the engine).

The engine has 20,000km on it compared to the 80,000 on the 400cc. I see it has a shift light when I go into redline so thats good, don't have to look off the road. The transition between 400cc was easier than the transition between 100cc semi-auto and 150cc clutch shift. This bike was a lot smoother probably because of the gears and the only 400cc/600cc difference was the power of shifting at highspeed on the highway without reving too much and losing control of the rear wheels. I am not doing really smooth shifts and the rear wheels haven't moved since. At first I thought I would need to take the 1000cc bike to a clear area to start off instead of busy pattaya beach road but now I am almost certain I can handle it from the get go and take it to sukumvit where i can slowly learn its power potential.

One of these bikes is definitely not a good idea for a daily driver. I am doing one day rentals of these bikes and once I try the R1 i'll rent the 150cc or 100cc again for daily driving until I get back to North America. The 150cc was really light and probably the most relaxed and safe drive so far out of any bike i driven.

[Tony Clifton]

Stalling is a fuel/ timing issue

At the speed drivers here approach intersections and u-turns?

It's a life and death issue.

You can't afford to stall.

[1stbase]

Stalling is a fuel/ timing issue

At the speed drivers here approach intersections and u-turns?

It's a life and death issue.

You can't afford to stall.

Only was stalling at a traffic light, I know this is Thailand but I don't think its bad enough that the car behind me can't wait for me so runs me down.

200km/hour, barely redlined 3rd on Sukumvit but then i saw a car 1km ahead, boy am I a fuc_king idiot, but I am definitely ready for 1000cc. Suprisingly several cops seemed to eye me but never pull me over, knock on wood, but I am ready.

Question, what the heck is up with gas on these things? I filled up with 500 baht this morning and must have put 20km on it, will double check the mileage tomorrow but the tank was empty after about 2 hours of local driving. I thought these bikes don't guzzle gas. Put another 500 baht in and its almost low again. That sucks.

[1stbase]

Dammit, 202 km / hour, I didn't mean to go that fast again, this is the fastest I have ever been in anything. I'm stupid, I am not going to do it again unless its on a track or something.

[Tony Clifton]

I was always fascinated about communicating with the dead.

Will you remember me?

If so, knock once, twice, three times depending on your preference.

Care for any particular color for your body bag? Black, white, checkered.

Scented? Mint, pot-Pourri, jasmine.

[1stbase]

I was always fascinated about communicating with the dead.

Will you remember me?

If so, knock once, twice, three times depending on your preference.

Care for any particular color for your body bag? Black, white, checkered.

Scented? Mint, pot-Pourri, jasmine.

Honestly, as long as it's a quick death I won't even be able to bitch about the life I missed. Sure I want to experience many things but if I die tomorrow I won't notice since I'll have no brain. Unless ofcourse theres an afterlife, then it would just suck really really bad.

[Bagwan]

At my annual health checkup my doctor asked if I smoked. I admitted that I did and had done so for 55 years. I had no plans to stop. He pointed out that smoking was very dangerous. I responded by pointing out that I had driven about 8 kilometres along Sukhumvit Road in Pattaya to come to see him and would return home the same way. That, in my opinion, was very dangerous. I added that if I did that journey 20 times every day for 55 years I was living on borrowed time. He said that I was very funny. I replied that I was being deadly serious. He accepted my argument.

On arrival here I bought a small motor bike. I sold it 2 weeks later and bought a truck on the grounds that I didn't have a death wish. My tally so far is 3 dogs, 8 snakes, some chickens and a very large rat. I have lost count of the mainly Thai lives that I have saved through driving defensively.

P.S. When you have had your 'accident' you will wish that you had been killed when you receive the hospital bill.

[1stbase]

At my annual health checkup my doctor asked if I smoked. I admitted that I did and had done so for 55 years. I had no plans to stop. He pointed out that smoking was very dangerous. I responded by pointing out that I had driven about 8 kilometres along Sukhumvit Road in Pattaya to come to see him and would return home the same way. That, in my opinion, was very dangerous. I added that if I did that journey 20 times every day for 55 years I was living on borrowed time. He said that I was very funny. I replied that I was being deadly serious. He accepted my argument.

On arrival here I bought a small motor bike. I sold it 2 weeks later and bought a truck on the grounds that I didn't have a death wish. My tally so far is 3 dogs, 8 snakes, some chickens and a very large rat. I have lost count of the mainly Thai lives that I have saved through driving defensively.

P.S. When you have had your 'accident' you will wish that you had been killed when you receive the hospital bill.

Lol. The dogs here are smart. I must have passed by at least 100 of them and all of the ones blocking my way turned around after seeing me coming. 2 bitches decided to try to run after me to try to bite me and almost caught up, I didn't even speed up, my leather pants and control of the bike kept me calm and if they were to run under my wheel I was prepared for the bump at 40km/h. I am more concerned with moose than dogs, unless it's on the highway, then I am potentially screwed at 100km/h +. I estimate I saved over 50 thai lives, 25 ferang lives, and my life 50 times over the past few days by paying attention to whats ahead and behind of me. This bike has one of em passing lights (flick for highbeam) and I used it over 100 times, more than they use their horn in Cambodia. I used it pretty much everytime I passed someone or was turning or had a pedestrian 100 meters ahead wanting to cross, and even dogs who react right away to the flicker. Some big idiot was driving on the centerlane in between stopped traffic at a good 40km/h and he could have easily ran me down, j-walkers, or other bikes doing what i was doing (I was going inbetween a stopped vehicle from the left to center lane) but I was looking out for idiots so avoided it. I think in a busy street with lots of pedestrians and bikes, that's the number one cause of an accident because someone can go into the center lane at anytime passing a truck and not seeing you and boom.

[designersing]

a few drinks and they all think they are Evil Knievil.

Regards

good one!

[Lickey]

1st base, redlining in 1st and second then changing down? you are otherwise a bit light in the rafters or you are a later day Kevin Schantz, Personally i think you have experience of big bikes and you are just testing responses on this forum, if this is the case youve done it, if not, then learn about powerbands on big bikes, there is no need to redline in any gear, power finishes about 2000rpm before redline, its difficult to explain, but try finding a good open road, get the bike in 3rd gear about 2000rpm, and wind open the throttle, it might start to really get going at 4/5/6000 rpm and acceleration might drop off at 9/10/11000 rpm, thats the time to go up a gear, but this is for flat-out through the gears stuff, this is usually reseved for the race track, it really is a matter of listen to the engine note, see where its happy and ride acordingly, get used to it, and have fun, not back wheel slides or high revs, cheers Lickey.

[hp8000]

Drink or drive, just common sense. Better to be ripped off 10 bahts by a songteaw than to die.

But at the end, don't forget your brain at home when coming in vacation to Thailand, as simple as this.

AND WEAR A HELMET !!!!!!!!!!

[archthai]

Oh, and you want live forever! Live hard, die fast, biker's code from way back in the day!

[1stbase]

1st base, redlining in 1st and second then changing down? you are otherwise a bit light in the rafters or you are a later day Kevin Schantz, Personally i think you have experience of big bikes and you are just testing responses on this forum, if this is the case youve done it, if not, then learn about powerbands on big bikes, there is no need to redline in any gear, power finishes about 2000rpm before redline, its difficult to explain, but try finding a good open road, get the bike in 3rd gear about 2000rpm, and wind open the throttle, it might start to really get going at 4/5/6000 rpm and acceleration might drop off at 9/10/11000 rpm, thats the time to go up a gear, but this is for flat-out through the gears stuff, this is usually reseved for the race track, it really is a matter of listen to the engine note, see where its happy and ride acordingly, get used to it, and have fun, not back wheel slides or high revs, cheers Lickey.

Thanks, thats some great advice. This is thailand, theres more fun things to do then fool a bunch of forum people . I have actually been shifting around 12,000/13,000 RPM, the bike redlines at 15,000RPM. However, I have been using the slow smooth shifts, let's say I was racing and needed to shift faster without the rear wheel slides, is there a better method or is it something I learn over time?

Oh btw, the other day I downshifted the bike and the bike stayed reving at a high rpm, I had to turn off the engine and restart it for it to stop. Is this common on high mileage bikes?

[higgy88]

1st base, you really need to learn about power/engine speed curves, and what that red line actually means. The red line simply means that you have the potential of completely destroying your engine. Your peak power point occurs well before the red line, and for maximum acceleration the peak power point is where you should be shifting. You get to know that point by the feel of the bike. Rather than just going as fast as you can, learn the feel of the bike.

[Bagwan]

Where is Valentino Rossi when you need him?

[stevemiddie]

If you are still riding your 600 then its max power occurs at approx 13.5k revs.

By the way..........when I,m on mine............the only time I see an R6 is when i look in my mirrors.

Edited December 24, 2007 by stevemiddie

[1stbase]

If you are still riding your 600 then its max power occurs at approx 13.5k revs.

By the way..........when I,m on mine............the only time I see an R6 is when i look in my mirrors.

which bike are you riding?

Another newbie question. Let's say I am just riding for transportation and not fun and it was my own bike and wanted to baby it. What is a safe low RPM to be in on a bike? Can I shift everytime I hit 5000 RPM for example?