Wussiest Bike In All Of Thailand?

[submaniac]

Just an "informal poll". Just curious what people's opinions are on the wussiest motorcycle in the Kingdom is.

My vote is for the Yamaha Fino! Uses same mechanicals as the Mio with the retro-body work. It also seems to be the motorcycle of choice for Katoeys, ladyboys, or boys who like other boys. (But nothing wrong with that).

I would also say that I do think it looks cool, and I wouldn't mind buying one, and riding it. However, even under those circumstances, I would have to say to myself, "Self, that is a really wussy bike, you got there."

Any other contenders out there? I sensing votes for the honda wave.

[dave_boo]

Those little 50cc jobbies. Think Honda even makes a version. No power mated to an automatic tranny. Wouldn't catch me on one, rather walk.

[jackcorbett]

Just an "informal poll". Just curious what people's opinions are on the wussiest motorcycle in the Kingdom is.

My vote is for the Yamaha Fino! Uses same mechanicals as the Mio with the retro-body work. It also seems to be the motorcycle of choice for Katoeys, ladyboys, or boys who like other boys. (But nothing wrong with that).

I would also say that I do think it looks cool, and I wouldn't mind buying one, and riding it. However, even under those circumstances, I would have to say to myself, "Self, that is a really wussy bike, you got there."

Any other contenders out there? I sensing votes for the honda wave.

Actually I think the Fino is a very cool little machine and a brilliant piece of marketing from Yamaha with its rounded Italian inspired body style. I like curaceous automobiles and have always felt that "anyone" can build an econobox. Rectangular lines just doesn't get it for me (cars like the rabbit and so many others built today). By no means is the Fino a road bike, and it's smaller tires (14 inch diameter and skinnier) make it less roadworthy than its larger brother, the Yamaha Nouvo. It also doesn't have several important features that its larger sibling does not offer (but at 10,'000 more baht), such as automatic choke, substantial under the seat storage area, and a punchier engine (both have 115 cc. engines but I believe Yamaha has specially tweaked the Nouvo's to give it more power). It is fun to drive and for a lot of people is all they really need, especially in an urban environment such as Pattaya.

Honda's Airblade is a wonderful machine and I'd take one over the Fino even though it doesn't appear all that much larger, but we've gotta give Yamaha credit. How long did it take Honda to catch onto the fact that Yamaha's automatics were the cat's meow for a lot of people---two years to bring out competitive models? And now it looks like Yamaha's coming out in February with a 135 cc. revamped Nouvo that it's going to pit against the 110 cc. Airblade. Looks to me that in this market Yamaha's way ahead of Honda which is always having to play catchup. Some people might claim that Mazda's Miata sportscar is a wimpy sportscar that's only fit for women, but I've had two of them, and they are absolutely terrific machines, equal to a Porsche in handling and far more reliable than anything out of Porsche, BMW, Audi, or Mercedes. And it costs just a fraction of what those other marques cost, so I'll take the "wimpy" Miata anyday which I believe is the finest all around sportscar on the planet. As for the Fino, it is truly in my opinion a feast for the eyes and really not a bad machine at all.

Now you want wimpy........how about all those motorscooters that have been sold in the U.S. for the past 50 years and that are still being sold in large numbers with their little 10 inch diameter death wheels.

Edited January 25, 2008 by jackcorbett

[chavy]

Just an "informal poll". Just curious what people's opinions are on the wussiest motorcycle in the Kingdom is.

My vote is for the Yamaha Fino! Uses same mechanicals as the Mio with the retro-body work. It also seems to be the motorcycle of choice for Katoeys, ladyboys, or boys who like other boys. (But nothing wrong with that).

I would also say that I do think it looks cool, and I wouldn't mind buying one, and riding it. However, even under those circumstances, I would have to say to myself, "Self, that is a really wussy bike, you got there."

Any other contenders out there? I sensing votes for the honda wave.

Understand your post but, for me, is a bike made for a certain market. I think they look very smart & have seen one recently in the Repsol livery. I certainly wouldn't call it a "wussie" bike but I personally wouldn't have one.

Each to their own

[jaideeguy]

Well, I have one of those 'wussy/sissy' Finos, or I should say that my wife has one and I use it occasionally for short trips to the local market and hardware store and quite frankly I agree with jackcorbett in that they are a well engineered little scooter....not to be confused with a harly davidson for sure. It does suit it purpose in transporting students to school and short trips, but I wouldn't want to drive it more than 10k.

And there is nothing more beautiful than a 'pinguin' [sexy young female student in tight white top and short black skirt] sitting side saddle on a Fino [or any other sissy motorcycle for that matter].

[apetley]

Even the wife thinks the Fino is too wussie.

And as for the pink ones......yuk.

[RusticCharm]

I'm very tempted to say ... Harleys.

[traveller5000]

Any pink bike is a wussie bike. I saw a guy riding around on a bright little pink bike the other day, shameless bugger.

[PeaceBlondie]

I thought about getting a Suzuki TL1000S and painting it 'discharged from the hospital' pink. 106 hp, quarter mile in 11.14 is fast enough in Thailand, faster than a stock Harley VRod.

More on topic, how about a drum brake Honda Dream 100!

[mikethevigoman]

Even the wife thinks the Fino is too wussie.

And as for the pink ones......yuk.

I saw a big hairey @ssed guy on one with a harley shirt and hat ! oh how i laughed,.village people perhaps?

[Kimera]

I'm very tempted to say ... Harleys.

Thats a bit harsh

Edited January 25, 2008 by Kimera

[billd766]

Just an "informal poll". Just curious what people's opinions are on the wussiest motorcycle in the Kingdom is.

My vote is for the Yamaha Fino! Uses same mechanicals as the Mio with the retro-body work. It also seems to be the motorcycle of choice for Katoeys, ladyboys, or boys who like other boys. (But nothing wrong with that).

I would also say that I do think it looks cool, and I wouldn't mind buying one, and riding it. However, even under those circumstances, I would have to say to myself, "Self, that is a really wussy bike, you got there."

Any other contenders out there? I sensing votes for the honda wave.

Well it all depends on your definition of a motorbike.

I have a Fino (in lioght blue) and for what I use it for, taking our son to school, popping down the village and back 6km each way, market shopping etc it is excellent. I went over to my mates place 65km away a couple of weeks ago and that was a bit rough but the Fino made it easily even over the very rough track to his house but it is not something I would want to do daily.

Out here in the sticks the Fino is very good and I now see them tarted up like the old Vespa and Lambrettas that the mods used to ride complete with many lights and mirrors.

I get about 40 km/litre and bimble along around 80km/hr which suits me as I am 63. One day I had a flashback to being a 17 year old again and in the middle of a u-turn I opened the throttle wide and slid on the dirt ending up on my right side with gravel rash to my right knee and elbow, bashed ribs where I brought my right arm in and thumped my head on the road. :D

Fortunately I was on my own (I would never have done it with my son on the bike) and I WAS wearing my helmet.

Pride does come before a fall and experience doesn't count for much when you get stupid.

When I got home all my wife asked me was what about the bike. Bugger the bike, what about me? You are old and stupid anyway was the reply. Thanks a lot honey, I love you too.

In the UK a long time ago I used to have a Kawasaki 250 which was OK but not so good on a longer run or up hills. I replaced that with a Honda CX 500, V twin, watercooled shaft drive bike and that was good.

[HDRIDER]

HI

HARLEY off course, the only Real bike in the whole world, (i have humor) so just come on

[mikethevigoman]

HI

HARLEY off course, the only Real bike in the whole world, (i have humor) so just come on

if needed , a great bike !

[HDRIDER]

HI Mike

Did not know you had a photo of me

[micksterbs]

I'm very tempted to say ... Harleys.

Yeah, but they're not motorbikes...

[amexpat]

Any bike that's loud enough to scream "Hey, look at me! My parents didn't give me enough attention."

[Macx]

It's more often the case that the rider is too wussy for the bike.

I'd prefer to see a guy riding the heck out of a crappy 100cc bike than a bloke puttering around gently on a gleaming 1100cc monster. Ride it like you mean it

[missismiggins]

HI

HARLEY off course, the only Real bike in the whole world, (i have humor) so just come on

if needed , a great bike !

Love the pic - I guess that is what is referred to as a "FATBOY"

[RusticCharm]

It's more often the case that the rider is too wussy for the bike.

I'd prefer to see a guy riding the heck out of a crappy 100cc bike than a bloke puttering around gently on a gleaming 1100cc monster. Ride it like you mean it

I do baby, I do!

But Rama IV to Asoke on Sat afternoon was choka and I had to put-put through the jam.

Don't forget though, it takes greater skill to ride a big bike slowly than it does to go fast.

[Macx]

Sounds good to me, RC.

Is that your bike in the avatar? Can we see a bigger pic of it?

[BlackArtemis]

Easy to say anything JRD...

But I vote for Phantoms and Boss' 175-200cc and a wanna be cruiser??? The chain is louder than the engine/exhaust!

[jackcorbett]

Easy to say anything JRD...

But I vote for Phantoms and Boss' 175-200cc and a wanna be cruiser??? The chain is louder than the engine/exhaust!

I can't buy that. My dad always told me, and when he was younger he owned Harleys, "If you want to really have fun buy a 175 cc. bike." Anyway, he had heard that from someone who was really into bikes. A Phantom as we all know here, is a look a like Harley with a much smaller engine, but it looks cool and it only weighs 305 pounds although it appears bigger and heavier than that.

A German guy who owns a condo upstairs from me has one and when I asked him if it was faster than Nouvos and the like, he just laughed and said it wasn't, but he's on his second Phantom and he likes it. He says it all depends on what you want. The Phantom is a real motorcycle whereas the Nouvo is a different kettle of fish. But the Phantom has much bigger tires for one thing so it's going to be much better on bad sections of road and on speed bumps. More stable at higher speeds even if it's really no faster or not much faster than a Nouvo. Being a much bigger machine for a really big guy who's putting a girl behind him it's going to be better than Nouvo's and similar machines. And from what I've read it has a fairly large fuel tank (the motorbikes like the Nouvo don't) and it gets a whopping 65 miles per gallon or so. So it's going to have a much longer cruising range, and that's going to be particularly important out in the country. And if one likes Harleys, it really does look a lot like a Harley and at 85,000 baht it's a huge amount cheaper, particularly here in Thailand. And you can get parts for it anywhere and get it serviced anywhere.

I like the German guy's attitude. Drive what you want and enjoy. He likes the Phantom. I feel the Nouvo is the best all around choice here in Pattaya but the Phantom has tempted me many times. Oh, and by the way, this German is not wimpy. He probably drives a fast BMW in Germany. But like many Germans he's practical so for him the Phantom is a practical machine, and that no, it's not as fast as he might like it to be, but it's a pretty good machine for around here.

[BlackArtemis]

I can agree to disagree and you make many great points, but wussiest to me gives visions of peashooters etc. And for a bike to want to look like a big bike but get beaten by a 110cc automatic is wussy... Kinda like a 4-doo non vtec civic automatic with racing seats 2ft aluminum wing and 8" muffler...

But you are right, drive what you enjoy, the bike I enjoy is only 100cc, within two weeks 125cc.

[Chris78]

The Joker...as well as those JRD scooters with tiny wheels and ridiculous looking oversized body kits..

[chavy]

The Joker...as well as those JRD scooters with tiny wheels and ridiculous looking oversized body kits..

Ahmen to that...agreed. They do look ridiculous.

[Thanh-BKK]

Hi

Here, just because someone mentioned that, "Finos are for sissy boys who like other boys", well i'm a sissy boy who likes other boys but i would NOT ride a Fino Yeah, they're cute and all, and i WOULD ride one - if they came in MANUAL! I can't stand automatic transmissions in motorbikes (apart from the ooooold Honda "Hondamatic" with two gears and a real "shift" when switching gears).....

So my vote is "any motorbike with automatic transmission" for they are made for lazy asses or girls (the female kind).

And here's what i ride - a BULLDOZER of a bike, Yamaha RXZ 135!

Best regards.....

Thanh

[jackcorbett]

I can agree to disagree and you make many great points, but wussiest to me gives visions of peashooters etc. And for a bike to want to look like a big bike but get beaten by a 110cc automatic is wussy... Kinda like a 4-doo non vtec civic automatic with racing seats 2ft aluminum wing and 8" muffler...

But you are right, drive what you enjoy, the bike I enjoy is only 100cc, within two weeks 125cc.

I'm still keeping in mind what my German friend said, but when I drove the Phantom it did seem to accelerate faster than my Nouvo, and it did feel definitely more powerful. I believe he meant the two bikes are roughly equivalent in top end but I'd bet the Phantom's good for another five miles an hour over the Nouvo in top speed. The Nouvo has 8.9 horsepower but weights 230 pounds. The Phantom's got about 17 horsepower but weighs 305. Say one puts a 200 pound drive on each and the combined weight of driver plus is 430 pounds for the Nouvo and 505 pounds for the Phantom. So the power to weight ratio of the Phantom is .0337 to .0207 for the Nouvo. That translates out to a 67 % improvement in favor of the Phantom which is rather substantial. Something's got to give here so I'd say the Phantom's not going to get beat by 110 cc machines in acceleration even though its top end speed is only marginally better, which was the German's point.

Now as to the Phantom being a wanna bee Harley, one might also make the point that Harleys are wanna bee something's or the other. For all their size and big power images, Harley's typically only generate around 50 to 60 horsepower, yet they are purposely made to sound LOUD and POWERFUL. Even one of the 800 c.c. BMW's generates 85 horspower. BMW's top of the line models are around 150 horsepower. Top performing Japanese bikes produce even more. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking Harleys, but when it comes to performance they are a joke compared to what else is out there. Yet they are marketed to appeal to a man's He Man instincts. So, if one can argue that Phantoms are not the real deal, then one might argue also that Harley's are not the real deal either. Both are about image and what thoughts go through one's head while driving them, not about what's actually happening when the rubber hits the pavement. So one might say, "I love my Harley because it feels good under the seat of my pants" (while driving American roads for example). But one might equally say, "dam_n. this Phantom just feels good and it sounds good driving it in Thailand.

Again, I might really like a Harley, but consider how loud they sound especially so when accelerating through places like Pattaya. Considering how loud they are and how little real world performance they provide compared to other big bikes, One might even go so far as to say that Harleys are "Much to do about Nothing." But then again, even though it offers tremendous performance, one might also comment about a Yamaha R-1 that is used primarily in Pattaya that this too is "Much fo to about Nothing"

[dave_boo]

I can agree to disagree and you make many great points, but wussiest to me gives visions of peashooters etc. And for a bike to want to look like a big bike but get beaten by a 110cc automatic is wussy... Kinda like a 4-doo non vtec civic automatic with racing seats 2ft aluminum wing and 8" muffler...

But you are right, drive what you enjoy, the bike I enjoy is only 100cc, within two weeks 125cc.

I'm still keeping in mind what my German friend said, but when I drove the Phantom it did seem to accelerate faster than my Nouvo, and it did feel definitely more powerful. I believe he meant the two bikes are roughly equivalent in top end but I'd bet the Phantom's good for another five miles an hour over the Nouvo in top speed. The Nouvo has 8.9 horsepower but weights 230 pounds. The Phantom's got about 17 horsepower but weighs 305. Say one puts a 200 pound drive on each and the combined weight of driver plus is 430 pounds for the Nouvo and 505 pounds for the Phantom. So the power to weight ratio of the Phantom is .0337 to .0207 for the Nouvo. That translates out to a 67 % improvement in favor of the Phantom which is rather substantial. Something's got to give here so I'd say the Phantom's not going to get beat by 110 cc machines in acceleration even though its top end speed is only marginally better, which was the German's point.

Now as to the Phantom being a wanna bee Harley, one might also make the point that Harleys are wanna bee something's or the other. For all their size and big power images, Harley's typically only generate around 50 to 60 horsepower, yet they are purposely made to sound LOUD and POWERFUL. Even one of the 800 c.c. BMW's generates 85 horspower. BMW's top of the line models are around 150 horsepower. Top performing Japanese bikes produce even more. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking Harleys, but when it comes to performance they are a joke compared to what else is out there. Yet they are marketed to appeal to a man's He Man instincts. So, if one can argue that Phantoms are not the real deal, then one might argue also that Harley's are not the real deal either. Both are about image and what thoughts go through one's head while driving them, not about what's actually happening when the rubber hits the pavement. So one might say, "I love my Harley because it feels good under the seat of my pants" (while driving American roads for example). But one might equally say, "dam_n. this Phantom just feels good and it sounds good driving it in Thailand.

Again, I might really like a Harley, but consider how loud they sound especially so when accelerating through places like Pattaya. Considering how loud they are and how little real world performance they provide compared to other big bikes, One might even go so far as to say that Harleys are "Much to do about Nothing." But then again, even though it offers tremendous performance, one might also comment about a Yamaha R-1 that is used primarily in Pattaya that this too is "Much fo to about Nothing"

It's apparent you're an American....why you attacking our bikes! But seriously, Harley's had a corner on the 'cruiser' market since, what, 19-teens? Whole different segment than what the rice burners are in, although HD has had some success (in the past) at racing. Furthermore, looking soley at HP instead of torque can be quite misleading. Look at farm tractors for instance (since everyone complains that HD transmissions shift like one). If you were to look only at the HP you'd assume that the tractor couldn't do the job intended for it. However, a quick look at the torque, which is what counts, tells a different story. Also, you can't fault the manufacturer for the idiocy of its customers. Otherwise we'd have to call all Honda cars Fast & The Furious wannabes.

I personally have nothing against the Boss/Phantom. They're bigger bikes than what I would want, and definitely not my style. If they were more like a Sportser (sp?), I might think about it, but I never understood the chopper bike. Oh well.

[jackcorbett]

It's apparent you're an American....why you attacking our bikes! But seriously, Harley's had a corner on the 'cruiser' market since, what, 19-teens? Whole different segment than what the rice burners are in, although HD has had some success (in the past) at racing. Furthermore, looking soley at HP instead of torque can be quite misleading. Look at farm tractors for instance (since everyone complains that HD transmissions shift like one). If you were to look only at the HP you'd assume that the tractor couldn't do the job intended for it. However, a quick look at the torque, which is what counts, tells a different story. Also, you can't fault the manufacturer for the idiocy of its customers. Otherwise we'd have to call all Honda cars Fast & The Furious wannabes.

I personally have nothing against the Boss/Phantom. They're bigger bikes than what I would want, and definitely not my style. If they were more like a Sportser (sp?), I might think about it, but I never understood the chopper bike. Oh well.

Have a fair amount of experience with farm tractors so I know exactly where you are coming from when it comes to torque. But a tractor's purpose is to work, and such work includes pulling heavy loads where a motorcyle is a transportation device. I'm not knocking Harleys, and I'd no doubt prefer one to a Japanese machine as long as the model I selected didn't have too much chrome on it, but I'd probably prefer a BMW to both. Either marque has in my opinion far more character than the Japanese makes. But the Harleys sure are slow compared to the competition's models. And that's the same bad rap the Phantoms are getting. Question is, how much speed do you need or really want? If I were living in the U.S. the Harley would offer me all the performance I could want while providing that gobs of Torque you are talking about. But, and this is my point, here in Pattaya the Phantom offers all the performance that is really needed. In fact having much more is tantamount to executing one's death wish.

Edited January 28, 2008 by jackcorbett