Chiang Mai To Pai

[xuberant]

i'm heading to chang mai in a few weeks and i would like to rent a bike once there and head up to pai.

how long's the chiang mai - pai trip?

and what's the minimum CC's you'd recommend? my girlfriend would be on the back

i drive a CBR 150 in bangkok but i imagine i'd need a bit more power.. plus it would just be more fun to drive a bigger bike for once any thoughts?

oh and also, do shops require you to show them a motorcycle licence before they let you rent a big bike? or do they just not care.. i only have my canadian car licence

[JimsKnight]

Not done the trip myself but, if you take it easy and travel light. A CBR 150 with and asian as pillion is doable.

From when I hired a bike back in 2001 in CM it was a cinch, just show the colour of your money and passport and away you go

Of the top of my head it's about 260 - 300 km.

The SSR boys did the trip recently and will know more than me on this though

[xuberant]

Not done the trip myself but, if you take it easy and travel light. A CBR 150 with and asian as pillion is doable.

From when I hired a bike back in 2001 in CM it was a cinch, just show the colour of your money and passport and away you go

Of the top of my head it's about 260 - 300 km.

The SSR boys did the trip recently and will know more than me on this though

who are these SSR boys you speak of?

[JimsKnight]

A band of renegade and rogue riders on a quest for the craziest turns and mountain roads while getting some serious knee-down and balls-out action!

It was on a wild journey north out of Bangkok at rippish speeds that I finally caught up with them and saw first hand the SSR in action!

If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... The SSR Team!

Just check the SSR Epic ride thread for more info...

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Ssr-Epic-Rid...5&start=225

[AceCafe]

i'm heading to chang mai in a few weeks and i would like to rent a bike once there and head up to pai.

how long's the chiang mai - pai trip?

and what's the minimum CC's you'd recommend? my girlfriend would be on the back

i drive a CBR 150 in bangkok but i imagine i'd need a bit more power.. plus it would just be more fun to drive a bigger bike for once any thoughts?

oh and also, do shops require you to show them a motorcycle licence before they let you rent a big bike? or do they just not care.. i only have my canadian car licence

I've done the Pai-CM leg a few times..... a terrific ride which I always budget a whole day for. What will you do after Pai? Turn around, or on to Mae Hong Son? The whole loop..... CM-Mae Taeng-Pai-MHS-Mae Sariang-Hot-CM or from Mae Sariang on to Mae Sot-Tak-CM is probably my favourite ride in this country. You could hire at minimum a 250cc trials bike but that'd be uncomfortable for your girlfriend....... there are literally hundreds of switchbacks and hairpin bends with steep drops etc. I wouldn't recommend the ride on a sports bike so for comfort I'd go for a mid-size cruiser. Steed or Shadow etc.

Most rental places will ask you for a copy of your passport as opposed to a license. Do you have time to get yourself an International Driving License? Your Canadian one will not help if you're in a bind...... a 1000 baht note would be taken more seriously!

Happy riding!

[xuberant]

how about a photocopy of a 1000 baht note..would that work haha

alright thanks for all the advice!

[thaicbr]

and do not forget the dirt and crap at the side of the road. an experienced UK rider recently had a bad spill in this area. so be aware. also you are going from 18hp 125kg bike to maybe 60-70hp 200kg bike. Take it easy and have fun.

Allan

[BigBikeBKK]

Tony's Big Bike (no relation to me) has a Ninja 250R for rent- that's a well suited bike for the steep, winding road from CNX to Pai. If you and your pillion aren't too heavy the Ninja 250R could be a great choice. There are plenty of CB400's available in Chiang Mai, but most are old and thrashed. If you know how to ride you could try one of Pop's ER6n's, but watch out- a couple of farang have already killed themselves on ER6n's around Chiang Mai so do approach with caution.

The SSR crew blasted Pai to CNX in about 2 hours, but the average rider should budget a good 3-4 hours, not including any stops you might want to make along the way.

Avoid this road on the weekend if possible as that's when there are tons of tourist vans who like to take up the whole road and generally drive like pricks.

It's a stunning road and gets even better if you continue on to Mae Hong Song, Khun Yuam, Mae Sariang, etc.

The 108 from Mae Sariang to Hot has some areas of construction that are quite messy. Still, I'd say the god parts outweigh the bad.

Happy Trails!

Tony

[LivinLOS]

Jeff AKA Pikey is in Tonys big bikes in CM.. The info and location is in the bike directory sticky.

He has CB400's ideal as a plodder for this task.

[nikster]

I live in Pai so I do Pai-CM quite regularly on my D-Tracker 250. Fantastic for 1, but too small for two, I'd think. Ninja 250 should be great though.

The CB400s might look better suited to the task but the rentals are usually old and totally shot. Rent a Ninja 250 and you get a brand new bike that can't have much wrong with it. Or a KLX250 or D-Tracker 250. I wonder if anyone has an ER-6n for rent, that would be a total blast. Haven't seen any shops in CM that do, but would be very interested.

You can make it in 3 hours if you don't stop anywhere. 2 hours is possible only if you go too fast IMO, though I have done it in 2:15. The Pai road is very inviting for some serious carving action but you have to keep two things in mind:

1 - Oncoming traffic on the wrong side of the road around turns. Especially trucks going fulls speed downhill. I have seen this more than once, and if you were caught in a curve at high speed you are dead. At least you have a very good chance.

2 - Less serious, there is also sand on the road on random patches. So you really have to watch out, it's easy to slip. Most of the road is perfect but then... surprise! Sand! Just be prepared.

No need to be concerned about tourist traffic on weekends at this time of the year. The Thai tourists come en masse in December/January, but the circus is over by end of February and nobody comes in summer, March/April.

Oh one more thing: Continuing from Pai - Mae Hong Son is an even better route than CM-Pai. It's basically a perfect motorbike trip to MHS - the curves are a bit wider than on the other side, it's gorgeous. The "Cave Lodge" at Cave Lod in Soppong makes for a fantastic stopover on the way. Just mentioning this because I went there for the first time this year, and not only is the stretch of road from Pai to Soppong basically perfect for motorbiking, the Cave Lodge is also an original with the (Aussie?) owner having been there for 20 years, a gorgeous location and the food terrific. It's a legend. MHS itself I find pretty boring but the way there - awesome.

[Niloc]

I too am one of the few privileged to live in Pai, I had a Honda dream when I first moved here but I kept falling off so I bought a Mitsubishi ute and gave the bike to the missus.

I have driven to CM and back at least twice a month for 4 years, it is a very twisty road but well maintained and if taken carefully it is very scenic. I always feel a thrill when I pass the Wat Chan sign at the edge of town, home at last!!

Colin

[johnefallis]

A band of renegade and rogue riders on a quest for the craziest turns and mountain roads while getting some serious knee-down and balls-out action!

It was on a wild journey north out of Bangkok at rippish speeds that I finally caught up with them and saw first hand the SSR in action!

If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... The SSR Team!

Just check the SSR Epic ride thread for more info...

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Ssr-Epic-Rid...5&start=225

"I pity da fool..."

haha

[LivinLOS]

A band of renegade and rogue riders on a quest for the craziest turns and mountain roads while getting some serious knee-down and balls-out action!

It was on a wild journey north out of Bangkok at rippish speeds that I finally caught up with them and saw first hand the SSR in action!

If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... The SSR Team!

Just check the SSR Epic ride thread for more info...

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Ssr-Epic-Rid...5&start=225

"I pity da fool..."

haha

I aint gettin on no aeroplane..

Ohhh a hamburger...

[BigBikeBKK]

I wonder if anyone has an ER-6n for rent, that would be a total blast. Haven't seen any shops in CM that do, but would be very interested.

Um, like I said earlier, Pop's has half a dozen shiny new orange ER6n's for rent. Shop is on outer moat road near Tha Phrae Gate- you can't miss it. I think they're down to five ER6n's since that farang totaled one of them and killed himself and his Thai passenger in the process last month...

Happy Trails,

Tony

[AceCafe]

^ Sat on one of those today...... a mate of mine bought one at the newish Pattaya showroom at their unbelievable promo price of around 230K. Didn't take up his offer of the key as I'm still drying out from a biggie, and flipflops would not have been sensible! But a really comfortable sit up and beg riding position, and plenty of room to tuck my knees (I'm 6ft & 95 kilos) into the tank cut-away. Nice seat height too, although I did read on another thread someone described it as "low"........ not my perspective.

Yep, I'd very much like to do one of those northern loops (Samoeng loop? ) on the Kwack...... quite a good choice, if you're reading, Xuberant.