How Fast On A Ride?

[alant]

when much much younger in england i would hurtle along the road and blast away from traffic lights. now i like to see whats around so when i pop out for a bit of a trip, say from home in chiangmai to chang dao etc i tend to ride at 80 to 100 km/hr so i can appreciate where i am. having read about some great rides some of you have taken i was wondering, at what speed do you tend to ride over here? have i become a pottering old fart at 54?

[OzMick]

when much much younger in england i would hurtle along the road and blast away from traffic lights. now i like to see whats around so when i pop out for a bit of a trip, say from home in chiangmai to chang dao etc i tend to ride at 80 to 100 km/hr so i can appreciate where i am. having read about some great rides some of you have taken i was wondering, at what speed do you tend to ride over here? have i become a pottering old fart at 54?

yes

[HTWoodson]

Nah. I cruise 80-120 usually too, even though my bike is capable of much faster. It's the journey, not the destination.

[H2oDunc]

I have two speeds when riding. Cruising speed which I do 99% of the time which is between 80- 100 KPH and travelling speed which is around the 140 - 160 KPH. At 80 KPH you can appreciate where you are riding and react to the other drivers around you safely. Travelling speed is only to be used in an emergency and requires a more committed brain active ride! If thats the right words to describe it I love the changes in smells as you drive around Thailand.

[alant]

when much much younger in england i would hurtle along the road and blast away from traffic lights. now i like to see whats around so when i pop out for a bit of a trip, say from home in chiangmai to chang dao etc i tend to ride at 80 to 100 km/hr so i can appreciate where i am. having read about some great rides some of you have taken i was wondering, at what speed do you tend to ride over here? have i become a pottering old fart at 54?

yes

brief and to the point eh... made me smile,

ta to those who have also passed on their experience

[Texpat]

IMO -- In Thailand, anything over ~90 requires all attention be paid to the road.

Any distractions to read signs or enjoy the scenery are at you peril.

Even the main highways in many parts of the country have bicycles, cows grazing, food stalls, licenceless 10-year-olds on putt-putts pulling out...

I'm well past the stage where excessive speed is exciting. It's plain dumb.

[BigBikeBKK]

I have two speeds when riding. Cruising speed which I do 99% of the time which is between 80- 100 KPH and travelling speed which is around the 140 - 160 KPH. At 80 KPH you can appreciate where you are riding and react to the other drivers around you safely. Travelling speed is only to be used in an emergency and requires a more committed brain active ride! If thats the right words to describe it I love the changes in smells as you drive around Thailand.

^ Yeah- that's well said- I also have 2 speeds. When cruising from Bangkok to Chiang Mai on the Highway 1 or Bangkok to Khorat / Khon Kaen / Udon on Highway 2 it's usually high speed since these roads are in generally in good repair and you can see what's ahead a long ways off. Because of the big trucks that ply these highways it's rare to see dogs or clueless kids on scooters. There's nothing much to see on these roads anyway- so if traffic isn't too heavy it's usually full speed ahead. I much prefer to be going faster than traffic so I don't have to worry about a petal to the metal Fortuner or Benz running me over from behind. 160-200km/hr is the norm on those highways.

Then when I get to the twisties it kinda depends on who I'm riding with. If it's the SSR crew we like to run our tires edge to edge and keep a good pace. I don't think we travel at reckless speeds but must admit that I don't get to enjoy much scenery on those rides because 100% focus on the road is a must.

And sometimes it's nice to just cruise along with the missus or slower riders at 80-100 km/hr and enjoy the scenery. Even when you're going slow you still have to remain focused as you never know what might come at you on Thai roads.

Happy Trails!

Tony

[OzMick]

100% on the road all the time. If you want to look at the scenery, stop, even say hello if the girlfriend's not with you. A little bit of dash and dazzle stops it getting boring, and I'm an old fart of 56 with 40 years on 2 wheels.

saw a guy many years ago, looking over his shoulder at a tasty lass, hit the gutter and threw himself into a light pole. Broken collar bone rather than neck, luckily.

[Fishenough]

when much much younger in england i would hurtle along the road and blast away from traffic lights. now i like to see whats around so when i pop out for a bit of a trip, say from home in chiangmai to chang dao etc i tend to ride at 80 to 100 km/hr so i can appreciate where i am. having read about some great rides some of you have taken i was wondering, at what speed do you tend to ride over here? have i become a pottering old fart at 54?

Yep also, but right there with you and happy to patter along at the ripe old age of 42. Too much I wanna do with the rest of my life to be splated into a cow at 120 kph (like the two walking the super highway east of the airport plaza yesterday).

Agree with Texpat......

[JonnyF]

120ish is about the norm for me if the road is clear. My girlfriend tends to get a bit nervous around 130-140 and I want her to enjoy the ride as well so I don't push it with her on the bike.

On my own I'll take it to 160-170 but not for long periods. Just too much crazy stuff that can happen in the blink of an eye on the roads here - I find it mentally very tiring riding fast here so it's not as enjoyable. I just find it takes a really high level of concentration to compensate for the stupid/unexpected things that routinely happen in front of you.

[mbox]

I have two speeds when riding. Cruising speed which I do 99% of the time which is between 80- 100 KPH and travelling speed which is around the 140 - 160 KPH. At 80 KPH you can appreciate where you are riding and react to the other drivers around you safely. Travelling speed is only to be used in an emergency and requires a more committed brain active ride! If thats the right words to describe it I love the changes in smells as you drive around Thailand.

i second these speeds...i now drive a smaller 250 cc tiger boxer where the 140km/h is just the max...but on all the larger prior bikes(650cc-1200cc) this is what i drove around on too. But the wisest thing is to adjust actually to road and traffic conditions...Big Bike Bkk mentioned he drove even faster this is also working(as i have done it infrequently) if you know that particular road well(very well is even better).

mbox

[Lagoud]

Yeah, got to agree with you guys. Keep it sensible and in line with road and conditions.

There's also a difference in riding alone or with a group.

If I'm on my own I basically drive carefully. On the highways (on my own) I'll wait for a vehicle doing 120 - 140 - ? and tuck in behind it, at a safe distance.

On group rides, if you can get the Goldwing or BMW LT out front the other drivers and the public all around all seem to take a second look and you sail through. They also are not sure wether it's the BIB.

[Meridian007]

80-100 for me too, unless there are multiple lanes so that I can get away from that dangerous left lane! There's too much to see here (in many ways!) for me to want to speed too much.

I guess I'm an old fart at 37!

[thaicbr]

"On the highways (on my own) I'll wait for a vehicle doing 120 - 140 - ? and tuck in behind it, at a safe distance."

No fuc+ing way am i going to do this here in LOS with the way some of these idiots drive. I try and get as much open road between me and the twanks. And then sometimes it aint enough. the blind, ignorant,stupid cage drivers.

[alant]

"On the highways (on my own) I'll wait for a vehicle doing 120 - 140 - ? and tuck in behind it, at a safe distance."

No fuc+ing way am i going to do this here in LOS with the way some of these idiots drive. I try and get as much open road between me and the twanks. And then sometimes it aint enough. the blind, ignorant,stupid cage drivers.

riding here is certainly interesting! i have a new rider friend coming here to CM next week and i worry a bit about if he is ready for the traffic disciplin etc. as well as traffic, i find the road surface can change so quickly it catches you out even on roads like the 1 and 11 with the result of all of the traffic diving for the remaining smooth bit with little care for others.

[BigSnake]

80-100km per hour is about right for this old cowboy, 120 once in awhile just to clean out the Carborator

[sinewave]

just got back from ban saen leaving from the srinakarin/pattanakarn intersection, going through suvarnabhumi airport connecting to bang na....1 hour flat very windy day, going through ang sila...average 110 kph

[Zzinged]

I usually pull 120-130km/h on the highways between towns. I really don't like going faster than that. My bike seems to leak fuel above 130km/h.

[johngooding]

I ride as fast as I feel comfortable and in full control. That varies depending on road, traffic, weather, time of day etc.

On roads like Khon Kaen to Chiang Mai which I have done many times and know well there are some very quick stretches, and some slower parts, what is comfortable for me may be fast for someone and slow for someone else.  I am not into telling someone else what is too quick or too slow, we all have different levels of competence, experience and equipment, and I have no problem with the driving standards over here, your just get to appreciate whats possible and whats not.

I enjoy my Thailand biking so much more than I ever did my 'civilised' UK biking,  and I ride a lot quicker over here and still keep my licence.

[BigBikeBKK]

just got back from ban saen leaving from the srinakarin/pattanakarn intersection, going through suvarnabhumi airport connecting to bang na....1 hour flat very windy day, going through ang sila...average 110 kph

Oh, was that you I passed this afternoon?