I bought a Yamaha semi-off-the-road 250cc motorbike from 2006. Of course the bike is imported in parts and put together here in Thailand. I have seen the orginal import papers of the frame and engine number. Numbers are correct, import tax is payed.

I bought the bike now 2 months aga and I am still waiting for the promised (new) Green Book & License plate from Bangkok. So I am still driving around with a red plate.

My question .... Is it possible to check if the new Green Book is indeed in the pipe-line?

In the meanwhile I did find out that Padock in Bangkok is a good shop for helmets, cloths and Metzler tires. And that Red Baron in Bangkok is a good shop for spare-parts (new & second hand) and for maintanance.

Chang Noi

Did you pay extra for a "book ".if so ask the seller for a copy of the application, easy,.

Well when I bought the bike I did not pay for the getting the Green Book. But we made a agreement that he would arange a new (not a re-cycled) Green Book and that I would pay for that when I did really get the Green Book.

Of course he is not doing it himself but another guy who takes care of the application and it's told to me that the application is in the pipe-line and that the Bangkok Office will request to motorbike to be brought to Bangkok "soon" for testing and checking (I saw that here in Chonburi also). After that it would take 10 days before I really would get the Green Book & Licence plate. But "soon" is still "soon" after 2 months.

Now I realize that it can take some time, my wife bought a brand new Kawasaki KSR and it took almost 3 months before she got her Green Book.

Now I am driving with a red plate (looks to be a real one) but by law you can only drive with that for 3 months I thought? Actually no problem because the day that I start driving with it is not noticed in the book that should be with the red plate. But how about the insurance?

Well when I bought the bike I did not pay for the getting the Green Book. But we made a agreement that he would arange a new (not a re-cycled) Green Book and that I would pay for that when I did really get the Green Book.

Of course he is not doing it himself but another guy who takes care of the application and it's told to me that the application is in the pipe-line and that the Bangkok Office will request to motorbike to be brought to Bangkok "soon" for testing and checking (I saw that here in Chonburi also). After that it would take 10 days before I really would get the Green Book & Licence plate. But "soon" is still "soon" after 2 months.

Now I realize that it can take some time, my wife bought a brand new Kawasaki KSR and it took almost 3 months before she got her Green Book.

Now I am driving with a red plate (looks to be a real one) but by law you can only drive with that for 3 months I thought? Actually no problem because the day that I start driving with it is not noticed in the book that should be with the red plate. But how about the insurance?

Hi I have been through the process of buying both new and second hand bikes here in Phuket over the last two years - the Green book can be changed over in one day provided all parties have signed the right paperwork etc.

However in answer to your question - I have just bought a second hand motorbike from a dealer and the bike is registered in the north of Thailand and they are having to change it over - he said that the green book will not be ready for 6 months as he has to change the details then get it sent here and then changed over to my name.

In the meantime the bike now has the Red Number Plate - this basically covers the bike for three months during the transitional period, he did say that I would have to go back in three months to change the red plate again before getting all of Tax documents and Green Book.

I also had a bike I bought from a friend (farang) but he did not know where the green book was - I rode it around with the red plate for one year no problems, finally tracked him down and went to the dealer he bought it from and they swapped it for a normal plate with all of the tax and insurance docs.

Anyway I know this is not by the law but as long as you have a red plate on you dont need the tax as it signifies the real license plate is being processed and they can not tax it until it is complete.

This is not gospel and as I am sure I will be corrected by people much more in the know than me but dont worry about driving around on a red plate!