Well i am officially a student now, in my quest to understand thai culture and the language. But after riding around CM i am seriously wondering if i should bring my street bike. With the GF aboard navigating traffic was more work than i enjoyed, and the heat of sitting there made me feel like a sausage. Granted the majority of my riding expirience is limited to open roads and rural communities so its new to me.

What are your thoughts?

I am moving in august to start school in September.

If you don't bring the VFR, you'll defo be missing out on riding great CM roads. Perhaps if you have the funds you could rent a scooter to use around town with the girl.

DEFINITELY BRING THE BIKE!!!

sorry to be off topic and i cant help you with CM but can you tell me where you bought the VFR and how you regsitered it here in thailand. thats just the bike i want and but cant find a 'reputable" one [dealer OR bike]anywhere...big bikes in thailand seem like a difficult propostion. can anyone help??

VFR400? Can you get good service and fast parts in Chiang Mai?

sorry to be off topic and i cant help you with CM but can you tell me where you bought the VFR and how you regsitered it here in thailand. thats just the bike i want and but cant find a 'reputable" one [dealer OR bike]anywhere...big bikes in thailand seem like a difficult propostion. can anyone help??

well i bought mine from a British gentleman in BKK. But if its a VFR400 your looking for my mechanic knows of several that are in the 20000 to 60000 price range in chiang rai. PM me and i will shoot you his info. really nice guy who has done a fantastic job fixing my bike on occasion.

VFR400? Can you get good service and fast parts in Chiang Mai?

Yes its a 92 VFR400, but all the parts i have gotten have had to come out of BKK, so i would not think it matters.

Well i am officially a student now, in my quest to understand thai culture and the language. But after riding around CM i am seriously wondering if i should bring my street bike. With the GF aboard navigating traffic was more work than i enjoyed, and the heat of sitting there made me feel like a sausage. Granted the majority of my riding expirience is limited to open roads and rural communities so its new to me.

What are your thoughts?

I am moving in august to start school in September.

Bring the bike.... The motorcycling outside of the city is outstanding. Once you live in CM for a while, you will find routes that have in the city that have less traffic. Get a copy of the Big Map as its called and you can usually find faster roads. Like zzinged said, try to find a scooter to use as a transporter for the in-city trips.

Well i am officially a student now, in my quest to understand thai culture and the language. But after riding around CM i am seriously wondering if i should bring my street bike. With the GF aboard navigating traffic was more work than i enjoyed, and the heat of sitting there made me feel like a sausage. Granted the majority of my riding expirience is limited to open roads and rural communities so its new to me.

What are your thoughts?

I am moving in august to start school in September.

you are coming to one of the best areas anywhere for riding a bike, get out of town and enjoy.

Its always nice to have a bike like a VFR, but its also useful to have a sensible small Thai bike like a Wave/Mio/etc to do shopping, run out for things you need, etc. That basket at the front is dead handy, no matter how uncool it is. Buy a small (2nd hand?) bike to complement the vfr? Maybe for the gf? You should be able to get something for around 10k 2nd hand, or maybe 15k for a 2nd hand Mio? The 2stroke small bikes are absolute bargains (Nova/BelleR/etc); around 5k, and dead reliable/easy to fix. Make sure you get something common so parts are easy to get.

Of course bring your bike. Pretty stupid if you don't as Chiang Mai & North Thailand has the best riding in the region.

Parts & service are not a problem. Look here for handy motorbike shops in Chiang Mai.

The David has spoken

ps> Also, look for the GT Rider's Map to the Golden Triangle. It's excellent.

well driving around today and it seemed as though the streets are literally swarming with big bikes!

We habe a old Dream guess we can fix it up for city driving.

thanks for the input.

VFR400? Can you get good service and fast parts in Chiang Mai?

Piston shop would handle it no ??

And a 100% yes from me.. The very idea of being up there without a bike seems crazy !!