Red Flags When Buying A Used Bike

[Kf6vci]

Someone is selling a Shadow 750. Turns out he is kinda confused about where the bike is registered.

Yesterday, I called the seller of an orange VFR 800 i and was told the book is new and the bike registered up North.

Well, the book was never scanned - and my wife says the license plate is from Phuket

What is going on?

Maybe we need to pin a checklist to protect first time buyers in LOS.

Not sure what this is all about, but something isn't right.

My wife (she can ride but never owned a bike) says there would be problems later on if a bike is registered elsewhere.

Again, what's the story behind such cases?

Chris

[LivinLOS]

A bike being registered in a different changwat is not really a problem..

But it does beg the question WHY is it not registered in the home province ??

Firstly the book should be checked over.. The make model must be correct, then also the age of the bike in the book must be the age that this exact model is, any discrepancy is clearly showing the bike could not be the same as the book.

Also then engine and frame numbers must be checked and exact.. Then the stamps must be straight and correct, I have seen some utter bodges.. Run your hand over the frame area to see that its truly round and doesnt have a flat spot where previous numbers were filed down.

Then look back through the book.. Make sure it didnt change color and engine number at the same time at any point in its history.. A give away that the frame number was shifted to a donor bike.

If bike make model age and numbers all match the book then theres not much the government can say, its in the computer, its numbers match, and it cannot be told apart from a legit one.

On Phuket they are also refusing transfers if the page 18 tax information is not in there. This is a total fuc_k up as the law applied to bikes aged between 2542 and after (IIRC its in some thread I posted) so from 98 onwards, however Phukets DMV illegally apply this rule to ANY bike missing page 18 information and simply say go speak to customs.. Customs again lie and demand money for any age machine, even with a smart lawyer who got many bikes released without payment, they refuse to write 'clearance letters' which the DMV insists on to transfer. Basically they are simply trying to extort money by exploiting peoples ignorance.. Also fact is this information was considered irrelevant and many DMV's simply didnt bother to move it over when they made new books. This is not enforced in any other province I know of but it s major hassle here.

Also Phukets DMV are not transferring bikes that are 'non standard' even down to aftermarket indicators or light clusters.. Just being total dicks about big bike transfers. Again this is here only to my knowledge.

Edited September 15, 2009 by LivinLOS

[ScubaBuddha]

I just went through this brain numbing process with a bike in similar condition. This thread will undoubtedly get filled with responses from this persons claiming you can do this or that and then other claiming a completely different story, as has happened in so many other threads like this one. There can be so many problems with books in Thailand that they are two numerous to list, and the rules vary wildly by province, and are constantly changing, even in the last 6 months, as I found out. It is getting much harder to find an official that you can bribe to make a new book or transfer title for a bent book, but it's all who you know. Something that was no problem with a 14k backhander 6 months ago is now met with a "can not." by my fixer. Everytime I thought I was past a hurdle, another was placed in front of me. And this was trying at multiple land transport departments using multiple and very good Thai fixers. And now it's getting much tougher as the rules continue to change. The government is getting pressured to rid Thai roads these old pseudo-legally imported "grey bikes" due to a deal struck with the major manufacturer's of Jap big bikes which are now being made in Thailand. There is only two ways to buy a used big bike in Thailand now. To ensure there are no problems, you must take the current legal owner, the book and bike, to the land transport dept. with you with the understanding that if the bike can't be moved to your province and put in your name, you will not buy it. Period.

The other option is to keep it in the old province under the old owners name, which many people do. Just keep a copy of the book with you and keep the tax disk current and displayed on the bike. As of now you can still get tax disks for the dodgy bikes and books but who knows for how long. Bikes are usually discounted 20-50% when there green books are in this condition. So far at police checkpoints they are not checking quality of books and who's name are on them. However, if you leave your bike in big bike shop overnight and it gets raided, you may loose your bike if you can't prove beyond a doubt that the bike is yours and legal, which is really up to the police to determine what "legal" means. Many people have lost their bikes this way, only to later see police riding around on them later.

Edit: I didn't want to go into that much detail, but LivinLOS comments reflect what happened to me concerning just one of the issues on my bike, the page 18. When I traveled outside Phuket to register the bike, I was faced with another slew of issues, but Page 18 import duties was not one of them. My CBR 400's book claimed it was a 1 cylinder, and according to the land transport departments records, there was a problem with the serial numbers as well. The odd thing was, they simply would not accept any money to overlook the issues, so it wasn't liek they were trying to extort me. Same thing with Phuket. I was simply told at both places. "can not," so i had to sell it at a discount as is.

Best advice, avoid the hassle of buying a used big bike in Thailand, unless it is less than a few years old and papers are in order. So many new bikes are available at much more reasonable prices now, with more coming soon. It's a tough pill to swallow since this was the purpose of all these changes, but it makes economic sense.

Edited September 15, 2009 by Scubabuddha

[imaneggspurt]

I just went through this brain numbing process with a bike in similar condition. This thread will undoubtedly get filled with responses from this persons claiming you can do this or that and then other claiming a completely different story, as has happened in so many other threads like this one. There can be so many problems with books in Thailand that they are two numerous to list, and the rules vary wildly by province, and are constantly changing, even in the last 6 months, as I found out. It is getting much harder to find an official that you can bribe to make a new book or transfer title for a bent book, but it's all who you know. Something that was no problem with a 14k backhander 6 months ago is now met with a "can not." by my fixer. Everytime I thought I was past a hurdle, another was placed in front of me. And this was trying at multiple land transport departments using multiple and very good Thai fixers. And now it's getting much tougher as the rules continue to change. The government is getting pressured to rid Thai roads these old pseudo-legally imported "grey bikes" due to a deal struck with the major manufacturer's of Jap big bikes which are now being made in Thailand. There is only two ways to buy a used big bike in Thailand now. To ensure there are no problems, you must take the current legal owner, the book and bike, to the land transport dept. with you with the understanding that if the bike can't be moved to your province and put in your name, you will not buy it. Period.

The other option is to keep it in the old province under the old owners name, which many people do. Just keep a copy of the book with you and keep the tax disk current and displayed on the bike. As of now you can still get tax disks for the dodgy bikes and books but who knows for how long. Bikes are usually discounted 20-50% when there green books are in this condition. So far at police checkpoints they are not checking quality of books and who's name are on them. However, if you leave your bike in big bike shop overnight and it gets raided, you may loose your bike if you can't prove beyond a doubt that the big is yours and legal, which is really up to the police to determine what "legal" means. This has happened many times.

Good post, i have 2 grey book bikes, just renewed tax and ins yesterday, the agent i use said the old office she used was now run by a different guy and advised me to go to a new mot station also,as my bikes an off roader ,registered to go to cambodia i took it in the pickup to the mot station, he looked at the bike and the book, releived me of 500 baht and i was on my way,been this way for 7 years and numerous border crossings,the bike is 450cc and registered as a 150cc 2 stroke !,.....i bought it this way as done by a thai, i dont ruffle feathers and keep a low profile, but i will add it seems to be getting tougher, but i suppose thats true of everywhere,

[katabeachbum]

A bike being registered in a different changwat is not really a problem..

But it does beg the question WHY is it not registered in the home province ??

Firstly the book should be checked over.. The make model must be correct, then also the age of the bike in the book must be the age that this exact model is, any discrepancy is clearly showing the bike could not be the same as the book.

Also then engine and frame numbers must be checked and exact.. Then the stamps must be straight and correct, I have seen some utter bodges.. Run your hand over the frame area to see that its truly round and doesnt have a flat spot where previous numbers were filed down.

Then look back through the book.. Make sure it didnt change color and engine number at the same time at any point in its history.. A give away that the frame number was shifted to a donor bike.

If bike make model age and numbers all match the book then theres not much the government can say, its in the computer, its numbers match, and it cannot be told apart from a legit one.

On Phuket they are also refusing transfers if the page 18 tax information is not in there. This is a total fuc_k up as the law applied to bikes aged between 2542 and after (IIRC its in some thread I posted) so from 98 onwards, however Phukets DMV illegally apply this rule to ANY bike missing page 18 information and simply say go speak to customs.. Customs again lie and demand money for any age machine, even with a smart lawyer who got many bikes released without payment, they refuse to write 'clearance letters' which the DMV insists on to transfer. Basically they are simply trying to extort money by exploiting peoples ignorance.. Also fact is this information was considered irrelevant and many DMV's simply didnt bother to move it over when they made new books. This is not enforced in any other province I know of but it s major hassle here.

Also Phukets DMV are not transferring bikes that are 'non standard' even down to aftermarket indicators or light clusters.. Just being total dicks about big bike transfers. Again this is here only to my knowledge.

Also make sure framenumber is for this kind of bike, and not a Honda Wave. Same goes for enginenumber.

Check number of cylinders. Weight should be correct, 105 kg is for a Honda Wave. Displacement should be correct, for instance there is no Honda 400cc engine available, its like 398cc.

Bike can be registered legally in another Jangwat and still carry Phuket plates.

[bazmlb]

All good info a will be pinned to help new buyers

[ScubaBuddha]

A bike being registered in a different changwat is not really a problem..

But it does beg the question WHY is it not registered in the home province ??

Firstly the book should be checked over.. The make model must be correct, then also the age of the bike in the book must be the age that this exact model is, any discrepancy is clearly showing the bike could not be the same as the book.

Also then engine and frame numbers must be checked and exact.. Then the stamps must be straight and correct, I have seen some utter bodges.. Run your hand over the frame area to see that its truly round and doesnt have a flat spot where previous numbers were filed down.

Then look back through the book.. Make sure it didnt change color and engine number at the same time at any point in its history.. A give away that the frame number was shifted to a donor bike.

If bike make model age and numbers all match the book then there's not much the government can say, its in the computer, its numbers match, and it cannot be told apart from a legit one.

On Phuket they are also refusing transfers if the page 18 tax information is not in there. This is a total fuc_k up as the law applied to bikes aged between 2542 and after (IIRC its in some thread I posted) so from 98 onwards, however Phukets DMV illegally apply this rule to ANY bike missing page 18 information and simply say go speak to customs.. Customs again lie and demand money for any age machine, even with a smart lawyer who got many bikes released without payment, they refuse to write 'clearance letters' which the DMV insists on to transfer. Basically they are simply trying to extort money by exploiting peoples ignorance.. Also fact is this information was considered irrelevant and many DMV's simply didnt bother to move it over when they made new books. This is not enforced in any other province I know of but it s major hassle here.

Also Phukets DMV are not transferring bikes that are 'non standard' even down to aftermarket indicators or light clusters.. Just being total dicks about big bike transfers. Again this is here only to my knowledge.

Also make sure framenumber is for this kind of bike, and not a Honda Wave. Same goes for engine number.

Check number of cylinders. Weight should be correct, 105 kg is for a Honda Wave. Displacement should be correct, for instance there is no Honda 400cc engine available, its like 398cc.

Bike can be registered legally in another Jangwat and still carry Phuket plates.

That's a good point. That could have potentially been another problem with my book since it was a Honda and said 400cc (and 1 cylinder!). But are the staff at the LTD's that vigilant in either putting the original correct cc's on the book, or paying attention when working on the book later on? I would think out of laziness that they would accept the "CBR400" or whatever, on the side of the bike and leave it at that.

One other point...some used dealers are no better at providing correct books. I bought mine from http://www.asiatradingonline.com/bikes.htm and was royally fleeced both in the condition of the bike (it didn't run for about 6 different reasons) and the bent book. You can still see my bike, the blue CBR400, on that page. They since added the "private owner" to it to try to avoid responsibility. They knew I had a case and actually gave me 10,000 baht back, but that hardly covered the ~80,000 baht I lost between repairs and depreciation once I realized it had a bogus book. It's buyer beware, as I learned the hard way.

Edited September 15, 2009 by Scubabuddha

[Kf6vci]

Update. The plot thickens. Got the scanned Green Book. It's in some Thai man's name with an address in Phuket. ** Wait a minute, some farang is selling someone else's bike? Mmh.

The book is new but a "replacement" and the numbers seem to match or at least be all from Honda.

Verifying the book requires accessing the computer at the DMV. This can be accomplished, since I know someone who knows someone who is working there or some other bike import related ministry.

That Er6n looks mightily tempting with a 100% green book, 2 years warranty for only THB 75,000 more. Just thinking aloud here.

Thank you for all posts, I will re-read them a few times.

Have fun!

Chris

[Kf6vci]

Scuba - thanks for sharing, this is most unfortunate! A big bike shop opened up in my neighborhood named www.siambigbike.co.th and none of the all Japanese import bikes comes with rego or book. I asked how much for a Green Book? A: "35,000". Elsewhere, I read that 62,000 is the value of a new green book.

Handing over cash and taking possession is the easy bit. Someone suggested to wait with payment until the title gets transferred at the DMV (I don't know the name over here).

Thank you all,

Chris

[ScubaBuddha]

Update. The plot thickens. Got the scanned Green Book. It's in some Thai man's name with an address in Phuket. ** Wait a minute, some farang is selling someone else's bike? Mmh.

The book is new but a "replacement" and the numbers seem to match or at least be all from Honda.

Verifying the book requires accessing the computer at the DMV. This can be accomplished, since I know someone who knows someone who is working there or some other bike import related ministry.

That Er6n looks mightily tempting with a 100% green book, 2 years warranty for only THB 75,000 more. Just thinking aloud here.

Thank you for all posts, I will re-read them a few times.

Have fun!

Chris

When I went through my ordeal a few months ago, there was no "computer" at DMV (Land Transport Department). They actually had to order the paperwork from the files at the office it was last registered in, (or that it was originally registered in? cant remember), to see if that bit (they showed me what the card looks like) corresponded to the book, or if there was a bribe paid to convert the book from, say a Honda Click, to the CBR400, which I suspect is what happened as evidenced by the 1 cylinder on the book. Eventually they told me at LTD to take the bike to the police to get it "cleared." As I am not in the business of donating bikes the the BIB, I elected not to choose that option.

Anyway, my problems may be very different than yours, but I just wanted to illustrate how bad it can get. My question is how the hel_l are you going to get a book that is in a Thai's name, being sold by a farang, into your name? Sounds like loads of trouble. The 75k extra is well well worth it IMHO, unless you don't mind having a book and bike that will never be in your name. LivingLOS knows this stuff better than anyone, and even some things that happened to me were a surprise to him. Like I said, things are changing.

Again, and I can't stress this enough, no matter what you do, make sure you take the seller to the LDS with you before any money changes hands!!!

Good luck!!

[ScubaBuddha]

Someone suggested to wait with payment until the title gets transferred at the DMV

Yes yes yes!!

[thaicbr]

Hi Guys. Just a bit about the transfer i did on my new (old)bike today.

The book has all the correct numbers. But the date of manufacturer is about 16 years to old. The book says it was manufactured 35 years ago. Its a 1991.

Went to the transport office with the paperwork and 2 hours later it was in my name. 2 years back tax paid as well. Total 1195 baht inc Compulsory insurance (Cheap bike only 40,000b. needs a bit of work )

BUT i did do a little homework first. I rang the main transport office to check where it was registered and if it was in the system and then got the transfer done at the same office (Bangkok, Area 1). If you do not need to transfer province this is the best way to go. I can get my yearly tax at any transport office.

Allan

[ScubaBuddha]

Hi Guys. Just a bit about the transfer i did on my new (old)bike today.

The book has all the correct numbers. But the date of manufacturer is about 16 years to old. The book says it was manufactured 35 years ago. Its a 1991.

Went to the transport office with the paperwork and 2 hours later it was in my name. 2 years back tax paid as well. Total 1195 baht inc Compulsory insurance (Cheap bike only 40,000b. needs a bit of work )

BUT i did do a little homework first. I rang the main transport office to check where it was registered and if it was in the system and then got the transfer done at the same office (Bangkok, Area 1). If you do not need to transfer province this is the best way to go. I can get my yearly tax at any transport office.

Allan

Glad it went OK for ya Allen. After my experiences, I am certain you wouldn't have been able to do this in Phuket.

[Kf6vci]

Glad to hear you got it sorted, Allan!

In the mean time, I heard from another biker who called the seller and spoke with him longer than me. He was told it's an employee's bike, the employee owes the farang boss money... But I am acutely aware of specific issues in Phuket. Thanks, Livin LOS! That aftermarket exhaust alone might be a major headache!

[LivinLOS]

Bike can be registered legally in another Jangwat and still carry Phuket plates.

How does that work..

Whenever I have to move changwat I had to get new plates for that local..

I heard Bangkok plates can be regged anywhere (true ??) but provincial plates have to be changed when its registered in a new province.

[LivinLOS]

Hi Guys. Just a bit about the transfer i did on my new (old)bike today.

The book has all the correct numbers. But the date of manufacturer is about 16 years to old. The book says it was manufactured 35 years ago. Its a 1991.

Went to the transport office with the paperwork and 2 hours later it was in my name. 2 years back tax paid as well. Total 1195 baht inc Compulsory insurance (Cheap bike only 40,000b. needs a bit of work )

That wouldnt swing where we are..

Phuket checks age against bike.. I saw a really nice CB400 VTEC of I think 04 type vintage (post 02 model??) in a workshop yesterday.. Thats trapped in someones name as the book is for a late 90's.. They know the difference between the 02 and later model and the late 90's CB400 super four and wont shift it over.. Just a couple of years on the book.

[thaicbr]

"Bike can be registered legally in another Jangwat and still carry Phuket plates. "

I think what he means is that you transfer in Phuket but fill out the additional paperwork saying that your address is in a different province. Same as i did for the Vx. I didnt want to transfer to Nakhon Pathom and get a new plate. So an extra form was required stating that i was living in a different province (massive charge of 20 baht for this service). It was all in Thai, but this is what my Thai friend told me.

Edited September 16, 2009 by thaicbr

[LivinLOS]

Didnt know that was possible.. I thought you had to have an address within the province of registration..

I bought a car from CM.. And I was a bit nervous about the money handover and name change.. They told me I could either do it in CM, put it in my name there, then move it to phuket within IIRC 30 days.. Or I could move it to phuket and change the name there.. I was under the belief that if I put it in my name in CM, I would have to pay some some 'fee' to provide a fake tabien baan / house paper / address for me within the province and claim I lived there.

Same as my GF isnt registered in our rental house.. Whenever she buys a bike she has to pay someone a fee to use their tabien baan as the rego address. Its actually easier for me to put them in my name than her in a true TiT type of way.

[thaicbr]

Livin. not sure . I will check with my friend. I do remember that the form had an area where 2 witnesses had to sign. So my friend signed her name and her sisters. This was in front of the Transport guy but no problem.

[katabeachbum]

Scuba - thanks for sharing, this is most unfortunate! A big bike shop opened up in my neighborhood named www.siambigbike.co.th and none of the all Japanese import bikes comes with rego or book. I asked how much for a Green Book? A: "35,000". Elsewhere, I read that 62,000 is the value of a new green book.

Handing over cash and taking possession is the easy bit. Someone suggested to wait with payment until the title gets transferred at the DMV (I don't know the name over here).

Thank you all,

Chris

Teera Motors in Phuket say 35k for a recycled book (previous 100-125cc bike), and 80k for a genuine book. Expect 6-9 months for a genuine book. Goes for all their unreg bikes.

[katabeachbum]

Bike can be registered legally in another Jangwat and still carry Phuket plates.

How does that work..

Whenever I have to move changwat I had to get new plates for that local..

I heard Bangkok plates can be regged anywhere (true ??) but provincial plates have to be changed when its registered in a new province.

I bought a bike from Sumon with Rayong plates, and had it transfered to me with Phuket adress. To much hazzle to have it changed to Phuket plates they said. Emission I guess, since it is not a Calif emission bike.

[thaicbr]

Na Kata. It was one of the stolen books out of rayong/chantanburi as a guess.

About 3 years ago 600 new green books went missing from a transport office over that way.

ever since bikes have been getting green books from this province area( i doubt they are on the system as such but you can get tax etc if you go to a different transport office) But hey this is Thailand, So who knows

[katabeachbum]

Na Kata. It was one of the stolen books out of rayong/chantanburi as a guess.

About 3 years ago 600 new green books went missing from a transport office over that way.

ever since bikes have been getting green books from this province area( i doubt they are on the system as such but you can get tax etc if you go to a different transport office) But hey this is Thailand, So who knows

This bike/book was registered in DMVs computer (checked in policestation computer) and had a good page 18 on taxes/duties. I also made a first class insurance at 400k baht. Insurancecompany checked bike/book/DMV computer before issuing insurance.

[thaicbr]

ok. they were just being lazy then

But then my 35 year old 1991 bike is on the computer has page 18 filled in and they checked the book for the insurance. tit

[katabeachbum]

ok. they were just being lazy then

But then my 35 year old 1991 bike is on the computer has page 18 filled in and they checked the book for the insurance. tit

Never know Allan

Life in Paradise

[classix]

I just went through this brain numbing process with a bike in similar condition. This thread will undoubtedly get filled with responses from this persons claiming you can do this or that and then other claiming a completely different story, as has happened in so many other threads like this one. There can be so many problems with books in Thailand that they are two numerous to list, and the rules vary wildly by province, and are constantly changing, even in the last 6 months, as I found out. It is getting much harder to find an official that you can bribe to make a new book or transfer title for a bent book, but it's all who you know. Something that was no problem with a 14k backhander 6 months ago is now met with a "can not." by my fixer. Everytime I thought I was past a hurdle, another was placed in front of me. And this was trying at multiple land transport departments using multiple and very good Thai fixers. And now it's getting much tougher as the rules continue to change. The government is getting pressured to rid Thai roads these old pseudo-legally imported "grey bikes" due to a deal struck with the major manufacturer's of Jap big bikes which are now being made in Thailand. There is only two ways to buy a used big bike in Thailand now. To ensure there are no problems, you must take the current legal owner, the book and bike, to the land transport dept. with you with the understanding that if the bike can't be moved to your province and put in your name, you will not buy it. Period.

The other option is to keep it in the old province under the old owners name, which many people do. Just keep a copy of the book with you and keep the tax disk current and displayed on the bike. As of now you can still get tax disks for the dodgy bikes and books but who knows for how long. Bikes are usually discounted 20-50% when there green books are in this condition. So far at police checkpoints they are not checking quality of books and who's name are on them. However, if you leave your bike in big bike shop overnight and it gets raided, you may loose your bike if you can't prove beyond a doubt that the bike is yours and legal, which is really up to the police to determine what "legal" means. Many people have lost their bikes this way, only to later see police riding around on them later.

Edit: I didn't want to go into that much detail, but LivinLOS comments reflect what happened to me concerning just one of the issues on my bike, the page 18. When I traveled outside Phuket to register the bike, I was faced with another slew of issues, but Page 18 import duties was not one of them. My CBR 400's book claimed it was a 1 cylinder, and according to the land transport departments records, there was a problem with the serial numbers as well. The odd thing was, they simply would not accept any money to overlook the issues, so it wasn't liek they were trying to extort me. Same thing with Phuket. I was simply told at both places. "can not," so i had to sell it at a discount as is.

Best advice, avoid the hassle of buying a used big bike in Thailand, unless it is less than a few years old and papers are in order. So many new bikes are available at much more reasonable prices now, with more coming soon. It's a tough pill to swallow since this was the purpose of all these changes, but it makes economic sense.

Sad that the toyota fortuner crew ride against this nice uniqe thaistyle bikes.i dont like this new zoghurt ninjas .thailand land of the free why not leave like it is.why not just can import a bike from any country.who gets hurt.always some rules can not take care for some important issues sunpowerstations bicycle rails kindergardens windrails.phuketbikeweek lives from this kind free style.with the boats zears ago was the same thing 200 percent importtax then changed better lobby.i forgett to mention airpolution traffic a railway connect airport beaches big c.this are the future for phuket not some old bikes and old bikers like me.i wait for the tatoo hunt.alcohol bann somgkran.let poeple free as long they leave others free.lets enjoy the sundown on this paradise island.carabaow help

[LivinLOS]

I just went through this brain numbing process with a bike in similar condition. This thread will undoubtedly get filled with responses from this persons claiming you can do this or that and then other claiming a completely different story, as has happened in so many other threads like this one. There can be so many problems with books in Thailand that they are two numerous to list, and the rules vary wildly by province, and are constantly changing, even in the last 6 months, as I found out. It is getting much harder to find an official that you can bribe to make a new book or transfer title for a bent book, but it's all who you know. Something that was no problem with a 14k backhander 6 months ago is now met with a "can not." by my fixer. Everytime I thought I was past a hurdle, another was placed in front of me. And this was trying at multiple land transport departments using multiple and very good Thai fixers. And now it's getting much tougher as the rules continue to change. The government is getting pressured to rid Thai roads these old pseudo-legally imported "grey bikes" due to a deal struck with the major manufacturer's of Jap big bikes which are now being made in Thailand. There is only two ways to buy a used big bike in Thailand now. To ensure there are no problems, you must take the current legal owner, the book and bike, to the land transport dept. with you with the understanding that if the bike can't be moved to your province and put in your name, you will not buy it. Period.

The other option is to keep it in the old province under the old owners name, which many people do. Just keep a copy of the book with you and keep the tax disk current and displayed on the bike. As of now you can still get tax disks for the dodgy bikes and books but who knows for how long. Bikes are usually discounted 20-50% when there green books are in this condition. So far at police checkpoints they are not checking quality of books and who's name are on them. However, if you leave your bike in big bike shop overnight and it gets raided, you may loose your bike if you can't prove beyond a doubt that the bike is yours and legal, which is really up to the police to determine what "legal" means. Many people have lost their bikes this way, only to later see police riding around on them later.

Edit: I didn't want to go into that much detail, but LivinLOS comments reflect what happened to me concerning just one of the issues on my bike, the page 18. When I traveled outside Phuket to register the bike, I was faced with another slew of issues, but Page 18 import duties was not one of them. My CBR 400's book claimed it was a 1 cylinder, and according to the land transport departments records, there was a problem with the serial numbers as well. The odd thing was, they simply would not accept any money to overlook the issues, so it wasn't liek they were trying to extort me. Same thing with Phuket. I was simply told at both places. "can not," so i had to sell it at a discount as is.

Best advice, avoid the hassle of buying a used big bike in Thailand, unless it is less than a few years old and papers are in order. So many new bikes are available at much more reasonable prices now, with more coming soon. It's a tough pill to swallow since this was the purpose of all these changes, but it makes economic sense.

Sad that the toyota fortuner crew ride against this nice uniqe thaistyle bikes.i dont like this new zoghurt ninjas .thailand land of the free why not leave like it is.why not just can import a bike from any country.who gets hurt.always some rules can not take care for some important issues sunpowerstations bicycle rails kindergardens windrails.phuketbikeweek lives from this kind free style.with the boats zears ago was the same thing 200 percent importtax then changed better lobby.i forgett to mention airpolution traffic a railway connect airport beaches big c.this are the future for phuket not some old bikes and old bikers like me.i wait for the tatoo hunt.alcohol bann somgkran.let poeple free as long they leave others free.lets enjoy the sundown on this paradise island.carabaow help

hear hear..

That was some of the best 'old timey gibberish' I have heard in these parts for many a year

[ScubaBuddha]

I just went through this brain numbing process with a bike in similar condition. This thread will undoubtedly get filled with responses from this persons claiming you can do this or that and then other claiming a completely different story, as has happened in so many other threads like this one. There can be so many problems with books in Thailand that they are two numerous to list, and the rules vary wildly by province, and are constantly changing, even in the last 6 months, as I found out. It is getting much harder to find an official that you can bribe to make a new book or transfer title for a bent book, but it's all who you know. Something that was no problem with a 14k backhander 6 months ago is now met with a "can not." by my fixer. Everytime I thought I was past a hurdle, another was placed in front of me. And this was trying at multiple land transport departments using multiple and very good Thai fixers. And now it's getting much tougher as the rules continue to change. The government is getting pressured to rid Thai roads these old pseudo-legally imported "grey bikes" due to a deal struck with the major manufacturer's of Jap big bikes which are now being made in Thailand. There is only two ways to buy a used big bike in Thailand now. To ensure there are no problems, you must take the current legal owner, the book and bike, to the land transport dept. with you with the understanding that if the bike can't be moved to your province and put in your name, you will not buy it. Period.

The other option is to keep it in the old province under the old owners name, which many people do. Just keep a copy of the book with you and keep the tax disk current and displayed on the bike. As of now you can still get tax disks for the dodgy bikes and books but who knows for how long. Bikes are usually discounted 20-50% when there green books are in this condition. So far at police checkpoints they are not checking quality of books and who's name are on them. However, if you leave your bike in big bike shop overnight and it gets raided, you may loose your bike if you can't prove beyond a doubt that the bike is yours and legal, which is really up to the police to determine what "legal" means. Many people have lost their bikes this way, only to later see police riding around on them later.

Edit: I didn't want to go into that much detail, but LivinLOS comments reflect what happened to me concerning just one of the issues on my bike, the page 18. When I traveled outside Phuket to register the bike, I was faced with another slew of issues, but Page 18 import duties was not one of them. My CBR 400's book claimed it was a 1 cylinder, and according to the land transport departments records, there was a problem with the serial numbers as well. The odd thing was, they simply would not accept any money to overlook the issues, so it wasn't liek they were trying to extort me. Same thing with Phuket. I was simply told at both places. "can not," so i had to sell it at a discount as is.

Best advice, avoid the hassle of buying a used big bike in Thailand, unless it is less than a few years old and papers are in order. So many new bikes are available at much more reasonable prices now, with more coming soon. It's a tough pill to swallow since this was the purpose of all these changes, but it makes economic sense.

Sad that the toyota fortuner crew ride against this nice uniqe thaistyle bikes.i dont like this new zoghurt ninjas .thailand land of the free why not leave like it is.why not just can import a bike from any country.who gets hurt.always some rules can not take care for some important issues sunpowerstations bicycle rails kindergardens windrails.phuketbikeweek lives from this kind free style.with the boats zears ago was the same thing 200 percent importtax then changed better lobby.i forgett to mention airpolution traffic a railway connect airport beaches big c.this are the future for phuket not some old bikes and old bikers like me.i wait for the tatoo hunt.alcohol bann somgkran.let poeple free as long they leave others free.lets enjoy the sundown on this paradise island.carabaow help

hear hear..

That was some of the best 'old timey gibberish' I have heard in these parts for many a year

Yeah, I wasn't quote sure what that was all about. I put it into Google translate, but they don't yet offer an "'old timey gibberish' to English translation yet.

[ScubaBuddha]

I just went through this brain numbing process with a bike in similar condition. This thread will undoubtedly get filled with responses from this persons claiming you can do this or that and then other claiming a completely different story, as has happened in so many other threads like this one. There can be so many problems with books in Thailand that they are two numerous to list, and the rules vary wildly by province, and are constantly changing, even in the last 6 months, as I found out. It is getting much harder to find an official that you can bribe to make a new book or transfer title for a bent book, but it's all who you know. Something that was no problem with a 14k backhander 6 months ago is now met with a "can not." by my fixer. Everytime I thought I was past a hurdle, another was placed in front of me. And this was trying at multiple land transport departments using multiple and very good Thai fixers. And now it's getting much tougher as the rules continue to change. The government is getting pressured to rid Thai roads these old pseudo-legally imported "grey bikes" due to a deal struck with the major manufacturer's of Jap big bikes which are now being made in Thailand. There is only two ways to buy a used big bike in Thailand now. To ensure there are no problems, you must take the current legal owner, the book and bike, to the land transport dept. with you with the understanding that if the bike can't be moved to your province and put in your name, you will not buy it. Period.

The other option is to keep it in the old province under the old owners name, which many people do. Just keep a copy of the book with you and keep the tax disk current and displayed on the bike. As of now you can still get tax disks for the dodgy bikes and books but who knows for how long. Bikes are usually discounted 20-50% when there green books are in this condition. So far at police checkpoints they are not checking quality of books and who's name are on them. However, if you leave your bike in big bike shop overnight and it gets raided, you may loose your bike if you can't prove beyond a doubt that the bike is yours and legal, which is really up to the police to determine what "legal" means. Many people have lost their bikes this way, only to later see police riding around on them later.

Edit: I didn't want to go into that much detail, but LivinLOS comments reflect what happened to me concerning just one of the issues on my bike, the page 18. When I traveled outside Phuket to register the bike, I was faced with another slew of issues, but Page 18 import duties was not one of them. My CBR 400's book claimed it was a 1 cylinder, and according to the land transport departments records, there was a problem with the serial numbers as well. The odd thing was, they simply would not accept any money to overlook the issues, so it wasn't liek they were trying to extort me. Same thing with Phuket. I was simply told at both places. "can not," so i had to sell it at a discount as is.

Best advice, avoid the hassle of buying a used big bike in Thailand, unless it is less than a few years old and papers are in order. So many new bikes are available at much more reasonable prices now, with more coming soon. It's a tough pill to swallow since this was the purpose of all these changes, but it makes economic sense.

Sad that the toyota fortuner crew ride against this nice uniqe thaistyle bikes.i dont like this new zoghurt ninjas .thailand land of the free why not leave like it is.why not just can import a bike from any country.who gets hurt.always some rules can not take care for some important issues sunpowerstations bicycle rails kindergardens windrails.phuketbikeweek lives from this kind free style.with the boats zears ago was the same thing 200 percent importtax then changed better lobby.i forgett to mention airpolution traffic a railway connect airport beaches big c.this are the future for phuket not some old bikes and old bikers like me.i wait for the tatoo hunt.alcohol bann somgkran.let poeple free as long they leave others free.lets enjoy the sundown on this paradise island.carabaow help

hear hear..

That was some of the best 'old timey gibberish' I have heard in these parts for many a year

"...sunpowerstations bicycle rails kindergardens windrails."

That's the hardest I think I have ever laughed reading a Thaivisa post!!!!

Edited September 22, 2009 by Scubabuddha

[katabeachbum]

Sad that the toyota fortuner crew ride against this nice uniqe thaistyle bikes.i dont like this new zoghurt ninjas .thailand land of the free why not leave like it is.why not just can import a bike from any country.who gets hurt.always some rules can not take care for some important issues sunpowerstations bicycle rails kindergardens windrails.phuketbikeweek lives from this kind free style.with the boats zears ago was the same thing 200 percent importtax then changed better lobby.i forgett to mention airpolution traffic a railway connect airport beaches big c.this are the future for phuket not some old bikes and old bikers like me.i wait for the tatoo hunt.alcohol bann somgkran.let poeple free as long they leave others free.lets enjoy the sundown on this paradise island.carabaow help

hear hear..

That was some of the best 'old timey gibberish' I have heard in these parts for many a year

"...sunpowerstations bicycle rails kindergardens windrails."

That's the hardest I think I have ever laughed reading a Thaivisa post!!!!

yepp,

but still understand what classix is saying.

There is no problem having a unique bike/thai style bike in LOS as long as its imported properly (as a bike, not scrap) or build here, taxes payed and logged in page 18, and emission qualify. Basicly the rest is up to owner