Buying A Motorbike - Any Recommendations?

[jackcorbett]

Just as I'm close to buying the Nouvo Elegance, a couple pf posters on another forum have warned me off it because it's not fuel injection. One post highlighted the fact that a carburetter is tuned to one fuel, and one fuel only, and that if you fill the tank with anything else, it is likely to damage the motorcycle's engine as some fuel burn hotter then other fuels. The sensors in a fuel-injection engine apparently prevent this from happening. They also said there would be an upcoming fuel-injection version of the Elegance but I've no idea when this is likely or how costly it will be.

What's the Nouvo Elegance owners' views on the above? Are you worried?

The only thing I'm worried about is, I already paid my money and have been driving my Elegance close to one year now, and I'm afraid Yamaha will now equip new Nouvo Elegances with fuel injection and that these new models will have 11.3 horsepower instead of the paltry 11.2 horsepower mine produces. I will then cry in my beer and tell my friends, "I should have waited."

Truth is, I still haven't met a guy here who's had any significant problems (greater than a flat tire or similar) with either an Air Blade or a Yamaha Nouvo and since I live here in Pattaya year round that's a lot of guys. But I do think that if you did a search in this forum and read all the posts on the Nouvo Elegance and Nouvo MX that you will find a couple of owners who had to replace their drive belts after 175,000 miles of driving and that they are disgruntled because they had to pay 1000 baht.

[TCA]

Thanks again guys. I have no doubts the Nouvo Elegance runs well on fuel currently available but am concerned at posts I'm reading about how fast the Gasohol 95 fuel was gone, and how some posters are talking about so many changes in fuels coming up, so best to buy a fuel injection model that can cope with many. I've not been here long enough to know the first thing about the fuel situation in Thailand but surely Yamaha aren't making bikes that are going to screw up unless they're ran on a specific fuel? Is this just scaremongering by fuel injection enthusiasts or is there any basis for their argument?

And what is Yamaha's recommended fuel for the Nouvo Elegance anyway?

[jackcorbett]

Thanks again guys. I have no doubts the Nouvo Elegance runs well on fuel currently available but am concerned at posts I'm reading about how fast the Gasohol 95 fuel was gone, and how some posters are talking about so many changes in fuels coming up, so best to buy a fuel injection model that can cope with many. I've not been here long enough to know the first thing about the fuel situation in Thailand but surely Yamaha aren't making bikes that are going to screw up unless they're ran on a specific fuel? Is this just scaremongering by fuel injection enthusiasts or is there any basis for their argument?

And what is Yamaha's recommended fuel for the Nouvo Elegance anyway?

I've put 91 octane fuel in my Nouvo Elegance, 95 Octane fuel, aged banana syrup and even Vitalis hair oil, vintage 1959 and it's done just fine. Only thing is if I'm away for a week or longer it's a bit hard to start and I think that's because of the carburetor. But it starts. Other than this my Nouvo Elegance is smooth as silk.

[katabeachbum]

Thanks again guys. I have no doubts the Nouvo Elegance runs well on fuel currently available but am concerned at posts I'm reading about how fast the Gasohol 95 fuel was gone, and how some posters are talking about so many changes in fuels coming up, so best to buy a fuel injection model that can cope with many. I've not been here long enough to know the first thing about the fuel situation in Thailand but surely Yamaha aren't making bikes that are going to screw up unless they're ran on a specific fuel? Is this just scaremongering by fuel injection enthusiasts or is there any basis for their argument?

And what is Yamaha's recommended fuel for the Nouvo Elegance anyway?

pure benzene 91, 95 or 98

or gasohol 91 or 95, E10 (10% ethanol).

Just as Hondas fuelinjected engines

Neither of them can according to manufactorers run future fuel as gasohol E20 or E85 (20 or 85% ethanol), despite other posters claiming so

Iv got a 2009 fuelinjected Honda in my garage and a 2008 Nouvo E 135 carb, and the Nouvo is much better in every aspect. Only advantage for Honda Airblade is the fule cap in front of the seat, not under the seat as all others. On the other hand this gives a very small fueltank providing short range.

[TCA]

If the Nouvo is designed to run on the same gas as the fuel injected Hondas and neither is equipped to work on any of these "future fuels", then it sounds like a complete red herring. Having tried to read up a bit on the fuel situation, if anything, I gather that the gasohol has slight disadvantages over the regular benzene such as loss of power and fuel efficiency and possibly even damage to the fuel system. As this presumably applies equally to fuel injected bikes then the argument doesn't hold water on that front either.

Thanks for the info guys.

[TCA]

quote]

pure benzene 91, 95 or 98 or gasohol 91 or 95, E10 (10% ethanol). Just as Hondas fuel injected engines. Neither of them can according to manufactorers run future fuel as gasohol E20 or E85 (20 or 85% ethanol), despite other posters claiming so.

kata - a Honda Airblade-i owner (fuel-injection model) claims on another forum that his machine can run on E20 and that this is stated in the manual.

[katabeachbum]

quote]

pure benzene 91, 95 or 98 or gasohol 91 or 95, E10 (10% ethanol). Just as Hondas fuel injected engines. Neither of them can according to manufactorers run future fuel as gasohol E20 or E85 (20 or 85% ethanol), despite other posters claiming so.

kata - a Honda Airblade-i owner (fuel-injection model) claims on another forum that his machine can run on E20 and that this is stated in the manual.

The filler cap sticker says E10. I m sorry I passed on this info without checking further.

I had to find the manual and it states it can run 95 E20, but can for some od reason not run 91 E20, only E10 with 91 octane. I guess the injection isnt that adaptive.

My info on Nouvo could be incorrect also since my Nuovo is one year old and a new one possibly can run 95 E20 too.

E 20 is not easily available yet. When running 95 E10 instead of 91 benzene I can not notice any change in performance or milage on scooters, 2008 Honda Accord 2,4 or Kwaker 650Ninja, while running 91 or 95 E20 is noticeable worse in Accord.

the airblade in my garage is 3 months old. i wouldnt buy one today since there is a new Honda 125 injection in the showrooms in a month. I doubt they dare to charge more than yammy for it, so lets say max 59k.

Edited October 17, 2009 by katabeachbum

[TCA]

The filler cap sticker says E10. I m sorry I passed on this info without checking further.

I had to find the manual and it states it can run 95 E20, but can for some odd reason cannot run 91 E20, only E10 with 91 octane. I guess the injection isnt that adaptive.

the airblade in my garage is 3 months old. i wouldnt buy one today since there is a new Honda 125 injection in the showrooms in a month. I doubt they dare to charge more than yammy for it, so lets say max 59k.

Thanks Kata. This is a learning process for me so all very informative. Interesting that the Honda cannot run 91 E20. Kind of weakens the argument for fuel injection adaptabilty to different fuels.

Anyone have any more info or links re the forthcoming new Honda 125 injection? I might have to weigh this up against the Yamaha if it's any good.

Thanks

TCA

[katabeachbum]

The filler cap sticker says E10. I m sorry I passed on this info without checking further.

I had to find the manual and it states it can run 95 E20, but can for some odd reason cannot run 91 E20, only E10 with 91 octane. I guess the injection isnt that adaptive.

the airblade in my garage is 3 months old. i wouldnt buy one today since there is a new Honda 125 injection in the showrooms in a month. I doubt they dare to charge more than yammy for it, so lets say max 59k.

Thanks Kata. This is a learning process for me so all very informative. Interesting that the Honda cannot run 91 E20. Kind of weakens the argument for fuel injection adaptabilty to different fuels.

Anyone have any more info or links re the forthcoming new Honda 125 injection? I might have to weigh this up against the Yamaha if it's any good.

Thanks

TCA

Inexpensive fuel injections do not have many sensors, neither on bikes or cars. They are set for a minimum fuel quality, and for airblade thats according to hondas manual 91 E10 or 95 E20. To be really fuel adaptive many sensors are needed, at a cost. Most important would be knocking sensor, which is not very common.

In LOS I am happy with few sensors, since every sensor is a source for fault, thus not able to run.

In the towns with many servicepoints, FI is great, but countryside I would choose a scooter with carb which every somchai can pick apart and repair or just clean

[TCA]

the airblade in my garage is 3 months old. i wouldnt buy one today since there is a new Honda 125 injection in the showrooms in a month. I doubt they dare to charge more than yammy for it, so lets say max 59k.

This looks to be the one coming soon - the Honda PCX 125i - looks decent:

http://www.motorcycle.in.th/article.php/Th...er-the-Powerful

http://world.honda.com/news/2009/c090914Sc...land/index.html

[BigBikeBKK]

This looks to be the one coming soon - the Honda PCX 125i - looks decent:

Guess you and I have different definitions of "decent"! Yuck!

[Spoonman]

Me rikey that Honda PCX, i have no need for a second scoot but hmmmmm.

[TCA]

Guess you and I have different definitions of "decent"! Yuck!

I meant more the spec (in comparison to other bikes of the same level) as opposed to its eye-catching shitty brown colouring in this image.

I'm currently favouring the Yahama Nouvo Elegance 135cc but wondering whether this newbie could prove to be its equal.

[Umpatan]

I'm currently renting a bike by the month but have decided to take the plunge and buy a new machine. I've driven both manual and automatic before, but my other half prefers an automatic so I'll probably go that route. I won't need anything over 125cc, so a scooter type effort will do. The bike would be used daily for short journeys around town, so mileage would be relatively low with an even mix of both one and two people riding (say 150kg combined), in addition to some occasional shopping on board.

I'm looking at Honda Dream 125, Honda Wave 125i and Honda Click-i Forward. Can anyone recommend any of these (or not) or any others given the above.

Thanks in advance

TCA

I once rented a scooter with 50cc for 80 baht per day in Chang Mai. It was a bit scary with the traffic.

[Umpatan]

This looks to be the one coming soon - the Honda PCX 125i - looks decent:

Guess you and I have different definitions of "decent"! Yuck!

How much does a scooter cost in Thailand roughly?

[LivinLOS]

How much does a scooter cost in Thailand roughly?

Very roughly 40 - 60k depending on model etc.

[Chryzaliz]

I've been recommended Suzuki Hayate so first thing to do next week is to find a dealer in the area.

It looks great to me(if it's red) and it's not so expensive, about 45.000 thb.

[robert00]

I'm currently renting a bike by the month but have decided to take the plunge and buy a new machine. I've driven both manual and automatic before, but my other half prefers an automatic so I'll probably go that route. I won't need anything over 125cc, so a scooter type effort will do. The bike would be used daily for short journeys around town, so mileage would be relatively low with an even mix of both one and two people riding (say 150kg combined), in addition to some occasional shopping on board.

I'm looking at Honda Dream 125, Honda Wave 125i and Honda Click-i Forward. Can anyone recommend any of these (or not) or any others given the above.

Thanks in advance

TCA

Can you tell me a good place to rent a bike on a monthly basis, thank's

[TCA]

That depends on where you're located. From your profile, I assume Korat, in which case I can't help.

[moonlightinred]

I don't have much to contribute since I'm not in Thailand, but I DID just bring a Honda Click-i (the PGM-FI Click Forward) into the States a couple of months ago. We don't have the kind of options that you in Thailand do - you either buy a tiny 50cc scooter that doesn't go any faster than 40mph (64kph) or you buy a motorcycle. The 150cc scooters are almost all Chinese GY6 junk and there aren't really many options between 50 and 150cc at all. I have a 650cc motorcycle and that's great for highways, but I wanted something to use in the city that would go faster than 64kph.

I don't know what top speed is common in Thailand, but I ride my Click at 100kph (62mph) every day and it feels fine at high speeds. The wheels are thinner than my 50cc scooter and motorcycle, which is kind of strange to me, but it still feels okay. I get about 80mpg (34km/L) riding aggressively so I can keep up with traffic. The best fuel we can easily get where I live is 91 octane, but I think that if I could get 95 and drive a bit less aggressively, it would do better on fuel economy. My 50cc Honda scooter only gets 90mpg (38km/L), so the performance is worth the difference, to me.

Every time I read a thread like this, I get jealous at all of the options you have available to you. Honda is just now releasing their first 150cc PGM-FI scooter (the Honda SH150i) here in the States and it's going to cost $4500 USD (about 150,500 baht!). I think if I could do it over again, I would import something fuel-injected around 125cc with bigger wheels.

Anyway, count yourself lucky that you have so much to choose from!

[praglen]

Is the Nuovo 115 too lacking in power to accommodate our combined weight of around 120 kg., plus some shopping of maybe 10 kg. more? We're just riding around Pattaya, not planning on road trips.

How about a GSXR or a ZXR ?

A Fino goes like a rocket?

I have a fino and my Vigo leaves it for dead.

And a Vigo is slow compared to CBR 600 or the like.

The Vigo will out do a slow 250 ninja on the move,,,,but in traffic,,,a Wave is faster than a Vigo.

In fact a Bus with a nutter at the wheel is faster than than a Vigo.

Just my observation.

A bit off topic, but a Ninja 250 does 0-60 mph in a round 6-7 seconds depending on the rider. A 3.0 D4D Vigo does it in around 10 as far as I know. Also, to say that a Vigo is slow compared to any 600 supersport is kind of stating the obvious isn't it? Not in the same league, not even nearly.

In answer to the OP, I would recommend a Nouvo or a Airblade. My gf is tiny and gets on fine with our Nouvo MX, when she occasionally rides the work Mio (less than one year old) she complains that it feels small/twitchy and makes her nervous. If you're planning on riding 2 up, the Nouvo/Airblade is the only choice if you want Auto.

[pjclark1]

The Honda AirBlade and Yamaha Nouvo Elegance are much the same.

Air Blade

Small wheels, better around town and in traffic, you can't fit a front basket, big underseat storage.

Nouvo

Big wheels, better out of town, can fit front basket, big underseat storage.

I'm told by an 'expert' biker that the Air Blade has better balance but is easily overtaken on steep hills by the 135cc Elegance.

I just bought an Air Blade at a Thai market for 29Kbht (the dealer thought I couldn't speak Thai and told his mates he made 1000bht on the sale), there were about 10 Blades there all around the same price, all clocked to read 6000km, all 2+ years old. The one I got was more likely 30000km. Clocking is widespread over here. Very smooth drive though. It needed two new tyres (820bht not Honda dealer) and a full service (new drive belt, air filter, oil, spark plug, rear brakes, 1500bht at Honda dealer)

Ask a Thai person what they want, Click, Air Blade, Nouvo is always the answer, new bikes are very nickable.

Edited November 17, 2009 by pjclark1

[loquent]

Assuming the local place can carry out any necessary repairs and servicing, is there any benefit to buying from a main dealer? Price is the same.

You will probably get better service at the "local place", I Took my 1 yr old Click into Mityon (pattaya) for its 1000km service, al seemed fine and off i went, parked it up for the night at home only to come out the next morning to find a massive pool of oil on the ground, seems they forgot to tighten the sump plug, happy days riding along with oil dripping onto the ground in front of the rear wheel, NOT.

It now gets serviced at "the local place".

I rode a 650 Honda NTV shaft drive for years and finally sold out to a new Honda CBR F4. Now that shifts. Here we share a Yamaha Mio and it does the biz. Twist and go. The roads are bad enough without banging about the speed of the tiny things. And whether it's 100 , 110, 135 etc etc doesn't matter. They are basic transport nippy things best used around town. So there's not a gnat's whisker between as they are girly toys - nothing more.

Get what you like and as for fuel consumption there's petrol on every corner everywhere. Yamaha, Honda - it doesn't matter. Why not just buy a red one?

[TCA]

Why not just buy a red one?

Thanks. I bought a black one a month ago.