Doi Inthanon Mountain

[richardpwills]

I am staying in the center or chiang mai and was wondering is it was possible to go to the top of Doi Inthanon on a moped? has anyone done it and can they give any tips?

[harrry]

Haven't done it for many years but yes it is possible. Be warned it gets very very cold up there. I nearly got frozen by forgetting that. When I went up it was really hot when I started and got cooler till it was really cold on top. On the way down it got colder and colder as it was later in the day. Take very very warm clothes. If your bike hasn't been tuned too well it may overheat on the way. No problem just stop and let it cool down and enjoy the views.

Do not forget you will use extra fuel climbing.

Edited December 29, 2009 by harrry

[briley]

Depends on what you are calling a moped - I did it on a 100cc bike with a passenger. More problem is brakes overheating on the way down.

Take Harry's warning about temperatures.

[IanForbes]

I concure what others have said. The road goes right to the summit. It is over 8000 feet (2460 meters) at the top and cool even during a hot day. Give all small motorbikes a cooling down period on any long climb. Use your lower gears as well as the brakes coming back down. The King and Queen temples are worth seeing on the way up. They are very close to the top, but not right at the top. There are some nice nature walks near the top that are worth exploring.

[richardpwills]

i was planning to do it on a 125 moped. some of the locals say its not big enough. but is there any petrol stations near the bottom or even on the mountain??? also im traveling from chiang mai city so i think it will take me about 2 hours to even get to the mountain. but i wanna make it my mission to do so!! any tips???

[amexpat]

125 scooter way big enough.

Moped? You mean one you can pedal if you run out of petrol?

AFAIK the closest petrol is the shell staion on Huey Kaew rd or maybe on super hwy if you know where you are going. It won't require a completely full tank.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

Doi Inthanon.... not Doi Suthep

[briley]

There is petrol near the junction on the main road. I think there might even be one at a fork just up the road towards Doi Inthanon - but do not think there is any inside the gate.

Don't forget to use your licence to get Thai entry prices.

It is a full days journey there and back.

[bridge]

It can definitely be done on a moped. We did it on a 110cc (two of us). In fact we did the whole Mae Hong Son loop (500km's) in five days. Chiang Mai to Doi Inthanon, then to Mae Hong Son, Pai and then back to Chiang Mai. No problems at all. The scenery is spectacular.

We stayed at a little eco-styled lodge at the base of Doi Inthanon. Was only about 600 or 700THb per night. Plenty of little places that sell gas by the bottle if you run short. There is also a gas station near the turn off from the main road, so fill up there.

Re the previous advice with regards to cold weather. Indeed it can get very cold indeed. When we were up there it was 5c (They have a temp gauge up there), and we didn't have cold weather gear with us. Needless to say we were very cold indeed.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Did it on an ancient 100cc Honda Dream. It's easy. Be sure to break on the engine going down to save the brakes. (Especially if they're drum brakes).

There's fuel available. Fill up before going up the road to Doi Inthanon.

[el jefe]

It's been done by many on a bicycle. Add the motor and it's easy.

[richardpwills]

Thanx guys. Did it today. i thought i would treat my self to a 250 supermoto. much better but is possible on a moped. took 3 hours to get there and 3 hours back but well worth it. i want to do it again already. cheers!

[Asmerom]

Thanx guys. Did it today. i thought i would treat my self to a 250 supermoto. much better but is possible on a moped. took 3 hours to get there and 3 hours back but well worth it. i want to do it again already. cheers!

Maybe next time you will be a little more expansive in your reporting. Others could well be thankful for the information.

[richardpwills]

i don't know what to more to say. i did it. and its well worth it. If you like the adventure and the missions then this is the thing to do. its free (apart from motorbike rental and petrol) and it takes up the whole day, when i come back to Thailand, this is going to be one of the first things i do again. and yes it does get cold at the top. especially riding a motorbike so take jeans and jumper!ANY QUESTIONS, EMAIL RICHARDPWILLS @ GOOGLEMAIL.COM

Edited January 3, 2010 by PeaceBlondie

[Johpa]

That is no moped, looks like a D-Tracker which will take you just about anywhere in the dry season, on or off road. Not exactly an adventure to get to the top of Doi Inthanon on that machine, but a great day's ride.

[davidgtr]

i don't know what to more to say. i did it. and its well worth it. If you like the adventure and the missions then this is the thing to do. its free (apart from motorbike rental and petrol) and it takes up the whole day, when i come back to Thailand, this is going to be one of the first things i do again. and yes it does get cold at the top. especially riding a motorbike so take jeans and jumper!ANY QUESTIONS, EMAIL RICHARDPWILLS @ GOOGLEMAIL.COM

Well done Richard, the ride to Doi Inthanon is a beauty, but you might want to add wear a helmet on a 200 kms trip, just to be "safe."

How did you go with wind & sunburn after the ride?

[malcy]

Well done mate Thailands great for motorbike trips , post some more pics love to see them .

Check out davidgtr website very interesting can you post the link mr unkovich ?

http://www.gt-rider.com found it great site

Edited January 2, 2010 by malcy

[IanForbes]

Well done mate Thailands great for motorbike trips , post some more pics love to see them .

Check out davidgtr website very interesting can you post the link mr unkovich ?

http://www.gt-rider.com found it great site

I agree that Thailand is amazing for a bike like the Kawasaki D-tracker (250 cc). They can come with either the road tires or the off road tires depending on usage. They aren't as comfortable as a cruiser, but certainly more versitile.

If you don't speak or read Thai it helps to have a Garmin GPS with built in maps. It helps to know where you are when the locals can't explain it when you get lost.

[malcy]

Yes the helmet is a must , the first time i went to Thailand i hired a honda CR250

and rode around up near lamphang and back across the mountains from chae hom

i didn't wear a helmet and burnt my head severly ,i spent the rest of the holiday

looking like nikki lauda.

Not forgetting the safety aspect of not wearing a helmet of course.

My legs are too short for a cr250 as well , fell off 3 times in 2 days , i had a honda degree

which was lower in the seat and was a four stroke with electric start much better for me

they were similar to the old ax1's but with high mud guards , never crashed that one

[Fishenough]

You can see Richard's helmet on his handle bars.

Next time take the back, side, route into Doi Inthanon, just take the 1013 off the 108 and connect to the 1284. There is information about this route on the GT Rider forum. It leads through some beautiful valleys and is one of the best roads for a bike like the D-Tracker. If I hadn't been out riding already I would have offered to join you, plus the road up Doi In is more fun on an unrestricted D_Tracker (Wouldn't be the first rental that found it's self de-restricted by my hands).

Also a 40, 50 baht rain poncho helps against the chill in a pinch.

Regards

[penguinchris]

I rode a 125cc bike to Doi Inthanon, and then also down to Mae Chaem on the other side, in July. I am a fairly big guy (80-90 kg) and I had a small female passenger. I had some trouble climbing the steepest sections, but it was largely because of gearing - it was an automatic bike and it had trouble choosing the right gear. I made it up, but at the steepest bits I was going 6-7 kph - and my friend fell off the back once while we were at that speed

That said, it is far steeper on the other side, the road to Mae Chaem - going up to Doi Inthanon and back from Chiang Mai was no problem.

Another friend had his own bike, a Honda Dream, and had no problem - and he certainly appreciated the manual gearing for the steep sections. Keep in mind that we're from the US and don't have a whole lot of experience riding except around the city in Chiang Mai, and we saw plenty of locals doing the same route on far lower powered bikes that obviously weren't being kept up very well. If you have a little bit of experience, then, there should be no problem.

Well worth it to check out the other side, I think, but it is way more comfortable in a car (I went another time in a car). We did get cold on the bike, but we had light jackets and were fine. It rained quite a bit as well, which is potentially a problem - be careful on the turns! We had cheap ponchos - 15 baht from a Tesco I think - which were fine for protection from the rain.

In Mae Chaem, you can see the area on paved roads, but there is a lot to see off the main roads as well - this turned out to be a major problem (though it made for quite an adventure) with the rain, as dirt roads turn into mud roads pretty quickly. Just to see the area it shouldn't be necessary to go on the dirt roads, of course - I had a specific reason to go off road. I'm doing geology research in the area and needed to see certain sections of the Mae Chaem river you can't get to from the main roads.

I'm back in Chiang Mai now and will be doing some more extensive field research along the Mae Chaem river in the next couple of weeks. This time, when I go out there I will be renting a Suzuki Caribbean 4x4 (or similar) as that should be better for going where I need to go.

By the way - at the Doi Inthanon National Park entrance, if you are going to Mae Chaem tell them so and you won't have to pay to get in. If you are actually going to check out the park, of course, you should pay. It's worth it to stop several places within the park - lots of waterfalls and such.

[Firelily]

Does anyone know if it's possible to rent a motorcycle in Chomthong, near the turn-off from the main road? I have a 100 cc but I would prefer to take the bus to Chomthong and ride from there on a 125cc - I also really dread the traffic on the main road, it's a long 55 kms down to Chomthong and then back.

Also, I would appreciate any tips for accommodation at the foot of the mountain or inside the park boundaries. The national park bungalows are far too expensive because they are for large groups.

Thank you.

[sk1max]

My friends and I rode up on bicycles so you should be fine on a moped, take a jumper and some gloves.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Does anyone know if it's possible to rent a motorcycle in Chomthong, near the turn-off from the main road?

Yes, you can't.

I have a 100 cc but I would prefer to take the bus to Chomthong and ride from there on a 125cc - I also really dread the traffic on the main road, it's a long 55 kms down to Chomthong and then back.

The road is really quite good now.. Separate lanes most of the way and so on. And 100cc really is plenty.

Also, I would appreciate any tips for accommodation at the foot of the mountain or inside the park boundaries. The national park bungalows are far too expensive because they are for large groups.

Yes that's true.. If you don't mind to rough it then you could stay in a hilltribe village.. Or at any side down from the mountain, say on the Mae Chaem side. Or you could bring a tent and camp, that's pretty popular for visiting Thais. (Need sleeping bag. )

[Firelily]

thank you

[ianf]

That is no moped, looks like a D-Tracker which will take you just about anywhere in the dry season, on or off road. Not exactly an adventure to get to the top of Doi Inthanon on that machine, but a great day's ride.

Lots of us have done it on bicyckes so IU can't see a thing with an engine should have any problems! But yes, warm clothing is essential!

[richardpwills]

Yes a helmet is a must, some of the roads can be abit dodgy. If anyone had a spare day to do this then i would advise it, im going back in a few months and am going to do it all again. The road to the mountain can be a bit tedious especially if your on something slower then what i was on. My bike was a beast but it can be done slower on a moped. Would advice a 100cc or above at least.

The mistake I made was to get a helmet with out a visa. with out one your eyes fill up with bugs and you cant see a thing! luckily I had sunglasses, But even then with the 2 hour ride back from the mountain it got a bit dark so i couldn't see with sunglasses on in the dark.

It is possible to do it on a moped but just make sure that it does not break down as that would be the last thing you want at nearly 9000 feet.

There is a nice waterfall on the way so you don't have to do the whole thing in one go to get a numb arse.

So my advice is do it! I may stay in a tent on the mountain next time because they say the stars are amazing from the top, So even better if you want a few beers!

[crazyawm]

i was planning to do it on a 125 moped. some of the locals say its not big enough. but is there any petrol stations near the bottom or even on the mountain??? also im traveling from chiang mai city so i think it will take me about 2 hours to even get to the mountain. but i wanna make it my mission to do so!! any tips???

where curve from mainroad to road doi inthanon - is gasoline station

buy last time gasoline there and dont have problem