Songkran Blast On My New Gixxer K6

[BigBikeBKK]

So, some of you may have heard that I lucked out and scored a very clean Gixxer K6 last Monday-

What started out as just an overnight from Bangkok to Nakhon Sawan to stretch her legs and visit mbox and ended up a 3 day, ~1500km trip on to Pitsanulok, Lom Sak and Khon Kaen

Imported as parts and has had two owners in Thailand, (original Thai owner was a cop- so even more sketchy ) and original import papers are long gone, but it does have a green book and the VIN and Engine numbers match. Still... have to be careful and I told the seller that I'd pay in full once the bike was inspected and green book successfully transferred to my name. I recommend everyone do this! Never pay for a bike here until you have the green book in your hands and have verified that it's YOUR name in the green book. If a seller isn't willing to do this, walk away!

To be honest, not even the seller was 100% sure if the bike would pass inspection- it's hard to ever be completely sure with gray market imports in Thailand. Here he is waving goodbye to his baby at the Mor Chit Land Transport Office:

I really thought we'd have a problem with the aftermarket exhaust on the bike but when it actually came time for the inspection they ONLY looked at the engine and frame numbers. Did we get lucky because it was the day before Songkran or is this all they ever check? I don't know. When I've sold my Kawasakis (in Khon Kaen and Chiang Mai) they didn't even do an inspection as inspections are not requires on vehicles less than 2 years old.

But I digress We got to the Land Transport Office around 10am and the updated green book was handed to me 2 hours later- quick and painless! Very friendly staff at the Mor Chit DMV too- they helped us fill out all the Thai paperwork and were very pleasant to deal with.

All in all a great experience and I am one happy camper with my new scoot

A bit wary of riding during Songkran, but of course itching to take her out for a spin, so decided to go visit mbox (aka Mr Tiger-Sachs) in Nakhon Sawan. Showed the gf the tiny little passenger seat and warned her it wouldn't be comfortable, but she's a tough little thing and decided to come along anyway.

The ride from Bangkok to Nakhon Sawan was uneventful- normally a pretty tedious ride, but when you have ~170Hp at your disposal even the most boring roads can be rather exciting

Brilliant day at mbox's place. I have no idea how many beers and Nam Khao we consumed but mbox just sent me a bunch of pictures of which I have NO recollection...

Woke up yesterday with a surprisingly mild hangover, all things considered

Decided it would be a drag to just take the highway back to Bangkok so decided to head north instead to Pitsanulok and the fantastic "Indochina" Highway 12.

Here's the route we ended up doing yesterday-

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source...4.22699&z=9

Originally thought I'd just go as far as Petchabun and then point her south and back to Bangkok, but then got the idea of going to my gf's village near Khon Kaen to surprise her family with a Songkran visit.

Started getting pretty hot around Pitsanulok but cooled off nicely once we were up in the mountains to the east. Stopped for coffee at the aptly named Route 12 Cafe and snapped a few pics-

Didn't see any other bikes out on the road, probably because of Songkran, but in fact it was beautiful riding weather and we only got splashed once

Gotta run! To be continued!

[CroBiker]

Beatiful beast!

That fender eliminator made it even more sexier.

Wha is the max speed you tried so far?

[Tigersachsclub]

Hi Tony,

Very nice report and it was great meeting you and GF having a relaxing & Fun time ...with schintzel, beers and nam khao(wicked stuff) .This gixxer is really amazing in looks and the sound is absolutely great.

I'm looking foward to have some trips with you in the near future.

You are absolutely right... specially on imported bikes ,pay the full amount once the transfer has been done and all is on your name. I recently bought the xv750 with a clean green book and gave deposit first ...rest was paid when the bike was transferred .

I think so too...even a boring flat & straight road will be exciting on this beasty Gixxer.

Happy trails,

Tiger/Sachs Club - Mbox

[katabeachbum]

Stunning bike Tony

My urge to change Ninja650R to white has kinda cooled off seeing this

[MarcoH]

Tony

Where exactly is this Route 12 cafe?

between Phetchabhun and phitsanulok? or b4 Phetchabhun?

looks nice place for stopping

[BigBikeBKK]

Tony

Where exactly is this Route 12 cafe?

between Phetchabhun and phitsanulok? or b4 Phetchabhun?

looks nice place for stopping

Cheers Marco,

You know... Um... I'm pretty sure it was between Pitsanulok and Petchabun... But to be honest I can't quite recall... We were just motoring along and I spotted it and hammered the brakes... Ok, asked the gf and she says it was definitely between Pits and Petch. Cute place, great views and excellent coffee. (Served in a Harley Davidson mug no less! )

See you in CM on the 24th! (Where are you going to stay?)

Happy Trails!

Tony

[Bard]

Congrats with the bike Tony, I know your gixxer well she is not only stunning she is a beast. You'll love it.

To bad we did not meet up as I rode to Khon Kaen on my HD, after a 800 km ride on my R1 I felt someone beat me up and took the HD up. Brilliant, I enjoyed it all except the temperature up there. Great time, but 44 centigrades was not fun.

My cabana looks like yours now Tony got 5 bikes outside, my missus is not impressed but who cares.

Cheers Bard

[ttakata]

Cool bike, I like the carbon windshield.

I'm glad you got the paperwork sorted and had a great trip.

It's nice to see a real rider use his big bike for more than putting around and getting groceries.

[dave_boo]

I'm jealous of mbox's dog....he got to hump your new ride.

What are you going to do with your Ninja now that you've expanded out of the Kawi fold?

[Richard-BKK]

Never realized that white would make a good color for a bike. Very nice looking bike.

[Jonathanpattaya]

What a beauty the bike is!

Cool registration number too.

[bprinceuk]

Nice bike, looks good in white

Brian

[JonnyF]

Lovely bike, I arranged a viewing myself but you beat me to it on this one...

But what kind of range does it get? I did a few runs in the north when the distance between stops was around 250 kms, can a litre bike go that far on a tank? Just wondering as there are few other bikes on the market and I can't decide whether to go for a 600 4 pot (my preference, but limited availabilty here in LOS) or one of the 1000cc's scattered around RedBaron etc...

[cdmtdm]

Never realized that white would make a good color for a bike. Very nice looking bike.

yes i agree , makes a very nice bike , Italian designer may have had a hand in it ???

[BigBikeBKK]

I'm jealous of mbox's dog....he got to hump your new ride.

What are you going to do with your Ninja now that you've expanded out of the Kawi fold?

LOL! dam_n cute mutt that cookie

As for the Ninja 650R, well, it's a bit redundant now and I need something for dirt and offroad.

Thinking to trade the Ninja for an ER6n and turning it into a Versys... Really enjoyed my old ER6n with the enduro tires-

Why oh why won't Kawasaki throw FI on the KLR650 and sell it in Thailand?!?!?!?

Happy Trails!

Tony

[NormanW]

Great stuff Tony, love the new bike, 170bhp, JESUS man now that's power!

I'm off in the summer so we'll meet up again to see if I can keep up with you on the road, hehe.

I will have to get your advice on buying a sat nav?

All the best and enjoy.

Happy Songkran

NormanW

[OxfordWill]

cool route.

[BigBikeBKK]

Great stuff Tony, love the new bike, 170bhp, JESUS man now that's power!

I'm off in the summer so we'll meet up again to see if I can keep up with you on the road, hehe.

I will have to get your advice on buying a sat nav?

All the best and enjoy.

Happy Songkran

NormanW

Cheers Mate,

Look forward to it!

The previous owner of my Gixxer threw in a Garmin Zumo GPS which is pretty much the top dog of motorcycle GPS units. I never considered it because it costs nearly 40 thousand baht here in Thailand which seems a bit ridiculous for a GPS. Honestly it does a lot more than I'll ever need/want, but it's a great GPS all the same. For a more realistically priced GPS that's perfect for bikes have a look at the Garmin 60Csx.

I'll be back from the US in late May and hope we can hook up for a ride then!

Happy Trails!

Tony

[Muaythaidan]

awesome bike. awesome route.

more pics!!!! and video!!! i wanna hear that exhaust

[dave_boo]

So, another Zumo convert!

The dog is cute, but not much of a guard dog is it?

Hope we can get together this next time (mid to late July) for a ride....there's a couple of roads I've been dying to try.

[BigBikeBKK]

So, another Zumo convert!

The dog is cute, but not much of a guard dog is it?

Hope we can get together this next time (mid to late July) for a ride....there's a couple of roads I've been dying to try.

Heh heh,

Honestly I don't think I'd buy a Zumo- I'm more of a minimalist and the 60Csx is more my style. (Also, I have a habit of breaking electronic gadgets and the Zumo is a very pricey toy). To date I've been using a GPS equipped smartphone which has worked just fine for me.

Absolutely let me know when you're up for a ride my man! I'll be back from the US at the end of May and will be getting out every chance I get. Though thinking I'll take the Ninja 650 when it looks like rain as I quite enjoy the added security of ABS.

I still haven't done the road to Umphang and it remains high on my to-do list!

Happy Trails!

Tony

[Travelmate]

[BigBikeBKK]

Says the guy who broke his arm while bowling his borrowed street triple down a perfectly straight road...

[Travelmate]

If it was white, would have been fine!

[CroBiker]

I'm jealous of mbox's dog....he got to hump your new ride.

Well, if doggy does that once again, this will follow :

[neverdie]

^love that ad!

[LivinLOS]

Mad machine.. Nice upgrade...

Take care !!

[BigBikeBKK]

Mad machine.. Nice upgrade...

Take care !!

Cheers Bro!

Hope we can hook up for a ride one of these days!

Happy Trails!

Tony

Stripped her down for a deep clean and well... she doesn't look half bad naked...

[TheKingfisher]

There is a 'busa shop around the corner from my house, I dont have to but I always make a little detour to drool.... A big bike in this country (I have a 929 Fireblade back home) would be wayyyyyy to much fun...

Untill then I have to make do with my foot ferrari's...

[witold]

One of my favorite bikes of all time. Good choice. Reliable as heck.