Scooter With A Bit Of Power

[canopy]

I would like to get a scooter for the wife short distance usage. We are in mountainous terrain where there are very steep roads. Occasionally need to go over gravel and dirt/muddy roads. Are there any bikes that stand out as being practical choices for this?

[katabeachbum]

if we are talking auto bikes, I d have a look at Suzuki Step.

Small, light, easy to handle and strongest up the hills with light load. They dont make them any more, but most deales have them in stock

[Tigersachsclub]

If you want autoclutch this could be the right one...Tiger CX 135 as mentioned here: http://tigersachsclub.com/tproducts.html

If the roads are more civilised and you wish for Automatic this one maybe right? The Tiger Gmax 150 listed also here: http://tigersachsclub.com/tproducts.html

Hope that helps,

Tiger/Sachs Club - Mbox

[Richard-BKK]

The Tiger CX 125/135 is an excellent motorcycle for what the OP needs. But if it comes to automatic scooters and power - not much in Thailand beats the 250cc Lifan LF250T-6B scooter...

[canopy]

Will look at those options. Have been getting coached that Honda would be a good one for reliability. So among the Honda line anything somewhat suitable to throw in the mix? By the way, dirt/mud roads would be light usage but I listed that as I don't want to end up with something suited for city streets that can't handle a little country driving.

[thaicbr]

The Tiger CX 125/135 is an excellent motorcycle for what the OP needs. But if it comes to automatic scooters and power - not much in Thailand beats the 250cc Lifan LF250T-6B scooter...

Richard........Pictures, specs and prices of the lifan would be nice.

OP for what you want the Tiger CX would be ideal. It can be ordered from the Tiger sachs website. Its like a Honda wave on steroids. And its not to expensive (which is nice)

[ttakata]

The Tiger above does look perfect for the job, I never knew it existed.

Lose the stickers and it won't look too bad.

Any of the Japanese brands will be reliable, but Honda will have greater parts and service availability.

You could always get knobby tires on a street scooter as long as the suspension can hold up.

I bet my Yamaha Elegance could hold up to gravel road use with some knobbies.

Jack on this forum wrote this up, pretty serious off-road for a scooter.

http://www.alphapro.com/januarylooking10/kohsamet.htm

If your wife can shift gears, just get a Kawasaki KLX125 or KSR110 since they were designed as dirtbikes.

[nikster]

Nothing can beat a Honda Wave/Dream on muddy roads. Put knobby tires on it and this bike will go anywhere.

I did a little back country exploring on a Wave 125 when I first came to Thailand. Turns out our "guide" was a mad offroad kind of guy, and we ended up on extremely steep hills with mud to the knees. I had no experience in off-roading, or, for that matter, riding a motorcycle in general. The Wave did it all with minimum fuss. It's so light and so low that you can easily use your feet to help. Now at my experience level at the time, I am pretty sure I would not have made this trip on a proper off road bike like a KLX250.

The tiger website looks fantastic. This is definitely the best motorbike manufacturer website in Thailand. It has information. It has prices. It has pictures. It has an order form!!! GMax looking quite good.

I'd still go with a Honda for proven indestructibility and easy service.. any motocyc shop can service a Honda blindfolded.

[VocalNeal]

Maybe someone from Pattaya will chip in. I have seen "off-road" converted Waves parked on Beach Road. But they look a bit macho. Look at what the locals are using and then let her pick the colour

It all depends on how occasionally you need to do the gravel dirt/muddy thing. Tires are the key to that.

Edited July 9, 2010 by VocalNeal

[katabeachbum]

Will look at those options. Have been getting coached that Honda would be a good one for reliability. So among the Honda line anything somewhat suitable to throw in the mix? By the way, dirt/mud roads would be light usage but I listed that as I don't want to end up with something suited for city streets that can't handle a little country driving.

going up steep hills, Honda is last on my list. My GF needs to walk up if I ride. Airblade and Click both with fuelinjection.

Yamaha Elegance and any Suzuki auto goes all the way

[nikster]

going up steep hills, Honda is last on my list. My GF needs to walk up if I ride....

Yah, if the Mrs is on the heavy side...

Should have gotten a Wave. 1st gear, it will go. Not fast. But it will arrive. Definitely no auto for muddy roading. They're not made for that. The kind of things I went through with the Wave, there's no way any auto would do that, they're too low, little wheels, etc. They'd just get stuck in the mud.

I am sure the offroad people here know what happens frequently when you go out... you heroically defeat impossible roads, roads that aren't even roads, cross rivers, brave the mud, and generally tough it out. You arrive at a clearing in the jungle, proud of your off road monster bike. And then, say hello to 5 local Thai guys who got up there on their 10 year old Honda Dreams. Go local, do what they do

Well OK some locals up here use these home-built 2 strokes. No name on them, I think they're welded together locally. They go off like a rocket, despite being very little. KSR size. But the problem with these is that they break down every other day.

I have also seen souped up Sonics. With the suspension set a bit higher and with big knobby tires, they look like they'd go pretty well offroad. Don't know about their reliability and general performance though.

[thaicbr]

The tiger website looks fantastic. This is definitely the best motorbike manufacturer website in Thailand. It has information. It has prices. It has pictures. It has an order form!!! GMax looking quite good.

I'd still go with a Honda for proven indestructibility and easy service.. any motocyc shop can service a Honda blindfolded.

The Tiger website is not actually the manufacturers website but is in fact a Tiger enthusiast who decided to help out and then became the Tiger authorized web seller.

(and your correct it is good)

Any shop that can service a honda wave can also do the same for the Tiger.

Allan

[Tigersachsclub]

The tiger website looks fantastic. This is definitely the best motorbike manufacturer website in Thailand. It has information. It has prices. It has pictures. It has an order form!!! GMax looking quite good.

I'd still go with a Honda for proven indestructibility and easy service.. any motocyc shop can service a Honda blindfolded.

The Tiger website is not actually the manufacturers website but is in fact a Tiger enthusiast who decided to help out and then became the Tiger authorized web seller.

(and your correct it is good)

Any shop that can service a honda wave can also do the same for the Tiger.

Allan

Hi Allan thanks for the post as it pretty much sums it up. In fact the Tiger Manufacturer's website is located here : www.tigermotor.co.th ....

Tiger/Sachs Club & Tiger Motors is working together as you can also see on the Tiger Manufacturer Frontpage there is also a link to Tiger/Sachs Club. While Tigers Manufacturer Page maybe just ok for Thai customer but for the english speaker there was nothing available which made it rather difficult to get info or buying a Tiger( & Sachs) Bike.

I am often amused what people often post in regards of Service ....there are often parts from Tiger Bikes interchanging from Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki....and since Tiger Bikes are rather low-tech and carburated any Mr. Somchai can fix it. I know of a few old Tiger Jokers around where i live and they go to the same "side of the road" mechanic as the honda wave guys do. If you really happened to be short of a sparepart that can not be interchanged it can be sent in no time, out from BKK. And in the worst case scenario that takes a few days .

Happy trails,

Tiger/Sachs Club - Mbox

[DefaultName]

The Tiger CX 125/135 is an excellent motorcycle for what the OP needs. But if it comes to automatic scooters and power - not much in Thailand beats the 250cc Lifan LF250T-6B scooter...

Richard........Pictures, specs and prices of the lifan would be nice.

Agreed. I've just spent an hour on google and haven't found any prices.