Mae Hong Son Loop - Doing It My Way

[Kf6vci]

The Africa Twin has been parked underground for weeks. At least she has other big bikes for company. What stories may they swop? Gossiping about bad owners who neglect their bikes' hygiene and flog some tired engines, especially when they are cold?

The other bike, an old GPZ 1000, is in the shop to be improved for a future sale. Lots of parts have been ordered and are in the mail. Others are yet to be sourced, like miscellaneous hoses. What to do? Go to Chiang Mai and rent a bike. As it matters thaT you ride, not what you ride!

[Kf6vci]

In CNX, I tried different digs from 120 Baht to ~ 4,000 Baht.

[Kf6vci]

For CNX, a Honda Wave 125 X was great fun!

Is that Pikeys of GT Rider fame Triumph?

It feels good to leave Chiang Mai behind and head for the mountains!

[Kf6vci]

Leaving town on the 107, then taking the 1095. After 18 km, there is the Panklet Cafe with a lovely garden and an amazing selection of food at low prices. These photos show the garden and 110 Baht bought 2 warm meals and a chocolate shake.

[Kf6vci]

I love the 1095 and learn to appreciate the Phantom. (Honda should donate the 450 cc motor of it's commercial enduro and add EFI or come up with another successor bike. To discontinue the Phantom plus the CBR 150 with no replacements stinks

[Kf6vci]

The weather was nice, although the odd single cloud often shed some rain drops.

[Kf6vci]

Is this road great or what?

Is this the spot where the SSR Gang stopped?

Blossom at a gas station in Pai:

[moe666]

Great report, did meet a Germany woman at Wat Tam Wua who rode a bicycle from Mae Hong Song to Pai she did it her way

[Kf6vci]

To be honest, I'm not quite sure whether I reached Mae Hong Son, or ended up somewhere nearby in the most run down "hotel" I ever saw. Its paint must have been 10+ years old and the cock roaches took over. What made me choose it was that it was opposite a 7-11 With this past experience in mind, I took the 108 and decided to ride till Khun Yuam Which turned out to be a multitude of mistakes. a) riding at night is, well, different and add torrential rain and stones on the road... But when the3 going gets tough, the tough get going. So yours truly ignored the irritation the sharp rain drops left on bare skin near the throat (the borrowed jacket had no working zip and the shirt lost some bottons). But whenever oncoming traffic was blinding, it was time to apply the brakes. The IRC tires didn't inspire much confidence, with their hard compound and a reputation to be bad in the rain.

Soaking wet to the skin, with water in my shoes and the constant needling of drops on already irritated bare skin let me rejoice seeing this hotel sign in Khun Yuam:

Covered parking for the Phantom, one shop was still open after 8 pm and the 300 Baht price was okay, given the 450 B printed price. No haggling tonight! The matres was unusually soft

The Phantom was unwilling to get going early in the morning and stalled the following 30+ km at idling rpm.

[Kf6vci]

My leather gear including the shoes were still went when new rain started coming down. first intermittent, then as a down pour.

Bimbling along has its advantages. The road was the destination and I enjoyed the scenery and vegetation by the side of the road. There appears to be a hirachy among farmers, with more affluent ones using mechanized ploughs while others use water buffaloes and the poorest their own hands to prepare rice fields for planting. Watching them bent over for what, less than 2,500 Baht a month, makes me wonder about what's important in life? We seem to take a lot for granted!

More rain - glad to notice many shelters by the side of the 108!

This one was in heavy demand: locals rolling their own cigarillos of cigar proportions and this young mother with her child.

[Kf6vci]

A quick photo of yours truly by a local who never before handled a camera:

Rain or no rain - it's time to get going again!

Sanam = nomen est omen, as the village name contains "nam" = water. The rain was getting on my nerves, especially all that water penetrating the knees, filling my shoes and soaking forming a poodle in the crotch. Nothing for miles, then some humble wood hut by the side of the road. Its proprietor waving where to park the bike. Inside the dwelling, of course! Where chicken found shelter, too.

I stopped looking at the watch and live in the here and now - enjoying several meals and drinks. It took a while and then the lady of the house made an amazing omlette known as kai jiaouw (spelling = ?). Man, that was good! So you guys, maybe stopping at the blue sign with the fork & knife and eating an omlette is a good idea, rain or shin?

[Kf6vci]

The 108 turned ugly and I decided to drive up to Doi Inthanon on a dry day.

TONY'S BIG BIKE got a dirty Phantom back. A real bargain @ 550 Baht a day

Next time, the Africa Twin on which Simon had his deadly accident (which wasn't disclosed when I bought it unseen on trust ) will be able to make it? Some "mechanic" had a go at this once pristine bike, ignoring Honda's engineering when it comes to the fairing... Watch out for "mechanics" damaging your pride and joy!

Oh, and months since paying for the bike, ownership remains non-transferable as the DMV (?) keeps demanding additional paperwork from the farang seller. So you All watch out before parting with your ca$h and make sure the transfer can be accomplished!

It doesn't matter what you ride - a 200 cc Phantom can be fun! - as long as you do ride. Those in Bangkok and shorter than 1.83 m, there is an overnight train. for the return journey, I paid 791 Baht in an aircon wagon. One day, Thai Rail will figure out a way to filter out Diesel fumes. But it was a good end and those less inclined to engage in SSR heroics like driving down and back can have their bikes moved on certain trains as well. (The 17:55 Express is all sleeper wagons, so I doubt one can take a bike on this one). For a 275 kg bike, I was quoted ~ 1,650 from CNX to Don Muang.

Thanks for reading.

Chris

[powderpuff]

Hey nice one. Thanks for the pix. You are an ironman to ride in all that rain. Bravo.

[TrePOD]

Reminds me of my trip from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. I used a Phantom on my trip around Samui. Came back burned up like a piece of Gai Young.

[Donshe]

Great ride report.

I did CM to Pai in January this year and to date it is the best bit of road I have ever ridden, loved it so much, am coming back to LOS to do a ride in the south. I did the ride on a Phantom from Tony too

I have one question, after Pai, what is the route to do this "loop"? If anyone could give a quick Google Maps outline it would be great as Im hoping to do some more riding up North as soon as I can !

[Kf6vci]

Great ride report.

I did CM to Pai in January this year and to date it is the best bit of road I have ever ridden, loved it so much, am coming back to LOS to do a ride in the south. I did the ride on a Phantom from Tony too

I have one question, after Pai, what is the route to do this "loop"? If anyone could give a quick Google Maps outline it would be great as Im hoping to do some more riding up North as soon as I can !

Well, I'm no authority. But I stayed on the 1095all the way from PAI to MHS.

Chris

[Tigersachsclub]

Hi Chris,

Nice trip you done and thanks for sharing . The Phantom did its job fine...and i didn't expect anything less...knowing that Captain Slash from gt-rider went through all thailand on his phantom .

Hope your both repairing bikes are soon ready for action(you planning to sell that gpz again?)...my Virago 750 still needs a bit of a tune but it is rideable already. here some pics:

Happy trials,

Tiger/Sachs Club - Mbox

[BigBikeBKK]

Very nice ride report! Thanks for sharing!

Happy Trails!

Tony

[BigBikeBKK]

Great ride report.

I did CM to Pai in January this year and to date it is the best bit of road I have ever ridden, loved it so much, am coming back to LOS to do a ride in the south. I did the ride on a Phantom from Tony too

I have one question, after Pai, what is the route to do this "loop"? If anyone could give a quick Google Maps outline it would be great as Im hoping to do some more riding up North as soon as I can !

Here's the MHS Loop:

Routes 108 and 1095

Ride On!

Tony

[moe666]

If you want to see something nice on this route about one hour out of Mae Hong Son to Pae is Wat Tam Wua. There is a sign and it is about 1 and a half k from main road it is a great place to take a break and look around, spent a month there in Mar.

Your post and photos were great. 765 curves Pae to Mae Hong Song

[nikster]

Awesome report. I agree that doing this route slow, there's lots to see along the way. If it's not raining the vistas from Pai-MHS are absolutely stunning.

[phuketrichard]

I did this trip in a car and was much more comfortable. Stay on the road that goes alongside the Burma border all the way down to Mae Sot than cut back over to Bangkok. Some amazing scenery!!

[witold]

Nice report, kf6vci!

BKK-CM ride is not too bad actually. It takes a while to get out of the concrete jungle, but it gets nice fairly quickly. Just stick as far west as you can.

105 between Mae Sot and Tak *IS* the best motorcycle road I have been on in Thailand. (If you like sportbike, knee dragging quality curves, that is.) Highly recommended.

Edited August 17, 2010 by witold

[mezcal]

Hey Chris!

Nice trip there. I envy you northern guys, you have such great roads up there. Here in Chachoengsao it's dead flat. If I want to go for a quick spin it's like....straight, u-turn, back home!

Last April though I went home in North Italy, and I had a great trip with my dad, my brother and my wife. We have some of the best roads in the Alps. I was driving my brother's Ducati 900SS 1976 and he had the Ducati 750SS. My dad has another riding philosophy and rides a 2006 Goldwing. My wife really enjoyed the heated seat! haha

PS: Sorry Chris if I hijacked your tread!

[billd766]

I ride a Phantom but I may be willing to sell my soul for a legal Goldwing here in Thailand.

[mezcal]

I ride a Phantom but I may be willing to sell my soul for a legal Goldwing here in Thailand.

My dad is 63 years old, spends every cent on that bike and probably sold his soul too to get it. I find it cool though that he still rides...and he rides a lot! Much more than I do! And on fantastic mountain roads too! The bastard!!

[billd766]

I ride a Phantom but I may be willing to sell my soul for a legal Goldwing here in Thailand.

My dad is 63 years old, spends every cent on that bike and probably sold his soul too to get it. I find it cool though that he still rides...and he rides a lot! Much more than I do! And on fantastic mountain roads too! The bastard!!

I have seen several in Taupo, New Zealand that had been converted to trikes but I can't find the photos at this time.

[mezcal]

My dad is 63 years old, spends every cent on that bike and probably sold his soul too to get it. I find it cool though that he still rides...and he rides a lot! Much more than I do! And on fantastic mountain roads too! The bastard!!

I have seen several in Taupo, New Zealand that had been converted to trikes but I can't find the photos at this time.

For your pleasure! International Goldwing Meeting in Chioggia, Italy. Many sidecars, trikes and even a camper trolley (not sure about the English name)...it fits 2 adults and a child! The sidecar that looks like a car has even aircon and a stereo hifi!

These people are craaazy!

[billd766]

That orange and black one is a foul colour but the rest are certainly somewhat "different".

I still prefer your Dads.

I used to have a Honda CX 500 in the UK years ago and I loved that. I dropped a valve head through a piston on my way home one night and still drove 45km up and down hills to get it home.

I got a replacement motor for it but changed the bike later for a newer one.

[sailaway2000]

That orange and black one is a foul colour but the rest are certainly somewhat "different".

I still prefer your Dads.

I used to have a Honda CX 500 in the UK years ago and I loved that. I dropped a valve head through a piston on my way home one night and still drove 45km up and down hills to get it home.

I got a replacement motor for it but changed the bike later for a newer one.

A friend here in CM just sold his fully book legal GoldWing1100 before returning to Europe. Beautiful big bike. I forget what he sold it for, maybe 200,000 baht?

Personally, I ride a GL400 here in the north and its a GREAT bike. Its just like the CX/GL500's but 400CC. Over engineered, super reliable, easy to work on, many have gone well over 250,000k AND they are relatively cheap here in Thailand relative to other 400cc bikes.