The lesson learned however, is to simply ride through the police check whether they shout at you or not.

Bad advice for the multitude of us foreigners who live in medium-to-small-sized towns where the few foreigners are easily known/identified. When I stop (always) and flip up my dark visor, 90% of the time they wave me on.

Yep, same with me. Normally they smile and let me go when all thai natives have to show their papers. I do not understand such "better-behave-like-an-outlaw" advises. Very dangerous and for farangs sure not the best way to get friends at the police.

Why would anyone want to be friends with a corrupt Thai traffic cop? Personally I recommend cultivating your police friendships a bit higher up the food chain

As many people here are reporting to have no problems with the police i guess it must be your attitude that causes your trouble. The traffic police seems to have a nose for people like you. I think it is better they take some money from you. In your home country the cops would probably beat you instead

As many people here are reporting to have no problems with the police i guess it must be your attitude that causes your trouble. The traffic police seems to have a nose for people like you. I think it is better they take some money from you. In your home country the cops would probably beat you instead

No attitude on my part towards the police, they just saw that i had no plate and tried to pry 500Baht from my pocket.

As soon as he realized my girlfriend was switched on enough to make him look at the sale invoice and with Kawasaki on the end of the phone he lets us go.......(with a hookey fine) I'm not sure about the law regarding plates on newly purchased big bikes but one thing's for sure this officer clearly wanted money and back down as soon as we hit him with the sale invoice and a member of Kawasaki.

As many people here are reporting to have no problems with the police i guess it must be your attitude that causes your trouble. The traffic police seems to have a nose for people like you. I think it is better they take some money from you. In your home country the cops would probably beat you instead

No attitude on my part towards the police, they just saw that i had no plate and tried to pry 500Baht from my pocket.

As soon as he realized my girlfriend was switched on enough to make him look at the sale invoice and with Kawasaki on the end of the phone he lets us go.......(with a hookey fine) I'm not sure about the law regarding plates on newly purchased big bikes but one thing's for sure this officer clearly wanted money and back down as soon as we hit him with the sale invoice and a member of Kawasaki.

Maybe he wanted this or maybe he wanted that or...

Fact is you haven't paid something so far. Only 100 Baht to your neighbour

If i read your second post in this thread (post #3) i would say something like this could have caused much bigger trouble. Do you really think it is fun for a policeman to risk his health and run through the traffic to catch you? Maybe his boss told him to do so. Maybe he has to write some tickets to not loose his job. This is absolutely normal in all other countries too. And it is also normal that people get angry about it if it happens to them

But it is absolutely normal that they want to stop you if you have no plates. What else should they do to make sure your bike is registrated and insured?

As many people here are reporting to have no problems with the police i guess it must be your attitude that causes your trouble. The traffic police seems to have a nose for people like you. I think it is better they take some money from you. In your home country the cops would probably beat you instead

No attitude on my part towards the police, they just saw that i had no plate and tried to pry 500Baht from my pocket.

As soon as he realized my girlfriend was switched on enough to make him look at the sale invoice and with Kawasaki on the end of the phone he lets us go.......(with a hookey fine) I'm not sure about the law regarding plates on newly purchased big bikes but one thing's for sure this officer clearly wanted money and back down as soon as we hit him with the sale invoice and a member of Kawasaki.

Maybe he wanted this or maybe he wanted that or...

Fact is you haven't paid something so far. Only 100 Baht to your neighbour

If i read your second post in this thread (post #3) i would say something like this could have caused much bigger trouble. Do you really think it is fun for a policeman to risk his health and run through the traffic to catch you? Maybe his boss told him to do so. Maybe he has to write some tickets to not loose his job. This is absolutely normal in all other countries too. And it is also normal that people get angry about it if it happens to them

But it is absolutely normal that they want to stop you if you have no plates. What else should they do to make sure your bike is registrated and insured?

Yep the 100Baht was paid to my 'friendly' neighbour and he has given me the payment docket and proof the fine has been paid for.

He's a fairly well off police officer, the houses in my village are 4,000,000baht upwards, so it kind of made me laugh that he had to ask for 100Baht, maybe it's a habbit they just can't kick, no matter how high up the ladder they climb

As for checking registration of bikes with no plates, i 100% agree with you , things have to be kept in check or else people could get away with murder......

Edited January 9, 201214 yr by karlos

things have to be kept in check or else people could get away with murder......

They do....get a way with murder....when its a farang.........cuz its usually classed as suicide.

Yep the 100Baht was paid to my 'friendly' neighbour and he has given me the payment docket and proof the fine has been paid for.

He's a fairly well off police officer, the houses in my village are 4,000,000baht upwards, so it kind of made me laugh that he had to ask for 100Baht, maybe it's a habbit they just can't kick, no matter how high up the ladder they climb

I would assume he needed the 100 Baht to get another officer work, not to pay his house off. He didn't want to pay the money himself.

Is the sum written down on the payment docket? If it is: Is there 100 Baht or 500 Baht written down?

As for checking registration of bikes with no plates, i 100% agree with you , things have to be kept in check or else people could get away with murder......

A murderer would be clever enough to steal some plate i guess. I would fear that absolutely none of the Thai people would have insurance or registrated bikes if it would not be checked regulary. And of course most farang wouldn't have too

Edited January 9, 201214 yr by wantan

Yep the 100Baht was paid to my 'friendly' neighbour and he has given me the payment docket and proof the fine has been paid for.

He's a fairly well off police officer, the houses in my village are 4,000,000baht upwards, so it kind of made me laugh that he had to ask for 100Baht, maybe it's a habbit they just can't kick, no matter how high up the ladder they climb

I would assume he needed the 100 Baht to get another officer work, not to pay his house off. He didn't want to pay the money himself.

Is the sum written down on the payment docket? If it is: Is there 100 Baht or 500 Baht written down?

The original fine had no value written on it, makes me think even more that it was issued just to save face in front of his fellow officers. The Docket i recieved from my neighbour has 100B.

Yep the 100Baht was paid to my 'friendly' neighbour and he has given me the payment docket and proof the fine has been paid for.

He's a fairly well off police officer, the houses in my village are 4,000,000baht upwards, so it kind of made me laugh that he had to ask for 100Baht, maybe it's a habbit they just can't kick, no matter how high up the ladder they climb

I would assume he needed the 100 Baht to get another officer work, not to pay his house off. He didn't want to pay the money himself.

Is the sum written down on the payment docket? If it is: Is there 100 Baht or 500 Baht written down?

The original fine had no value written on it, makes me think even more that it was issued just to save face in front of his fellow officers. The Docket i recieved from my neighbour has 100B.

roadside fines usually have no amount on them, until presented to fine clerk at roadside "office" or policestation, where fine amount is decided. every offence has a minimum and maximum, no plate legal bike 2k baht max.

seems like your friend interfered and result was minimum fine 100 baht

anyhoot, you where fined for riding a new BKK purchased bike from TH largest big bike supplier, no plate in BKK, which does tell me 1979 road traffic act still stands even in BKK and the "no plate for 30 days" is b-shit due to lack of enforcement, sometimes.

how would a society work if all new vehicles would be plateless? microscope on the VIN?

Yep the 100Baht was paid to my 'friendly' neighbour and he has given me the payment docket and proof the fine has been paid for.

He's a fairly well off police officer, the houses in my village are 4,000,000baht upwards, so it kind of made me laugh that he had to ask for 100Baht, maybe it's a habbit they just can't kick, no matter how high up the ladder they climb

I would assume he needed the 100 Baht to get another officer work, not to pay his house off. He didn't want to pay the money himself.

Is the sum written down on the payment docket? If it is: Is there 100 Baht or 500 Baht written down?

The original fine had no value written on it, makes me think even more that it was issued just to save face in front of his fellow officers. The Docket i recieved from my neighbour has 100B.

roadside fines usually have no amount on them, until presented to fine clerk at roadside "office" or policestation, where fine amount is decided. every offence has a minimum and maximum, no plate legal bike 2k baht max.

seems like your friend interfered and result was minimum fine 100 baht

anyhoot, you where fined for riding a new BKK purchased bike from TH largest big bike supplier, no plate in BKK, which does tell me 1979 road traffic act still stands even in BKK and the "no plate for 30 days" is b-shit due to lack of enforcement, sometimes.

how would a society work if all new vehicles would be plateless? microscope on the VIN?

Still makes me wonder why 'Thailand's largest big bike supplier' would lie to their customers and tell them they can ride legaly with no plate, it does beg the question why they don't have red plates avaliable at Kawasaki though. When i bought my Yamaha Mio 125 6 months back i was issued with red plates for 3 weeks. :S

Fact remains that there are no red plates for bikes in Bangkok.

If the Brown Mafia tries to tell you otherwise they are lying and hoping for a handout.

All you have to do on a new bike is show bill of sale and you are free and clear for 30 days.

Noone is "free and clear for 30 days". Driving without plates is illegal. But police tolerates this as long as people like you don't call them "Brown Mafia" or "Cockroaches".

As far as i know it is tolerated for new bikes if:

- you don't leave your home area (i forgot what exactly is meant; home town or district where the bike is registered?)

- you drive at daylight (no driving in the dark)

- you have all papers with you (invoice, insurance, copy green book, ...)

- you do show some respect (same as everywhere in LOS)

- may i forgot something?

Oh, i forgot: PERIOD! (This makes every statement much more impressive. I will now do this always )

Hey genius, you are quoting the rules for red plated cars.

What part of "there are no red plates for bikes in Bangkok" do you not understand?

Bangkok has a different set of rules for new bikes than the rest of the country, as the Bangkok DLT does not issue red plates for bikes.

Don't believe me? Ask any dealer of the Bangkok DLT.

Just wear proper gear: full face helmet & sunglasses, jacket & gloves and you'll evade their Farang Radar. I never get pulled over, once they realize I'm farang, I'm helmet down-ish w/ sunglasses, and pin the throttle soon as I'm close to em. Learned this trick in Kuala Lumpur. Now THOSE police are some real thugs.

Good advice, I haven't suffered a BiB shakedown in a long time since I no longer bother to stop for the crooks. Just ignore them and ride on

As many people here are reporting to have no problems with the police i guess it must be your attitude that causes your trouble. The traffic police seems to have a nose for people like you. I think it is better they take some money from you. In your home country the cops would probably beat you instead

I never have problems with corrupt Thai cops, I just ignore them and ride on

And yeah, if I rode in the US the way I ride in Thailand I'd have been locked up a long time ago.

Isn't Thailand great???

Still makes me wonder why 'Thailand's largest big bike supplier' would lie to their customers and tell them they can ride legaly with no plate, it does beg the question why they don't have red plates avaliable at Kawasaki though. When i bought my Yamaha Mio 125 6 months back i was issued with red plates for 3 weeks. :S

it does.

kawasaki bkk supplies max 1000 units a year

toyota bkk supplies at least 200.000 units a year

and its to much hassle to throw a redplate on a kwaker?

and toyota manages

Fact remains that there are no red plates for bikes in Bangkok.

If the Brown Mafia tries to tell you otherwise they are lying and hoping for a handout.

All you have to do on a new bike is show bill of sale and you are free and clear for 30 days.

Noone is "free and clear for 30 days". Driving without plates is illegal. But police tolerates this as long as people like you don't call them "Brown Mafia" or "Cockroaches".

As far as i know it is tolerated for new bikes if:

- you don't leave your home area (i forgot what exactly is meant; home town or district where the bike is registered?)

- you drive at daylight (no driving in the dark)

- you have all papers with you (invoice, insurance, copy green book, ...)

- you do show some respect (same as everywhere in LOS)

- may i forgot something?

Oh, i forgot: PERIOD! (This makes every statement much more impressive. I will now do this always )

Hey genius, you are quoting the rules for red plated cars.

What part of "there are no red plates for bikes in Bangkok" do you not understand?

Bangkok has a different set of rules for new bikes than the rest of the country, as the Bangkok DLT does not issue red plates for bikes.

Don't believe me? Ask any dealer of the Bangkok DLT.

why not ask the BKK cops who obviously issue official fines for being non plated

Fact remains that there are no red plates for bikes in Bangkok.

If the Brown Mafia tries to tell you otherwise they are lying and hoping for a handout.

All you have to do on a new bike is show bill of sale and you are free and clear for 30 days.

Noone is "free and clear for 30 days". Driving without plates is illegal. But police tolerates this as long as people like you don't call them "Brown Mafia" or "Cockroaches".

As far as i know it is tolerated for new bikes if:

- you don't leave your home area (i forgot what exactly is meant; home town or district where the bike is registered?)

- you drive at daylight (no driving in the dark)

- you have all papers with you (invoice, insurance, copy green book, ...)

- you do show some respect (same as everywhere in LOS)

- may i forgot something?

Oh, i forgot: PERIOD! (This makes every statement much more impressive. I will now do this always )

Hey genius, you are quoting the rules for red plated cars.

What part of "there are no red plates for bikes in Bangkok" do you not understand?

Bangkok has a different set of rules for new bikes than the rest of the country, as the Bangkok DLT does not issue red plates for bikes.

Don't believe me? Ask any dealer of the Bangkok DLT.

> Hey genius, you are quoting the rules for red plated cars.

This makes sense. Why should the rules for red plated vehicles be different from driving without plates? Do you think you have more rights if you drive without plate than with a red plate?

> Bangkok has a different set of rules for new bikes than the rest of the country, as the Bangkok DLT does not issue red plates for bikes.

Wow, we needed to fill three pages in this topic to make BigBikeBangkok understand what it is about. Is this a new record?

Bangkok does not offer red plates for motorbikes. And because of this all new bikes break the traffic law if they are driven without plate in the first weeks. And it causes a lot of trouble for the owners as we see in this thread.

As many people here are reporting to have no problems with the police i guess it must be your attitude that causes your trouble. The traffic police seems to have a nose for people like you. I think it is better they take some money from you. In your home country the cops would probably beat you instead

I never have problems with corrupt Thai cops, I just ignore them and ride on

And yeah, if I rode in the US the way I ride in Thailand I'd have been locked up a long time ago.

Isn't Thailand great???

You are not the only one who comes here to enjoy this kind of freedom and to make pithy sayings for a while. Don't be disappointed if one day they show you who is the master in this country.

Fact remains that there are no red plates for bikes in Bangkok.

If the Brown Mafia tries to tell you otherwise they are lying and hoping for a handout.

All you have to do on a new bike is show bill of sale and you are free and clear for 30 days.

Noone is "free and clear for 30 days". Driving without plates is illegal. But police tolerates this as long as people like you don't call them "Brown Mafia" or "Cockroaches".

As far as i know it is tolerated for new bikes if:

- you don't leave your home area (i forgot what exactly is meant; home town or district where the bike is registered?)

- you drive at daylight (no driving in the dark)

- you have all papers with you (invoice, insurance, copy green book, ...)

- you do show some respect (same as everywhere in LOS)

- may i forgot something?

Oh, i forgot: PERIOD! (This makes every statement much more impressive. I will now do this always )

Hey genius, you are quoting the rules for red plated cars.

What part of "there are no red plates for bikes in Bangkok" do you not understand?

Bangkok has a different set of rules for new bikes than the rest of the country, as the Bangkok DLT does not issue red plates for bikes.

Don't believe me? Ask any dealer of the Bangkok DLT.

why not ask the BKK cops who obviously issue official fines for being non plated

Putting "Bangkok Cop" and "Official Fine" in the same sentence is a joke, right?

and its to much hassle to throw a redplate on a kwaker?

You forgot to mention BMW, Yamaha, Suzuki, Harley Davidson, Ducati, Honda and KTM - buy a new one in Bangkok and you won't get a red plate either, cuz they don't exist.

I know that may be hard for you to believe down there in Phuket, but that's just how it works here in Bangkok.

Who knows, now that the law regarding red plates has been revised, perhaps they'll start issuing red plates for bikes in Bangkok some day.

In the meantime, no plate and bill of sale is all you need for the first 30 days in Bangkok.

Happy Trails!

Putting "Bangkok Cop" and "Official Fine" in the same sentence is a joke, right?

as BKK cops are well reputated asking for donations, I found Karlos official fine for riding non plated interesting.

Whatever the BKK big bike dealers and DLT have cooked togeteher, for whatever reason, it cant be the high number of big bike sales, it is obviously not in co op with BKK or the rest of the countries law enforcement

police works according to 1979 road act, and DLT can ask them to focus on certain areas, but can hardly ask them to ignore chapters of the law

police works according to 1979 road act, and DLT can ask them to focus on certain areas, but can hardly ask them to ignore chapters of the law

Kawasaki has already given the answer to this. Offer the BKK policeman 100 Baht if he points to your missing plate and he will kindly tolerate your breaking of the traffic law. If he asks for 500 than ask back for discount. This is one of many examples how easy things work here. But it does not make driving without plate legal.

Beware, if you start discussing with the cop you may end up giving the 100 Baht to your neighbour

EDIT:

May we just have to accept that in BKK we have to wait for the regular plates before going on tour with our new bike (at least if we want to drive legal).

Edited January 10, 201214 yr by wantan

police works according to 1979 road act, and DLT can ask them to focus on certain areas, but can hardly ask them to ignore chapters of the law

Kawasaki has already given the answer to this. Offer the BKK policeman 100 Baht if he points to your missing plate and he will kindly tolerate your breaking of the traffic law. If he asks for 500 than ask back for discount. This is one of many examples how easy things work here. But it does not make driving without plate legal.

Beware, if you start discussing with the cop you may end up giving the 100 Baht to your neighbour

well I d rather bring one of the Phuket or BKK redplates from my garage if I wanted to ride a new bike in BKK. Problem solved

I was also considering popping down to a friends Yamaha dealership (small bikes) and fitting one of their Bangkok Red Plates to stop this happening again, as Kawasaki still don't know when my plate will arrive (3 weeks now)......

When people are saying 'there are no Red Plates issued in Bangkok for bikes' it should read BIG bikes, right?

As my new Yamaha Mio 125, which i purchased 6 months back in Bangkok came with a red plate until the official one arrived....

I was also considering popping down to a friends Yamaha dealership (small bikes) and fitting one of their Bangkok Red Plates to stop this happening again, as Kawasaki still don't know when my plate will arrive (3 weeks now)......

When people are saying 'there are no Red Plates issued in Bangkok for bikes' it should read BIG bikes, right?

As my new Yamaha Mio 125, which i purchased 6 months back in Bangkok came with a red plate until the official one arrived....

To be honest, i don't know. When Tiger transferred my Boxer 250 to my name i was some weeks without plates too. Tiger told me this is OK, as long as i stick to the rules i have written down above.

Are there red plates for small bikes? I see many new "small" bikes here without plates. And why should they be able to handle red plates for "small bikes" and not for "big bikes"? And what is considered as "big"? >199cc? >249cc? >399cc? Confusion! TIT

I was also considering popping down to a friends Yamaha dealership (small bikes) and fitting one of their Bangkok Red Plates to stop this happening again, as Kawasaki still don't know when my plate will arrive (3 weeks now)......

When people are saying 'there are no Red Plates issued in Bangkok for bikes' it should read BIG bikes, right?

As my new Yamaha Mio 125, which i purchased 6 months back in Bangkok came with a red plate until the official one arrived....

To be honest, i don't know. When Tiger transferred my Boxer 250 to my name i was some weeks without plates too. Tiger told me this is OK, as long as i stick to the rules i have written down above.

Are there red plates for small bikes? I see many new "small" bikes here without plates. And why should they be able to handle red plates for "small bikes" and not for "big bikes"? And what is considered as "big"? >199cc? >249cc? >399cc? Confusion! TIT

Most scooters here in Bangkok's Latkrabang area ride around with Red-Plates, my Mio was sold to me with a red plate just 10km from the Big Kawasaki dealer i got my 2012 Ninja 650 from. I have also seen some D-Trackers and KSRs riding with red plates too (obviously not sold by my Big Kawasaki Bike shop, Real Motorsport!) grrrrr

of course ther are bike redplates in BKK, some just prefere to ignore their existense and need to use

bigbikes used to be above 200cc, as less than 200cc was tax free.

moved up to 250cc few years back, but most still consider cbr250/dtracker250 and ninjette250 big bikes

of course ther are bike redplates in BKK, some just prefere to ignore their existense and need to use

bigbikes used to be above 200cc, as less than 200cc was tax free.

moved up to 250cc few years back, but most still consider cbr250/dtracker250 and ninjette250 big bikes

Thanks for clarification. With "tax free up to 250" you mean the import tax i guess. I can not believe that import taxes influence the traffic rules for bikes. I guess that there is no difference between smaller and bigger bikes regarding traffic law. All need helmets, plates and are not allowed to drive on motorways. The only limit i know of is somewhere at 100cc. Bikes below that can be driven by teens IIRR.

IMO the problem in Thailand is that because the lack of rigid enforcement of laws the people are not able to distinguish between "law" and "tolerated lawbreaking". Like this laws are nearly useless for the citizens. And the system of tea money does make this more worse. E.g. many people still believe, that only the driver needs a helmet, not the pillion. But OK, thats why most of us live here and enjoy LOS

of course ther are bike redplates in BKK, some just prefere to ignore their existense and need to use

bigbikes used to be above 200cc, as less than 200cc was tax free.

moved up to 250cc few years back, but most still consider cbr250/dtracker250 and ninjette250 big bikes

Thanks for clarification. With "tax free up to 250" you mean the import tax i guess. I can not believe that import taxes influence the traffic rules for bikes. I guess that there is no difference between smaller and bigger bikes regarding traffic law. All need helmets, plates and are not allowed to drive on motorways. The only limit i know of is somewhere at 100cc. Bikes below that can be driven by teens IIRR.

IMO the problem in Thailand is that because the lack of rigid enforcement of laws the people are not able to distinguish between "law" and "tolerated lawbreaking". Like this laws are nearly useless for the citizens. And the system of tea money does make this more worse. E.g. many people still believe, that only the driver needs a helmet, not the pillion. But OK, thats why most of us live here and enjoy LOS

less than 250cc is free of excicetax. 80% importduty still applies from non ASEAN countries

I felt the need to post what i saw today....

Riding down the same road i was stopped on at the begining of this thread i noticed a Police Officer riding on what seemed to be a new Tiger Boxer 250 and guess what....... His bike didn't have a plate on it! I guess it would be unfair of me to report him to the police officer that pulled me over for having no plate? I guess it's just of matter of 'Same, same but diffrent'

I felt the need to post what i saw today....

Riding down the same road i was stopped on at the begining of this thread i noticed a Police Officer riding on what seemed to be a new Tiger Boxer 250 and guess what....... His bike didn't have a plate on it! I guess it would be unfair of me to report him to the police officer that pulled me over for having no plate? I guess it's just of matter of 'Same, same but diffrent'

On a similar note, a block away from where I stay there was a BiB riding his Tiger Boxer without a helmet, I went full throttle, passed him off the turn and then stopped at the residence's gate just a few meters ahead. He was staring at me as he passed by, as I fumbled for the gate keys with my visor still down, the look on his face was priceless.