Biker Etiquette From A Non-Biker

[Fookhaht]

I just returned from a great 4-day trip at Khao Yai National Park, marred by only one thing--the behavior of bikers at our resort.

Generally, I have no beef with biker groups. We saw literally hundreds of bikers over the four days, enjoying Thailand's wilderness and the fun roads of Khao Yai National Park. At least a dozen or two groups. In general these folks were friendly and drove in a sensible fashion.

The only problem I had was at our resort, which I chose for quiet, peace, and tranquility. We had none of those, thanks to at least 5-6 bikers who stayed in bungalows near ours. They roared in at about 3-4 a.m. each morning, well after all the other residents were asleep, or trying to sleep.

OK, a few seconds of going down the driveway and parking your bike. I could deal with that, and turn over and go back to sleep. But not these guys. They sat on their bikes, less that 3 meters from our bedroom windows, and for some reason had to rev their motors up to ten million RPM's for 5 to 10 minutes. Is the purpose here to...uh..."blow out the carbon?" Or, to compensate for something much smaller in their arsenal?

Of course it sounded as if not a single bike had a muffler or tail pipe. And they were all Harley-types which literally rattled the windows and vibrated the wall next to my head. For some reason, this gang (and now I change my terminology) couldn't arrive at the same time, but had to come in at intervals of 5-10 minutes. This meant we had to listen to the roar of 25,000 horsepower for up to 45 minutes in the middle of the night. What were these people thinking? Unless stoned/drunk out of their minds (in which case shouldn't have been out on the road anyway!).

We endured this four nights in a row. We went to the Thai management to complain, but simply received that typical shoulder shrug and Thai smile that said, "Well, it's money in our pockets, and who am I to confront a paying customer?"

No, I don't judge the lot of you by a few miscreants. In fact, if I had the money and time right now, I'd buy a hog and join you. It looks like you guys are having TERRIFIC fun out there. BUT, if you happen to find yourself in a group or with friends like the description in this post, thanks for reading this and considering your behavior from the perspective of the rest of your fellow tourists. The parks of Thailand are for all to enjoy, not be be run over by a thoughtless few who could care less about the comfort, peace of mind, or convenience of others.

Cheers to Biking in Thailand,

FH

Edited August 7, 2012 by Fookhaht

[skybluestu]

Not that it makes much difference but were they Thai or farang?

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Thaivisa Connect App

[VocalNeal]

It was OK until I got to this bit

In fact, if I had the money and time right now, I'd buy a hog and join you.

Then i lost interest.

[Fookhaht]

Not that it makes much difference but were they Thai or farang?

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Thaivisa Connect App

At 3 or 4 a.m., I couldn't tell. Couldn't hear their voices over the roar of motors. And you're right. It doesn't make any difference.

[Fookhaht]

It was OK until I got to this bit

In fact, if I had the money and time right now, I'd buy a hog and join you.

Then i lost interest.

Sorry, not all of us sold our houses in the homeland to buy a BMW or Harley here. But on my Isaan teacher's salary, I believe I can save enough in 10 years!

[VocalNeal]

It was OK until I got to this bit

In fact, if I had the money and time right now, I'd buy a hog and join you.

Then i lost interest.

Sorry, not all of us sold our houses in the homeland to buy a BMW or Harley here. But on my Isaan teacher's salary, I believe I can save enough in 10 years!

It's not the money it's the fact you want one.

[Fookhaht]

It was OK until I got to this bit

In fact, if I had the money and time right now, I'd buy a hog and join you.

Then i lost interest.

Sorry, not all of us sold our houses in the homeland to buy a BMW or Harley here. But on my Isaan teacher's salary, I believe I can save enough in 10 years!

It's not the money it's the fact you want one.

Yup, shows my heart is with y'all---just not with the biker-cretins I experienced.

[JeffreyMcCollum]

6 a.m. knock on the door and ask them to move their bikes, you don't want to back into them !

[wantan]

National Parks mainly exist as a last refugium for wildlife and nature. But who can blame some stupid bikers with loud pipes as long as the thai government allows them to come in and use the parks as their playground? IMO bikers with loud pipes should be forced to switch to bicycles when entering the park

PS: Can some moderator close or delete the duplicate thread from user Fookhaht please

[mcgriffith]

PS: Can some moderator close or delete the duplicate thread from user Fookhaht please

Done.

[BSJ]

6 a.m. knock on the door and ask them to move their bikes, you don't want to back into them !

Then at 6.02 am bang loudly on the door and say "Can someone call me an ambulance!"

[snowflake]

I don't think that this relates to only bikers... I have been to several places where the foreigners (tourists in particular) are the ones creating a havoc at 3 a.m... Come to think of it, the teachers here in NST are good at creating parties late at night with loud music and noise without regards of any families living next door or close by. Then to ride their bikes naked in the comunity...

I would say that this is behaviour that some people have to show off. I was brought up with the whole "do to others what you want done to you"... I want quiet, then I should be quiet...

I would go out and ask them politely to quiet down a bit, and if not, I would not have spent several days there. I am sure that there are other guest houses near by with a room for rent...

[Fookhaht]

I would not have spent several days there. I am sure that there are other guest houses near by with a room for rent...

...the disadvantage of booking through Agoda.

[loserlazer]

why did not you call the police for their disturbance especially if you think they are drunk or stoned? - I do not understand why a non biker always think a biker as drunk or stoned, how do you know that?

And, i am not convinced on your thread on what were they trying to do? Were they coming or were they leaving at 04 am?

If they were leaving, maybe heating their engines up or loading their stuff to their bikes while doing that? Of course it will take some time to leave, these are big bikes not scooters man! You cannot just drive them off right after the ignition.

If they were coming, of course there will be some sound while parking and of course they will park with intervals. How they can park all together?

Moreover, you are completely mistaken about the wrong party here. It is not the bikers there, it is the stupid Hotel management letting them park their bikes next to the bungalows. That is it. You are addressing to wrong people.

[JonnyF]

I love the sound of a nice bike, but even as a bike enthusiast I find these incredibly loud pipes are pretty irritating. Whether it's a Thai teenager pulling wheelies on a modified Honda Wave at midnight or some expat farang revving up his Harley for 5 minutes outside a Phuket restaurant, I just find the whole mentality hard to understand. It's just shows a lack of respect for others.

[BirdsandBooze]

LOS stands for Land Of Sound. I find the locals are far more inconsiderate than Westerners in this respect. Some houses have thumping drum `n bass emanating from them 24/7, without a thought for people with children or that have to get up early for work. Don`t forget to submit your Agoda report and tell it it how it is. Negative reports do work.

Edited August 8, 2012 by BirdsandBooze

[bobbin]

Harley bikes come from the factory with moderately loud pipes.

Unfortunately, many owners immediately opt for loud aftermarket pipes. They then trot out the brain-dead argument that loud pipes saves lives, conveniently forgetting the fact they are always sitting ahead of the noise!

[Kwasaki]

Interesting " You cannot just drive them off right after the ignition." !! Why dat den.

[wantan]

Interesting " You cannot just drive them off right after the ignition." !! Why dat den.

Cause than noone will recognise that you are leaving/arriving with your superduperbike

[nocturn]

there are a couple douchebags with harleys on my soi.

sounds like they are breaking the sound barrier when they are moving at a whopping 15kmh.

oh what fun.

[eek]

There will always be inconsiderate people around, these just happened to be bikers.

Should have gone out in the morning and cracked an egg on their seat, or something equally weird with a note to be more considerate in future (if you know for sure which bike that is!).

Wouldnt have got your disturbed sleep back, but would made you feel better, maybe.

[poanoi]

Yes, i have a chopper and i think they displayed an ungodly poor judgement,

none with any sense of manner do that when it can be assumed people sleep.

btw i donno if sound save lives, but it did save me from an accident,

as the thai-guy in front of me intended to make a right-turn without signal,

but came to remember to turn his signal ON as he heard my bike.

He hadn't even position himself right so i was about to take over

Edited August 8, 2012 by poanoi

[bobbin]

Yes, i have a chopper and i think they displayed an ungodly poor judgement,

none with any sense of manner do that when it can be assumed people sleep.

btw i donno if sound save lives, but it did save me from an accident,

as the thai-guy in front of me intended to make a right-turn without signal,

but came to remember to turn his signal ON as he heard my bike.

He hadn't even position himself right so i was about to take over

You sound like a reasonable fellow poanoi, so I'll try to be gentle...

Sounds can save lives, but usually the sound is made by a horn, which comes into play intermittently, unlike the always-on pipes.

[JonnyF]

Yes, i have a chopper and i think they displayed an ungodly poor judgement,

none with any sense of manner do that when it can be assumed people sleep.

btw i donno if sound save lives, but it did save me from an accident,

as the thai-guy in front of me intended to make a right-turn without signal,

but came to remember to turn his signal ON as he heard my bike.

He hadn't even position himself right so i was about to take over

You sound like a reasonable fellow poanoi, so I'll try to be gentle...

Sounds can save lives, but usually the sound is made by a horn, which comes into play intermittently, unlike the always-on pipes.

Exactly, which is why horns are a legal requirement in most countries and loud pipes just piss people off. Some people attempt to justify their disrespectful and attention seeking behaviour, but it's pretty transparant to the rest of us.

[poanoi]

Those with uncalled for noisy pipes get stopped and forced to pay 1000 baht every now and then, even thais.

hope this helps

Edited August 8, 2012 by poanoi

[mca]

Then at 6.02 am bang loudly on the door and say "Can someone call me an ambulance!"

You're an ambulance.

Edited August 8, 2012 by mca

[hedonist44]

Not that it makes much difference but were they Thai or farang?

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Thaivisa Connect App

At 3 or 4 a.m., I couldn't tell. Couldn't hear their voices over the roar of motors. And you're right. It doesn't make any difference.

Sorry to hear that you had such a terrible time with you're holidays. You really need to take into account that it was "KHAO YAI BIKE WEEK" at that time and that all bets are off in regards to having a nice peacefull holiday, if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm sure you did not know it was the bike week up there and that was unfortunate.

Edited August 9, 2012 by hedonist44

[Fookhaht]

Not that it makes much difference but were they Thai or farang?

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Thaivisa Connect App

At 3 or 4 a.m., I couldn't tell. Couldn't hear their voices over the roar of motors. And you're right. It doesn't make any difference.

Sorry to hear that you had such a terrible time with you're holidays. You really need to take into account that it was "KHAO YAI BIKE WEEK" at that time and that all bets are off in regards to having a nice peacefull holiday, if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm sure you did not know it was the bike week up there and that was unfortunate.

So when "Khao Yai Bike Week" is on, all peaceful-atmosphere-loving, nature-only-loving visitors are expected to stay away? I think the "joint use" policy of national parks is generally for simultaneous use, not successive use.

[hedonist44]

Not that it makes much difference but were they Thai or farang?

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Thaivisa Connect App

At 3 or 4 a.m., I couldn't tell. Couldn't hear their voices over the roar of motors. And you're right. It doesn't make any difference.

Sorry to hear that you had such a terrible time with you're holidays. You really need to take into account that it was "KHAO YAI BIKE WEEK" at that time and that all bets are off in regards to having a nice peacefull holiday, if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm sure you did not know it was the bike week up there and that was unfortunate.

So when "Khao Yai Bike Week" is on, all peaceful-atmosphere-loving, nature-only-loving visitors are expected to stay away? I think the "joint use" policy of national parks is generally for simultaneous use, not successive use.

Ok.

[Fookhaht]

why did not you call the police for their disturbance . . .

The poster has obviously never called the police in Thailand regarding a noise disturbance.

I do not understand why a non biker always think a biker as drunk or stoned, how do you know that?

I didn't assume, I postulated (did you read the post carefully?). I hypothesize these possibilities because that's the only logical explanation I can think of for such anti-social, insane behavior in a national park resort. OK, maybe they were just cretins--we can leave it at that.

Were they coming or were they leaving at 04 am?

If they were leaving, maybe heating their engines up or loading their stuff to their bikes while doing that? Of course it will take some time to leave, these are big bikes not scooters man! You cannot just drive them off right after the ignition.

Read the post again. They were arriving.

If they were coming, of course there will be some sound while parking and of course they will park with intervals. How they can park all together?

Read the post again. 5-6 bikers drifting in over a period of 45 minutes? C'mon!

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LoserLazer:

"Moreover, you are completely mistaken about the wrong party here. It is not the bikers there, it is the stupid Hotel management . . . That is it. You are addressing to wrong people."

Fookhaht:

So in school, we punish only the teacher who failed to discipline and not deal with the brat? Your logic has gaps that would swallow the Milky Way.

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LoserLazer:

"...it is the stupid Hotel management letting them park their bikes next to the bungalows."

Fookhaht:

You have no idea of the layout of the place. Impossible to enter the grounds without driving by the bungalows, and no parking areas away from the bungalows existed.

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I'm sorry, but "LoserLazer's" post is a great example of an indulgent parent trying to white-wash their child's barbaric behavior by blame-shifting, and ignoring clearly-stated facts of the situation. Not on my watch!

Edited August 9, 2012 by Fookhaht