Why Should I Buy A Bike In Bangkok

[shotty2]

Hello,

As a long-time lurker and first-time poster, I was hoping to hear from those of you who ride in Bangkok about your experiences riding in this city, the good and the bad.

FYI - I'm an experienced rider considering buying a small bike to get between home & work, and to do a little exploring of the nooks and crannies. I imagine that one of the great things about having a bike in the city is that it opens the place right up.

So I'd be grateful to hear what you think about riding around Bangkok, the pros and cons (danger, obviously), why you do it, whether you'd recommend it...

Cheers!

[JonnyF]

I highly recommend it. I drive a car to work and to Tesco and that's about it, most other journeys I use the bike because the traffic is so bad and it can be difficult to find parking spaces close to wherever you are going. With the bike I can generally park right outside whatever shop, restaurant etc. that I am going to. Not to mention trying to U turn in a car if you miss your turn etc.

With all the 100,000 baht discount cars hitting the roads early next year (what a stroke of genius that is!) with mainly inexperienced drivers in them it's going to get a lot worse.

I don't find Bangkok traffic that bad on a bike, it's mainly slow moving so you spend a lot of your time weaving in and out of gridlocked cars so I'd get something small, I think a CBR150 would make a great Bangkok bike and you can do some light touring on it at the weekends as well if you want. Obviously bikes are dangerous, but as long as you can ride and you understand the way Bangkok traffic works then I don't think it's any more dangerous than any other busy city.

The main downside is getting caught in the late afternoon downpours in wet season. Not much fun but a decent set of waterproofs rather than the 10 baht 711 things favored by the locals eases some (if not all) of the pain.

[loserlazer]

The only live to live in Bangkok is with a bike.

My company has company pool of cars which i can use freely anytime but very rarely drive a car mostly for work related business out of Bangkok.

Traffic is killer here and it is getting worst like jonny f said due to the new cars coming from 100 k compensation scheme and new metro lines.

I recommend honda cbr250 for this city as you can get one for 70 k nowadays and it is more than enough for here and you can stretch out of the city as well some time.

[Briggsy]

I have a CBR 150 and a Sonic. For Bangkok riding, which I have done a huge amount of, the Sonic is preferable. Once you get out a bit, e.g. on the Bang Na - Trat Road, the CBR 150 becomes the bike of choice.

[tingtongtourist]

Those poster so far do tell of good benefits of a bike but really the bus and public transport so good here why would you bother to risk?

I notice nearly every farang i see here is a fat8ass, you could do better with some exercise and walk a little no?

Only take the 1 time you are in accident with Thai person..from everything you can read here on TV...even if you do not cause accident it is ALWAYS your fault because you are farang.

Just 1 time accident and if you or thai person hurt really badly will cost a fortune..then soon you see your whole crumble around you

no thanks, not for me

[loserlazer]

Those poster so far do tell of good benefits of a bike but really the bus and public transport so good here why would you bother to risk?

I notice nearly every farang i see here is a fat8ass, you could do better with some exercise and walk a little no?

Only take the 1 time you are in accident with Thai person..from everything you can read here on TV...even if you do not cause accident it is ALWAYS your fault because you are farang.

Just 1 time accident and if you or thai person hurt really badly will cost a fortune..then soon you see your whole crumble around you

no thanks, not for me

anyway, tingtong tourist, if you are a tourist, yes, please take a bus or BTS as if you ride here, it is dangerous for us but if you work here, it is a different story.

Besides, some people do not want to stick the timetables or squeezed like spoons in the drawer in a smelly BTS!

Buy ticket, wait for the bus, i am not a 12 years old kid going to the school anymore man!!! I do not want to wait for bus or BTS in my life.

I take my bike, it is ready 24 hours waiting for me. Wherever, whenever...

[tingtongtourist]

Those poster so far do tell of good benefits of a bike but really the bus and public transport so good here why would you bother to risk?

I notice nearly every farang i see here is a fat8ass, you could do better with some exercise and walk a little no?

Only take the 1 time you are in accident with Thai person..from everything you can read here on TV...even if you do not cause accident it is ALWAYS your fault because you are farang.

Just 1 time accident and if you or thai person hurt really badly will cost a fortune..then soon you see your whole crumble around you

no thanks, not for me

anyway, tingtong tourist, if you are a tourist, yes, please take a bus or BTS as if you ride here, it is dangerous for us but if you work here, it is a different story.

Besides, some people do not want to stick the timetables or squeezed like spoons in the drawer in a smelly BTS!

Buy ticket, wait for the bus, i am not a 12 years old kid going to the school anymore man!!! I do not want to wait for bus or BTS in my life.

I take my bike, it is ready 24 hours waiting for me. Wherever, whenever...

fair enough! Good for you. I also live here for 3 years now. I used to ride bikes back home but i never consider to ride here, not after i see them all up on the sidewalk, going down wrong side of road against the flow of traffic.ect ect

I know you have some good sense not to do that but some guys you see here doing crazy stuff. the speed they do go at,between lanes, cut in front of cars ect ect

But yes,really i do admire someone who have the ba11s to mix with them, just be careful OK!!

[loserlazer]

Those poster so far do tell of good benefits of a bike but really the bus and public transport so good here why would you bother to risk?

I notice nearly every farang i see here is a fat8ass, you could do better with some exercise and walk a little no?

Only take the 1 time you are in accident with Thai person..from everything you can read here on TV...even if you do not cause accident it is ALWAYS your fault because you are farang.

Just 1 time accident and if you or thai person hurt really badly will cost a fortune..then soon you see your whole crumble around you

no thanks, not for me

anyway, tingtong tourist, if you are a tourist, yes, please take a bus or BTS as if you ride here, it is dangerous for us but if you work here, it is a different story.

Besides, some people do not want to stick the timetables or squeezed like spoons in the drawer in a smelly BTS!

Buy ticket, wait for the bus, i am not a 12 years old kid going to the school anymore man!!! I do not want to wait for bus or BTS in my life.

I take my bike, it is ready 24 hours waiting for me. Wherever, whenever...

fair enough! Good for you. I also live here for 3 years now. I used to ride bikes back home but i never consider to ride here, not after i see them all up on the sidewalk, going down wrong side of road against the flow of traffic.ect ect

I know you have some good sense not to do that but some guys you see here doing crazy stuff. the speed they do go at,between lanes, cut in front of cars ect ect

But yes,really i do admire someone who have the ba11s to mix with them, just be careful OK!!

Thanks man. I will. Mostly i do what locals do though:lol:

You know the idiom: 'Always stay local stay safer.'

But beleive me, riding in Bangkok is easier then our big cities back home.

But i understand your point too. If you are new into biking or if you drive first time in Asia, Bangkok might not the best place to start. Still, if you work here, you might not have any chance but to learn here.

Regards.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect App

Edited December 11, 2012 by loserlazer

[macknife]

Get one, you will love it. I lived here many years using taxis, BTS etc but the best thing I ever did was buy a little Honda Airblade scooter. What you say about the nooks and crannies is exactly right. I have now been to many areas of the city that i would have never gone to, if I didn't have a bike. It totally changes your living experience here for the better.

@ tingtongtourist

What you say about accidents always being the 'farangs' fault, is simply not true. It's just bar talk.

And what's wrong with driving on the 'sidewalk' or the wrong way down the street? Sometimes it's simply more convenient. Once you get used to it and expect it, it ceases to be an issue.

[Neilly]

Those poster so far do tell of good benefits of a bike but really the bus and public transport so good here why would you bother to risk?

I notice nearly every farang i see here is a fat8ass, you could do better with some exercise and walk a little no?

no thanks, not for me

Life and soul of the party aren't we Mr TingTong

[robsamui]

Other posters have spelled it all out but the main point is to be aware of the way that Thais drive.

Bangkok is a lot more careful and considered than, say, Samui, where they have no road sense at all and don't even realise it.

But you do need to be constantly looking out for the unexpected - no indicators, wrong side of the road, coming straight onto the main road from a sidestreet without stopping or looking - on the wrong side . . . just keep thinking there's a loony round every corner and should be OK!

14 years ago I was driving a big bike and a scooter in BKK. Every time I went out on the Steed I got stopped for some ridiculous reason: got so I carried a pocketfull of 100s to pay the 'spot fines'. Never got stopped once on the Honda Dream. (Wear a helmet so the BIB can't see you are farang!)

R

[wantan]

^

No, wear a helmet because not wearing a helmet is stupid

[Gweiloman]

^

No, wear a helmet because not wearing a helmet is stupid

That's a bit harsh but I agree, it's more clever to wear a helmet than not. It also helps to avoid the BIB from stopping you

[shotty2]

Thanks for the responses,

You've convinced me to go ahead and buy a bike, not that I really needed any convincing!

I'll probably buy new, but if anybody has a decent bike they're selling then please PM me, or maybe contact me on 08701 65988. At this point I'll probably go with an automatic, somewhere in the 125 to 150 range...

Cheers.

[Neilly]

Thanks for the responses,

You've convinced me to go ahead and buy a bike, not that I really needed any convincing!

Cheers.

Nice one ...get a bike mounted GPS as well to help you out

[Gweiloman]

Thanks for the responses,

You've convinced me to go ahead and buy a bike, not that I really needed any convincing!

I'll probably buy new, but if anybody has a decent bike they're selling then please PM me, or maybe contact me on 08701 65988. At this point I'll probably go with an automatic, somewhere in the 125 to 150 range...

Cheers.

I'm sure posters here would be able to suggest good routes between your home and work, if they know where each place is. For eg, I was shown a great way to get onto the frontage road that runs parallel to the Bangkok - Chonburi highway. There are very few cars, even less trucks, great condition and I can toddle along easily at 100 kmh on my PCX with no worries.

[Semper]

14 years ago I was driving a big bike and a scooter in BKK. Every time I went out on the Steed I got stopped for some ridiculous reason: got so I carried a pocketfull of 100s to pay the 'spot fines'. Never got stopped once on the Honda Dream. (Wear a helmet so the BIB can't see you are farang!)

R

Why didn't you wear a helmet when driving the Steed?