Some Thais' attitudes to motorcycle maintenance

[Kf6vci]

Yesterday, I had a flat on a dual lane motorway. It was bloody inconvenient and tiring to push the bike to the nearest garage. (Many bikers stopped - if I had ran out of gas, they would have taken me to the nearest gas station).

Turns out the inner tube had been repaired. <deleted>?!? At 100 B, one can get a new one installed (on a Honda Wave).

Let's think about this:

• risking the inconvenience of breaking down over what, a saving of maybe 50 Baht?
• Thank heaven that this happened earlier, when I was riding in the sticks at 4 am.
• I have had my share of issues with badly maintained motorcycles from Thai owners. And now I'm wondering if this shows a different mindset?

Do you have similar tales to share?

I've failed to get my landlady to fix her broadband connection. To stop switching off her router ("to save electricity" - like many bikers believe it makes sense riding without lights in the dark) and don't ask about my workplace, where they have technicians and an IT engineer. Does it make perfect sense to pay for 10 MB broadband and not make that call to get a free new router for signing up for 2 more years with the TOT, the only ISP out here? And to pay more than 600,000 Baht for support staff and then "saving" the investment necessary to buy the infrastructure for some networks?

There seems to be a pattern...

[RubberSideDown]

To some people, 50 baht means something- a correctly patched inner tube is probably as good as a brand-new (but still crap-quality) new one.

I always replace the tube if I get a flat on my Wave, but I can understand someone wanting to save (the equivalent of) half a tank of gas on the repair.

Edited October 24, 2013 by RubberSideDown

[jayci]

Yeah, well for a lot of people 100baht is 2/3 of a days wages. So the tyre repair guys naturally choose the cheapest option for repair. If they didn't, they would so lose business. If you want to be fancy, you'll need to ask for it.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[pokerkid]

riding in the dark without turning on the lights in the hope of saving some gasoline shows ignorance and stupidity

[RubberSideDown]

riding in the dark without turning on the lights in the hope of saving some gasoline shows ignorance and stupidity

How is that relevant to patching a tire (which will work fine if the puncture wasn't very large)?

[pokerkid]

riding in the dark without turning on the lights in the hope of saving some gasoline shows ignorance and stupidity

How is that relevant to patching a tire (which will work fine if the puncture wasn't very large)?

read the first post again please, its not only about the patches (which are no problem like you said) Its just the general attitude of many people towards saving money

Edited October 24, 2013 by pokerkid

[RubberSideDown]

riding in the dark without turning on the lights in the hope of saving some gasoline shows ignorance and stupidity

How is that relevant to patching a tire (which will work fine if the puncture wasn't very large)?

read the first post again please, its not only about the patches (which are no problem like you said) Its just the general attitude of many people towards saving money

Sorry- I didn't see that mentioned when I first read it.

Edited October 24, 2013 by RubberSideDown

[VocalNeal]

Every small road side tire/tyre place has tyre fixing equipment, what they don't always have is a new tube.

Does your boss need a 10 MB connection or did she buy it because her friend only has 5 MB?

[Indrid Cold]

they will fix your flat the same way they always do if not asked for something else, patching an innertube on wave is ok imo i would not do it on a Hayabusa though unless for urgent temp repair. Patching innertubes saves enviroment too if anyone cares.

About your landladys internet that is simply how many women behave towards technical things all over the world. i put things like that in big bag of acceptans inside my head.

[KRS1]

I got 3 flats the first month i got my mountain bike, im rolling with patches now too...starts to get expensive after a while, and if you know its going to happen again....well.

Out of curiosity did the patch fail ? or was it a new puncture ? As long as you wait for the glue to dry before applying the patch...patches dont usually fail.

[Indrid Cold]

riding in the dark without turning on the lights in the hope of saving some gasoline shows ignorance and stupidity

Saving gas is an excuse, its stealth mode travelling to resort and similiar place avoiding the attention of hawk eyed gossipmongers sitting at their porches along the road.

[JonnyF]

When I was riding my Nouvo MX regularly I'd get new tubes, but to be honest you're much more likely to get a new puncture in a different spot on the innertube than have the patch fail so it's kind of a false sense of security.

I must have had 30 punctures on that bike, compared to a couple each on bikes running tubeless tyres. I'll never buy a bike without tubeless tyres again.

[monty1412]

First time Ive ever seen words Thai and maintenance is same sentence.... careful you could start a trend here...

[drdoom6996]

To actually answer your question, IMHO preventative maintenance is non existent here, with or without the money to do it. I don't drink so I have the money to change the oil every 5000 kilometers, change the inner tubes when go flat or yearly. Most people obviously don't. These same people don't in their home countries either. I was taught different by my father. Preventative maintenance saves money.

[Roota]

First time Ive ever seen words Thai and maintenance is same sentence . . .

I know that's the received wisdom on the barstools but the OP was right in using the word 'some'. I have Thai friends (and in fact a gf too) who maintain their bikes and cars very well indeed both mechanically and cosmetically.

[BSJ]

It's a post about the attitude of Thai people to everyday decision making.

They are different to us. Get used to it or your time here will be frustrating and un-enjoyable.

[yingyo]

Some Thais' attitudes to motorcycle maintenance

If it isn't completely broken, don't spend a single baht on it. No new oil, no new brake pads, no new filters, no new tires until they split.

When it breaks, patch it up and sell it.

Edited October 24, 2013 by yingyo

[JonnyF]

To actually answer your question, IMHO preventative maintenance is non existent here, with or without the money to do it. I don't drink so I have the money to change the oil every 5000 kilometers, change the inner tubes when go flat or yearly. Most people obviously don't. These same people don't in their home countries either. I was taught different by my father. Preventative maintenance saves money.

I never knew that drinking and changing the oil on motorbikes every 5000 kms was mutually exclusive... Very odd comment.

In terms of Thai's and maintenance, I've found that Thai's who can afford it will do it. If they can't really afford it they don't. If you had a few hundred baht left from your salary would you put food on the table that evening or service your Honda Wave?

[yingyo]

Yet they have enough money for pink furry dice and gold pizza-cutter rims.

Edited October 24, 2013 by yingyo

[Garry]

Yet they have enough money for pink furry dice and gold pizza-cutter rims.

Priorities first.!

[yingyo]

They can't even compute preventative maintenance of their heads by putting on a helmet, what hope is there of them maintaining bits of metal they can't even see.

I like when they're driving with one hand so the other one can block the Sun from their eyes..... how many decades does it take of doing that before one realizes there is a better way.

[Spoonman]

In a similar vein I have put in some shelving in my tiny little mancave/workshop which involved drilling into the concrete walls.

I was just buying masonry drill bits from the local mom and pop store as I could not be bothered to trek over the brightside and they were cheap at 20b a pop but they only lasted 4 holes till they were <deleted>.

did 3 trips/walks to buy more over the course of an afternoon mumbling about the cheap crap that fails....4th trip/walk old matey says "No Hab"..... Iam like FARKKKKK I dont wanna have to go to Home Pro to buy some then he tells me he has some in the same size but are expensive (80b)........ anywho I grab 2 of them and the first one drilled more holes than the 3 other cheap cheap ones I earlier purchased and looks like it has never been used.....

Go figure.

[myluckythai]

Yeah, well for a lot of people 100baht is 2/3 of a days wages. So the tyre repair guys naturally choose the cheapest option for repair. If they didn't, they would so lose business. If you want to be fancy, you'll need to ask for it.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

yes get it a lot that they choose the cheapest option to safe you money. this is many time not the best option but they do it with good intentions.. if you want the best and not the cheapest option you have to say this clearly many times...

Edited October 24, 2013 by myluckythai

[KRS1]

They can't even compute preventative maintenance of their heads by putting on a helmet, what hope is there of them maintaining bits of metal they can't even see.

I like when they're driving with one hand so the other one can block the Sun from their eyes..... how many decades does it take of doing that before one realizes there is a better way.

Not all Thais are the same...stop being so ignorant and deliberately obtuse.

On the other hand, most English teachers I know havent washed their bikes in about a year, and when I ask when they last changed their oil, look amazed like its some form of black magic....and dont even suggest checking the tire pressure, their brains may explode.

Thai people take care of their stuff, but just like some farangs some can and some cant.

[BuriramRes]

riding in the dark without turning on the lights in the hope of saving some gasoline shows ignorance and stupidity

How is that relevant to patching a tire (which will work fine if the puncture wasn't very large)?

With patching a tube rather than installing a new one, at least you do not have to take the wheel off???

[yingyo]

In a similar vein I have put in some shelving in my tiny little mancave/workshop which involved drilling into the concrete walls.

I was just buying masonry drill bits from the local mom and pop store as I could not be bothered to trek over the brightside and they were cheap at 20b a pop but they only lasted 4 holes till they were <deleted>.

did 3 trips/walks to buy more over the course of an afternoon mumbling about the cheap crap that fails....4th trip/walk old matey says "No Hab"..... Iam like FARKKKKK I dont wanna have to go to Home Pro to buy some then he tells me he has some in the same size but are expensive (80b)........ anywho I grab 2 of them and the first one drilled more holes than the 3 other cheap cheap ones I earlier purchased and looks like it has never been used.....

Go figure.

There's a simple saying: buy expensive, cry only once.

[ll2]

Hate 'them and us' type of comments in a bike forum.

You do what is right for you and let them do what is right for them. You cannot criticise a whole culture while eating theie rice or riding bikes done my their engineers.

And till when changing oil is a preventative measure or changing tubes of tires w/out any problems every year?

Very boring!

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[dao16]

I don't know..I have had inner tubes patched and it was fine. It depends. I talk to the mechanic/repairman and ask them if they think a patch will work or if I should just get a new inner tube. They are usually honest. It is a lot like bicycles, which I know more about. If the tube has burst, you probably need a new one. If you have a small slice or cut on it, a patch probably will do for a decent amount of time.

Of course, for many people living here, the difference between 30 baht for a patch and 120 for a new inner tube is a significant amount of money.

On a more general level, I don't think most Thais think about maintenance of anything much at all. It is very much a "use it until it breaks and then get a new one" type mentality. That said, I have been to shops and seen Thais getting tune-ups on their cars at firestone...so it does exist here.

EDIT--Caveat--I mostly drive in town and it is usually no more than a 2-3 minute push to a motorbike repair shop. I would probably not rely on patches so much if I were doing kilos per day out in the countryside.

Edited October 24, 2013 by dao16

[cronus]

Changing the tube on a Yamaha Nouvo takes about 1 hour, take wheel off exhaust etc etc. Patching the tube takes 10mins.

[fasteddie]

Love the way they pump tyres up 'till they're rock hard, then they wonder why they have no grip. I even carry a gauge with me and check tourists tyres for them. never found one under 40psi. My Thai gf stills thinks the little guy in the wooden shack must be right (he's Thai and they're never wrong) and the label on the frame is wrong.