Buying Motorbikes in Chiang Rai

[crabstix]

Which shop in Chiang Rai do you recommend for buying a new honda motorbike? I need to buy one which will give good after sales service.

Also I have noticed a lot of students riding around on the new honda waves (mostly 100cc). A few years back it seemed the Honda dreams. Are they better than the dreams or is it just cos they are more stylish?

I am not sure which of the two models to buy.

[little_muppet]

from my experience... i think Honda is the best for small motorbike.its tough ! and stylish. i recomment you to ask Pure power internet and coffee shop because they also have a motobike shop. ask khun Thowan and Khun tai, they can speak english and they give good service after saled. the shop is near the first church.

[PeaceBlondie]

Almost every Honda bike built since 1960 was as sturdy as an anvil. Just change the oil frequently (it costs almost nothing), and change the tires when they get slippery in the wet. However, don't expect a 100cc engine to have any acceleration; you're talking about 7 horsepower.

[Trebek]

How much do these Honda's cost? What about a larger Honda lets say 175 - 250 cc?

[Limbo]

I recommend you to ask Pure power internet and coffee shop because they also have a motorbike shop. ask khun Thowan and Khun tai, they can speak english and they give good service after saled. the shop is near the first church.

As far as I am informed Khun Thawan and Khun Tai stopped with the motorbikes (?).

And talking about internet: The super modern Honda motorbikeshops of 'Greenwing' (I guess in the meantime about forty in the province Chiang Rai) are going to have a little aircon room, so can play on the internet for free while your bike gets serviced. The first three years the service is free and after these three years you have to lay down a handful of peanuts.

I think that you can choose between five models of both Honda and Yamaha (not to speak about Suzuki or the rather exotic Tiger). The cheapest (and maybe the best) might be Yamaha Fresh II (105cc), about 35,000 Baht. It is lighter than the Dream/Wave, a little bit lower and drives more smooth.

The cheapest Wave (100cc) is about 38,000 Baht.

The latest Honda Wave 125 with electronic ignition and safety lock is about 48,000 Baht.

The Yamaha Spark 125 will be a few thousand cheaper.

The Honda Phantom (175 or 200 cc?) is like a rolling arm chair. Extremely comfortable! And a nice sound as well! Beautiful bike for all of us who wanted to have a real chopper 'some' years ago . A little bit low though for the average foreigner. It costs about 80,000 Baht.

I think the most popular motorbike at the moment is the little full-automatic scooter type Yamaha-something (125cc). Yes, small wheels and small, very small. Honda made a similar thing.

Limbo

[sierra01]

I recommend you to ask Pure power internet and coffee shop because they also have a motorbike shop. ask khun Thowan and Khun tai, they can speak english and they give good service after saled. the shop is near the first church.

As far as I am informed Khun Thawan and Khun Tai stopped with the motorbikes (?).

And talking about internet: The super modern Honda motorbikeshops of 'Greenwing' (I guess in the meantime about forty in the province Chiang Rai) are going to have a little aircon room, so can play on the internet for free while your bike gets serviced. The first three years the service is free and after these three years you have to lay down a handful of peanuts.

I think that you can choose between five models of both Honda and Yamaha (not to speak about Suzuki or the rather exotic Tiger). The cheapest (and maybe the best) might be Yamaha Fresh II (105cc), about 35,000 Baht. It is lighter than the Dream/Wave, a little bit lower and drives more smooth.

The cheapest Wave (100cc) is about 38,000 Baht.

The latest Honda Wave 125 with electronic ignition and safety lock is about 48,000 Baht.

The Yamaha Spark 125 will be a few thousand cheaper.

The Honda Phantom (175 or 200 cc?) is like a rolling arm chair. Extremely comfortable! And a nice sound as well! Beautiful bike for all of us who wanted to have a real chopper 'some' years ago . A little bit low though for the average foreigner. It costs about 80,000 Baht.

I think the most popular motorbike at the moment is the little full-automatic scooter type Yamaha-something (125cc). Yes, small wheels and small, very small. Honda made a similar thing.

Limbo

Yamaha Mio, and it's BB the Nuovo, Honda click, Suzuki also do one but I don't know the name of it. They're great for riding through heavy traffic, none of that changing gear business, just twist and go.

[PeaceBlondie]

Question about the automatic transmission bikes that don't need to be shifted, as opposed to the auto clutches that still get shifted: don't they use up horsepower? All auto trannys and torque converters on small car engines use up a noticeable percent of the horsepower/torque available at the crankshaft. The last thing a 125cc bike needs is to lose one or two horsepower.

[crabstix]

Question about the automatic transmission bikes that don't need to be shifted, as opposed to the auto clutches that still get shifted: don't they use up horsepower? All auto trannys and torque converters on small car engines use up a noticeable percent of the horsepower/torque available at the crankshaft. The last thing a 125cc bike needs is to lose one or two horsepower.

Checked out the price of the cheapest Honda Wave. Turns out they are charging 31,000 but that's with no disc brake or autostart. It's only 100cc. Do disc brakes really make much difference? Not sure if I should invest the extra couple of thousand or so to get them. Are they durable?

I agree that the Yamaha Meos look cool. Tempted to get one myself but imagine they suck up tons of fuel. Also not sure how easy they are to repair. My friend says anything automatic which has lots of circuitry inside means more things can go wrong = more repair bills!

[sierra01]

Question about the automatic transmission bikes that don't need to be shifted, as opposed to the auto clutches that still get shifted: don't they use up horsepower? All auto trannys and torque converters on small car engines use up a noticeable percent of the horsepower/torque available at the crankshaft. The last thing a 125cc bike needs is to lose one or two horsepower.

I'm certainly no expert in things like that but both the Mio and the Nuovo seem to shift well from the lights and go past my poxy JRD as if I'm standing still!

[sierra01]

Checked out the price of the cheapest Honda Wave. Turns out they are charging 31,000 but that's with no disc brake or autostart. It's only 100cc. Do disc brakes really make much difference? Not sure if I should invest the extra couple of thousand or so to get them. Are they durable?

I would choose disk brakes over drum anytime, drums don't work well when they get hot and are not good in the rain either.

I agree that the Yamaha Meos look cool. Tempted to get one myself but imagine they suck up tons of fuel. Also not sure how easy they are to repair. My friend says anything automatic which has lots of circuitry inside means more things can go wrong = more repair bills!

I don't know how tall you are, but the Mio is a small bike, you might look a bit odd perched on it!

I don't understand what you mean by circuitry, it's a mechanical system, not electrical. They're probably more reliable than a chain drive, no chains or sprockets to wear our or maintain. The belts are easy to change and only need the odd adjustment. Getting the full autos maintained isn't a problem either, they've been around a while now. Both Honda and Yamaha have a million dealers in LOS, and another couple of million sellers and repairers of them! As for fuel consumption, even my heap of a full auto JRD gets near on 100MPG, so I wouldn't think Jap bikes are any worse.

Anyone out there with a Jap full auto?

[Trebek]

Would these 100cc bikes carry one who is 1.9 meters tall and 113 kg's? I'm not talking about myself of course, but my mother might come to visit...

[crabstix]

Checked out the price of the cheapest Honda Wave. Turns out they are charging 31,000 but that's with no disc brake or autostart. It's only 100cc. Do disc brakes really make much difference? Not sure if I should invest the extra couple of thousand or so to get them. Are they durable?

I would choose disk brakes over drum anytime, drums don't work well when they get hot and are not good in the rain either.

I agree that the Yamaha Meos look cool. Tempted to get one myself but imagine they suck up tons of fuel. Also not sure how easy they are to repair. My friend says anything automatic which has lots of circuitry inside means more things can go wrong = more repair bills!

I don't know how tall you are, but the Mio is a small bike, you might look a bit odd perched on it!

I don't understand what you mean by circuitry, it's a mechanical system, not electrical. They're probably more reliable than a chain drive, no chains or sprockets to wear our or maintain. The belts are easy to change and only need the odd adjustment. Getting the full autos maintained isn't a problem either, they've been around a while now. Both Honda and Yamaha have a million dealers in LOS, and another couple of million sellers and repairers of them! As for fuel consumption, even my heap of a full auto JRD gets near on 100MPG, so I wouldn't think Jap bikes are any worse.

Anyone out there with a Jap full auto?

Thanks for advice. You've convinced me to go for something with disc brakes. I guess a couple of thousand baht is really nothing if you consider that it's safer in rainy weather. btw I am 5 ft 7 and weigh 62kg. Small bike shouldnt be a problem for a small guy like me

[Trebek]

Checked out the price of the cheapest Honda Wave. Turns out they are charging 31,000 but that's with no disc brake or autostart. It's only 100cc. Do disc brakes really make much difference? Not sure if I should invest the extra couple of thousand or so to get them. Are they durable?

I would choose disk brakes over drum anytime, drums don't work well when they get hot and are not good in the rain either.

I agree that the Yamaha Meos look cool. Tempted to get one myself but imagine they suck up tons of fuel. Also not sure how easy they are to repair. My friend says anything automatic which has lots of circuitry inside means more things can go wrong = more repair bills!

I don't know how tall you are, but the Mio is a small bike, you might look a bit odd perched on it!

I don't understand what you mean by circuitry, it's a mechanical system, not electrical. They're probably more reliable than a chain drive, no chains or sprockets to wear our or maintain. The belts are easy to change and only need the odd adjustment. Getting the full autos maintained isn't a problem either, they've been around a while now. Both Honda and Yamaha have a million dealers in LOS, and another couple of million sellers and repairers of them! As for fuel consumption, even my heap of a full auto JRD gets near on 100MPG, so I wouldn't think Jap bikes are any worse.

Anyone out there with a Jap full auto?

Thanks for advice. You've convinced me to go for something with disc brakes. I guess a couple of thousand baht is really nothing if you consider that it's safer in rainy weather. btw I am 5 ft 7 and weigh 62kg. Small bike shouldnt be a problem for a small guy like me

Yeah, get the discs, especially in the mountains.... Plus they are a lot easier to work on than drums.

[Potter]

Which shop in Chiang Rai do you recommend for buying a new honda motorbike? I need to buy one which will give good after sales service.

Also I have noticed a lot of students riding around on the new honda waves (mostly 100cc). A few years back it seemed the Honda dreams. Are they better than the dreams or is it just cos they are more stylish?

I am not sure which of the two models to buy.

I think most shops will give you a 3 year warranty. I drove a Yamaha 105cc Fresh for a couple of years in Chiang Rai. Going to Mae Sai is no problems, but once hitting the mountains you really need those ekstra cc not to get everybody over take you. For a city bike 100cc will do fine. But for Chiang Rai and going around the country side I for sure recommend you some ekstra cc.

Somebody asked about bigger power bikes. The biggest of these small scooters you can get is the Yamaha 135cc. Cant remember the name. If you are looking for something bigger than that, propable the best perchase for a new bike is a Honda Phantom. Everything from the bike is made inside Thailand and doing repairs is said to be easy for this reason.

[cm das]

I can't believe peaceblondie hasn't mentioned this - there's another alternative to the phantom if you want a Thai-made Honda that's bigger than a wave/dream. It's the cbr 150. I just got one after 2.5 years of riding a sonic (another honda 125 option). The cbr is great for me - light & quick enough for the city, powerful & stable enough for road trips. And by the way, I'm 175cm, 65 kg. I bought my cbr new for 63,000. So it's pricier than the little scooters but well worth it I think.