Any other supermoto riders out there?

[denkiblue555]

Finally have my bike sorted - Honda CRF450R 04, tagged and all legal on the streets of BKK, absolute magic!

Any other 'street' supermotos out there braving the BKK craziness?

EDIT: fix img tag

Edited March 5, 2014 by denkiblue555

[properperson]

....Kumfy, with a capital "K".........by the look of it.....

[denkiblue555]

Yes, she is very comfy and soaks up the <deleted> roads over here no problems....

Doesn't appear to be many sumos around though!

[mania]

Nice!

That looks like a fun ride.

I always thought a supermoto actually made a lot of sense for Thailand

This one I saw the pic long ago

This was cool too

[seedy]

Nice ride. Engine stock inside ??

[denkiblue555]

Nice ride. Engine stock inside ??

Cheers mate.....

All pretty much stock internals but put in SS valve kit and a new cylinder.

Don't know how many hours were on it before I got it....so I could have one of those happy "engine surprise!" moments lol.

The bike has been a bit of a money pit to date but I still have plans to throw in a TRX piston, swap in WR trans gears, and possibly do the bottom end. The clutch has been the best buy to date.

It's taken me almost 2 years to get this far....lol

[denkiblue555]

Nice!

That looks like a fun ride.

I always thought a supermoto actually made a lot of sense for Thailand

This one I saw the pic long ago

husky motard.jpg

This was cool too

18052012155.jpg

Thanks Mania, I really think Sumos are ideally suited to the task here but it doesn't seem that many share our opinion!

And that husky looks pretty futuristic - loving it's mean front brake!

The CRF on the other hand is a tad underwhelming, but great bang-for-buck and very useful in Thailand IMO.

How's the Ninja going - any plans to upgrade on the horizon?

[ktm jeff]

Husky looks like it has drawn inspiration from MV. Really beautiful.

[mania]

Thanks Mania, I really think Sumos are ideally suited to the task here but it doesn't seem that many share our opinion!

And that husky looks pretty futuristic - loving it's mean front brake!

The CRF on the other hand is a tad underwhelming, but great bang-for-buck and very useful in Thailand IMO.

How's the Ninja going - any plans to upgrade on the horizon?

Hey denki yes that CRF is a bit less going on

You know up here in CM I see Sumo's pretty often in the twisties

Maybe more popular here due to the mountains, twisties etc. Also a big dirt contingent here

Ninja is going great. Only upgrades will be more to this bike.

I really dig it & have no need of anything else for my riding.

Wish it were more of everything a moto3 has of course

less weight,better suspension, brakes etc.

But so far I have mapped it with a FuelMoto dynojet controller & have had good success with mapping that

Full exhaust & cut O2 sensor out of the loop

Sonic springs up front

Just installed a 320mm full floating front rotor too. EBC HH pads, braided lines etc.

Next on list is a front 4 pot caliper but I am having a tough time sourcing an adapter for this large disc

Also went thru my first Rosso II & added a second now

Anyway you know how it goes eh? Like you said they are money pits hahah

But so much fun eh?

Good luck with your Sumo & keep us posted

Edited March 6, 2014 by mania

[denkiblue555]

Thanks Mania, I really think Sumos are ideally suited to the task here but it doesn't seem that many share our opinion!

And that husky looks pretty futuristic - loving it's mean front brake!

The CRF on the other hand is a tad underwhelming, but great bang-for-buck and very useful in Thailand IMO.

How's the Ninja going - any plans to upgrade on the horizon?

Hey denki yes that CRF is a bit less going on

You know up here in CM I see Sumo's pretty often in the twisties

Maybe more popular here due to the mountains, twisties etc. Also a big dirt contingent here

Ninja is going great. Only upgrades will be more to this bike.

I really dig it & have no need of anything else for my riding.

Wish it were more of everything a moto3 has of course

less weight,better suspension, brakes etc.

But so far I have mapped it with a FuelMoto dynojet controller & have had good success with mapping that

Full exhaust & cut O2 sensor out of the loop

Sonic springs up front

Just installed a 320mm full floating front rotor too. EBC HH pads, braided lines etc.

Next on list is a front 4 pot caliper but I am having a tough time sourcing an adapter for this large disc

Also went thru my first Rosso II & added a second now

Anyway you know how it goes eh? Like you said they are money pits hahah

But so much fun eh?

Good luck with your Sumo & keep us posted

I kinda forget that outside BKK, particularly in the north the range of bikes is quite different.

Am very keen to head up that way for a blast at some point - may need to freight the bike up there lol..

Nice one with the upgrades, you've certainly done the ones I'd do first - how do you find the springs?

Suspension is key for me (mine still needs lotsa work), does anyone do USD front fork swaps with twin front discs etc for the Ninja?

I haven't even got 1000ks on my Rosso IIs but they seem good so far, did you consider any other tyres before you got the second set?

Thanks for the comments, ride safe!!

[mania]

I kinda forget that outside BKK, particularly in the north the range of bikes is quite different.

Am very keen to head up that way for a blast at some point - may need to freight the bike up there lol..

Nice one with the upgrades, you've certainly done the ones I'd do first - how do you find the springs?

Suspension is key for me (mine still needs lotsa work), does anyone do USD front fork swaps with twin front discs etc for the Ninja?

I haven't even got 1000ks on my Rosso IIs but they seem good so far, did you consider any other tyres before you got the second set?

Thanks for the comments, ride safe!!

Hey great minds think alike 555

I tell you what about those springs...along with better tires it is the single best upgrade

in my case suspension wise + I upped the preload in the rear shock.

Of course the stock springs were ridiculously soft. Any attempt to shorten & add spacers or preload

just would never be enough. But proper length & rated for the bikes & my weight + proper oil

has transformed them into very decent forks.

I highly recommend them & used Sonic Springs the owner Rich there knows his trade.

as for the USD Forks I have been looking into it actually. Even though I think these are very good now.

Some folks do add 636 forks etc but to keep weight down I have been looking at KTM 200/390 duke forks

Made by WP Suspension but not sure yet. Twin disc on this one will not really be needed as even the big rotor & HH pads

are very close now IMO

But a 4 piston axial or radial caliper will be a very nice addition.

On the tires you know I did consider & looked around but at the end of the day the Rosso II's were

a known product that I had on & they really ran well. So I figured why mess with a good thing

On the riding yeah I am not sure what you have there in BK but I am betting you would really love it up here too.

I often think a Sumo would be awesome on some of the chatter roads etc. + many on-off roads to ride too.

Looking forward to watching your work on your bike

Yes ride safe! & thanks

Edited March 7, 2014 by mania

[mania]

Oh I meant to mention....

You know a nice part I added that was inexpensive & a nice upgrade was

a throttle tube from a 2007 or newer R6

The Ninja had a quarter turn throttle changing the tube made it more of a 1/5th or 1/6th turn

due to the cable take-up drum being 41mm diameter instead of 35mm like the stock tube.

Only 700 baht at the Yammie dealer here.

Just a nice addition when your winding it up exiting a tight turn you can get WFO in one twist

The stock throttle was slightly too long throw to get full throttle without a very forward grab or a reposition

on the grip.

It has not made it twitchy at all just a subtle change for the better

Here is the stock drum & the Yammie drum. You can see why it takes less twist

Beats buying a Domino or Active throttle for 5-7k baht & needing to buy new on/off engine start control unit

Edited March 7, 2014 by mania

[denkiblue555]

^^ Lots of great info there Mania...

I can easily see the benefit of the spring changes - I am really looking forward to getting that done and am more interested in getting the handling spot on than dumping time and money into the engine if I don't have to.....yet anyway...lol

The KTM forks look to be a good option - have to be pretty cheap I'd say if made in India??

It would kinda defeat the purpose of swapping the forks if you were limited to heavier sets from 600cc-ish class bikes as that would do more harm than good to the front end I'd imagine.

Here is one online that I have found:

In the end it is just so enjoyable to ride a bike with top notch suspension and such a buzz-kill when its lacking. I actually thought I'd have no choice but to buy a Kawasaki D-Tracker some two years ago just before I picked up the CRF. And in anticipation I actually went ahead and bought a set of '95 KX500 forks via fleabay from the US. Kinda sucks a bit that I never got to swapping them onto a bike as I was looking forward to doing that upgrade - Fully adjustable, super strong etc.

Now I just want to get new springs and oil/seals etc., and in the future lash out on something nice if I can pick up a deal online. And I can't really complain about what I've got!

Also interesting that you talked about the throttle tube - I'm also looking into an upgrade, although my 1/4 isn't too bad, I am pretty keen on one of these:

Anyway, have to see.....these bikes are an addiction.

Ride safe!

[mania]

Exactly denki & I agree whole heartily about the weight of something offsetting benefits

especially when talking smaller cc bikes

I tell you the truth is with the Sonic springs in, the bike is so much better, I would be hard pressed

to change unless something like the KTM fork was much better

Yes being built in India they sell for the equal of $358 USD + ship & taxes to import

That $65 dollar Throttle if CNC like is reads is a good price IMHO

But again if your throttle is decent you may look into just a larger radius tube to achieve results

Although some makers like Domino give you 4 discs so you can choose which throw you like best

They also make quite a few dirt/sumo throttles

Have fun & keep us posted on your upgrades

Edited March 9, 2014 by mania

[denkiblue555]

And here are another two pics of her out and about:

[ukpaulie]

sweeeeet,,,nice bike mate. i bet thats loads of fun...

when i return to uk in 2 years im going to buy crf 450x and get some sm wheels for it. will part ex my uk yamaha xt 660x for one.

currently riding crf 250l in bangkok and loving it. not a fast bike but great fun in the traffic. i will keep my eyes (and ears) open for ya when out n about in bkk

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[denkiblue555]

sweeeeet,,,nice bike mate. i bet thats loads of fun...

when i return to uk in 2 years im going to buy crf 450x and get some sm wheels for it. will part ex my uk yamaha xt 660x for one.

currently riding crf 250l in bangkok and loving it. not a fast bike but great fun in the traffic. i will keep my eyes (and ears) open for ya when out n about in bkk

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

Cheers mate - the bike does still scare me regularly, but that is half the fun isn't it...

I was actually looking for a CRF-X or a WR, and was even told that the bike I went to look at (my current R) was an X, but unfortunately it turned out not to have the 'magic button' which is quite a bummer at times....lol. I think the X would actually make a pretty reliable and almost practical ride - and there may even be a new gen. out by the time you get back??

The XTs are supposed to be pretty mean bikes - much better for higher speed/maintenance etc, but quite a bit heavier I would imagine. And the CRF250 'L's are super practical - have you changed to 17"s or are you still on knobbies?

I'm always on the look out for any Sumos too - be great to get some sort of a group ride going on...

Are you on a red or a white 'L'?

[ukpaulie]

yes the button is good. but i think i would overheat and die out here trying to kick hot start a crf 450. lol

the xt is a heavy ol girl, not really a supermoto , just looks like one lol. lots of grunt tho

yes my crf 250 is red and white n still on knobblies.

im well up for a few laps of bkk whenever you like mate.

in fact writing this now is gonna make me go out for an hour. ride till bored then set the sat nav for home..yeeeeah.

what area bangkok you in? im at the ekkamai end

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[denkiblue555]

yes the button is good. but i think i would overheat and die out here trying to kick hot start a crf 450. lol

the xt is a heavy ol girl, not really a supermoto , just looks like one lol. lots of grunt tho

yes my crf 250 is red and white n still on knobblies.

im well up for a few laps of bkk whenever you like mate.

in fact writing this now is gonna make me go out for an hour. ride till bored then set the sat nav for home..yeeeeah.

what area bangkok you in? im at the ekkamai end

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

Sounds like a plan.

I am in Sathorn so not so far - I'll shoot you a PM!

[Martin54]

Wow nice bike, how did you manage to get it street legal? I am going up to Bo Din on Wednesday if you fancy a ride.

[denkiblue555]

Wow nice bike, how did you manage to get it street legal? I am going up to Bo Din on Wednesday if you fancy a ride.

Bit of luck really...

(And sorry, this is a long one...)

Saw it advertised like this on mocyc:

It had a plate in the pics and the owner said it had a green book and could be changed into my name and properly registered etc., so after a few inquiries I sent him a small deposit and then went to Pattaya to pick it up about a week later.

Got there, bike looked as it should and the guy started it up and I took it for a quick spin. Engine and suspension seemed ok, visual inspection was all good (although I did miss a cracked front rim??). Luckily the seller was the brother of a car dealer, so the deal was done at a car yard's office with all the correct paperwork etc.. I had checked that the numbers matched the green book and was feeling quietly confident that I'd had a bit of a win here.

Anyway, the car dealer called one of his DLT 'middle men' who came over and inspected the bike, picked up all our signed docs and the green book and said I should receive the new book in my name in it in about 2 - 3 weeks. Now, I was by myself here - quite high on the idea that I had snagged a street-legal MX bike, without the ability to communicate much in Thai and not knowing anything about the real details of registering a vehicle in Thailand. So I should have stopped right there and said "No F%*n way are you taking the green book on a 'promise'" even if it was all arranged at a legit-looking dealer. But it all just looked so kosher that I figured that there was no reason it shouldn't work out.

I spent the next 6 months making pretty much weekly phone calls to the seller, seller's brother, and 'middle man', trying to work out where my green book was and why it was taking so long. There answer was always 'next week'. By the six-month mark it wasn't looking good, but I finally had enough time to get my own middle man, do a bit of research, drive to Pattaya and get the book. Amazingly the book was there waiting, but in the exact same condition it was in 6 months prior when I bought the bike. I was pissed off, but relieved that they hadn't just done a runner and sold the book.

My middle man had previously assured me after seeing my copies of the green book and inspecting my bike, that if we did get the book back we could have it legally transferred into my name. Unfortunately though, after reviewing the documents we discovered that there was a bit more to it than the seller had let on.

1. The bike had not been registered again/name changed by the guy I Thai guy I bought it off.

2. It had been out of the system for 3 years.

3. A European guy had originally imported it into Thailand properly (legally) using a Thai agent.

4. It was still in the European guy's name in the green book??

5. The European guy's documents were no good now as all the date related information had expired.

This is why they were sitting on the bike.....complete idiots, anyway...my fault.

So in a stroke of pure genius I used my detective skills and, believe it or not, managed to locate the previous European owner on Facebook. Fortunately he was due back in Thailand in weeks, was an absolute sterling bloke and gave me all the help I needed.

Then with all the right docs in hand, I rode over to the DLT in Lad Prao to meet my middle-man on a 9-year old MX bike with 17"s on, with no mirrors, no working lights a very out-of-date tax sticker and plate. The middle man then insisted that he jump on the back....<deleted>? and I rode him the 3 or 400 meters over to the inspection area. Now, when I said it had been imported legally - I meant the gov't and police were happy and it was all done 'TIT-legally'. This means it was put into a 'recycled' book I guess they are called, from a Honda CB400 '94 model if memory serves. I was still quite nervous about this for obvious reasons.

Anyway, my bike finally came up for it's inspection and a young DLT guy came over and stated checking numbers. Frame number (stamped in Thailand when imported) was checked and all good, they then went to the engine number. The young guy seemed to have a bit of trouble, and then went off to get his boss. His boss then said a whole lot of stuff, but all I heard was 'mai dai, mai dai', and then he went off to get HIS boss. So, now with three DLT guys there saying unfavourable Thai words I thought it may be all over. Miraculously though, they managed to find the second stamped number on the engine in a different location which actually MATCHED the number on the masking tape, and like magic all was good.

The green book was ready a few hours later and the whole reg, name change, back tax etc. only cost about 2,500 bahts.

Lessons learnt:

1. An old import bike in Thailand will ALWAYS give you an extra 'degree' of trouble.

2. You should never exchange cash for an old import without the green book being changed into your name.

3. I was probably very lucky as such a bike can no longer be brought into Thailand and registered on the road AFAIK.

4. You can not insure these types of bikes where the green book has been recycled.

5. The police, DLT and government in general could not care less that it is an MX bike cruising around with a book that says it is missing 3 cylinders.

6. If you spend hours trawling through mocyc you might just find something.

Sorry for the mammoth response, just thought it may help someone who has intentions of doing something similar. In the end I was very lucky that it all worked out, but most normal people would say it is not worth the effort for a bike like this.

Here are a few pics of my inspiration for the bike:

And thanks for the offer Martin54, but what is Bo Din?

Does sound familiar, but google came up empty.

[Martin54]

Thanks for breaking it down, I had no idea it was possible!

Bo Din is basically a off-road adventure playground. They have a basic track, trials area and some space just to mess around on. If you google "Bo Din Minburi" you should get some more info. Location and pics below

https://goo.gl/maps/v2Y1F

There are group of local riders up there every weekend, really friendly and welcoming. Me and my friend will set off from Sathorn around 9-10 am tomorrow, your very welcome to join us.

[denkiblue555]

That place looks sweet as - can't believe it's so close to BKK.....definitely want to get over there!

Unfortunately I'm a slave to the 9-5 at the moment, so it'd have to be a weekend but I am keen as. Biggest issue is that I don't have a second set of dirt wheels - but I would still like to head out there and check it out.

Thanks heaps for the invite and info - hopefully I'll be able to join you guys soon.

Ride safe and enjoy!

Edited March 11, 2014 by denkiblue555

[Martin54]

Your welcome, am sure you can still have a ton of fun on your setup before the rainy season starts. Its also probably worth getting to know the locals for sourcing parts if nothing else.

[mania]

Thought of this thread when I saw these pics today....

[denkiblue555]

^^ That is a mean looking 500!

I think that was built by a guy from the UK called Taffy - actually was a bit of inspiration for the other black CRFs I posted I believe.

Awesome bikes but they really are the definition of a 'money pit'....lol - I can keep dreaming!

Just got back from a nice ride too, didn't miss a beat (once I get her started).....but man traffic in Bangkok never stops!