Honda Phantom 200

[JSixpack]

Not only big tyres.. But some of the rubber fitted here is hard and not great..

My machine has dunlop rubber on there that I am not overly keen on.. Will look to something softer..

Thanks for your post. My g/f called the Honda dealer in BKK, and was told they do not have Dunlop tires - no surprise. Now I wonder if anyone can tell me where I can get them or even "better" softer tires. I don't want to experience the ass end going out from under me again when I make a very typical U turn. Geeze I still can hardly believe that happened. Is it me????

Cheers, Keoki

Previous discussions regarding any extra juice have come up dry.

But I ride my Phantom in and around Pattaya and find that I've never really needed any extra juice. The key is to ride safely, I think.

Fewer modifications mean less maintenance expense. After having hassled for years with a big ol' bike, I can only say, Ah-h-h-h-h! Phantom--it's all anyone needs in Thailand . . . .

[andygunther]

I just bought me a Phantom.

I think its a nice cruiser.

Can someone tell me a good place in Bangna or Theparak to make my service checks.

ANDY

Edited December 25, 2008 by andygunther

[andygunther]

I just got a a new phantom yesterday and so far I am happy with it. I wish I could read Thai as the owner manual is not in english. I asked the dealer for one, but was told NO HAVE. can anybody tell me were I can get a manual?

Help please.

Many thanks for the Phantom manual, just what I needed.

[andygunther]

There is an on going debate about the use of gasohol in motorcycles but Honda Japan says OK up to 10%( thats what the mix is here in Thailand) so I use it. Any questions don't hesitate to ask.

P

Are you still driving on Gasohol ?

I don't know what kind of Gasohol they are selling here in Thailand.

In the Phantom owner's manual they write like this...

" There are 2 types of Gasohol, one containing ethanol, and the other containing methanol. Do not use petrol-containing methanol (methyl or wood alcohol) that does not also contain co-solvents and corrosion inhibitors for methanol."

Anyone who know for sure what kind of Gasohol they are selling here ?

Andy

[Kerryd]

I just bought me a Phantom.

I think its a nice cruiser.

Can someone tell me a good place in Bangna or Theparak to make my service checks.

ANDY

I've heard people say that Phantoms are wannabe Harleys, but this would be the first time I've seen someone call a Harley a wannabe Phantom !

(unless of course, the new model Phantoms come with decked out with Harley accessories from front to rear, including V-Twin engine ?)

[andygunther]

I just bought me a Phantom.

I think its a nice cruiser.

Can someone tell me a good place in Bangna or Theparak to make my service checks.

ANDY

I've heard people say that Phantoms are wannabe Harleys, but this would be the first time I've seen someone call a Harley a wannabe Phantom !

(unless of course, the new model Phantoms come with decked out with Harley accessories from front to rear, including V-Twin engine ?)

I bought the Phantom in this shape.

All I had to do was polish it up...

[andygunther]

I have some more pictures...

Now you can see what you can do with an old Phantom.

Regards

Andy

[tampasailor]

Hi,

I like the looks of the Honda Phantom and want to buy one. Having looked on the net i found second hand ones from 45-60000 Baht . How much are they new?

I would also like to hear from anybody who has/had this Bike. What are the experiences with this Bike you have/had . Good? or Bad? i want to know..

I am also wondering it has 200 cc . I am living in the Flat but like to go north driving the Hills there . Is this Engine give enough Power for that?

Thank you for your responses and if you can recommend another Bike that has the looks of the Phantom with approximately the same pricing please let me know too.

rcm

I had a Phantom 200cc for a month in Chiang Mai, rented from Mr. Beer at 600 bt a day. I recommend that you try one befor buying. I have a Gold Wing at home so I had to get used to everything being closer together. The step from 1200 cc to 200 cc is a big one. The Phantom is great in CM. Is agile enough to get to the front of the line at a light and quick enough to lead the pack if you wish. It will quickly out distance the 125 cc screamers. It is easy to park and that is very important. I put about 2000 km on it including a mountain trip to Chaing Rai and it did well in the mountians but a lot of lower gear driving and lots of time in the motorbike lane. The mountains are cold and if you dont have leathers, you will find yourself slowing down to keep from freezing. Take leather gloves!!! The ride to Tak was much warmer and the Phantom was great on hwy 106. It lacks some punch on superhighway 1 as top comfortable speed is about 110. Any faster and its starts to get stressful and squirley. It has the power to go faster but not the weight it needs for stability. I spend most of my time in the bike lane doing about 90. Some superbikes passed me on the way back to CM. One BMW must have been doing 200! I caught up to this Thai bike club "Road Magicians" a while later and met bunch of nice guys with great bikes and most with full leathers.

I saw new Phantoms advertised at 89,000. And I was told by one Phantom rider that you could get a good used one for 50K. I asked Mr Beer what his was worth used and he said 50K. It had 60,000Km on it and it was in good shape.

[Kerryd]

I have some more pictures...

Now you can see what you can do with an old Phantom.

Regards

Andy

Hahaha, I was scratching my head on that one for awhile. I've got a Harley and a Phantom, and when parked side-by-side there's no comparison of course.

But I couldn't pin down what it was was supposed to be. Road King headlight and front fender, Fat Boy crash bar, Softail seat, Road King saddlebags, Electra Glide rear seat.

What really threw me though was seeing what looked like a V-Twin.

I imagine it has the Honda put-put sound though. A lot of customization on that bike. Ought to have more heads scratching in the future !

[akm]

Here's for an older Phantom, but I really don't think all that much has changed. You can thank Issangeorge for finding it, but I don't remember where he did so I can't say if there is a newer one available now. I think you can forget about actually finding a printed one from Honda in Thailand as they are just not interested in providing one for us.

Thanks Higgy, I just bought a Phantom and am really enjoying it. I ran out of gas on the first ride and had to be rescued, so I am keeping a note of km and liters, but the reserve was great news to me!

Thanks again for the owners manuel!!

[kitjohnson]

Hi,

I've decided to get a phantom and am currently deciding between a new fire edition, or a second-hand older edition. Does anyone know the key improvements for the fire edition? Does it have fuel injection?

Thanks,

Kit (BKK)

[dave_boo]

Old TA150 is a 2 stroke watercooled 150cc bike. New TA200 is a 4 stroke aircooled 200cc bike. AFAIK, there has been no advances in the mechanical bits, just a fancy new set of graphics. Don't know if the older 2 stroke has more peak power, but I can't see it being better due to the 4 stroke's broader torque range.

Do beware of the cam chain tensioner problem that seems to be endemic to this model.

[kitjohnson]

Old TA150 is a 2 stroke watercooled 150cc bike. New TA200 is a 4 stroke aircooled 200cc bike. AFAIK, there has been no advances in the mechanical bits, just a fancy new set of graphics. Don't know if the older 2 stroke has more peak power, but I can't see it being better due to the 4 stroke's broader torque range.

Do beware of the cam chain tensioner problem that seems to be endemic to this model.

Thanks for that. I was specifically asking for any advances between the TA200 as it's been pumped out for the past few years, and the new fire edition. I'd never buy a 2 stroke because of the increased fuel wastage.

I've heard about the cam chain tensioner problem, but I can see that the Phantom is the only affordable bike that will take me on longer trips outside Bangkok. So is this problem something I can do anything about? Or just wait till it goes wrong and try to fix it?

[higgy88]

My brother in law got a fire edition phantom about a year ago, and we had our bikes side by side looking for differences, which were actually quite minor. They both still used the same carburetor, so no fuel injection, unless they just changed it this year which I very much doubt. Mine is more than 6 years old, and I bought it when Honda stopped making it with the 150 cc 2 stroke and started making it with the 200 cc 4 stroke. My neighbor had the 2 stroke but couldn't afford the gas for it and sold it after only about 6 months.

I've also heard about the cam tensioner problem, but have not done anything about it as I really don't have that many km on the odometer (about 30k) and I think it only becomes a problem when the bike is ridden pretty hard, which I do not do. However, I do keep a very good ear out and am specifically listening for any and all abnormal noises. Unfortunately, the price for waiting until it breaks or the sprokets jumps a few teeth would be the cost of a new engine.

I'm good for about an hour or so before my ass really starts hurting and my hands start feeling numb from the vibration, but that could be coming from my advanced years as well as the bike.

I would probably go for the older edition if you can find a good one, know the bike's history and/or how it was ridden, or if you know a mechanic you can trust who could check it out for you, or better yet if you could check it out yourself. Unless you are a personal friend of the seller, don't believe anything he/she may tell you. And that goes for buying a new one too.

[kitjohnson]

My brother in law got a fire edition phantom about a year ago, and we had our bikes side by side looking for differences, which were actually quite minor. They both still used the same carburetor, so no fuel injection, unless they just changed it this year which I very much doubt. Mine is more than 6 years old, and I bought it when Honda stopped making it with the 150 cc 2 stroke and started making it with the 200 cc 4 stroke. My neighbor had the 2 stroke but couldn't afford the gas for it and sold it after only about 6 months.

I've also heard about the cam tensioner problem, but have not done anything about it as I really don't have that many km on the odometer (about 30k) and I think it only becomes a problem when the bike is ridden pretty hard, which I do not do. However, I do keep a very good ear out and am specifically listening for any and all abnormal noises. Unfortunately, the price for waiting until it breaks or the sprokets jumps a few teeth would be the cost of a new engine.

I'm good for about an hour or so before my ass really starts hurting and my hands start feeling numb from the vibration, but that could be coming from my advanced years as well as the bike.

I would probably go for the older edition if you can find a good one, know the bike's history and/or how it was ridden, or if you know a mechanic you can trust who could check it out for you, or better yet if you could check it out yourself. Unless you are a personal friend of the seller, don't believe anything he/she may tell you. And that goes for buying a new one too.

That's great advice, thanks a lot. I actually prefer the look of the older editions, and I've hired one out for a few days and know I love it. I was riding all day for two days with very little saddle-soreness.

I don't ride particularly hard, but that is one reason to be careful buying a second hand bike I guess... if I find a good-looking one, 5 years old, 45,000 Baht and hand my money over, it could have been ridden really hard and be ready to kick the bucket.

I do have a mechanic but unfortunately I don't fully trust him! He always does a shoddy job - just good enough and never any more.

One last thing - why are second hand bikes so expensive! They only drop 10% in the first year, unlike 50% or more in the UK. People love new stuff in Thailand so I really can't get my head around it!!

[cheeryble]

there has been a good posting on choppers here, do a search on phantom, yes its a good bike for the price. I have added some extras on it as you can see.

I just bought a Phantom with just the same awful little sticker on the chrome side cover each side as in your post.

They've got to go.

Any clever ways to get them off?

Cheeryble

Edited March 3, 2012 by cheeryble

[cheeryble]

there has been a good posting on choppers here, do a search on phantom, yes its a good bike for the price. I have added some extras on it as you can see.

I just bought a Phantom with just the same awful little sticker on the chrome side cover each side as in your post.

They've got to go.

Any clever ways to get them off?

Cheeryble

I got the ghastly Honda sticker off with a hair dryer and lot of thumbnail thank God that was a crime against good taste.