This morning I was enjoying brunch buffet at the Lek Hotel at a table overlooking the parking area.

I noticed a large, pale fellow looking frustrated as he straddled a rental Scoopy.

The darn thing wouldn't turn-over and start.

I noticed that the kickstand was down on the Honda so I helpfully called out "kickstand."

He retracted the kickstand but still appeared confused, so I pantomimed with my right thumb the 'starter button' movement.

He tried it and... Vrooom.

As I headed for the dessert counter I heard a sound identical to a bike smashing into a parked SUV. Yup.

Cops, photos, snickers.

Minor scrapes all around.

He was wearing a helmet so he wasn't 100% clueless.

Edited April 8, 201412 yr by papa al

happens a lot more than you might think ,many people who never been on 2 wheels before think its perfectly fine to rent a 125 cc scooter and explore thailand

with no riding exerience at all

the shops are just as bad for renting it to them .....but i suppose they make more profit from the bikes that come back crashed than the ones that come back same as they

went out ........TIT

sounds like a classic day in Pattaya!

Worked in Sa Pa in Northern Vietnam 12 years ago. Most of the bikes then were Minsks and Samsons, not easy to ride, and the roads were poor, to say the least.

This did not stop tourists from renting these bikes, even if they had never ridden a bike before. Inevitably, they came back scraped, bruised and with what we called a "Misnk Tattoo", a nice burn from where their shorts-clad leg hit the exhaust.

Their biggest concern? "Is there Malaria here"...........

Confession:

I bought a 2nd hand CBR250.

Included in the deal was one of those little plastic platforms that can be slipped onto the throttle to ease the hand on long rides.

After breakfast on a Sunday I installed the device in anticipation of a road trip on Monday.

Then, out of the blue, the dang bike wouldn't crank.

Nothing.

Rats, mechanics shops closed, too.

Fortunately a minute later I spotted the kill switch.