Large Bike Advice

[otherstuff1957]

OK, here's my 2 cents: Don't worry about top speeds, don't get obsessed with the definition of what is a 'big bike' or not, just buy a bike that you are comfortable with. You can always sell it and get another if it doesn't work for you in the long run.

Back in the late '70s I put a duffle bag and a sleeping bag on my old Honda 450 and rode it from Palo Alto (near San Francisco) over Sonora Pass to the far side of the Sierras. After camping for a week or so I rode down south across the Mojave Desert to San Diego. Then I rode up Highway 1 (the old coast road) back home. I think I covered about 1500 miles - almost 2500 km horizontally and more than 3 km vertically!

Now I would have preferred to have made the trip in a Yamaha XS650 but hey, I was 20 years old and I always wanted a bigger bike then. My old 450 was more than enough bike for that trip. Now the Phantom is quite a bit smaller than a 450, but, 1: you can bore them out to 250 and 2: the roads in Thailand are far more crowded than the roads in California, so a slower bike is going to give you a lot more reaction time when dog, chicken, pickup truck, whatever... suddenly appears in front of you!

Edited July 1, 2006 by otherstuff1957

[angie]

If any of you bike lovers are interested there is a big promotional sale on today with free BBQ at Powerstation Motorsport, Thailand's ONLY AUTHORISED Harley Davidson delaership.

angie

[Captain Chaos]

Who are Powerstation authorised by? I don't think HD advertise as having any official dealers in Thailand?

CC

Edited July 3, 2006 by Captain Chaos

[xbusman]

Harley has Powerstation listed as the only dealership in Thailand. Powerstation is also built (mostly) to HD dealer standards.

You can look them up in HD website.

[angie]

They are the only official HD dealer in all of thailand!

Heres a link to their website

www.powerstationmotorsport.com

angie

[Rasseru]

Well I still havre a 150 Phantom, took it from Udon to Vhaing Ria back Cahing Mia and back to Udon, cruised easily at 140 KMS.

Ray, 140km's yr joking right ? My 2005 DR400 puts out 40 hp 29.2 kW @ 8500 rpm so its a water cooled reasonably efficient motor. It struggled to get to 140 Km/Hr with my hunched over. I would guess yr aircooled 150cc motor would put out about 15hp and it cruises easily at 140Km/Hr!

Having had six to eight years ago an Aprilia RS 250 two-stroke that, unmodified in any way, I regularly rode in excess of 230 kph on the straights at tracks that I used to race on, I have absolutely no trouble believing that a 150 cc two-stroke, modified or unmodified, could cruise eaily at 140 kph.

[PeaceBlondie]

I wouldn't say that my Honda CBR150 cruises easily at indicated 140kph; that's the top speed when I'm hunched over, all 86 kilos of me. But if the speedo error is 15%, you can subtract 21 kph. An NSR150 in good condition should do 150 easily. I'd be surprised if a Phantom 200 can do that, because those engines are usually tuned for low-end torque without high-speed horsepower.

[sendbaht]

That is a pretty bike mr. Hippo....

[Vegemite]

Since when is a sub 250cc a LARGE BIKE ?

In my book large bikes are 1000cc+.

A 400cc is an entry-level bike.

Anything smaller is a runaround.

Well said and thank God somebody thinks the same as me.

I tried asking some questions about this a while back but nobody would give an answer.

The topic just went back to Waves and Dreams. It was quite sad really.

Can anyone tell me why these little things are so popular in Thailand?

What are the rules/laws regarding motorbike size. Is it 200cc max?

If so, how do some people get around it.

[ray23]

For me the ultimate is a 750 nice mid range bike, I've had the 1000 pluses and really didn't enjoy them that much, maybe that is why they make so many different sizes

[terdsak_12]

Just got myself a 2000 model Yamaha TDM 850 today, 200K which is not a bad price, bit clunky, but a fun motorbike, just need to get used to bikes again as this is the first one I've had for nearly 10 years.

Anyone wants to hook up for a ride from Bangkok let me know.

[PeaceBlondie]

Well said and thank God somebody thinks the same as me.

I tried asking some questions about this a while back but nobody would give an answer.

The topic just went back to Waves and Dreams. It was quite sad really.

Can anyone tell me why these little things are so popular in Thailand?

What are the rules/laws regarding motorbike size. Is it 200cc max?

If so, how do some people get around it.

For a few thousand people in this country of 62,500,000 people, a proper bike is over 600cc. For the rest of the 62 million of us here, 200cc is a big bike. This is Thailand. Now, maybe back home, a 2,300 Triumph is a small bike, and everybody rides Harleys with 400 cubic inch V-8's.

These little Waves and Dreams are very popular here, because motorcycles are like large bicycles with engines, used for families, shopping,commuting, etc., - things that farang seldom do in our home countries. You can ride anything that you can get legally licensed, and you can keep riding it while you can still get parts and reliable service. It is not safe, however, to ride anywhere in Thailand. Probably ten times more dangerous than wherever we're from. Many funerals are the result of motorbike accidents. I wish I had a new, factory waranteed, 400cc new Japanese bike. But you can't get them here, so I ride a 150.

[ray23]

Riding big bikes here does take some adjusting how many time have you guys have the parking attendent tell you were supposed to put your beast in parking slot for a Honda Wave, mine won't fit

You know for may it's speed they look fro for me it's comfort 8 or 9 hours saddle time on a honda wave just wouldn't do it for me. Around town hey that waht they are made for, they fit everywhere.

[Vegemite]

Well said and thank God somebody thinks the same as me.

I tried asking some questions about this a while back but nobody would give an answer.

The topic just went back to Waves and Dreams. It was quite sad really.

Can anyone tell me why these little things are so popular in Thailand?

What are the rules/laws regarding motorbike size. Is it 200cc max?

If so, how do some people get around it.

For a few thousand people in this country of 62,500,000 people, a proper bike is over 600cc. For the rest of the 62 million of us here, 200cc is a big bike. This is Thailand. Now, maybe back home, a 2,300 Triumph is a small bike, and everybody rides Harleys with 400 cubic inch V-8's.

These little Waves and Dreams are very popular here, because motorcycles are like large bicycles with engines, used for families, shopping,commuting, etc., - things that farang seldom do in our home countries. You can ride anything that you can get legally licensed, and you can keep riding it while you can still get parts and reliable service. It is not safe, however, to ride anywhere in Thailand. Probably ten times more dangerous than wherever we're from. Many funerals are the result of motorbike accidents. I wish I had a new, factory waranteed, 400cc new Japanese bike. But you can't get them here, so I ride a 150.

Maybe you have been there to long. I dont think Triumph have ever made a 2300cc motorbike or Harley a V8. Mind you, I could be wrong and I did have a Triumph 2500 car years ago. So anything is possible I suppose.

Must keep my eye out for some of these things on the road.

You still didnt answer my question about the laws in Thailand regarding engine size.

I rode some of these small bikes, c/o the family, around Issan earlier this year and really enjoyed it. Why doesnt anybody use dirt bikes they would be ideal?

I find the step through type bikes are quite dangerous. Just feet, bum and hands controlling the things and your legs just flapping around in the breaze.

Thanks for the reply.

[davidgtr]

Since when is a sub 250cc a LARGE BIKE ?

In my book large bikes are 1000cc+.

A 400cc is an entry-level bike.

Anything smaller is a runaround.

Well said and thank God somebody thinks the same as me.

I tried asking some questions about this a while back but nobody would give an answer.

The topic just went back to Waves and Dreams. It was quite sad really.

Can anyone tell me why these little things are so popular in Thailand?

What are the rules/laws regarding motorbike size. Is it 200cc max?

If so, how do some people get around it.

Vegemite

Little bikes are so popular because that's almost all there is, they are cheap & excellent value for money for most people's needs - riding around town / the village.

Local bike manufacture is restricted to 200cc capacity. There are some bigger bikes being made, but these are for export only & supposedly not for the local market.

To get around not having a small bike, you need to buy a big one.

The best way to do this is to buy from a big bike dealer / shop & there are heaps of them if you can be bothered to look around. Just buy any Thai bike magazine & you will adverts for big bikes for sale at many big bike shops.

It is not practical to import your own bike.

1. You need an Import Permit, from the Ministry of Commerce to import an assembled vehicle (car or motorbike). I think that motorcycles over 150-200cc (not sure of the exact capacity) are classified in with motorcars / vehicles and so are subject to whatever laws apply to cars. But the important bit is that you first need the import permit, before you can even consider importing an assembled bike.

2. Then the full Customs duty is 213% of the value of the vehicle. I think that Customs have a list of the bike values & if your invoice does not “match up” then they apply their own market value. So there is no easy cheats way out – you have to pay, & heavily.

3. Then once you get your bike in your have to get it licensed & I think that there is a hefty fee for the initial rego compliance test. After that it’s only a few hundred baht a year, plus insurance.

4. Unassembled bikes – these come in by the container load as 2nd hand parts & are only subject to 30-40% customs duties. These are the bikes that you usually see on the roads of Thailand without a number plate. Without the plate they are technically illegal & if you’re in Bkk / Pattaya / Phuket, the police tend to give you a hard time. Elsewhere up-country it does not seem to be such a problem, but you normally can’t leave the country on an unregistered motorcycle.

5. Any licenced big bikes you see could be either legally imported (BMW) with full duties paid or registered grey imports – previously unassembled ones. Cost for this grey import rego is anything from 50,000 baht up, depending on whom you are dealing with. Most of the books are recycled books with the bike having engine & frame numbers re-stamped to match up with an old book / bike that was previously registered. Now there are dealers who claim their books are not recycled, how they managed this I don’t know but the crunch always comes when you either need to renew your bike rego or transfer the place of registration &/or ownership. Most of the time it works, but there are cases where it the renewal / transfer does not get approved. Sometimes this is because the bike might registered as 20 or 30 years old but it is only a few years old, the number of cylinders or capacity are wrong. These are all little traps you need to watch out for when buying a registered bike. If you never sell the bike or change the place of registration you might never have a problem, but if you’re buying, then check it all closely if you are going to change the place of registration from one province to another, as your local officials might like to be official & pay attention to what you’ve supposedly got.

6. Now the big bike import system is so well organized that you can almost get any bike you want within a couple of months. You just need to have the balls to plonk down your deposit money with a reliable / reputable big bike shop, & wait your turn for the bike & rego to turn up.

And that about sums it all up I think.

Oh yeah if you’ve lost touch & been away from BIG bikes for awhile:

The Triumph Rocket III = 2294cc triple engine. Torque, 147lb-ft at 2,500 rpm. 240 section rear tyre.

Take a look at http://www.triumph.co.uk/uk/263.aspx

Other big bikes in 2006 are

BMW: 1200cc K1200

HONDA: VTX 1800cc cruiser, GL1800cc tourer (with reverse electric drive & air bag), ST1300cc tourer

KAWASAKI: Vulcan 2000cc cruiser, ZX1400cc sport bike,

SUZUKI: 1300cc Hayabusha sport bike, M109R 1800cc cruiser,

YAMAHA: 1700 cc Roadstar cruiser, 1700cc M1T-01

“torque sports”, 1300cc Royal Star tourer. 1300cc FJR sport tourer , 1200cc V-Max.

HARLEY: 1450cc various machines

And my bike is a Honda 750 Africa Twin, “perfect” for touring the roads of North Thailand and Laos.

For all you guys out there wondering - the perfect bike is the one you enjoy riding the most and that will be totally different for different riders on different roads. You all please yourself now, but don’t slag each other off. Enjoy what you do & be happy riding your machine!

Last but not least, I dont think it's worth importing your own bike. Buy locally.

Go here for Full Customs Import info

Edited July 18, 2006 by davidgtr

[ray23]

Congrats that didn't miss a darn thing I know about.

[Vegemite]

Since when is a sub 250cc a LARGE BIKE ?

In my book large bikes are 1000cc+.

A 400cc is an entry-level bike.

Anything smaller is a runaround.

Well said and thank God somebody thinks the same as me.

I tried asking some questions about this a while back but nobody would give an answer.

The topic just went back to Waves and Dreams. It was quite sad really.

Can anyone tell me why these little things are so popular in Thailand?

What are the rules/laws regarding motorbike size. Is it 200cc max?

If so, how do some people get around it.

Vegemite

Little bikes are so popular because that's almost all there is, they are cheap & excellent value for money for most people's needs - riding around town / the village.

Local bike manufacture is restricted to 200cc capacity. There are some bigger bikes being made, but these are for export only & supposedly not for the local market.

To get around not having a small bike, you need to buy a big one.

The best way to do this is to buy from a big bike dealer / shop & there are heaps of them if you can be bothered to look around. Just buy any Thai bike magazine & you will adverts for big bikes for sale at many big bike shops.

It is not practical to import your own bike.

1. You need an Import Permit, from the Ministry of Commerce to import an assembled vehicle (car or motorbike). I think that motorcycles over 150-200cc (not sure of the exact capacity) are classified in with motorcars / vehicles and so are subject to whatever laws apply to cars. But the important bit is that you first need the import permit, before you can even consider importing an assembled bike.

2. Then the full Customs duty is 213% of the value of the vehicle. I think that Customs have a list of the bike values & if your invoice does not “match up” then they apply their own market value. So there is no easy cheats way out – you have to pay, & heavily.

3. Then once you get your bike in your have to get it licensed & I think that there is a hefty fee for the initial rego compliance test. After that it’s only a few hundred baht a year, plus insurance.

4. Unassembled bikes – these come in by the container load as 2nd hand parts & are only subject to 30-40% customs duties. These are the bikes that you usually see on the roads of Thailand without a number plate. Without the plate they are technically illegal & if you’re in Bkk / Pattaya / Phuket, the police tend to give you a hard time. Elsewhere up-country it does not seem to be such a problem, but you normally can’t leave the country on an unregistered motorcycle.

5. Any licenced big bikes you see could be either legally imported (BMW) with full duties paid or registered grey imports – previously unassembled ones. Cost for this grey import rego is anything from 50,000 baht up, depending on whom you are dealing with. Most of the books are recycled books with the bike having engine & frame numbers re-stamped to match up with an old book / bike that was previously registered. Now there are dealers who claim their books are not recycled, how they managed this I don’t know but the crunch always comes when you either need to renew your bike rego or transfer the place of registration &/or ownership. Most of the time it works, but there are cases where it the renewal / transfer does not get approved. Sometimes this is because the bike might registered as 20 or 30 years old but it is only a few years old, the number of cylinders or capacity are wrong. These are all little traps you need to watch out for when buying a registered bike. If you never sell the bike or change the place of registration you might never have a problem, but if you’re buying, then check it all closely if you are going to change the place of registration from one province to another, as your local officials might like to be official & pay attention to what you’ve supposedly got.

6. Now the big bike import system is so well organized that you can almost get any bike you want within a couple of months. You just need to have the balls to plonk down your deposit money with a reliable / reputable big bike shop, & wait your turn for the bike & rego to turn up.

And that about sums it all up I think.

Oh yeah if you’ve lost touch & been away from BIG bikes for awhile:

The Triumph Rocket III = 2294cc triple engine. Torque, 147lb-ft at 2,500 rpm. 240 section rear tyre.

Take a look at http://www.triumph.co.uk/uk/263.aspx

Other big bikes in 2006 are

BMW: 1200cc K1200

HONDA: VTX 1800cc cruiser, GL1800cc tourer (with reverse electric drive & air bag), ST1300cc tourer

KAWASAKI: Vulcan 2000cc cruiser, ZX1400cc sport bike,

SUZUKI: 1300cc Hayabusha sport bike, M109R 1800cc cruiser,

YAMAHA: 1700 cc Roadstar cruiser, 1700cc M1T-01

“torque sports”, 1300cc Royal Star tourer. 1300cc FJR sport tourer , 1200cc V-Max.

HARLEY: 1450cc various machines

And my bike is a Honda 750 Africa Twin, “perfect” for touring the roads of North Thailand and Laos.

For all you guys out there wondering - the perfect bike is the one you enjoy riding the most and that will be totally different for different riders on different roads. You all please yourself now, but don’t slag each other off. Enjoy what you do & be happy riding your machine!

Last but not least, I dont think it's worth importing your own bike. Buy locally.

Go here for Full Customs Import info

Well said and thankyou very much.

[gharknes]

Since when is a sub 250cc a LARGE BIKE ?

In my book large bikes are 1000cc+.

A 400cc is an entry-level bike.

Anything smaller is a runaround.

Well said and thank God somebody thinks the same as me.

I tried asking some questions about this a while back but nobody would give an answer.

The topic just went back to Waves and Dreams. It was quite sad really.

Can anyone tell me why these little things are so popular in Thailand?

What are the rules/laws regarding motorbike size. Is it 200cc max?

If so, how do some people get around it.

Vegemite

Little bikes are so popular because that's almost all there is, they are cheap & excellent value for money for most people's needs - riding around town / the village.

Local bike manufacture is restricted to 200cc capacity. There are some bigger bikes being made, but these are for export only & supposedly not for the local market.

To get around not having a small bike, you need to buy a big one.

The best way to do this is to buy from a big bike dealer / shop & there are heaps of them if you can be bothered to look around. Just buy any Thai bike magazine & you will adverts for big bikes for sale at many big bike shops.

It is not practical to import your own bike.

1. You need an Import Permit, from the Ministry of Commerce to import an assembled vehicle (car or motorbike). I think that motorcycles over 150-200cc (not sure of the exact capacity) are classified in with motorcars / vehicles and so are subject to whatever laws apply to cars. But the important bit is that you first need the import permit, before you can even consider importing an assembled bike.

2. Then the full Customs duty is 213% of the value of the vehicle. I think that Customs have a list of the bike values & if your invoice does not “match up” then they apply their own market value. So there is no easy cheats way out – you have to pay, & heavily.

3. Then once you get your bike in your have to get it licensed & I think that there is a hefty fee for the initial rego compliance test. After that it’s only a few hundred baht a year, plus insurance.

4. Unassembled bikes – these come in by the container load as 2nd hand parts & are only subject to 30-40% customs duties. These are the bikes that you usually see on the roads of Thailand without a number plate. Without the plate they are technically illegal & if you’re in Bkk / Pattaya / Phuket, the police tend to give you a hard time. Elsewhere up-country it does not seem to be such a problem, but you normally can’t leave the country on an unregistered motorcycle.

5. Any licenced big bikes you see could be either legally imported (BMW) with full duties paid or registered grey imports – previously unassembled ones. Cost for this grey import rego is anything from 50,000 baht up, depending on whom you are dealing with. Most of the books are recycled books with the bike having engine & frame numbers re-stamped to match up with an old book / bike that was previously registered. Now there are dealers who claim their books are not recycled, how they managed this I don’t know but the crunch always comes when you either need to renew your bike rego or transfer the place of registration &/or ownership. Most of the time it works, but there are cases where it the renewal / transfer does not get approved. Sometimes this is because the bike might registered as 20 or 30 years old but it is only a few years old, the number of cylinders or capacity are wrong. These are all little traps you need to watch out for when buying a registered bike. If you never sell the bike or change the place of registration you might never have a problem, but if you’re buying, then check it all closely if you are going to change the place of registration from one province to another, as your local officials might like to be official & pay attention to what you’ve supposedly got.

6. Now the big bike import system is so well organized that you can almost get any bike you want within a couple of months. You just need to have the balls to plonk down your deposit money with a reliable / reputable big bike shop, & wait your turn for the bike & rego to turn up.

And that about sums it all up I think.

Oh yeah if you’ve lost touch & been away from BIG bikes for awhile:

The Triumph Rocket III = 2294cc triple engine. Torque, 147lb-ft at 2,500 rpm. 240 section rear tyre.

Take a look at http://www.triumph.co.uk/uk/263.aspx

Other big bikes in 2006 are

BMW: 1200cc K1200

HONDA: VTX 1800cc cruiser, GL1800cc tourer (with reverse electric drive & air bag), ST1300cc tourer

KAWASAKI: Vulcan 2000cc cruiser, ZX1400cc sport bike,

SUZUKI: 1300cc Hayabusha sport bike, M109R 1800cc cruiser,

YAMAHA: 1700 cc Roadstar cruiser, 1700cc M1T-01

“torque sports”, 1300cc Royal Star tourer. 1300cc FJR sport tourer , 1200cc V-Max.

HARLEY: 1450cc various machines

And my bike is a Honda 750 Africa Twin, “perfect” for touring the roads of North Thailand and Laos.

For all you guys out there wondering - the perfect bike is the one you enjoy riding the most and that will be totally different for different riders on different roads. You all please yourself now, but don’t slag each other off. Enjoy what you do & be happy riding your machine!

Last but not least, I dont think it's worth importing your own bike. Buy locally.

Go here for Full Customs Import info

great post Dave....should be a sticky on this motor forum

PS you left out one of the best sport/touring bikes currently available........Honda CBR 1100XX Blackbird

[davidgtr]

Since when is a sub 250cc a LARGE BIKE ?

In my book large bikes are 1000cc+.

A 400cc is an entry-level bike.

Anything smaller is a runaround.

Well said and thank God somebody thinks the same as me.

I tried asking some questions about this a while back but nobody would give an answer.

The topic just went back to Waves and Dreams. It was quite sad really.

Can anyone tell me why these little things are so popular in Thailand?

What are the rules/laws regarding motorbike size. Is it 200cc max?

If so, how do some people get around it.

Vegemite

Little bikes are so popular because that's almost all there is, they are cheap & excellent value for money for most people's needs - riding around town / the village.

Local bike manufacture is restricted to 200cc capacity. There are some bigger bikes being made, but these are for export only & supposedly not for the local market.

To get around not having a small bike, you need to buy a big one.

The best way to do this is to buy from a big bike dealer / shop & there are heaps of them if you can be bothered to look around. Just buy any Thai bike magazine & you will adverts for big bikes for sale at many big bike shops.

It is not practical to import your own bike.

1. You need an Import Permit, from the Ministry of Commerce to import an assembled vehicle (car or motorbike). I think that motorcycles over 150-200cc (not sure of the exact capacity) are classified in with motorcars / vehicles and so are subject to whatever laws apply to cars. But the important bit is that you first need the import permit, before you can even consider importing an assembled bike.

2. Then the full Customs duty is 213% of the value of the vehicle. I think that Customs have a list of the bike values & if your invoice does not “match up” then they apply their own market value. So there is no easy cheats way out – you have to pay, & heavily.

3. Then once you get your bike in your have to get it licensed & I think that there is a hefty fee for the initial rego compliance test. After that it’s only a few hundred baht a year, plus insurance.

4. Unassembled bikes – these come in by the container load as 2nd hand parts & are only subject to 30-40% customs duties. These are the bikes that you usually see on the roads of Thailand without a number plate. Without the plate they are technically illegal & if you’re in Bkk / Pattaya / Phuket, the police tend to give you a hard time. Elsewhere up-country it does not seem to be such a problem, but you normally can’t leave the country on an unregistered motorcycle.

5. Any licenced big bikes you see could be either legally imported (BMW) with full duties paid or registered grey imports – previously unassembled ones. Cost for this grey import rego is anything from 50,000 baht up, depending on whom you are dealing with. Most of the books are recycled books with the bike having engine & frame numbers re-stamped to match up with an old book / bike that was previously registered. Now there are dealers who claim their books are not recycled, how they managed this I don’t know but the crunch always comes when you either need to renew your bike rego or transfer the place of registration &/or ownership. Most of the time it works, but there are cases where it the renewal / transfer does not get approved. Sometimes this is because the bike might registered as 20 or 30 years old but it is only a few years old, the number of cylinders or capacity are wrong. These are all little traps you need to watch out for when buying a registered bike. If you never sell the bike or change the place of registration you might never have a problem, but if you’re buying, then check it all closely if you are going to change the place of registration from one province to another, as your local officials might like to be official & pay attention to what you’ve supposedly got.

6. Now the big bike import system is so well organized that you can almost get any bike you want within a couple of months. You just need to have the balls to plonk down your deposit money with a reliable / reputable big bike shop, & wait your turn for the bike & rego to turn up.

And that about sums it all up I think.

Oh yeah if you’ve lost touch & been away from BIG bikes for awhile:

The Triumph Rocket III = 2294cc triple engine. Torque, 147lb-ft at 2,500 rpm. 240 section rear tyre.

Take a look at http://www.triumph.co.uk/uk/263.aspx

Other big bikes in 2006 are

BMW: 1200cc K1200

HONDA: VTX 1800cc cruiser, GL1800cc tourer (with reverse electric drive & air bag), ST1300cc tourer

KAWASAKI: Vulcan 2000cc cruiser, ZX1400cc sport bike,

SUZUKI: 1300cc Hayabusha sport bike, M109R 1800cc cruiser,

YAMAHA: 1700 cc Roadstar cruiser, 1700cc M1T-01

“torque sports”, 1300cc Royal Star tourer. 1300cc FJR sport tourer , 1200cc V-Max.

HARLEY: 1450cc various machines

And my bike is a Honda 750 Africa Twin, “perfect” for touring the roads of North Thailand and Laos.

For all you guys out there wondering - the perfect bike is the one you enjoy riding the most and that will be totally different for different riders on different roads. You all please yourself now, but don’t slag each other off. Enjoy what you do & be happy riding your machine!

Last but not least, I dont think it's worth importing your own bike. Buy locally.

Go here for Full Customs Import info

great post Dave....should be a sticky on this motor forum

PS you left out one of the best sport/touring bikes currently available........Honda CBR 1100XX Blackbird

Thanks for the compliments you guys. I honestly thought most of it was already general knowledge amongst the biking community, but perhaps some of you have not been around long enough to be able to get a real handle on the big bike scene in the Kingdom.

One bit that I did forget is temporary import of your own bike, which is an option only if you're far too devoted to your old faithful machine back home, like wasting time and don’t mind doing motorcycle visa runs.

Now to temporarily import your bike you have 3 options

(1) Fly it to Don Muang

(2) Ship it in to Klong Toey & risk losing it (very scary thought)

(3) Ship it to either Sing or Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia & ride it up

Of the three above (1) is ok if you’ve got money to burn & fly your bike in. Option (2) shipping to Klong Toey can be very treacherous, but of late I know that a few RTW bikers have been shipping their bikes into Klong Toey & actually getting them cleared ok. Previously – a few years ago – I thought this would have been impossible; the Customs were (& still are) so crooked that quite a few bikes never got cleared or simply went missing!

The Singapore option is also expensive & difficult if your bike is more than 10 years old. So I reckon that shipping to KL is not bad, if you "foolishly" insist on bringing over your own bike. I say foolish because it costs time & money, & I believe if you are serious then buy a local bike with a plate. Overall I dont think the price of a bike with a plate is a great deal different to Europe or Oz. In the USofA bikes are probably cheaper. So at the end of the day, after you include time & money involved in shipping & riding your bike over, the price will be roughly the same; but if you buy a local bike then you’ve at least got one that's legally in the country for as long as you want. So for me buy local!

I could write a lot more on it, but would rather just direct you to the good ol

GT Rider site for more info

Take a look at these

Bike Import

Crossing Borders

Klong Toey Customs

Buying a Bike

Edited July 21, 2006 by davidgtr