Finally made the transition from being a scooter rider to a proper bike rider in Chiang Mai

[BSJ]

^

Please dont do this on a highway in Thailand, no offence to BSJ but imo much to dangerous. Vehicles can come from everywhere at anytime at any speed

Don't drink and ride. I agree with smotherb, a very important rule in Thailand. Maybe the most important. Have fun and stay safe

"Down the track when you have more experience head out to the highway...." And where else can he learn what to do at highway speeds....maybe Beach Rd?

[wantan]

^

Please dont do this on a highway in Thailand, no offence to BSJ but imo much to dangerous. Vehicles can come from everywhere at anytime at any speed

Don't drink and ride. I agree with smotherb, a very important rule in Thailand. Maybe the most important. Have fun and stay safe

"Down the track when you have more experience head out to the highway...." And where else can he learn what to do at highway speeds....maybe Beach Rd?

You may consider a quiet highway in Thailand a safe environment to do safety training, i do not. And whats the use of safety training if you endanger yourself when practicing it? Just my opinion, no problem at all.

[Shurup]

There are plenty of highways in Thailand with little to no traffic, how can they be unsafe?

Sent from my mobile, whatever mobile it is.

[AllanB]

There are plenty of highways in Thailand with little to no traffic, how can they be unsafe?

Sent from my mobile, whatever mobile it is.

...er, potholes, road cracks, people on the wrong side of the road, people pulling out, dogs crossing, dogs scratching, dogs sleeping, sudden changes in the road surface, people crossing apparently protected by bits of string around their wrists, people doing U-turns, drunks, drunk bus drivers, sleeping truck drivers....da da da da!

80kph is safe.............ish. Time to read ahead and deal with the above .....and see the countryside.

[Shurup]

That's strange @AllanB , it looks like we ride on different highways, or you don't get out of your usual riding zone?

Sent from my mobile, whatever mobile it is.

[AllanB]

That's strange @AllanB , it looks like we ride on different highways, or you don't get out of your usual riding zone?

Sent from my mobile, whatever mobile it is.

Different countries I would say.

I have driven pretty much all over Thailand and don't remember the roads you describe, though there be some. But diving fast when I think I may have found one isn't something I would do anyway.

I do realise that Isaan roads are not the best, but the problem throughout the tropics is what happens to any given road after a deluge.

The fact is I am just too old to come off and with my beautiful wife riding pillion that does it for me, one thing scarring my old carcass, another hers. So my macho days are now behind me, done in a country where they have ambulances.

If you guys want the buzz, go for it..... as Ai G would say..."repsect"

[wantan]

I did not say quiet highways are unsafe. I said imo they are not a safe environment to do safety training. Thats a big difference imo.

Some of you guys consider a quiet highway a perfect place to open the throttle to test the max speed of their bikes and go +250kmh while the others want to use the same place for safety training. I hope both parties never meet somewhere on "a quiet highway"

[BSJ]

When I mentioned 'highway speeds' in a previous post I was thinking 80 to 100kph which is the speed I would be doing unless overtaking. On single lane or multi lane road one must be extra cautious about:

"potholes, road cracks, people on the wrong side of the road, people pulling out, dogs crossing, dogs scratching, dogs sleeping, sudden changes in the road surface, people crossing apparently protected by bits of string around their wrists, people doing U-turns, drunks, drunk bus drivers, sleeping truck drivers" as mentioned....but the Thai's generally only throw a few of those things at you at one time. But I must say Bangna-Trat Rd could have "potholes, road cracks, people on the wrong side of the road, people pulling out, sudden changes in the road surface, people crossing apparently protected by bits of string around their wrists, people doing U-turns, drunks, drunk bus drivers, sleeping truck drivers" and not sleeping truck drivers, who are pricks, pulling out to pass a slower truck when your about 5 metres away and doing 100!

[AllanB]

When I mentioned 'highway speeds' in a previous post I was thinking 80 to 100kph which is the speed I would be doing unless overtaking. On single lane or multi lane road one must be extra cautious about:

"potholes, road cracks, people on the wrong side of the road, people pulling out, dogs crossing, dogs scratching, dogs sleeping, sudden changes in the road surface, people crossing apparently protected by bits of string around their wrists, people doing U-turns, drunks, drunk bus drivers, sleeping truck drivers" as mentioned....but the Thai's generally only throw a few of those things at you at one time. But I must say Bangna-Trat Rd could have "potholes, road cracks, people on the wrong side of the road, people pulling out, sudden changes in the road surface, people crossing apparently protected by bits of string around their wrists, people doing U-turns, drunks, drunk bus drivers, sleeping truck drivers" and not sleeping truck drivers, who are pricks, pulling out to pass a slower truck when your about 5 metres away and doing 100!

80-100 on highways seems reasonably safe, I can dig that.

Oh the pleasures of "copy" and "paste"..did a lot of that doing my PhD.