My Project ( almost my headache )

[tmaker]

ok.

it's a very LONG LONG story... spans 3 months. can be a continuation of this topic and some others i posted regarding Honda Steed.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/761925-how-honest-are-they/

decided to look for a bigger bike = have Honda Steed 600 in mind as I AM OLD - so cannot be like the young guys and 'lie' down on the tank of a CBR or Versy...555

do not want to buy a brand new bike as the choice of Cruisers are limited here and of course the PRICE IS ABSURD.furthermore i do not intend to be here 'forever'.so i will lose a lot a few years down the road selling off my bike.

went around and inspect a few units in pattaya and Chonburi. not happy with the engine, loud clunking sound or the condition overall is bad.

finally saw one in Leam Chabang in a Shop.the engine condition is good .Happy with it.

so,after 3 weeks or so decided that the better choice would be to buy it from the shop in Laem Chabang as it has a few advantages.

1.can have some kind of warranty

2.the bike will be touched up to be in a pretty good condotion

3.i will have emergency back up services

4.and i can ask for modification work ( to pay of course )

BUT THIS IS THE WORST DECISION OF ALL !!!

ok.. here is the real story :

negotiated the price as :

1.bike ( with book ) - 90,000

2.service/touch up to good condition ,paint work and chrome job - 25,000

3.modification to Classic Look -15,000 - most of you knows how a Standard Steed looks like - the 1st pic

TOTAL = 130,000

the mechanic/shop owner initially says 3 weeks when i was looking at it and then asks for 4 weeks when i came to place the order end of September.no worries,extra 1 week for a better job !! or so i THINK !!

Payment mode -

1. full payment of the bike on placing order - quite right

2. 10,000 for starting mod/srevice

3.15,000 halfway

4. full payment upon completion

so, the delivery is 'supposedly' 28th October, right ? not so.....

'Appendix A" - went to 'inspect ' over the days ( my house is 5 minutes away ) and what i see until the delivery date is the scattered parts. asked the mechanic and he says ' no time'....parts are already painted/chromed.

shows me the parts !! but why no fixed up ? then i pressed him,i I DIDN'T ASKED FOR 28 TH OCTOBER for the delivery, you yourself committed it !!

then he says, ok ok... 5th November...

went there over the next few days ..........sigh ....................again the story at Appendix A is repeated.

ok ok.... 10 th November .....again ?

went there over the next few days ..........sigh............. the story at Appendix A is repeated

lost my patience,asked my friend ( Thai ) to go with me to talk to him.

finally he relented and starts to 'assemble' my bike and got my bike on the 15th November...

then the Insurance woman next door ( acts as translator all the while ) asks me to use the bike for a week and then do the transfer.

straight forward right ? no no no....

called her after a week, OH I AM BUSY...next week ok ?

so, called her 'next' week - OH THE LTD IS VERY BUSY THIS TIME OF THE YEAR....next week ok ?

ummmm..... wondering .....bought a grey bike ?

so, the next next week, decided to drop in and she says ----- DO NOT HAVE THE OLD OWNER ID CARD FOR THE TRANSFER !! what a load of BULL...

been trying to contact the old owner,no luck !! jeez !!

another 2 weeks goes and i really lost my head...AND EATING ME UP...

told her, see you at the police station......... no no ...please no....we are trying !!!

so, my colleagues tried to help me and one of my colleague recognize the address of the old owner in Lampang... called his friend to check him out and after a few days got the owner and 'BOMB' exploded...

he only got paid 10,000 and the mechanic told him the bike is still not ready.

NO WONDER HE IS DELAYING ME AGAIN AND AGAIN !!!!!!!!

SO, FINALLY...........CASE SETTLED ON THE 17TH ...........

so, LONG STORY, EH ?? 555

OK, SO THIS IS MY PROJECT - not a Bobber ! ( many of you will think this )

STAGE 1 - Classic Look - COMPLETED - the 2nd pic

another 3 stages to go !! or 4 stages. i guess it'll take at least 6 months or more. can do the work myself but do not have the tools and place to work on my bike.

can do the design and have to ask others to fabricate for me...so, time is problem.

will update !!!!!

[macknife]

Ok I read it and still have no clue.

[dutchisaan]

Can you post your question again, when you are sober? Because I don't have a clue what the heck your talking about.

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Never pay up front.

He sold the bike and doesn't care (or can't) do the rest of the work.

And don't pay until the transfer at the vehicle registration office.

(stolen/fake book/fake number plate/wrong frame/dodgy import, etc.)

Edited December 20, 2014 by AnotherOneAmerican

[DogNo1]

Let me get this straight. You paid 90,000 for a 10,000 Baht bike and you are out most of the money that you paid for modifications? What is your total loss? In Thailand, you must proceed very slowly when you buy anything expensive and think carefully about what COULD go wrong. I hope that you have a better experience in the future.

[RubberSideDown]

^

My takeaway was that the bike was being offered on consignment and the owner hadn't been fully paid or informed that the bike was actually ready and had been (illegally) sold to the OP.

Or maybe not- it's kind of confusing...

[tmaker]

5555 ....maybe the post is too long ?

lemme just 'condensed' it . ( the 1st post is already without many points )

1. looked for a 600 cc bike

2.found one and confirmed it for 130,000 in total - this bike is put on sale BY THE OWNER , not the shop

3.job delayed and delayed ( skip the installment part )

4.pressed for it and got it completed on 15th Nov - riding from that day

5.cannot transfer to my name - due to various 'excuses' by shop

finally my colleague managed to contact the last owner,who DID NOT RECEIVED FULL PAYMENT even though i have been using it.

( monies used up by the shop )

so,he came and payment settled.

TRANSFER DONE !!

sorry for the long post !! 5555

so,now for my 'project' ....lol...

Edited December 21, 2014 by tmaker

[AllanB]

5555 ....maybe the post is too long ?

lemme just 'condensed' it . ( the 1st post is already without many points )

1. looked for a 600 cc bike

2.found one and confirmed it for 130,000 in total - this bike is put on sale BY THE OWNER , not the shop

3.job delayed and delayed ( skip the installment part )

4.pressed for it and got it completed on 15th Nov - riding from that day

5.cannot transfer to my name - due to various 'excuses' by shop

finally my colleague managed to contact the last owner,who DID NOT RECEIVED FULL PAYMENT even though i have been using it.

( monies used up by the shop )

so,he came and payment settled.

TRANSFER DONE !!

sorry for the long post !! 5555

so,now for my 'project' ....lol...

Still not clear, I am pretty sure the Steed is 400cc, not 600cc, the owner didn't receive full payment but the transfer is now "done"?

Is the bike now finished and legally yours, you don't say?

[RubberSideDown]

^

The Steed was made in both 400cc and 600cc versions- it's primarily sold in Japan, where the 400cc version is more popular due to the tiered licensing system which limits most riders to 400cc or lower displacement.

I think I was closest in my assessment of the OP.

[speedthrills]

^

The Steed was made in both 400cc and 600cc versions- it's primarily sold in Japan, where the 400cc version is more popular due to the tiered licensing system which limits most riders to 400cc or lower displacement.

I think I was closest in my assessment of the OP.

Weel done rsd,you ledgend you you got it spot on as again as usual

[Briggsy]

Thais often buy and sell bikes at the Land Transport Dept to avoid this very problem.

Your mistake was paying up front. I don't know why you think this is "quite right".

Edited December 21, 2014 by Briggsy

[tmaker]

the book says 400cc.

but the engine is 600cc. checked by another mechanic in Pattaya and also it is a 4 speed transmission

400 cc is 5 speed .

after we found the owner,he went to the shop and of course there is a show. who would be happy if his bike is sold,ALREADY FULLY PAID and already on the road but the shop keeps saying that it is a work 'still' in progress ? still waiting for this paint/chrome part. still waiting for assembly and yet to test !!

so,it's in my name now.

[RubberSideDown]

^

The Steed was made in both 400cc and 600cc versions- it's primarily sold in Japan, where the 400cc version is more popular due to the tiered licensing system which limits most riders to 400cc or lower displacement.

I think I was closest in my assessment of the OP.

Weel done rsd,you ledgend you you got it spot on as again as usual

I'd say 'in the ballpark' rather than 'spot on'.

Sarcasm is way more effective when your post doesn't read as if it went through Google Translate from Klingon to English...

[tmaker]

Thais often buy and sell bikes at the Land Transport Dept to avoid this very problem.

Your mistake was paying up front. I don't know why you think this is "quite right".

well... a bitter lesson learnt.

never thought that 'LOS' will be a different one with the last word 'S' which is supposed to be 'SMILE' but not Smile . but 'S _ _ M'....lol..

[RubberSideDown]

the book says 400cc.

but the engine is 600cc. checked by another mechanic in Pattaya and also it is a 4 speed transmission

400 cc is 5 speed .

after we found the owner,he went to the shop and of course there is a show. who would be happy if his bike is sold,ALREADY FULLY PAID and already on the road but the shop keeps saying that it is a work 'still' in progress ? still waiting for this paint/chrome part. still waiting for assembly and yet to test !!

so,it's in my name now.

If the engine is stock, that's a pretty big red flag that the book is 'recycled' (meaning fake and related to another bike) and that even if the transfer went through successfully you could have an issue further down the road.

[Briggsy]

Thais often buy and sell bikes at the Land Transport Dept to avoid this very problem.

Your mistake was paying up front. I don't know why you think this is "quite right".

well... a bitter lesson learnt.

never thought that 'LOS' will be a different one with the last word 'S' which is supposed to be 'SMILE' but not Smile . but 'S _ _ M'....lol..

I don't think you can blame the whole population of Thailand for this.

The last time I sold a bike I met the buyer at Sri Racha Land Transport Dept and sold the bike there. He didn't even bring any money. He transferred the money into my account via smartphone and online banking whilst the papers were on the desk.

Basically you were way too trusting, had no experience of buying and selling second-hand bikes in Thailand and your naivety allowed the seller to take you for a ride and borrow your money for a while but you seem to have got what you were after (mostly) in the end.

The key lesson here is that virtually everything operates differently here and it is paramount to do a bit of research because there are very few safety nets in comparison to developed Western nations.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Basically you were way too trusting, had no experience of buying and selling second-hand bikes in Thailand and your naivety allowed the seller to take you for a ride and borrow your money for a while but you seem to have got what you were after (mostly) in the end.

No, he's been screwed over, he has an unlicensed import.

Book is fake, engine (600cc) and frame (400cc) don't match up.

Without a legit book & plates, bike only worth 30k, so he's lost 60k already.

If he gets caught, big fine or bike confiscated.

I imagine someone paid a bribe to the transport office, not to notice the problem with the book and engine.

But if he ever gets stopped by the BiB, they will check such details and catch him out, because they know there are so many illegal Steeds around.

Edited December 21, 2014 by AnotherOneAmerican

[BSJ]

It amazes me there seems to be so many out there.....

[tmaker]

well..

the 'advantage' that I have ( a little ) is that this bike have been transferred a 'few' times...so, it is in a way safe... in a sense ..i hope..

i went to a bike shop in pattaya and showed him my book.. he says - no problem with it.. well, speaking from a Thai 'point of view'... no problem, of course !!

so, we will see... lol...

[AnotherOneAmerican]

^^

Now do the same at a police station.

Be sure to point out engine size and book don't match.

[tmaker]

^^

Now do the same at a police station.

Be sure to point out engine size and book don't match.

555

OF COS I WONT DO THAT.

anyways, still trying to do something to my bike.just do not have the tools and place to work at it.. lol...

[Beardog]

T maker if you book is bogus next time (would be yearly for older bike) you go in if they catch the discreptancy of an engine & frame not matching they can or will crush the greenbook & confiscate the bike & you don't have a chance in hell to get it back. I watched this same story on a Farangs bike. It was a 600 steed in Pattaya with blatent bad green book from another model Magma. They yanked his bike I watched the whole thing go down while I waited for my color change on my green book. The man got unruly & almost got arressted on top of it. Not saying it will happen but it is akin to stolen goods.....Regardless in a fraud case the heat (in any country) can determine you doctored the documents if they wanted to be pricks. So you still might want to ditch this bike. I wouldn't spend Jack shit on it except maintainence. Next time do your self a huge favor, If your only going to own 1 bike buy a newer one that is legal & avoid any weird discreptency like a plague. Before I buy anything the seller will go transfer the paperwork with me or no sale. I did that on my Kawi that was only 11 months old. I know it seems anal but if there is a problem it is the last owners problem not mine.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

What about insurance?

How valid is insurance for a 400cc m/c, with a 600cc engine in it?

Not a hope in hell of making a claim on the insurance.

[tmaker]

well...my project ??

on hold so many months now...

doing Aquaponics instead !!

hopefully i'll have some time in about 2 to 3 months time and then i can start my 'project'...lol