First Bike ever, for occasionally use on holidays around Hua Hin

[kasal]

Hello everyone

First of all I never drove a motor bike, never. but I am pretty confident on a mountain bike. I dont need a bike for everyday use, i own an used fortuner.

so any advice for my first bike ? it dont need to be a high cylinder but should be able to move a 100kg without braking apart after the first bump.

would also highly appreciate on body protections, a helmet is a must, i also always wear one on my mountain bike. a vespa would be nice, but for the little use i have, it cost too much.

are there any manual shifted bike or are they mostly all automatic ?

thanks for helping.

regards max

[OmegaRacer]

What's your budget? New or used? Do you prefer automatic or clutch? Scooter, underbone, cruiser, motard. ...?

So many choices out there.

[Can samui]

If a scooter isn't your thing the a Honda 200 Phantom might do the trick.

[kasal]

that was fast, thanks.

clutch would be good to learn with, since i might buy one also in my country of origin, Switzerland.

guess i would buy a new one, although i dont know much about motorbike and its prices at all.

havent been even looking around in any shops yet. just got that idea to use a motorbike to drive to seven 11 or around my home to explore the surroundings.

as i said i am new to that, so i should be one bike for easy driving. easy to repair, since i like to do things by myself.

the Honda 200 Phantom looks great, but i guess thats a bit too much for a start

cheers

[Can samui]

Not really, super easy bike to ride and not enough power to get in trouble. Get to shift and use the clutch so almost like real riding!

Big enough you can put saddlebags on it to do the shopping. I even know one guy who rode one all through Thailand, Laos and Cambodia! Easy to get serviced and repaired and dirt cheap to buy.

Best of luck!

[Marcel1]

Start with an half auto like an Honda wave to gain some experience you always can switch later and if you trash it, its not that expensive.

Take care and have fun!

[guzzi850m2]

Start with a Honda Wave FI 125cc, this little bike is a further development from the Cup that is the most produced bike ever in the world and very very robust.

It has gears but no hand clutch, very very easy to ride and the new FI models goes over 50km/l.

The phantom is not made anymore oddly enough, good little chopper style bike but you can also start on one if you want, its not that powerful.

Normally people start on less than 500cc bikes but in your case never ridden a bike before, better start on a smaller cc bike.

Wear full face helmet and gloves and sturdy shoes will give you fairly good protection.

[kasal]

maybe my question should have been more simple, like what bike should i buy, which brand is recommended ?

i would prefer a manual transmission, any suggestions ?

for shopping i would use the car, too dangerous driving a bike on thai main roads for a beginner. 7/11 just for smaller shopping with a back-bag.

[kasal]

it might be better to have a automatic gear box for the beginning. so i forget about the manual transmission for the start.

http://www.motorcycle.in.th/page.php/Honda_Motorcycle_Price_List

the honda looks good for me, are prices around 50t baht average for a bike ?

thanks so far for your help.

Edited July 11, 2015 by kasal

[guzzi850m2]

That price list is very old man, Air Blade is long time stopped being sold here.

Yes auto scooters are easy to ride and we have 2 in the household:

PCX150 that is top of the range of small Honda scooters made here in Thailand, very smooth and comfortable, good for larger persons (like me, he-he).

Scoppy i, my wife's bike. I don't like it at all, too small, cheap and nasty, clearly a budget scooter from Honda. My wife likes it but she don't know anything about scooters and are not interested too, for her it's a means of short range transport.

I tried to get her to get a Click but no, the lady wanted the damn Scooby Dooby, well her choice and I am the one footing the bill so not complaining too much, lol.

Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki's all made good sturdy scooters but Honda is by far the biggest seller here in Thailand.

You have to go and sit on them and see what you fell comfortable on and like and then rent some of them for a day or 2 so you can try them out for real.

I knew I wanted a PCX after I rented one during a holiday on Phuket, a tired 125cc not taken well care of but it still rode fine and smooth.

You can save a lot of money buying 2nd hand and get a very good newish scooter for app 30.000 baht or even less.

Make sure you have a Thai driver license for bike! If not and the shits hit the fan, you will very likely pay for all involved despite you are not at fault.

[kasal]

thanks mate, i have been looking around, browsing the internet for similar scooters. Honda shall it be.

my wife got a friend whose parents own a bike shop in Hua Hin. going to ask her for some help, hopefully they have some good second hand Honda.

the pcx 150, looks great, but i have no ideas about price for a new one or second hand. guess you might be able to help me out on this. if that webpage is old. how much does the wave or the pcx costs, new or second hand ?

thanks for the advice of renting one, haven't thought about it.

i got a Thai car driving license, do i need an additional one for bike ?

[guzzi850m2]

Well I don't know what they cost man, both our scooters were bought new in 2012 and I don't really check the market since we got what we need right now.

Since your wife got connections it should be very easy for yourself to check.

Yes you need a bike driver license, car license is for car only.

Trying the scooter is the best way to check if it suits you or not, just because I say that the PCX150 is one of the best scooters here doesn't necessary means that I am right and that all agree with me.

Some prefer something else, thankfully

If you are 160cm tall a Scooby Dooby will be fine, my wife don't like the PCX so much, she thinks it's too big, well well.

[DILLIGAD]

+1 for PCX. Great bike and they feel more sturdy for a farang size person IMO.

[MW72]

Go for the Honda Click. Thb 50k. Automatic. Space under the seat for a helmet or shopping. Flat foot rest which you can squeeze in a box of beer. Hook to hang shopping bags from. Will easily hit 100 km/h on the flat. Stylish in a modern sense. Reliable. Takes my 182 cm & 100 kgs no problem. Also takes the gf on the back no problem. Gf loves to use it for short trips to the market or 7/11. Plenty of Honda dealerships around.

[MW72]

I forgot to add that I bought mine 1 year ago for 49k if I remember. Think the pcx was approx 65/70k so if it is just for the odd trip then the click is nice and cheap. I personally think the pcx is ugly.

[Crowleys]

If would be looking small bike now, it would be Yamahas new 150cc exciter. Bad for carrying stuff but hundred time more fun than bulky pcx.

[little mary sunshine]

Rent a Honda click for a day or two, auto, easy to ride,

FLAT FLOOR for feet, easy to carry Makro bag on

The flat floor....be safe!

[guzzi850m2]

If would be looking small bike now, it would be Yamahas new 150cc exciter. Bad for carrying stuff but hundred time more fun than bulky pcx.

Yes have to agree, this thing is fast and will easily leave a pcx in the dust.

Sadly I need my pcx, we just did 30km on it today, wife-son & myself, had a late lunch out at Jomtien beach, did some shopping in Tukcom and back to our house in North Pattaya.

If doing that in the truck, we would likely having lunch now, just too much traffic man.

http://car.kapook.com/view111989.html

http://www.yamaha-motor.co.th/2014/product.php/type/manual/title/Yamaha-Exciter-150-2015

[SGX]

What bike to get = personal taste,

Hire different bikes for a month or two ,

All bikes shift 100kg so not an issue.

Just consider your style of riding refer traffic conditions . Highway. city , do you just travel around the corner and back , do you take luggage ? City riding is different to highway riding,

Scooter is recommended If you get bigger bike not so easy to go through traffic. If you new to bikes then a bigger engined bike maybe too difficult to manage in an emergency.

[Johnny S]

I bought a Honda Click 125i 6 months ago: 55,000 B incl. Insurance etc. and with the "Black" 5 spoke cast Wheels - PCX cost around 83,000 B. As a beginner you should def buy Automatic gear IMO

[pbonline]

My suggestion is you start with getting a driver licens for motorbike.

[OmegaRacer]

In case you like something that looks more like a real bike (not underbone, not scooter), there is the new Suzuki GD110, which goes for 40k new. Not the most exciting bike visually, but I believe still a good bike for that money.

website

[pbonline]

Why link to a dangerous website?

[casualbiker]

Pbonline... What dangerous website?

[OmegaRacer]

The Suzuki GD website? Nothing dangerous about that site...

[NoshowJones]

What bike to get = personal taste,

Hire different bikes for a month or two ,

All bikes shift 100kg so not an issue.

Just consider your style of riding refer traffic conditions . Highway. city , do you just travel around the corner and back , do you take luggage ? City riding is different to highway riding,

Scooter is recommended If you get bigger bike not so easy to go through traffic. If you new to bikes then a bigger engined bike maybe too difficult to manage in an emergency.

Don't get a Fino, fuel consumption is terrible.

[williet98248]

Start with a Honda Wave FI 125cc, this little bike is a further development from the Cup that is the most produced bike ever in the world and very very robust.

It has gears but no hand clutch, very very easy to ride and the new FI models goes over 50km/l.

The phantom is not made anymore oddly enough, good little chopper style bike but you can also start on one if you want, its not that powerful.

Normally people start on less than 500cc bikes but in your case never ridden a bike before, better start on a smaller cc bike.

Wear full face helmet and gloves and sturdy shoes will give you fairly good protection.

Good advice. I have learned the hard way that gloves to protect your hands and real shoes to protect your feet from the inevitable road rash are essential. Real helmet instead of the 200 baht plastic cereal bowls goes without saying. You can hobble around with scraped knees and elbows but you need your hands to eat and feet to walk.

[casualbiker]

My vote would be Honda Wave 125i or Yamaha Spark 115 or 135i. The Yamaha has a hi/lo beam headlight so it's better for dimly lit roads etc. The 135 is faster than the Honda. Similar purchase price. Honda will hold value slightly better though. Helmet, a decent choice would be REAL made in Thailand BUT good quality about 2,000b. Gloves about 200-500b. Waterproof jacket (just in case) also ideal if it gets chilly of an evening.. 1,000b (supersports) I believe for camping.

[awayego]

I'm not a 'biker' as such but I've tootled around on a Yamaha Nuovo Elegance (135cc) for a few years now - great scooter but now I'm bored!

I'm seriously considering a Honda CBR 300 as an entry level 'real' bike.

I looked at a Benelli 300 (Benelli dealership recently opened in Chiang Mai) and really like the look and feel of it but common sense regarding service and reliability told me to go for Honda.

I'm 67 years old and trying to have a mis-spent old age so I guess going up a notch with a bike is one way to be a bit crazy!

[guzzi850m2]

I'm not a 'biker' as such but I've tootled around on a Yamaha Nuovo Elegance (135cc) for a few years now - great scooter but now I'm bored!

I'm seriously considering a Honda CBR 300 as an entry level 'real' bike.

I looked at a Benelli 300 (Benelli dealership recently opened in Chiang Mai) and really like the look and feel of it but common sense regarding service and reliability told me to go for Honda.

I'm 67 years old and trying to have a mis-spent old age so I guess going up a notch with a bike is one way to be a bit crazy!

Go for the Honda man, service all over the Kingdom without problems, robust, much better re-sale value.

Lots of happy cb®300 owners around from what I can read on different forums, consider buying the naked cb300 model since you are a grown up man

Money to be saved on 2nd hand purchase, a bike will drop app 20% in value the first year after leaving the show room.

I was also considering the cb300 but opted for the more powerful versys650 but I still uses scooters for downtown riding.

There is one guy here on the forum that goes all over the place on his old cbr250, Laos, Cambodia and so on and he rides from Pattaya I believe.

Cheap long distance touring and he is also a senior citizen and seems to have a blast.

Edited July 13, 2015 by guzzi850m2