Long trip on the Click.

[Badrabbit]

Yes it was in the dark, shan't make that mistake again, can hardly move this morning, everything is hurting! oh well I'm still breathing, I'll be off again in a couple of weeks but in the daytime!

[Badrabbit]

Feeling much better this morning, repairs to the Click ordered, new front suspension, new tire, new front mud guard, new rear brake lever, just under 3500 bht.

[taninthai]

Sorry to hear off ants accidents, a lot off experienced riders on hereave been saying for years thy Thai roads are not a safe place for scooters,they always get attacked then by inexperienced riders,maybe some will see sense now ,there is nothing cool about riding a little scooter on big roads with fast moving vehicles

[Badrabbit]

Sorry to hear off ants accidents, a lot off experienced riders on hereave been saying for years thy Thai roads are not a safe place for scooters,they always get attacked then by inexperienced riders,maybe some will see sense now ,there is nothing cool about riding a little scooter on big roads with fast moving vehicles

Big powerful bikes are not cool or safe on minor roads when driven at high speed but then some people have no sense!! The problem here is not the bike it's the condition of the roads, hit a hole on any bike and it's big trouble!!

The fact I was doing 40/45kph saved my life had I been doing 100kph I would be dead or in intensive care! speed kills!

Edited September 7, 2015 by Badrabbit

[taninthai]

You Think it's only Thailand with bad roads be live me the roads in the UK are no better,of coarse any vehicle at high speed on minor roads is not cool but that's a whole different topic.

[Furryman]

Sorry to hear off ants accidents, a lot off experienced riders on hereave been saying for years thy Thai roads are not a safe place for scooters,they always get attacked then by inexperienced riders,maybe some will see sense now ,there is nothing cool about riding a little scooter on big roads with fast moving vehicles

That is why i stay on the smaller roads.

Myself, if all you have is a small scooter, don't stay home, travel anyway. Being out in the countryside is too good to miss out on.

[Badrabbit]

You Think it's only Thailand with bad roads be live me the roads in the UK are no better,of coarse any vehicle at high speed on minor roads is not cool but that's a whole different topic.

Of course Thailand is not the only place with bad roads but coupled with poor emergency service lack of law enforcement etc Thailand is a very special place!

I have driven all over the UK and the roads are far superior to here, my accident will not stop me driving a bike whatever the size, the main highway is no place for a scooter mainly because the road condition is not suited for small wheels and tires!

Edited September 7, 2015 by Badrabbit

[Furryman]

You Think it's only Thailand with bad roads be live me the roads in the UK are no better,of coarse any vehicle at high speed on minor roads is not cool but that's a whole different topic.

Of course Thailand is not the only place with bad roads but coupled with poor emergency service lack of law enforcement etc Thailand is a very special place!

I have driven all over the UK and the roads are far superior to here, my accident will not stop me driving a bike whatever the size, the main highway is no place for a scooter mainly because the road condition is not suited for small wheels and tires!

Not to mention dodging stopped / slow trucks, bikes and even cars going the wrong way in the breakdown lane we are relegated to. Luckily you can get pretty much everywhere in Thailand without having to spend much time at all on the big roads. It's awesome riding out there.

[taninthai]

*^

Mate with the gear or lack off gear you are wearing you really shouldn't be criticizing other road users ,they are probably saying the same about you ...no gloves ,shorts and flip flops.......I'm probably guessing right that you have no driving license too.suppose if you have an accident and duck yourself up you will be blaming everything or everyone else.completely your choice but don't complain about others when you do nothing to help yourself

[mcfish]

Jesus, flip flops? If your going to tip over its instinct to stick your foot out and at 80km/h you wont have much of a foot left

[AllanB]

Picked up a pair of cargo pants with Kevlar and knee pads £29, just over 1500 baht, should be cool and look after my legs, leather shoes are cool on my feet, not as good as boot be usable.

It's difficult to know where to draw the line on low speed trips, but never flip flops, what are you thinking, you get your feet burnt anyway. I feel the heat but my feet are fine in leather shoes.

[Furryman]

555 i knew that would rile up the ATGATT crowd. They are my feet, get over it.

[Badrabbit]

*^

Mate with the gear or lack off gear you are wearing you really shouldn't be criticizing other road users ,they are probably saying the same about you ...no gloves ,shorts and flip flops.......I'm probably guessing right that you have no driving license too.suppose if you have an accident and duck yourself up you will be blaming everything or everyone else.completely your choice but don't complain about others when you do nothing to help yourself

Yes you are guessing but if you don't know then a guess is better than nothing!! stay on topic this is not about correct or incorrect equipment, there's a good chap!!

[guzzi850m2]

IMO it is very dangerous to drive a scooter on the highway. Wouldn't dare to ride 70-80 kph and have everybody overtake me left and right. I am even more afraid that they would hit me from the back. Also very difficult to get out of a dangerous situation if you have no spare power available.

Totally agree.

I fell much much safer on my Versys 650 with ABS brakes out on the highways than on my PCX150.

Sure the PCX is a fine little scooter and is perfect as city hopper and now we fitted a topbox, very good for shopping as well but with a top-speed at app 100 km/h clearly has its limitations and fell best at app 80 km/h.

On the V, 100 km/h is nothing and when the road ahead of me is clear and no side sois/dogs in sight, I go waaaay faster than that, because as a bike rider I like the "kick" going fast gives me.

Some very odd advises here man, one wants a Wave with front drum brake??

Many years ago I rented a Wave with front drum brake and it was crap (unless you only uses it on gravel roads), the brake length was scary man.

The poster is clearly not a very experienced rider if you says bullshit like that or can't ride bikes and better stick to cars.

I been riding/owning scooters here since 2004 and before that rented them and never crashed on them, never.

If you want a cheap small bike for touring better get a CB300 that is cheap and can follow general traffic speed without problems. Forza 300 perhaps, according to owners they can go 120 all day long and top out at app 140 which is not too bad, but boy is it ugly and I doubt its that safe with those small wheels but okay never tried one so can't say for sure.

[Badrabbit]

IMO it is very dangerous to drive a scooter on the highway. Wouldn't dare to ride 70-80 kph and have everybody overtake me left and right. I am even more afraid that they would hit me from the back. Also very difficult to get out of a dangerous situation if you have no spare power available.

Totally agree.

I fell much much safer on my Versys 650 with ABS brakes out on the highways than on my PCX150.

Sure the PCX is a fine little scooter and is perfect as city hopper and now we fitted a topbox, very good for shopping as well but with a top-speed at app 100 km/h clearly has its limitations and fell best at app 80 km/h.

On the V, 100 km/h is nothing and when the road ahead of me is clear and no side sois/dogs in sight, I go waaaay faster than that, because as a bike rider I like the "kick" going fast gives me.

Some very odd advises here man, one wants a Wave with front drum brake??

Many years ago I rented a Wave with front drum brake and it was crap (unless you only uses it on gravel roads), the brake length was scary man.

The poster is clearly not a very experienced rider if you says bullshit like that or can't ride bikes and better stick to cars.

I been riding/owning scooters here since 2004 and before that rented them and never crashed on them, never.

If you want a cheap small bike for touring better get a CB300 that is cheap and can follow general traffic speed without problems. Forza 300 perhaps, according to owners they can go 120 all day long and top out at app 140 which is not too bad, but boy is it ugly and I doubt its that safe with those small wheels but okay never tried one so can't say for sure.

What's this bullshit you are referring too mate? if you don't know it's best not to guess!! Edited September 10, 2015 by Badrabbit

[AllanB]

Guzzi "Many years ago I rented a Wave with front drum brake and it was crap (unless you only uses it on gravel roads), the brake length was scary man". The operative word here is "rented" my friend. Just about every hire bike I have ridden had some fairly serious faults, I normally get them fixed before I ride, which is always cheap. Before our 2,000km 2up trip in VN fixed everything on the ragged Wave and, including an oil change tptal cost 500baht.

Had our Wave for more than 5 years now, use it every day, usually 2 up and never had a problem stopping, new shoes every two years and keep them adjusted. I am used to these brakes though, they are gradual/controllable and when I use my daughter's scooter I do have a tendency to over do it to begin with (small fart!), find them fierce.

I guess if you are used to well set up discs/hydraulic brakes you would find you need more pressure, especially at speed and if it is a hire bike, well anything can happen.

[Badrabbit]

People are guessing so let's clarify, I have driven the main highway from Surat Thani to Cha am many times using cars, pick up's, big bikes and lately a Click, this Highway is atrocious, cars, Lorries etc move constantly from lane to lane to avoid holes and farm like road surface, the only perfect surface is the hard shoulder, this is the safest place for a small bike to drive, I recently did 500kms using the hard shoulder I did not encounter one hole or any poor surface, I don't know about any other highways here but this has to be one of the worst in Thailand, the only thing with driving the hard shoulder is you have to be aware of bikes coming the wrong way, this happened a few times!

the brakes on the Click are very good, the bike is very good, it's not good when hitting big holes though!

[AllanB]

People are guessing so let's clarify, I have driven the main highway from Surat Thani to Cha am many times using cars, pick up's, big bikes and lately a Click, this Highway is atrocious, cars, Lorries etc move constantly from lane to lane to avoid holes and farm like road surface, the only perfect surface is the hard shoulder, this is the safest place for a small bike to drive, I recently did 500kms using the hard shoulder I did not encounter one hole or any poor surface, I don't know about any other highways here but this has to be one of the worst in Thailand, the only thing with driving the hard shoulder is you have to be aware of bikes coming the wrong way, this happened a few times!

the brakes on the Click are very good, the bike is very good, it's not good when hitting big holes though!

Has this put you off riding the Click, well on this road anyway?

[Badrabbit]

No not at all, I'm off again next week!

I blame myself for hitting the hole, it's not a good idea to drive in the dark if at all possible, I knew the road was bad and should have only been doing about 25/30 kph I learn by my mistakes so looking forward to my trip next week!

Edited September 10, 2015 by Badrabbit

[Rhys]

1600km over how many days, 11 hours in one day even with stops sounds like a lot? No wonder it Major Bumsore.

I do understand the enjoyment on a small bike, we did 2000+ km 2 up on a Wave clone in Vietnam earlier this year, had a smile on my face almost the whole trip. I ride a biggish bike, but enjoyed that VN trip more than anything I have done in Thailand. We took 2 weeks and the best we could do in one day was just over 300km, on good roads too. No hurry and my backside was fine.

The only downside was in the mountains, it was so slow in the hills we had to avoid the longer mountain roads, fearful that we would run out of gas, or daylight.

Having ridden a PCX150 for a few hours, I think you will be disappointed, a very boring ride...IMO

Nice one.

I think some of the fun comes from riding/driving something small and challenging. I remember driving around Europe in a Triumph Spitfire, top down, luggage piled on the boot lid.

Just curious.. do you ride alone... or in a group.. advantages vs disadvantages.. what is your opinion.. Cheers Mate

[Badrabbit]

1600km over how many days, 11 hours in one day even with stops sounds like a lot? No wonder it Major Bumsore.

I do understand the enjoyment on a small bike, we did 2000+ km 2 up on a Wave clone in Vietnam earlier this year, had a smile on my face almost the whole trip. I ride a biggish bike, but enjoyed that VN trip more than anything I have done in Thailand. We took 2 weeks and the best we could do in one day was just over 300km, on good roads too. No hurry and my backside was fine.

The only downside was in the mountains, it was so slow in the hills we had to avoid the longer mountain roads, fearful that we would run out of gas, or daylight.

Having ridden a PCX150 for a few hours, I think you will be disappointed, a very boring ride...IMO

Nice one.

I think some of the fun comes from riding/driving something small and challenging. I remember driving around Europe in a Triumph Spitfire, top down, luggage piled on the boot lid.

Just curious.. do you ride alone... or in a group.. advantages vs disadvantages.. what is your opinion.. Cheers Mate

I ride alone or with one other, I avoid group riding as groups here go far too fast, I have never enjoyed speed, in my opinion going fast in this country is going to end in disaster at some point but each to there own!

Not sure if your question was directed at me but thought I would answer it anyway!

Edited September 10, 2015 by Badrabbit

[losworld]

IMO it is very dangerous to drive a scooter on the highway. Wouldn't dare to ride 70-80 kph and have everybody overtake me left and right. I am even more afraid that they would hit me from the back. Also very difficult to get out of a dangerous situation if you have no spare power available.

No best way is to get out on the main lane and do 90-100 kph. No problems just ride defensively. More dangerous going slower on the shoulder.

[Badrabbit]

IMO it is very dangerous to drive a scooter on the highway. Wouldn't dare to ride 70-80 kph and have everybody overtake me left and right. I am even more afraid that they would hit me from the back. Also very difficult to get out of a dangerous situation if you have no spare power available.

No best way is to get out on the main lane and do 90-100 kph. No problems just ride defensively. More dangerous going slower on the shoulder.

No it is not safe to do that speed on the main lanes due to the atrocious road surface(holes, ruts etc, even cars and lorries struggle to cope! I am happy to stay on the shoulder where the surface is hole and rut free!

[taninthai]

You lot are riding on the wrong roads if you are constantly complaining g about poor road conditions and crazy drivers all around you,the roads we rode on last year were 80% perfect of coarse there was a few bad bits but generally the roads were great with hardly any other vehicles on them.

[Badrabbit]

You lot are riding on the wrong roads if you are constantly complaining g about poor road conditions and crazy drivers all around you,the roads we rode on last year were 80% perfect of coarse there was a few bad bits but generally the roads were great with hardly any other vehicles on them.

Sounds great, ride the section from Cha am to Surat Thani then post your opinion!

As for crazy drivers have you driven on Phuket?

Edited September 15, 2015 by Badrabbit

[taninthai]

You lot are riding on the wrong roads if you are constantly complaining g about poor road conditions and crazy drivers all around you,the roads we rode on last year were 80% perfect of coarse there was a few bad bits but generally the roads were great with hardly any other vehicles on them.

Sounds great, ride the section from Cha am to Surat Thani then post your opinion!

As for crazy drivers have you driven on Phuket?[/quote driven and rode a fair amount of Thailand north and south personally I wouldn't even be takin that route on a bike from phuket ,would be going up past khao lak then across past koh sok national park much better roads and scenery for a bike ride.

[Badrabbit]

You lot are riding on the wrong roads if you are constantly complaining g about poor road conditions and crazy drivers all around you,the roads we rode on last year were 80% perfect of coarse there was a few bad bits but generally the roads were great with hardly any other vehicles on them.

Sounds great, ride the section from Cha am to Surat Thani then post your opinion!

As for crazy drivers have you driven on Phuket?[/quote driven and rode a fair amount of Thailand north and south personally I wouldn't even be takin that route on a bike from phuket ,would be going up past khao lak then across past koh sok national park much better roads and scenery for a bike ride.

I pass the turning to Kho Sok national park which is not far from Surat Thani, I agree the road to Kho Lak is very good!

[Nickymaster]

IMO it is very dangerous to drive a scooter on the highway. Wouldn't dare to ride 70-80 kph and have everybody overtake me left and right. I am even more afraid that they would hit me from the back. Also very difficult to get out of a dangerous situation if you have no spare power available.

No best way is to get out on the main lane and do 90-100 kph. No problems just ride defensively. More dangerous going slower on the shoulder.

No it is not safe to do that speed on the main lanes due to the atrocious road surface(holes, ruts etc, even cars and lorries struggle to cope! I am happy to stay on the shoulder where the surface is hole and rut free!

With a click maybe that's the best thing to do.

[Badrabbit]

IMO it is very dangerous to drive a scooter on the highway. Wouldn't dare to ride 70-80 kph and have everybody overtake me left and right. I am even more afraid that they would hit me from the back. Also very difficult to get out of a dangerous situation if you have no spare power available.

No best way is to get out on the main lane and do 90-100 kph. No problems just ride defensively. More dangerous going slower on the shoulder.

No it is not safe to do that speed on the main lanes due to the atrocious road surface(holes, ruts etc, even cars and lorries struggle to cope! I am happy to stay on the shoulder where the surface is hole and rut free!

With a click maybe that's the best thing to do.

The Click can't cope with holes having small tires and wheels, 80 or 90kph in the fast lane would be terrifying, I just want to get where I'm going in the safest possible way, the main lanes are for cars, lorries and big bikes etc I've done this trip many times in cars, big bikes and it's not fun using the main lanes but both forms of transport can cope with the poor road surface! I'm off again on Saturday but this time taking all day to travel, I don't ever want to hit another big hole, it hurts!!

[sapson]

The Click can't cope with holes having small tires and wheels, 80 or 90kph in the fast lane would be terrifying, I just want to get where I'm going in the safest possible way, the main lanes are for cars, lorries and big bikes etc I've done this trip many times in cars, big bikes and it's not fun using the main lanes but both forms of transport can cope with the poor road surface! I'm off again on Saturday but this time taking all day to travel, I don't ever want to hit another big hole, it hurts!!

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

I have been riding a click for a few years now done about 27k.. Year ago started using a major two lane each way highway for a regular commute but always kept into the left shoulder and as the confidence grew bowled a long at 80kph happily.

But a few months back sun in the eyes had to get out of the way quickly of an oncoming truck and moved across to the inside lane without noticing the road surface was much higher and we were down down down...............it wasnt pretty and a hell of a shock .........bike and rider survived both equally scraped and twisted.

Now I keep the speed to 50 to 60 kph and watch like a hawk for bumps, holes, gravel etc and when moving off the shoulder or back I exercise extreme caution, my 70km trip takes 20 mins longer but it is now sometimes almost relaxing......................except for the idiots who still cut you up because waiting for a bike seems to damage their egos.

Finally a tech question for you experts, on my click which is regularly serviced I wanted assurance that the front shocks were ok especially following the accident, the Honda dealer said the forks were ok,then bounced it a bit, and said not very bad , not very good and sent me on my way.

Local bike shop did the same bounce and said ride was hard and the solution was 200 bhts and a few hours having shock oil added or changed.

Is that a normal procedure for front shocks, thought that if they were knackered you replaced them?? Honda shop didn't suggest either option.

I just want the bike to be safe and ride as it should do, after 27ks do Honda Click front shocks normally need filling or replacing, also had the drive belt replaced at 24k service would that now need adjusting some 2k kms later

Opinions appreciated.