Topic: Bangkok bike show...

[techy5025]

I recently won an ebay auction for a set of chrome valve adjusting covers.....then looked and
noticed the seller was in Bangkok.  No problem as I am in BKK on vacation.  Met the seller to
pick up the parts today and he told me that there are only 6 CB's that he knows of in
Thailand and one usually shows up at a bike ride they have on Saturday's. There are a lot of
Honda 305 dreams and smaller bikes here. I had one before I bought the 750 in 1969 so I
am looking forward to the show.

Thailand has a 100 percent import tax on vehicles that are imported assembled so big bikes
are rare here. Also it is supposedly illegal to register a bike over 250 cc's. I've seen a few so
some money must have slid under the table.

The ratio of bikes to cagers here has to be at least 3 or 4 to 1. Riding in taxis.. you are soon
surrounded at traffic lights.  Talk about lane splitting! By the time the light changes there will
be 20 or 30 bikes up front. I've decided that the cars basically ignore them so it is up to them
to stay alive...funny how that seems to be the same in any country. 

Needless to say, I opted out of bike renting here. 

Jim

[Rsnip988]

Oh Jim everything is legal in thailand if you grease the right wheels.....



have fun and be careful


rks

[hopterfixer]

I don't know which is worse, riding over there, or taking chances with a crazy Baht Bus driver......
We had a Baht Bus loaded down so much once that we had to get out and walk beside it up a hill, ahhh good times. 

[jdigga]

Wow, what are the chances you'd be in the same place in the world as your seller?

I rented a scooter in Chiang Mai--that was fun as hell, but not as much fun as riding my mountain bike down Doi Inthanon.

[techy5025]

I saw a tuk tuk yesterday with "at least" six people in the back.....almost flattened tires.
I also saw a couple of "hogs" in Phuket...wonder how they got here? 

If I can get a couple of pics at the bike show, I will post them...especially if the CB shows
up.

Jim

[hopterfixer]

Hey, Phuket is where I was.  Nice Place.  Remember: stay away from the local hot "girls"....

[Rsnip988]

girls as in minors or girls as in he/she's?


rks

[jdigga]

Yes 

[hopterfixer]

The hot ones are not Girls, makes things real easy.  I avoided all "professional" contact, I cannot say the same for my liberty partner.

[Rsnip988]

oh my, sounds like a load of VD, (oops I meant trouble, where the heck is the backspace button?)


Oh well

RKS

[hopterfixer]

And if you're ever in Okinawa, DON'T EAT THE BANANA!

[Rsnip988]

on the rare chance, i'll keep that in mind


RKS

[techy5025]

Some of those "he/shes" could fool anyone.  Especially if they are far
along the "alteration" path. 

Also, I don't want to bring back any "hitchhikers", so I think I will stick with the
temple tours. 

Jim

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

And if you're ever in Okinawa, DON'T EAT THE BANANA!

We don't have any banana eaters on here, do we? How about any closet banana eaters?

[hopterfixer]

A guy in my squadron ate it once, and had the sores around his mouth to prove it!

[usgazza]

If you had to do one would you eat the banana or visit whisper alley?

[spitfire]

Be very careful of bikes in Thailand, I lived there for 7 years and had to learn to avoid them like the plague. Motorcycles are the poor mans transport, insurance is non existant, if you hit a bike it is automatically your fault no matter how stupid the rider was riding the bike, you are liable for vehicle damage, hospital treatment, loss of income ( for the whole family) and damages. Two guys that I knew had to be spirited out of the country pronto after fatal accidents with bikes, Farangs (foreigners) are seen as a great source of income. Even if you are in a taxi, you can be held responsible for not controlling the driver !
The classic example was a young girl on a bike who went round the barriers on a train crossing, the train hit her, it was automatically the trains drivers fault ! I kid you not.

Cheers

Den

[hopterfixer]

Hmmm, whisper alley or the Banana Show...... neither thanks.  I had a buddy who frequented whisper alley, not something I would write home about. 

[techy5025]

I got a couple of pics at the bike show...actually a "night bazaar"...as there
were a lot of other things besides bikes for sale.  One guy showed up who
owns two 750's..one restored...but didn't bring either of them.    There
are few of the big bikes in Thailand...he knew of only six 750's.

Lots of small stuff...especially early Honda and Italian (vespa's?) I managed to
snag a few 750 parts.

It was hard to take pictures as it was very crowded...and very hot! Attached is
one of a beautifully restored 125cc and an early scooter... I don't know the type.

Next year I think I will go on one of the escorted tours in Northern Thailand. They
use bikes of 175cc. The laws are crazy there but according to my Thai friends..the
one about being responsible for cabbies is an urban legend now, having been changed
years ago.

Jim

Edit...for some reason I can't post pics now ... will try later.
Edit2...posted

[techy5025]

Maybe the bottom bike is an old Honda, too. 

Jim

[CrisPDuk]

I saw a tuk tuk yesterday with "at least" six people in the back.....almost flattened tires.
I also saw a couple of "hogs" in Phuket...wonder how they got here? 

If I can get a couple of pics at the bike show, I will post them...especially if the CB shows
up.

Jim

Six up in a tuk tuk, that's empty, you want to get your ass over to India, I've seen them carrying double that
It's the Song Tao's passenger carrying pick-ups) that make me smile, so overloaded that the rear end is dragging on the ground, and they're still pulling 30-40mph

HD do have a distributor over here, but if the hogs you saw were customs, they were probably local builds. I know of two chopper builders in Pattaya, and at least three more in Bangkok. Not to my taste personally, but the quality of their work is easily equal to anything I've seen that's come out of the States or Europe