I am in Korea on my way back from a three week visit to the land of smiles...Thailand. While there, I visited the Northern city of Chiang Mai and rented a CB400 for two days. One of the days I rode what the locals call the loop ride which is west of the city up and around a local mountain range. There are several such trips that can take several hours to several days. The scenery is fantastic....I wanted to stop every mile for pics.
This had to be one of the best rides I have ever done.....decidedly better than "the Dragon" and almost no car or truck traffic. I came around one corner...out of hundreds....and had to spike it to avoid running over an elephant! Dodging his/her's deposits was interesting also.
There is a very active riding community in the city with a great website and forum. Lots of dirt riding, too.
http://www.gt-rider.com/index.htmlIt is very complicated process to get a big bike into Thailand. It has to be brought in in pieces and reassembled with Thai labor and then go through a complicated licensing process that can take six months or more. I believe the CB400 I rode was a 1999 or so, but it was well maintained and rode great. Rental with insurance was about 30 bucks a day.
Thailand has a helmet law, but locals seem to only believe it applies in the daytime and ride bare at night!
I took over a jacket and bought a full face helmet while there. Something tells me I'll be back as I left the jacket and helmet with a friend!
Jim
