Looking for a 250cc off-road bike to buy or rent for 4 months

Apr 3, 2011
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I'm in Phuket right now and staying in Thailand until the end of May. Looking to buy or long-term rent a 250cc off-road bike, e.g. Kawasaki KLX250, Honda XR250, Yamaha TT-R 250, Suzuki Djebel 250. I don't want a motard. If buying, my budget is limited to 100,000 THB at most, preferrably less.
PM me or call 086-6521633 - Gene (aka Jack).
 
Jul 18, 2009
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You can rent a KLX 250 just about from any town in Thailand. They will often discount their daily rates if your renting monthly
 
Apr 3, 2011
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schackster;275294 wrote: You can rent a KLX 250 just about from any town in Thailand. They will often discount their daily rates if your renting monthly

Didn't find any in Phuket, checked all the rental shops I've found, and a "big bike company". Maybe there are some off-road bikes for rent here, but none available.
I'm gonna go to Chiang Mai this friday, I understand I should have better luck there.
Can you gimme some help finding a bike? Will it be easy to find a room for rent this time of year, or should I book something in advance? Maybe you can refer me to a place to stay? Planning to stay for a week (or more, if finding a bike will take longer). PM me if you can help, thanks.
--Gene
 
Jul 18, 2009
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Hi Gene ,
if you come to CM you will find many rental places along the moat. Although now is high season, some of them for sure will have KLX 250 for rent. I dont have specific phone numbers but the largest rental place is POP rentals who have several places , also MR Beer rentals and also MR Mechanic. All located along the Moat. I dont know what their prices are but if you take for a week you should be able to get a better deal than on a daily basis. As for accomodation , Cm is full of hotels and many many small guesthouses. Up to you , can prebook online in advance but should be easy enough to just go around and get something when you arrive. A lot also depends on your budget.
 
Apr 3, 2011
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Thanks for the links! I'd like to first check the buying option, if I can't find a bike to buy, then I'll rent one. Buy prefer buying, any particular places/shops/markets I should look at (I mean, for a used KLX)? I've already checked this forum, rideasia, thailand motorcycle, baht & sold, nothing so far.
 
Apr 3, 2011
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So in the end I did buy a 2009 KLX250 with 41000km on the odometer in CM, and did some 15000km traveling all over Thailand since then. Bike is giving me no problems whatsoever! I live in Prachuap Khiri Khan now, doing some traveling from here, but next week I will come to CM again, for a couple of weeks, plan to do some traveling in the North!
This thread can be officially closed :)

Some mods I've done:

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Added thicker gauge (12,14,16 AWG) wiring for the main headlight, aux LED lights, aux power socket, GPS power. Powered the main headlight using the new wiring harness and sealed Matsushita relays. Added crazy bright aux LED lights from ADV Monster (4 CREE XM-L LEDs in each light), powered using the new wiring harness and another relay, which also powers an aux power socket with a separate fuseholder. The aux power socket goes into my tankbag, I have a 2A 2xUSB port charger with a matching sealed connector, use it to charge my phone, music player, Bluetooth headset, 18650 charger inside the tankbag. Also if my GPS dies, can put my phone in the tankbag's map compartment and use the phone's navigation, while powered from the USB charger.
Used sealed fuseholders and connectors everywhere (also replaced the stock headlight's connector with a sealed one). Added two push-button switches to toggle the aux LED lights and the main headlight's LO beam.
Also, I replaced the stock left handlebar switch with one from a Kawasaki Versys 650, which gave me a Hazard lights button and a Pass button.
 
Apr 3, 2011
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I came here last January, with a return ticket in May. The plan was to get a better impression of Thailand (first visit was in 2008, a 2-week vacation in Phuket, rented a Honda XR250 back then). I liked Thailand a lot and thus when I was flying back home, I didn't seel the bike, instead I left it parked at a friend's condo. Back home, I sold the heavily modified Honda XR250 I had there, as well as some other stuff, did some traveling during the summer months, got a 1-year Thai educational visa (learning Thai language), and came here again in September, this time settled in Pak Nam Pran (Prachuap Khiri Khan province), doing some trips from here.

Actually, the words "for 4 months" only applied if I was gonna rent a bike. Buying is a different story, I didn't really had to sell it right after the trip ended. In the end I didn't. Actually not so long ago I was thinking of maybe selling this bike and getting a new one (same model, I really believe it's better than the CRF250L) - after all, the one I have has already got 56000km on the odometer. But then I changed my mind... This bike is a friend, and has never let me down or break down, I do all the maintenance and it's working really well, so I'll keep riding it.
 
Apr 3, 2011
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I have the LED lights wired with a rotary dimmer. When the headlight is on LO beam, they're not working on full brightness (maybe at 30%, I'm still adjusting, trying to find the max setting that won't blind oncoming traffic in the nighttime). When I switch to HI beam, the lights switch to 100% duty.
Regarding opposite traffic overtaking, I really just installed them last week so too early to say, but on my last 2-lane highway trip I didn't notice a decrease in this behavior (maybe if I up the brightness...)
 
Apr 3, 2011
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I think it's not so polite since the beam is not shaped for road use (no cut-off on top) and they will probably irritate people in front of you, but I understand you want this for safety concerns, so that's your choice.

For me, riding at night (especially on dirt roads and trails) is a whole another kind of fun :) I do understand the dangers in it.
 
Apr 3, 2011
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I'm totally aware of that line of reasoning and don't want to get into an age-old argument. As I said, your choice. I think at 100% brightness they'll be really noticeable.
 
Apr 3, 2011
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I think it's a good idea - when you have a dimmer, you can still choose to run at full power all the time when you want, or dim them a little bit (or a lot) when on LO beam.
I have to say, though, that there's a little power lost in the dimmer - I tried the lights wired directly to a lab power supply, and wired thru this dimmer, they a little less bright with the dimmer (I think by less than 10%)
 
Aug 25, 2012
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brake034;286951 wrote: Right, I will order a dimmer with high beam switch instead.
You can wire the lights to the existing high beam switch on your bike without the need for a separate dimmer. That way, all three lights (high beam plus the two led's) will go to full power at the same time with one switch
 
Jun 5, 2008
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Firstly I like the mods you have done to the KLX, very well thought out. I have the Moto-Tech halogen lights on my Versys and it definitely helps to being seen as a big bike and not a scooter, an important point is to adjust them down and facing outwards a bit for night riding, then you won't annoy other drivers but will still be noticed.

A great idea to put the Versy L/H swith block on too, I will see if I can fit one to my CRF. Honda for some stupid reason have changed the position of the horn button and the blinker slide switch, drives me crazy as Im always hitting the horn to cancel the blinker.
Had Hondas since the 70's and old habits die hard!