Thought I should post about my “new” motorcycle, and the good service I’ve gotten at S.T. Motorcycle in Chiangrai. I bought a 2003 Honda XR250 Baja there about 8 months ago, and have been very pleased with it (110,000 baht, plus 7,000+ for the excise tax). The bike was newly imported from Japan, so I’m the first owner in Thailand, and seems to be in very good condition. I looked at quite a few other XR250 bikes that were being sold by Thai owners, and most of them hadn’t been taken care of very well. Anyway, the 2003 Baja has the large dual headlights, and has both electric start and kickstart, which has saved me a couple of times when I left the lights on and drained the battery. I’ve added an XR’s Only temperature gauge/dipstick to monitor the bike’s temperature, an Argus Battery Bug (to monitor the battery strength), a light rack (powder coated at Richco in Chiangmai) with LED brake lights and turn signals for increased visibility, and tank guards. I’ve also ordered a pair of Hella ff50 driving lights so I’ll have more lighting distance (the stock light give good visibility close up, but don’t project that far ahead), and am waiting for a friend in the U.S. to finish fabricating brackets for them so I can mount them to the Baja. I’ve been very pleased with the service Seksit at S.T. Motorcycle has given me. He seems to know this bike well, and his labor charges are very reasonable. He’s always willing to answer any questions I have, and patiently explain things to me when I don’t understand. When I asked him about keeping the engine and tire rims clean, he made up a liquid solution for me to use. I had a problem with the bike stalling if I would be driving at high speed (90 kph or higher) and then pull in the clutch for a few seconds (when braking), and he took the time to clean the carburetor without any charge. I’ll try to post a couple of pictures along with this report.
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, it's very unlikely that the bike would be confiscated. All of the bike confiscations that have taken place, to my knowledge, were done by Excise Tax officials. If you've paid the excise tax and don't have a plate, the worst that can happen is a fine (200-500 baht). Even at 500 baht per fine, it'd take over 100 finings to equal the ridiculous 55,000 baht cost of getting a license. I was told by a Thai motorcycle shop owner that the cost of a license used to be 5,000 baht, and then suddenly the price went up ten-fold. So who's getting all that extra money?
