The Golden Triangle Rider

[TonyBKK]

Enjoyed a brilliant +500 km ride on my new Ninja 250R this past weekend <img src="http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif" alt="laugh.gif" border="0">
<img src="http://asianconnection71.com/0830KhaoYaiNinjaSm.jpg" class="linked-image" border="0">

It's such an easy bike to ride- so light, agile, and forgiving. I'm thinking of getting one more in Kwaker Green just for the hel_l of it! <img src="http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/cool.gif" alt="cool.gif" border="0">

Day one from Bangkok to Khao Yai National Park:
<img src="http://asianconnection71.com/BKK_KhaoYai.jpg" class="linked-image" border="0">

This is an excellent way to escape Bangkok- Ramkamhaeng to Suwintawong to Route 3481 riding at modest speeds you can reach Khao Yai in under 2 hours!

Lucky me! I flashed my Thai Drivers Liscence at the park entrance and only got charged the 40 Baht Thai price <img src="http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif" alt="laugh.gif" border="0">

Stopped to see the Haew Narok Waterfall. The park service guys offered to hold onto my helmet and tank bag- Thanks guys!

<img id="--ipb-img-resizer-4" src="http://asianconnection71.com/0830HaewNarokSignSm.jpg" class="linked-image" border="0" width="640">

It's a 2km roundtrip hike with some crazy steep steps, but well worth it!

<img src="http://asianconnection71.com/0830HaewNarok3Sm.jpg" class="linked-image" border="0">

Haew Narok Falls:
<img id="--ipb-img-resizer-7" src="http://asianconnection71.com/0830HaewNarokFalls1Sm.jpg" class="linked-image" border="0" width="640">

Lots of monkeys all over the place!
<img id="--ipb-img-resizer-9" src="http://asianconnection71.com/0830KhaoYaiMonkeys2Sm.jpg" class="linked-image" border="0" width="640">

The park was oddly quiet for a weekend and I had the roads mostly to myself (and the monkeys <img src="http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif" alt="wink.gif" border="0"> )<img id="--ipb-img-resizer-11" src="http://asianconnection71.com/0830KhaoYaiRide15Sm.jpg" class="linked-image" border="0" width="640">

I've always been pleasantly surprised at how well the roads are maintained in Thailand.
<img id="--ipb-img-resizer-13" src="http://asianconnection71.com/0830KhaoYaiRide12Sm.jpg" class="linked-image" border="0" width="640">

We wanted to overnight in Pak Chong, but shortly after we exited the park the rain started to fall so I ducked into a cute little resort called Grandpa's Cottage. (www.grandpacottage.com)

I knew they were cool when I saw the owners Yamaha XJR 1300 parked out back <img src="http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/cool.gif" alt="cool.gif" border="0">

Here's day two:
<img id="--ipb-img-resizer-15" src="http://asianconnection71.com/0831RideMap.jpg" class="linked-image" border="0" width="640">

A beautiful day for riding! Even took the baby Ninja offroad to track down the Khun Chon Waterfall-

<img id="--ipb-img-resizer-17" src="http://asianconnection71.com/0831KhunChonNinja1Zm.jpg" class="linked-image" border="0" width="640">

The bike is so lite that even on dirt and gravel it's pretty easy to handle. <img src="http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif" alt="biggrin.gif" border="0">

<img src="http://asianconnection71.com/0831KhunChon7Sm.jpg" class="linked-image" border="0">

Another nice thing about the baby Ninja- it goes FOREVER on a full tank of gas. I haven't been writing it down and keeping track, but I heard somewhere that it's supposed to get about 50 miles / gallon. I was also surprised when the dealer told me to use regular 91 Octane gasoline- this is the first sport bike I've owned that doesn't require High Octane. Quite handy as there are places in Thailand where it can hard to find high octane. So, it only costs about 400 Baht to fill the tank, and then you're good to go for nearly 400km- not bad range at all for a sportbike.

Heading home-
<img id="--ipb-img-resizer-20" src="http://asianconnection71.com/0831Ride8Sm.jpg" class="linked-image" border="0" width="640">

This coming weekend I'd like to ride to Khon Buri via Tha Yaek (though I'm not 100% sure that the road actually goes through...)

On some maps it looks like it goes all the way through, and on others it doesn't... I think I need to go buy a good GPS!

<img id="--ipb-img-resizer-22" src="http://asianconnection71.com/TheYaekKhonBuriMap.jpg" class="linked-image" border="0">

Anyone want to join me? Let the good times roll!

<img id="--ipb-img-resizer-24" src="http://asianconnection71.com/0831KhunChonNinjaZm.jpg" class="linked-image" border="0" width="640">
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The Large Print Giveth, and the Small Print Taketh Away

[Meridian007]

[AZOULAY]

Hi Friends,

Excellent initiative to compile ways of escaping from Bangkok, very much interested by easy ways to get on main roads and directions with a bike.
_________________
Laurent Paris-Bangkok

[TonyBKK]

Hi Meridian!

Yes- you are correct. Suwintawong is Route 304 (goes to Chachongsao)
This is a great way to escape the city if you are headed north, east, or northeast.

I got really lucky with the weather- last weekend was beautiful and it only rained on Saturday evening.

Hoping for more of the same this weekend- Let's ride!
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The Large Print Giveth, and the Small Print Taketh Away

[KZ]

Some people think after owning bikes of 750cc and up it wouldn't be any fun to have a "pee-wee bike" with only 250cc... It's quite surprising to discover how much fun you can have on a small bike, and that it could even have a few good points where it beats a big bike. Lots of good comments:
"It's such an easy bike to ride- so light, agile, and forgiving." Often a big bike is too heavy or has too much power, or way more power than you actually need. Especially here in TH with lots of smaller, winding roads you'd beat a big Ninja 900 with a small 250.
"The bike is so lite that even on dirt and gravel it's pretty easy to handle." Reminds me of my trip to Sihanoukville where I gave a guy on a Suzuki DR400 a hard time with my little CBR150R. He always got away on the straights, but when the road turned gravelly or to red dirt, I was on his heels because my light bike zipped through the dirt better on street tires - he slowed way down with the heavier bike.
"It goes FOREVER on a full tank of gas." My VTR250 uses 3.7-3.9L per 100km, the Ninja should get about the same. With a 17L tank that would make a range of 400km possible, maybe even before going on reserve. Which big bike can offer that? And it uses 91 octane.
Here in TH sometimes less is more...

[Franz - Eastern Seaboard]

Tony, you well had a lot of fun !! Well I don't think that any of us GT riders here in the East would mind to be joined by a high powered 250 cc bike, so whenever you feel like it, you're welcomed to join. We're planning a trip to Khorat or Sakaew-Nang Rong or Som Poi-Arunyaprathet-Chantaburi and then back via Rayong to near Pattaya from 23.-26th of October. A separate post will be done in time in the 'eastern section' of this forum.........
KZ you're right, it's not the cc that make the fun but riding itself. I have myself a 250 Honda-AX1 which I use at my condo in Chiang Mai, it's so much more easier to handle than the heavyweight FJR, especially on small mountainroads and within town. The maneuverability is amazing compared to my other heavyweight....
Cheers, Franz

[TonyBKK]

Well said KZ,
Before I came to the LOS I'd have laughed my butt off if someone suggested I ride a 250, but quite frankly I've had a big attitude adjustment since coming to Thailand.
I would still love to get a 600cc sport bike for long distance touring, but living in Bangkok there are just too many Boys in Brown so I need a properly registered bike with a green book and those are just so overpriced that I find it hard to justify the price premium here. (I've got a wife and child to think about)
My last bike was a CBR 600 F2 and I nearly cried when I left it behind and moved to Thailand.
But I've been pleasantly surprised at how much fun the Baby Ninja is to ride. I'm about 178cm tall and weigh ~70Kg so the bike fits me perfectly.
I've been keeping the revs low during the break in period, but I can tell that once I really get it revved up towards redline this little bike is going to be a real blast.
And while I try to avoid riding in the city as much as possible, it must be said that a little 250 is much easier to thread through Bangkok Rot Tit traffic than a 600!
Hopefully in the next year or two I'll have the money laying around to buy a new 600cc machine, but in the meantime I'm really enjoying the baby Ninja.

Let the Good Times Roll!
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The Large Print Giveth, and the Small Print Taketh Away

[TonyBKK]

Thank you Franz!

I've been so impressed at how friendly the members of GT Rider are- you seem like a great bunch to ride with.

I have a good friend in Chiang Mai with a bike so I definitely plan to do some trips up north.

My wife is from Khorat, so I'll be very interested in joining you on that trip in October too!

Cheers!
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The Large Print Giveth, and the Small Print Taketh Away

[ray23]

Same goes for the rides in Issan you more then welcome, we really don't care about the size of the bike. just the rider

The harping about my bike is just me no one complains.
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I reserve the right to be wrong, mispell words type badly. leave words out of sentences because my mind works faster then my fingers. To be an OLD GIT I've earned it

[beddhist]

[TonyBKK]

That is a bit odd...

I know that for August they did run a promotion that included a 5000 baht discount plus a free helmet or seat cowl (buyers choice).

Let me double check my invoice...

Yup- I paid 139,900
130,747.66 Baht (where did they get these decimal values?)
9,152.34 Baht VAT
139.900.00 Baht Total

Government required insurance cost 645.21 Baht
Registration cost 925.00 Baht

I also purchased 1st Class 3rd Party insurance for an additional 12,354.22

I wonder if perhaps the price you're being quoted includes the additional 3rd party insurance?

You're getting your quote from the Kawasaki Big Bike showroom on Rama 9? I suppose other dealers may get to set their own prices- I'm really not sure how that works in Thailand.

Happy Trails!
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The Large Print Giveth, and the Small Print Taketh Away

[beddhist]

[TonyBKK]

Hi beddhist

[KZ]

beddhist, I was thinking the same, why would a sports bike be more expensive than an enduro? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the Ninja 250 is being built for what - 20 years? and has paid for itself. On the other hand a new Enduro these days is not a "cheap" air-cooled 2-valve dirt bike anymore, it now has a hi-tech engine, upside-down forks, E-start, big brake discs, maybe a stainless steel exhaust and a digtal tach and lots of other neat stuff. Still it shouldn't be more expensive than a sports bike, maybe priced the same.
I wonder if anybody at Kawasaki had the idea to stuff the 250 Ninja's twin cylinder engine into a D-Tracker frame, copying the look of the big KTM or Ducati Super-Motard V-twins - it would still be light, the KLX weighs as little as a CBR150R! Kind of like a naked KLE250 with a fresh new look. A little design work and voila - a whole new model!

[KZ]

Oops, I shouldn't post anything this early in the day - - - correction:

beddhist, I was thinking the same, why would a sports bike be LESS expensive than an enduro?

[TonyBKK]

Good Morning!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the D-Tracker was going to be priced the same as the Ninja 250R... (Of course that was just word of mouth at the dealer and nothing in writing)

Happy Trails!


A real Thai boy- Drinking and driving at 15 months!
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The Large Print Giveth, and the Small Print Taketh Away

[pseacraft]

Tony - Love the pic of the little man!

Pre-Order - She who must be obeyed called the Rama 9 shop to pre-order the KLX250S for me and the lad there told her that it would be easier for her to pre-order via the shop in Udorn and that the Udorn shop would route everything through Rama 9. Being a good Thai lady educated in the west for 10 years she had her doubts but said OK and he passed her the number.

Called the Udorn shop and the lad there said no problem, only 10k down. Must be a mistake, nope only 10K down for the pre-order he says and same price as Rama 9, ~149k. So she will head down to Udorn tomorrow, her excuse to go shopping since we are building our new house, and see about that and do the pre-order for me. He also said registration in Udorn would only be 500 bht. I should know more tomorrow but thought I'd throw out some food for thought.

Eric

[KZ]

Now this is the thai way - routing orders through Udon to Bangkok. Hope they don't ship the bikes up and down. They'd extraxt a brain tumor through the sole of your foot. Ah well, as long it saves money...
I'm glad lots of people are interested in the KLX, that leaves the D-Tracker for me...

[danwhite]

Having been riding bikes out of BKK for a number 0f years, Tony is right about the 304. Its your least painful escape to a beautiful area. Even if riding up to Chiang Mai I take that road and then head north when I have escaped the city. Its worth the detour. The route through the city going north is awful. Apart from Korat, your other nice hilly areas within spitting distance of the smoke in a short time are Sai Yok/Sanglaburi district going south to ratchaburi and Kaeng Kratchan. There really is quite a lot of nice stuff once you have escaped the hellish highways of Bangkok. If heading to Kanburi, avoid the norhern route via Pinklao Breidge. Its horrible. Going through Bang Khae on Phet Kasem is less nerve jarring. Either way you end up in Nakhon Pathom..... Site of the largest and most suggestive Stupa in Thailand. Then on to Ban Pong signposted as the 'City of Nice People'..... No joke..... They do actually seem quite nice to be fair.

Small bikes do suit these roads in SE Asia. Its one reason why the Minsk is such a beauty up around Mai Chao and that area. In Cambos also until recently big bikes were right out. I got everywhere on a souped up very light and very bouncy GTO. Same in Laos. They can fix them anywhere for nowt also....... Anyway,like Tony, with the daft rules here on cc capacity I simply cannot justify the costs of a registered imported bike but still manage to have lots of fun on locally assembled machines. Mostly a slightly absurd imitatuion of the Indian 200cc 'Bajaj Avenger!' here, only slightly less dramatically, misbnamed a 'boss'...... Its alright but doesn't even qualify as middle management in my opinion

Anyway if there are a bunch of bangkok based GT riders doing excursions, let me know..... It would be fun to potter jointly (if slowly in my case).

Might be heading up to Phimai through Khao Yai shortly if the clouds part and the city does not implode politically.

Best to all

dan
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www.danwhite.org

[beddhist]

Deleted.

[TonyBKK]

[danwhite]

Hi Tony

Not sure I am going to make it this weekend ........ Looks like a fun ride though. I did Korat to Lomsak on my way to Chiang Mai earlier in the year.... That was pretty nice. Let us know what the road is like once you have Ninjaed it.

Very best

Dan
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www.danwhite.org

[KZ]

beddhist - I just came across a website where the price for a 2008 Ninja is $3499 and the 2009 KLX is $4899!! That may explain the prices here.
Lots of beautiful pictures, too.
http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photos/2008models/2009models-Kawasaki-KLX250S.htm

[johngooding]

I note these bikes in the technical specs have carburettors and the ones coming in to Thailand are fuel injected. Not sure what that does to the price, but originally they were quoting the same price for both DTracker, KLX and Ninja. Also some models made for Europe are restricted for learner drivers. Hopefully these are not those

[KZ]

Tony, on the 18th you posted:"Price before tax and registration is 139,900, 7% tax is 9479" so the final price would be around 150K; later you checked your invoice and wrote: "Yup- I paid 139,900
130,747.66 Baht (where did they get these decimal values?)
9,152.34 Baht VAT
139.900.00 Baht Total"
guess the latter is right, 140K total.
The KLX and the D-Tracker should be priced the same, but what's the total? 20K more than the Ninja?