Saturday 20th September ride

[Pikey]

The wife received a call from k.Aek of Niyom Triumph CNX this morning and it was to notify me of another rideout from the Triumph showroom on Nimmenhemin. Details are a bit sketchy but I visited k.Aek this arvo and got the following:

Meet at the shop 8am(!!!) saturday 20/9
Ride to Fang
Ride back to arrive at the shop about 5pm
Have a party

I think the route is straight up & straight back on the 107 but no reason not to peel off and take the 1346 to Phrao and then the 1001 back to CNX.

The ride is open to all riders/makes of bikes and I believe k.Nat from the Piston Shop and k.Dtuk from the Harley Custom shop close to CM MX are also involved. Hope to see some of you there!

Cheers,

Pikey.

[tonykiwi]

Meet at the shop 8am(!!!) saturday 20/9
Ride to Fang
Ride back to arrive at the shop about 5pm
Have a party

.

What a splendid and well planned itinerary. Suddenly Cnx seems a long way, have fun guys

[Pikey]

All a bit "sabai sabai" up here Tony. CNX riders like to keep plans loose without too much detail but it always comes together in the end. Should be a good day especially as Triumph are laying on free grub & booze at the party - just like any responsible "western" M/C dealer would eh!

Cheers,

Pikey.

[tonykiwi]

All a bit "sabai sabai" up here Tony. CNX riders like to keep plans loose without too much detail but it always comes together in the end. Should be a good day especially as Triumph are laying on free grub & booze at the party - just like any responsible "western" M/C dealer would eh!

Cheers,

Pikey.

I am full of admiration, sounds just the sort of style I love.

I hope my post didn't come across as offensive or rude. I am English so have the traditional dry english sense of humour made up of sarcasm and irony.

[Pikey]

I hope my post didn't come across as offensive or rude. I am English so have the traditional dry english sense of humour made up of sarcasm and irony.

Your post didn't strike me like that at all. I'm a displaced Brit too and you just need to read my signature to get an idea of my personality. Look forward to meeting you once you hit town - keep us posted on your plans & dates.

Cheers,

Pikey.

[JohhnyE]

As the owner of 3 Triumphs they ring me whenever a ride is on. What they keep missing is that I work on Saturdays and they only ride on Saturdays for some strange reason.
Anyway plan to be at the BPU in the afternoon.

[Pikey]

Johhny, myself and Ian Bungy have come to the conclusion that the reason they select saturdays for rideouts is so as they can get on the piss that evening and not have to worry about getting up for work in the morning

Anyway, the event came off as planned(?) with 28 bikes and riders plus a pickup truck full of goodies/supplies for the kids leaving Chiang Mai Triumph about 9ish. The group was mostly Thai although the farangs were represented by myself, Ian Bungy, Warm'nDry, Ally and a "new" kiwi guy called Mike on a new FZ6 Fazer.

The motley crew was straggled out quite a bit as there was a mix of sports bikes, street bikes, choppers & cruisers but we all met up at the PTT station in Chiang Dao and then in the town itself for a spot of brekkie. The weather had started out nice but somewhere south of Chai Prakarn, the heavens decided to open forcing us to take cover at the side of the road. It was at this point that Warm'nDry decided he would live up to his board name and did a U-turn and hightailed in back to CNX with Ally choosing to ride shotgun! So, down to 3 "hardy" farangs now and push on through the rain (which really wasn't too bad) and out the other side into bright sunshine and the Niyom Phanisch/Toyota dealer in Fang for the regroup.



Then in convoy following an escort truck we wended our way high up into the mountains for 20 or more KM into a small village where the kids and teachers were waiting enthusiastically for us



The truck was unloaded and everyone brought gifts into the school hall



Speeches were made by the main guys - Aek, Nat and Dtuk



Then the serious business of gift distribution started



Followed by a lineup outside




These people may not have a pot to piss in (some of the kids are orphans) but they have a million dollar view out of the back window of the school room



After the presentations e.t.c we all made our individual ways back to CNX and reassembled at Triumph for the party in the evening where free beer, soft drinks and snacks were kindly provided. Sorry, no pics.

In summary, it was a great day out, covering approx 350km, we had good company with our Thai riding brothers and most of all, the kids benefitted from some much needed charity.

Thanks a lot guys!

Pikey.

[johngooding]

Hi Pikey,
Thanks for the report and pictures. Great to mix good riding, lovely scenery and a happy day for the kids. Good to see the manufacturers getting involved in this sort of thing, and nice that you can join in on any bike.

Are any of the guys up there riding the Triumph Street Triple, I have a mate who is not sure wether to buy a Yam FZ1, FZ6 or the Triple. He likes longish rides, and is still gaining experience after a couple of seasons here, not having ridden bigger bikes before coming to Thailand. I got the idea that the Triple may be a bit of a Street hooligan, and not so suited to longer rides, and maybe not for the less experienced rider.
Any comments appreciated.

[Pikey]

correction: double post due to shitty dial-up!

[Pikey]

Hi John,

Thanks for the comment - it was a brilliant day all around. As for the Street Triple, if I am right there were 3 or possibly 4 on this trip - all ridden by Thai guys and one by k.Aek of Triumph CNX. No complaints were heard and I believe there is a waiting list for them in Europe as they have been so successful (if you like revving the knackers off a bike!). I also understand that "JohhnyE" has one so maybe he can chip in with a bit of a review on how it runs in our riding environment?

Cheers,

Pikey.

[JohhnyE]

John/pikey,
Yes I have one. It arrived 6 months after ordering it,at first having "missed the boat" in England for some reason. Finally arrived in May.
While not having had much time to ride it since then it is the perfect bike for me. I still have many bikes and a FZ1 was sold to make way for this one.
Depending on your level of skill and experience and depending what you want the bike for, it suits me better than the FZ1. For a start it's a real 30-40kg lighter and after 30+ years of riding I've finally (again) concluded that for me the lighter a bike the more I like it. Was never entirely comfortable with the weight of the FZ1 but that was miles ahead of the HD Fatboy I had until 2 years ago.
Any modern multi cylinder bike revs hard these days. You just have to get used to it and not worry. In my younger days I rode only Triumph Bonnevilles (Meriden) and then buying a CBR600 I kept looking for 7th and 8th gears. But I got used to it and then started to enjoy revving the tits off it. Had it for a year before moving to Thailand.
The new FZ6 will be more rev happy than the Street Triple and will have less torque.
I would not recommend the new FZ1 to a beginner or a guy with not much experience although it would be the best touring bike of the 3. I enjoyed touring on the FZ1 which was a reasonable combination of sport and touring although changing the screen would have been a good idea if you are tall like me.
While I have not been out of town yet on the Street Triple and as long as you don't want to ride at 140kph+ all day, it will tour very well. And with a reasonable amount of torque c/w a 4 cylinder 600 you could easily gear it down for touring purposes.
There were some problems with the early models but mine was made in a later batch and there are no problems with it at all. And it seems to run well on Gasohol 95 although I've never put 95 tamada in it as yet.
If your friend buys one he could not go wrong though the FZ6 is considerably cheaper.

[Ian Bungy]

The Biggest Surprise of the Ride Was the Lack of GT-Riders, Where were you Guys??? A couple of Notable ones were Conspicuous by their Absence!!! It was nice to mix more with the Thai side of Big Bikes up here though, Some Great Guys! And John I rode the Street Triple. Smooth Engine and it seems light and Small compared to the Tiger but as the Guys say, All Revs. I never noticed any sort of Power Band or any thing startling it just keeps casually climbing up to the Red Line The Tiger seems Brutal in Comparison specially since fitting the Thunder Pipe and having the Re-Map. The Main Bad Point was the Piss Poor Steering lock It would be No Fun trying to maneuver in Traffic as it can't Turn. Fine once you are in the open and No where near as Bad as the Old BMW K1.

[JohhnyE]

Ian yes you are right about the steering lock. I forgot about that but then the frame is the same as the Daytona 675 except the the Rake and Trail.
As I don't ride in the sort of traffic that would show up this shortcoming it won't bother me.
If I want to go into town which is rare these days I've got the Honda Wave but then I don't think the Street Triple would be any less of a problem than the Tiger!
Comparing the performance of the Tiger with the Street would be like comparing the FZ1 with the FZ6. You can't and you shouldn't unless you just want to compare the relative HP.
I considered the Speed Triple as well but couldn't justify that in terms of the difference in cost. Sure the performance of the Speed Triple is well above the Street but then the FZ1 I sold was way ahead of the Speed in that respect.
I just wanted a fun bike with all round ability and acceptable performance. I don't have time to tour as I work 6 days a week and that's my excuse for not riding last Saturday.
When and if I have time to ride all over Thailand at a whim I'd jsut buy amore suitable bike.
BTW how much was the Thunder Pipe? Is it twin pipes as per original? I'm looking for a bit of extra noise and performance. Who did the re-map for you? What map did they install?

[Ian Bungy]

Check Out http://www.thunderbike.co.nz/index.htm . The Guy who i deal with now is Graeme Lawson. They have always provided me with Top service and advice. If you are passing the X-Centre one day call in and i will show you the Stuff i have Brought from them. The Re-Map was done By Andy from Brit-Bikes. Just Plugged in the Hand Held Computer and loaded the Triumph Map for Aftermarket Exhaust Systems! Dyno Graphs are on the ThunderBike Web Site. Mine is Supposed to be 120HP at the Rear Wheel now. I was very Surprised at the difference, Amazing from just the Exhaust, Airbox Snorkles and Re-Map. A different Bike to Ride

[JohhnyE]

I'll come over on Sunday and have a look. Nothing listed on the Thunderbike site for the Street Triple though!

[Pikey]

A few pictures from the evening provided by khun Aek of Triumph.

The rain that depleted the already sparse farang contingent


The 3 remaining dodgy geezers + k.Aek at the evening party



Triumph hospitality girls



Despite the rain, a good turnout of bikes



Cheers,

Pikey.

[SilverhawkUSA]

I guess I am one of those that missed what looks like a good time. Sorry. After reading the description

Ride to Fang
Ride back to arrive at the shop about 5pm
Have a party

I think the route is straight up & straight back on the 107 but no reason not to peel off and take the 1346 to Phrao and then the 1001 back to CNX.

I kind of put the event out of my mind. Maybe next time a few more details BEFORE the ride will turn up more riders. I hate to be a no-show for something involving charities when we are also organizing such events.

I am happy to see that the village received some good out of it and you guys had a good ride.

[johngooding]

Thanks guys for your replies to the Street Triple query. I will pass them on.
Sheer coincidence, but my neighbour, a Frenchman,( not the guy who sent me the original email query), informed me that on a trip to Bangkok last week, he ordered one. Also a 2 month waiting list here apparently.
So I will be able to have a close look. He is going to sell his 6 year old FZ1 to make way for this. He does not speak English so we sort of converse in Thai, and it took me a while to understand: "Pom sur Treeumph Steet Trypil". Unfortunately my Thai not good enough to be able to understand where he thinks the bike will score over his FZ1

[Ally]

Ok Ok Ok (Guilt dump coming) I admit to turning back at the first sight of a wet road, so I am a fair weather rider! But at least I rode.

Excellent pics in your posts there Pikey, thanks for sharing. Thought a couple of mine would be of some interest.








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[img]http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj295/Ally1100/Bikes/triumphride20sept/DSC_7009-1.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj295/Ally1100/Bikes/triumphride20sept/DSC_7008-1.jpg[/img]

















Glad I could ride with Tim, Mike, Ian & Jeff on the first part of the journey, thanks.

Cheers

Ally
By the way - Have you checked out my other interest?