Doi Inthanon Around

DavidFL

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Doi Inthanon's the highest mountain in the country & has scores of trails running around it.

Years ago my favourite day trips were out & around some of the Inthanon side "roads."
The weather was & is always a bit changeable out there & it's not common to get caught out in the wet & on greasy trails.
None of this should be a problem for an experienced dirt rider on an off-road bike with nice tyres, but the old Honda Wing 125 road bike didn't have them (& I could not be bothered to fit them).
So it was make do with what you got & just ride as good as well as you can.

Wheels of snot, slipping & sliding.
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In good weather, earlier in the day.
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Sometimes you got caught out in the dark
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And this happened
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if you could not see the greasy roads clearly.

The Karen hill tribe villages on the sides of Inthanon were awesome & many of them still are!

Nong Tao?
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The junction of R1013 & R1284. The Nong Tao / Khun Wang turn off
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The Nong Tao road R1284
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A favourite route was the Khun Pae trail, starting just before Hot.
Easy at the start in the dry
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But if it rained pure grease 'n snot as they say.
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Hmong Pa Kluai was the midpoint drink & eat stop.
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All these trails are still there (some of them are now partially asphalt) & on the GT Rider MHS Loop map. Check them out for day rides from Chiang Mai!

 
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canthai

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For those greasy trails full of ruts I would pick my YZ490 with a BIG knobby. 555
 

canthai

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Were those all rental bikes ? Or the only model available that was half way capable ?
Pic above shows 3 that look identical
 

DavidFL

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Were those all rental bikes ? Or the only model available that was half way capable ?
Pic above shows 3 that look identical
The Honda Wing 125 was the most popular rental bike of the day, along with the mighty MTX 125.
My bike ended up being pretty special with a 175 kit, modified cam, oil cooler, fork brace, spotlight, Koni suspension, bigger battery & front disc on the last model. Most of the work done by David Lek, AKA The Snail. I should have kept the bike, it was very special, but upgraded to Honda NV400SP, then 250 Baja, then the Africa Twin ++
 
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DKT Dave

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Doi Inthanon's the highest mountain in the country & has scores of trails running around it.

Years ago my favourite day trips were out & around some of the Inthanon side "roads."
The weather was & is always a bit changeable out there & it's not common to get caught out in the wet & on greasy trails.
None of this should be a problem for an experienced dirt rider on an off-road bike with nice tyres, but the old Honda Wing 125 road bike didn't have them (& I could not be bothered to fit them).
So it was make do with what you got & just ride as good as well as you can.

Wheels of snot, slipping & sliding.
View attachment 142983

View attachment 142984

View attachment 142985

View attachment 142986

View attachment 142987

In good weather, earlier in the day.
View attachment 142990


Sometimes you got caught out in the dark
View attachment 142991

View attachment 142992

And this happened
View attachment 142993
if you could not see the greasy roads clearly.

The Karen hill tribe villages on the sides of Inthanon were awesome & many of them still are!

Nong Tao?
View attachment 142998

View attachment 143002

The junction of R1013 & R1284. The Nong Tao / Khun Wang turn off
View attachment 142999

View attachment 143000

The Nong Tao road R1284
View attachment 143001

A favourite route was the Khun Pae trail, starting just before Hot.
Easy at the start in the dry
View attachment 143032

View attachment 143033


But if it rained pure grease 'n snot as they say.
View attachment 143034


Hmong Pa Kluai was the midpoint drink & eat stop.
View attachment 143035

View attachment 143036

All these trails are still there (some of them are now partially asphalt) & on the GT Rider MHS Loop map. Check them out for day rides from Chiang Mai!

That photo with the water buffalo is sensational!
 
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DavidFL

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1988 on the Khun Pae- Hmong Pa Kluai trail

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Lots of cabbages in what used to be opium fields
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The Hmong checking out the mighty Honda Wing bike of the day
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Hmong kids looking at photos from a previous trip.
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Awesome times, riding those trails, no map & no GPS.