My 2019 Motogp

DavidFL

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A longish trip in 2019 going via Chiang Mai unexpectedly.

The day before departure cleaning & lubricating my chain I could hear a squeal coming from the rear wheel.
Oops a rear wheel bearing on the way out, it may not make it down & back I thought, so you'd better replace it before hand.
I rang a bike shop in Chiang Rai to check if they had any, but the reply was unsure until they saw the actual culprit bearing. It should be ok, but maybe not.
So a phone call to Piston Shop in Chiang Mai, resulted in a positive answer. Yes we can.

My original plan was a 3 day ride going down
Chiang Khong - Phrae
Phrae -Chumpae
Chumpae - Buriram.
I had gone down in two days last year year but it is a bit of a boring ride, so I thought whats the rush? Take your time & go down in 3 easý half day rides. You don't have to prove anything.

However the rear wheel bearing issue changed the route somewhat.
An early Chiang Khong departure@ 6,30am saw a fogged in ride for the first hour along the Mekong, and the fog was so thick you could not see the river. Confirmation that the cold season was incoming fast.
In Chiang Mai I hit the Piston Shop @ 10.30AM; loh and behold the lack of the correct wheel bearing necessitated a hunt around town for the right one. Grrh. A check of the front sprocket also indicated that Supersprox sprocket was just starting to wear & hook, at about 20-25%. 30,000 kms the sprocket been on, so no complaints.The rear Supersprox is still ok & the RK chain from the USA has a bit left in it yet - at least down to Buriram & back.
Eventually I got away from the PIston Shop @ 3,45 in a hurry& "under pressure" to clear the Lampang peak hour.

Arrival time in Phrae was 6.15pm with the Nam Thong hotel my place of stay
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& the Krua Hom restaurant my dining venue for the evening.
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to be continued..
 

DavidFL

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Day 2 is Phrae - Chumpae, however before setting off I needed to check the chain. I could feel that it wasn't pulling that well on the sprocket, despite putting a new sprocket on. So did it really need a new chain as well in Chiang Mai the day before? Nope, it was just too bloody loose. In the hurry to get away from Piston Shop to beat the peak hour traffic I didn't really take a look at the bike again. Blind faith? I should know better..

So I hunted around in Phrae for a shop, & right round the corner from the Nam Thong Hotel was the best one: Thailand Motorbike.
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After a Wee Wee Brekky
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& chain adjustment done I was on the road at a leisurely 11.45AM!


Phrae - Chumpae = 400 kms & is an excellent biking road.
The routes 101 / 11 / 1246 / 1143 / 2013 / 12

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Going this way via Nakhon Thai you avoid the silly 90kph speed limit on R12 & the police radar near Phitsanuluk.
Plus R1143 / 1246 / 2013 are awesome motorcycle roads, especially the magnificent technical R1246.

Gently pottering along, arrival time in Chumpae was a pleasant 6pm.
The wonderful Tummi GH was my place of stay
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Dinner was at Mr Max Restaurant & Pub, but I won't be going back.

And my day was done.
 

DavidFL

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Day 3 Chumpae - Buriram, another easy half day ride & an enjoyable back roads one looking at scenery that I shouldnt have been looking at.

The master plan was to hook a right at Chumpae & head down R201 to Chaiyaphum, then make a left & head East, cross over R2, the 4-lane super highway, continue on East for a bit, turn right a bit later on & then wind my way gently S-E to Buriram.

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314 kms was the distance I rode getting away from Chumpae @ 10.15AM & arrived in Buriram @ 3PM. It should have been a lot quicker but my navigation relied on some grey matter used last year & I ended up on the wrong side of R2 for an extended period of time.
I was making good time from Chaiyaphum & approaching a 4-lane intersection I thought wow, that was quick; & as the light were about to change I gave it the berries, ran the light & crossed R2 quicker than I thought.

A few kms later I made a right & started working my down to Buriram.
I thought I knew where I was going, but 45 minutes later I was not so sure as I didn't recognise much from last year.
Stopped at a life saving Amazon-PTT I did the right thing & consulted the smart phone & Google maps. The smart phone didn't agree with my upstairs ageing grey matter & I was astounded to find that I was still on the West side of R2. I had not yet crossed what I earlier thought was R2, but was actually winding my way S-W on the wrong side of R2. What the hell. I could only have a good chuckle at my stupidity & turn on the google maps to follow.
So I ended up entering Buriram from Phimai & can confirm that all roads lead to Buriam & most of them are under bloody, construction, especially around Phimai.

The Baoburi was the place of stay for MotoGP
Google Maps
 

DavidFL

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Day 4 Saturday MotoGP Practice

Up at 7.30, breakfast at the hotel & light misty rain was falling.
Entering the track at 9am of deluge of biblical proportions hit & the place was flooded, as well as us drenched without any rain gear.
How lucky can you get.
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From the grandstand you couldn't see the other side of the'track.
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An hour and a half was lost to clean up the water & track, before it was safe to practice on.

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Practice got underway & there were a few interesting spills
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The crashed bike rescue vehicle was a beauty
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but MM93 was not the only crasher on Saturday.
The doctor also went down & he too suffered a machine rescue retrieval
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A few more to come....
 
Dec 13, 2009
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Due to my working schedule, I decided to send the Beemer to Buriram with a bike transport company and after the race weekend we rode it back to Chiang Mai. As I had full week off, I decided to make it in 3 days as well.

First day an easy ride to Chum Phae, with an overnight stop there. The roads and scenery were nothing to mention about, but we had few fellow bikers heading the same way. The Cheewin Hotel was fairly new and quite okay to stay in.

Second day from Chum Phae to Uttaradit. This was the most scenic and rewarding part of the route. Unfortunately my previous working trip and the festivities during the GP-weekend made us sleep late. When we finally woke up, it was 11am already. This put us over the mountains during afternoon showers. We avoided the heaviest downfalls by pure luck, but it was a pity to slow down during some of the best roads on this trip.

Learning from the previous day mistake, we were on the road quite early on the third day. Therefore we were back in Chiang Mai already before noon time.

I have requested a longer off period on March, so we will have the chance to ride this trip both ways next time.

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DavidFL

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The rookie of the year also had a moment in practice
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Practice lines
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The Doctor always entertained the crowds
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A few snaps from the exhibition section; and with so many crowds it is interesting what actually attracts your attention as you walk around......
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The Red Bull tent was rocking
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Suzuki showed off a bike or two
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The BIB showed off their manpower
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Castrol showed that it's more than just oil
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Mobil 1 were also present
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And the winners of the Silicone Constructors Title was this team
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DavidFL

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Due to my working schedule, I decided to send the Beemer to Buriram with a bike transport company and after the race weekend we rode it back to Chiang Mai. As I had full week off, I decided to make it in 3 days as well.

First day an easy ride to Chum Phae, with an overnight stop there. The roads and scenery were nothing to mention about, but we had few fellow bikers heading the same way. The Cheewin Hotel was fairly new and quite okay to stay in.

Second day from Chum Phae to Uttaradit. This was the most scenic and rewarding part of the route. Unfortunately my previous working trip and the festivities during the GP-weekend made us sleep late. When we finally woke up, it was 11am already. This put us over the mountains during afternoon showers. We avoided the heaviest downfalls by pure luck, but it was a pity to slow down during some of the best roads on this trip.

Learning from the previous day mistake, we were on the road quite early on the third day. Therefore we were back in Chiang Mai already before noon time.

I have requested a longer off period on March, so we will have the chance to ride this trip both ways next time.

View attachment 132906


Did you get any speeding tickets on R12 or R11 just north of Phitsanuluk?
 
Dec 13, 2009
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Did you get any speeding tickets on R12 or R11 just north of Phitsanuluk?

We were lucky. I overtook a police couple of times with slight over speed, but they didn't bother to stop me. No radar units visible the time we passed that area.
 

DavidFL

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Race day & a few more happy snaps.

Moto3
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Moto3 Winners
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Moto 2 winner
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Thailand put on an interesting show in the lunch break; and if you were a newbie to Thailand I'm sure he show was amazing.
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MotoGP
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MotoGP the winner MM93
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Quattararo rode a fantastic race & almost pulled off a win, but that bloody alien Marquez did a Dovi & got him in the last corner.

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So MM93 won the title & put on his silly show on the other side of the track with the pool table & the eight ball. What the hell I thought. I really don't understand all these over the top celebrations nowadays. Its a job that your paid millions to do, so get on with it & have a little celebration on the stage & a party after the event.
I think Rossi started these race win pranks, & they were generally fun & short, but it has been taken to another much higher level nowadays. I'm not in favour of them & think it is a bit disrespectful to the fans who have to wait for them to finish their childish shenanigans.

MM93 is an amazing rider - on another level to everyone else, as if he is from another planet. He's had an amazing run so far, despite all his crashes, and if he can stay injury free he will probably end up the greatest of all times.
I feel sorry for some of the other riders at the moment, because while Marquez is as strong as he is, and injury free, they probably don't have much chance to win the title. Had he not been around they probably could have been world champion. But not right now.

Funny how it goes, I've been a life long Honda fan but find MM93 too arrogant, such that he's put me off the brand & I won't go in the Honda tent or booth. I'd go to see Crutchlow, Pedrosa, even Lorenzo, but while MM93 is around nope. I'm not going there to see the Honda stuff!

Buriram puts on a fantastic MotoGP event & the biggest crowds & it is incredible what Newin Chidchop has pulled off & organized professionally yet again.
Buriram town rocks at MotoGP, and for all the motorsport events.

MotoGP in 2020 will be interesting, with a scheduled date of 22 March @ the hottest time of the year?
Will I ride down over 3 days in the 45C heat to sit in a concrete stadium for 2 or 3 days, then ride back in the heat again to Chiang Khong over several days?
Probably not sadly. But then again....one option maybe to ride down at night in the cool?
 
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