New Rider - Ride out from BKK - Ideas

[niko13]

Hi everybody, I am a new member and just about to start riding round Thailand and neighboring countries... Have been riding Ducatis and BMW's round Europe and the Middle East for many years, if anyone needs any advise will be happy to give...

I am planning to rent a Versys for 4 days, between the 6th and 9th of July and do 3-4 day ride starting and ending in BKK... If I like the Versys I may go ahead and purchase one and continue riding North (East and West).... (I guess importing one of the Ducati's seems a crazy idea as all firums advise against it.:evil:.. and Ducatis seem to cost a fortune in Thailand.:cry:..)
All the write up and forums on the Kawasaki seem extremely positive... having owned a Z1000 (1990), :happy4:Z650 (1987) and a KL250 (1983), I have plenty of good experiences, but never tried touring on a Kawasaki.... so any ideas will be welcomed

Can anybody give me potential routes from BKK for 3 full days... I normally ride an average of 400Km per day, but I have done 1200km in one day on a few occasions... so riding is not an issue...

As a closing, i found your forum and website EXCELLENT and believe me having spent time looking for Bikers information as an outsider, this is the first site that made sense to me as a biker....

Ride safe - Nikolas

 

[Bert on the bike]

Dear Niko

Kanchanaburi is the closest to BKK and I agree with 2wheels that is is a good base to drive from. You can take a day to go up to Sangklaburi and the 3 pagoda pass and drive the 3rd day back to BKK following the Si Sawat loop (described several times in the reports here on GT riders for example by Captain Slash). Another possibility is to drive up to Petchabun/Lomsak and make a loop or 2 there. A loop to Nakhon Thai over the 2331 and than the 2013 is often described as one of the best in Thailand. Beside that there are several loops there worth while driving. You might actually think about taking 4 days instead of 3.

Let us know where you have been and post a trip report.

Enjoy

Bert

 

[mbox999]

Bert on the bike;269614 wrote: Dear Niko

Kanchanaburi is the closest to BKK and I agree with 2wheels that is is a good base to drive from. You can take a day to go up to Sangklaburi and the 3 pagoda pass and drive the 3rd day back to BKK following the Si Sawat loop (described several times in the reports here on GT riders for example by Captain Slash). Another possibility is to drive up to Petchabun/Lomsak and make a loop or 2 there. A loop to Nakhon Thai over the 2331 and than the 2013 is often described as one of the best in Thailand. Beside that there are several loops there worth while driving. You might actually think about taking 4 days instead of 3.

Let us know where you have been and post a trip report.

Enjoy

Bert

yes, that 2331/2013 is quite nice ...also the route 201 from lomask into loei is great ...had some great riding there last year.
mbox

 

[Bert on the bike]

mbox is right, from Lomsak east on the 12, than the 201 to Loei, from Loei the 203 west wards and the 2014 south back to Lomsak is a very nice 320 - 340 km loop

 

[TonyBKK]

Weird,

Why did this thread not appear when I clicked on "new posts" before???

Welcome to GT Rider!

I usually think of Kanchanburi as a nice day trip destination. Getting to Kanchanburi from Bangkok is a bit of a miserable ride, but once there it's quite nice.

I guess it's a bit late and you're already on your ride, but as ou said you're interested in doing a 3-4 days ride so I'd recommend you head NORTH to Petchabun as there are some absolutely fantastic roads up that way and it's only about a 3 hours ride from Bangkok.

From there you can continue on to Loei and more fantastic roads, perhaps heading as far north as the Laos border so you can gaze out over the Mekong and then return to Bangkok via Chaiyaphum. You could easily hit Nan as well. A very pleasant 3-4 day loop.

I'm also based in Bangkok so if you are keen to get our for a ride drop me a line.

Happy Trails!

Tony

 

[TonyBKK]

mbox999;269617 wrote: yes, that 2331/2013 is quite nice ...also the route 201 from lomask into loei is great ...had some great riding there last year.
mbox

Yes mbox, that was a great ride!
When are we going to do it again!!!
Happy Trails!
Tony

 

[NickyBKK]

Nice vid.

This is a great toppic. Been looking myself for nice day/(long)weekend trips from Bangkok.

I really hope more of you guys will share their recommendations and hopefully soon I can share mine with you.

Keep it up!

 

[niko13]

Good morning ALL...
Back from Thailand bike tour and then 2 weeks in Japan...
Thank you so much for all the great advice and tips. I actually rented a Versys from BBR and had my run.... Hmmmm riding in Thailand was an experience... We decided to head South, so our first experience was that we got stopped on Highway 7 by a Police car, telling me that Bikes are not allowed on Highways.... I argued the case that really Cars should not be allowed on highways as they interfere with bikers... but my argument was not very well received and hence I actually lost my first attempt to Thai politics... My wife convinced the officer that she did not speak any English so they settled on 200Baht. We headed past Pattaya and on various villages and beaches... The ride was actually ok. The bike compared to the Multistrada was very poor, but I am not sure if it was the bike or the roads... Max speed with 2 people was around 140 but frankly I think my average was round 95... so many traffic lights and such long waits... I got fined in Bangkok 2 times, once for riding on the outside lane and once for NOT zig zagging enough.... Overall it was a real fun experience but put me off a little from owning a big tourer in BKK...
We actually have a condo in BKK and a house in Kalasin, so I figured it may be better to put the tourer in Kalasin and ride North, while keeping either a scooter or something silly like a chopper in BKK....

In any case, I loved all your ideas and in my next trip I may just as well do what you suggested..

Tony, can I have your email, I will drop you a line...

In the mean time if anybody hears of any good bikes for sale I will be interested...
Basically, I find Ducatis seriously overpriced in Thailand and as much as I love them, I think its really not worth the investment... So, Any bike round 300K large engine tourer/racer will be just fine.

I guess importing one of my Ducati's will be probably out of the question, most people think that suicide is easier than importing a bike in Thailand...

Hey guys, if you ever come round Dubai / Emirates, give a call, I can treat to you some rides here...

Thanks for all the good advice, its brilliant.
Nikolas

 

[Pichus]

Welcome to Thailand^^