RTW rider coming to SE Asia needs help

Oct 15, 2013
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Hi My name is Lalo. I am currently riding my BMW around the world, I have been traveling for 16 months now and I have been to over 40 different countries. I want to visit Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia (and maybe Burma if I can) I am planning to park the BMW and buy a little motorcycle like a Honda or Kawasaki 250 Enduro in SE Asia. Here are my questions: Where is the best place to go to buy such a motorcycle? If I am planning to spend 5 months in SE Asia, and want the minimum amount of problems bringing this same motorcycle across each border, what country is the best place to buy the motorcycle. Can I put the motorcycle in to name as a non resident? If so, how long would that take? Or can I just keep the ownership in someone else's name if that is not a problem at the borders. Basically, I just want to fly in, buy a motorcycle and spend 5 months riding to the 6 or 7 different countries there with the minimum amount of hassle at the borders and by the police. I would like to hear from people that have first hand experience doing this. If you are just guessing, then that probably won't help me. .My plan is to come toward the end of November. Here is the link to my blog on AdvRider. I have over 800,000 view to date http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=801516&page=5 I will look forward to hearing back from you
 
Dec 27, 2007
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Welcome to GT-Rider!

End of November is high season here so second hand and rental bikes become a bit scarce at this time of year.

If you want to rent best to book ahead. As for buying, besides GT-Rider there are a few other English-language classified sites you might want to look at such as ThaiVisa classifieds () and BahtSold ().

There are a LOT more bikes for sale on Thai sites such as mocyc.com and dtrackerthailand.com and many others, but of course language becomes a challenge and Google translate still does a pretty horrible job on Thai, but with some perseverance and help from a native speaker that might work for you.

The ability to register a bike in your name varies from one province to the next in this wonderful country ;)

In some provinces such as Phuket and Chonburi (Pattaya) you can still register a vehicle with only a tourist visa in your passport. In most other provinces you will need a Non-O or Non-B visa to register a vehicle in your name. This is of course subject to change and there's almost nothing you can't accomplish in Thailand if you're willing to slide some money under the table.

Crossing borders in SE Asia can be time consuming but is not terribly expensive or complicated on your own bike. However, Burma and Vietnam are still a no-go on a foreign registered bike unless you are on a government approved ($$$) tour.

You might consider renting a bike in each country on your itinerary- it could greatly simplify your travels and would allow you to add Burma and Vietnam to your itinerary.

Do some searching on this forum if you have specific questions and if you can't find an answer give us a shout!

:happy1:
 
Oct 15, 2013
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TonyBKK;293702 wrote: Welcome to GT-Rider!

End of November is high season here so second hand and rental bikes become a bit scarce at this time of year.

If you want to rent best to book ahead. As for buying, besides GT-Rider there are a few other English-language classified sites you might want to look at such as ThaiVisa classifieds () and BahtSold ().

There are a LOT more bikes for sale on Thai sites such as mocyc.com and dtrackerthailand.com and many others, but of course language becomes a challenge and Google translate still does a pretty horrible job on Thai, but with some perseverance and help from a native speaker that might work for you.

The ability to register a bike in your name varies from one province to the next in this wonderful country ;)

In some provinces such as Phuket and Chonburi (Pattaya) you can still register a vehicle with only a tourist visa in your passport. In most other provinces you will need a Non-O or Non-B visa to register a vehicle in your name. This is of course subject to change and there's almost nothing you can't accomplish in Thailand if you're willing to slide some money under the table.

Crossing borders in SE Asia can be time consuming but is not terribly expensive or complicated on your own bike. However, Burma and Vietnam are still a no-go on a foreign registered bike unless you are on a government approved ($$$) tour.

You might consider renting a bike in each country on your itinerary- it could greatly simplify your travels and would allow you to add Burma and Vietnam to your itinerary.

Do some searching on this forum if you have specific questions and if you can't find an answer give us a shout!

:happy1:
Thanks for the quick reply. My plan is to buy a Honda CRF250 in Thailand. I want to first search for a used one but after a day or so, if I can find a good used one, I will just buy a new one. With that motorcycle, I understand that I can ride in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia. I also hear it is possible to enter in to Vietnam from one particular border crossing in the south as long as you exit there as well. And I understand that for Indonesia, I will need a Carnet. Does anyone disagree with this???????? You mention that I can buy a motorcycle with just my passport in certain areas. I am not familiar with Thailand. Can you tell me a big city that I can travel to to start my search for a Honda CRF250 motorcycle without being a resident? Do you know of any Honda motorcycle dealers in those areas that I can contact? It would be nice to have the motorcycle waiting for me with the paperwork started or even completed.
 
Dec 27, 2007
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flyingdutchman177;293707 wrote: Thanks for the quick reply. My plan is to buy a Honda CRF250 in Thailand. I want to first search for a used one but after a day or so, if I can find a good used one, I will just buy a new one. With that motorcycle, I understand that I can ride in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia. I also hear it is possible to enter in to Vietnam from one particular border crossing in the south as long as you exit there as well. And I understand that for Indonesia, I will need a Carnet. Does anyone disagree with this???????? You mention that I can buy a motorcycle with just my passport in certain areas. I am not familiar with Thailand. Can you tell me a big city that I can travel to to start my search for a Honda CRF250 motorcycle without being a resident? Do you know of any Honda motorcycle dealers in those areas that I can contact? It would be nice to have the motorcycle waiting for me with the paperwork started or even completed.
CRF250L is cheap, pretty reliable and shouldn't be too hard to re-sell at the end of your time in SE Asia.

I live in Bangkok and you can not register a vehicle here without a Non-O or Non-B visa.

But if you head down to Pattaya (Chonburi) I understand they allow tourists to register vehicles there on tourist visa, though you probably ought to check ahead and make sure that's still the case. (Also note that a stamp on arrival is NOT a tourist visa.

You can order a CRF250L from any Honda dealer and there are hundreds all over the country, but sorry, I don't have any to recommend in Pattaya as I've never shopped for a bike down there.

If you're on Facebook you might want to contact this fellow: Brian Abrahamson (https://www.facebook.com/babrahamson1?fref=ts)

His wife owns a Honda dealership in Bangkok and I suspect they might be able to help you find a dealer with English speaking sales staff in Pattaya or offer other advice.

As far as getting a carnet so that you can take your bike into Indonesia, you'll need to do that in Malaysia as Thailand is not part of the Carnet system. I know a couple guys who have done this recently so let me know if you need more details.

Best of luck and happy trails!! :happy1:
 
Oct 15, 2013
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i have a few detailed questions
i want to buy a new or used Honda CRF250L in Thailand. wherqe should i go? i need someone to help me with the purchase, put the title in to my name and if necessary, establish redency there and get a Thai drivers license
i can do the leg work if need be. but it would be nice if i can get things started so when i arrive, i can get on the bike sooner and start my SE Adventure ride sooner. i plan to arrive in Thailand later this month.
ideally, i would like to purchase the motorcycle now, and have that person complete most or all of the paperwork so when i arrive, i can load up everything on the motorcycle and go
if you know of someone that can help, i would love to hear back from you
thanks
Lalo
 
Oct 15, 2013
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from what people are saying, would take too long to get a plate if i buy new, so now i have focused my search for a used honda crf250
anybody have any ideas where to look. i can travel anywhere in thailand to buy the motorcycle.
i need it by the end of the month.
thanks
 
Dec 27, 2007
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There are a couple immaculate D-Trackers for sale on this forum. A D-tracker with dual purpose tires can go just about anywhere in the dry season.

As mentioned previously, plenty of other places to look:

ThaiVisa classifieds and BahtSold are English language classified sites.

There are a LOT more bikes for sale on Thai sites such as mocyc.com and dtrackerthailand.com and many others, but of course language becomes a challenge and Google translate still does a pretty horrible job on Thai, but with some perseverance and help from a native speaker that might work for you.

:happy2: