UDON - Chiang Mai - Bangkok
1,510 km
The Route:-
I heard of a Versys for sale in Udon from Rob and it sounded great.
Also John Gooding vouched for the owner and the tender loving care the bike has recieved..
It is now or never.. While I do like the Ninja 650.. It is not really a Northern Thailand bike..
The second hand prices of the Versys seem a bit crazy to be honest.. So this was a win win for Dave and Me.
Get on an Air Asia flight in good faith that the bike be as advertised and vouched for by people I know..
Friday
Another 4:30am wake up. Really not the best time of the day to be getting up..
7:10 flight to Udon.. The country side is looking lovely and green..
Dave and his wife are waiting for me at the airport and we head back to Dave's house.
The Versys looks great and took her for a ride.
Wow.. it feels big compared to the Ninja.. I felt like Captain Picard of the Enterprise sitting there in the cockpit.. "Engage!"
Off we go to do the paper work.. here and there extra copies of this.. some silly letter from immigration saying I can buy a bike.. Would have thought my work permit is enough.. anyway.. then back we head after lunch to do the inspection and transfer the green book.. No. can't be done here.. you have to go to a place about 20km out of Udon.. Great.. wish she had told us that before.. as Dave's house is half way back in that same direction we now have to go.. grrrr
Get there, inspection done and all transfered over.. Nice change to Mochit and the masses of people and queue.. no one but us..
First LTA that said go 23km out of town...
Finally she is mine
Cockpit View
New PC's about to be deployed at the LTA ;-)
By this time it is 3pm.. There goes my plan of being done by Mid day and in Tha Li for the evening.
So head up to Nong Khai and turn off before and then begin to enjoy that lovely road that takes you along the Mekong.. Fantastic.
Love stopping here and peering over in to Vientiane - yearning for a Beer Lao..
About 5 pm and not sure what is ahead.. I decide to better stop at the next place for the night and enjoy the sunset..
Decide to get some food.. and rode barely 100 metres up the road and there was the place I was looking for.. Damn.. oh well..
Met up with Gerrie the owner.. He remembered us coming through last Nov / Dec on our way to Loei.
Accommodation report :-
https://www.gt-rider.com/thailand-motorcycle-forum/showthread.php/36738-Banmairimkong-Resort-Right-on-the-Mekong?p=280520#post280520
Gerrie invited me to sit with him where we had at least 4 big bottles of beer each and talked until mid night - plus the two I already had during sunset... hiccup.
Gerrie kindly let me leave my bike there and I walked back along the Mekong to my place..
Breakfast view at Gerrie's
Saturday
Well.. I am far from where I intended to be.. So decide to ride along the Mekong to Chiang Kham..
Coffee and fried rice here
The Mekong is still very low
Then down to Loei and cut through to Uttaradit..
To the more direct path as being so late and alone.. didn't feel like taking a chance of getting stuck riding in to CNX in the dark through the back roads.
Sunday
Hearty breakfast at Euro Diner
Up early and met K. Nat at Piston Shop.. He really is a nice person.
Take the Ninja and leave the Versys.. Asked him to change some of the things on the Versys back to stock.
Face off between the Ninja and Versys
Seat back to original but softer, change the small sproket for the stock, change the height of the bike back and one other small thing..
Next the ride back to Bangkok on the Ninja.. I enjoyed the Ninja surprisingly.. Nice to take the bends and lean over and feel so much closer to everything..
When in Tak.. realised the number plate and the tax disc have gone flying off on the road some where.. I really seem to have back luck with this.
Again.. The bolts are there, the metal fatigued and basically ripped off.
7hr ride back, two stops for petrol and 20 min breaks.. Traffic was really bad at Rangsit.. easily added 40 - 50 mins to the journey.. and that horrible Vibhavadee road.. Not nice when you are at the end of a long journey and have to heighten the senses for Bangkok traffic and home is 20km away and taking for ever..
Cheers
Brian
1,510 km
The Route:-
I heard of a Versys for sale in Udon from Rob and it sounded great.
Also John Gooding vouched for the owner and the tender loving care the bike has recieved..
It is now or never.. While I do like the Ninja 650.. It is not really a Northern Thailand bike..
The second hand prices of the Versys seem a bit crazy to be honest.. So this was a win win for Dave and Me.
Get on an Air Asia flight in good faith that the bike be as advertised and vouched for by people I know..
Friday
Another 4:30am wake up. Really not the best time of the day to be getting up..
7:10 flight to Udon.. The country side is looking lovely and green..
Dave and his wife are waiting for me at the airport and we head back to Dave's house.
The Versys looks great and took her for a ride.
Wow.. it feels big compared to the Ninja.. I felt like Captain Picard of the Enterprise sitting there in the cockpit.. "Engage!"
Off we go to do the paper work.. here and there extra copies of this.. some silly letter from immigration saying I can buy a bike.. Would have thought my work permit is enough.. anyway.. then back we head after lunch to do the inspection and transfer the green book.. No. can't be done here.. you have to go to a place about 20km out of Udon.. Great.. wish she had told us that before.. as Dave's house is half way back in that same direction we now have to go.. grrrr
Get there, inspection done and all transfered over.. Nice change to Mochit and the masses of people and queue.. no one but us..
First LTA that said go 23km out of town...
Finally she is mine
Cockpit View
New PC's about to be deployed at the LTA ;-)
By this time it is 3pm.. There goes my plan of being done by Mid day and in Tha Li for the evening.
So head up to Nong Khai and turn off before and then begin to enjoy that lovely road that takes you along the Mekong.. Fantastic.
Love stopping here and peering over in to Vientiane - yearning for a Beer Lao..
About 5 pm and not sure what is ahead.. I decide to better stop at the next place for the night and enjoy the sunset..
Decide to get some food.. and rode barely 100 metres up the road and there was the place I was looking for.. Damn.. oh well..
Met up with Gerrie the owner.. He remembered us coming through last Nov / Dec on our way to Loei.
Accommodation report :-
https://www.gt-rider.com/thailand-motorcycle-forum/showthread.php/36738-Banmairimkong-Resort-Right-on-the-Mekong?p=280520#post280520
Gerrie invited me to sit with him where we had at least 4 big bottles of beer each and talked until mid night - plus the two I already had during sunset... hiccup.
Gerrie kindly let me leave my bike there and I walked back along the Mekong to my place..
Breakfast view at Gerrie's
Saturday
Well.. I am far from where I intended to be.. So decide to ride along the Mekong to Chiang Kham..
Coffee and fried rice here
The Mekong is still very low
Then down to Loei and cut through to Uttaradit..
To the more direct path as being so late and alone.. didn't feel like taking a chance of getting stuck riding in to CNX in the dark through the back roads.
Sunday
Hearty breakfast at Euro Diner
Up early and met K. Nat at Piston Shop.. He really is a nice person.
Take the Ninja and leave the Versys.. Asked him to change some of the things on the Versys back to stock.
Face off between the Ninja and Versys
Seat back to original but softer, change the small sproket for the stock, change the height of the bike back and one other small thing..
Next the ride back to Bangkok on the Ninja.. I enjoyed the Ninja surprisingly.. Nice to take the bends and lean over and feel so much closer to everything..
When in Tak.. realised the number plate and the tax disc have gone flying off on the road some where.. I really seem to have back luck with this.
Again.. The bolts are there, the metal fatigued and basically ripped off.
7hr ride back, two stops for petrol and 20 min breaks.. Traffic was really bad at Rangsit.. easily added 40 - 50 mins to the journey.. and that horrible Vibhavadee road.. Not nice when you are at the end of a long journey and have to heighten the senses for Bangkok traffic and home is 20km away and taking for ever..
Cheers
Brian
