Are we just dreaming the dream...

[Pounce]

...to ride from Chiang Mai to Phuket on a Dream?

After the tour we did with Mark & Luke, Mick & I have hatched a plan to ride from Chaing Mai to Phuket over a 10-14 day period next Christmas.
We are in the planning/feasability stage at the moment & are looking for some advice, tips, do's, don'ts & ideas.

The basic plan so far is to fly into Chaing Mai, buy some new Dreams then head down south the sell them when we get there. The way we figured it, the cost of a new scooter should out way the drama of a second hand one if it breaks down.

Now,
1: Is it possible to just rock up at a dealer, hand over the cash & ride away?
2: How hard would it be selling the scooters in Phuket at short notice?
3: Is renting an option considering the state of some of the rental bikes?
4: Does anyone want to buy some new ones (maybe for their hire fleet), rent them to us, then arrange the transport of them either way?

We figure this is the backbone of our plan, so once we get it sorted, we can start working out routes, hotels etc.

Feel free to chime in with any input you have.

 

[dirthonk]

Pounce,
I reckon its a wicked idea, as long as you can plan a "b" road route rather than vegetate on the highway the whole way down.

Im not sure you need new bikes to do the trip. Those honda dreams dont just "break down" they are built to withstand pretty much everything and anything, including a couple of wild aussies thrashing the pants of them.

Im not sure about how easy it would be to sell them down in phuket at short notice, maybe this is something you could arrange beforehand with someone down there. However the less you spend on them in the first place, the less you will fret about being able to sell them.

Renting would certainly be an option, the only obstacle being how to get them back to chiang mai, you could freight them and have someone in chiang mai ensure they get back to the rental company safely.

If it was me however, I wouldnt go to phuket. I would drive said scooter to chiang khong, cross into laos. then drive via luang nam tha, luang prabang, vang vieng down to vientiane. Cross back into thailand and travel via nong kha, loei back to chiang mai. An awesome route with breathtaking scenery IMHO. pretty sure you could get a rental company to give you the bikes for this aswell.

Anyway, food for thought.

Good luck!

 

[Pounce]

Cheers Luke,

Good idea, that's the sort of stuff we want to hear. Open to all ideas ATM.

The plan was to do "B" roads for the whole trip if possible, even dirt if unavoidable. If we wanted to ride the straight & boring motorways, we'ld settle for a roadbike. :wink:

 

[tonykiwi]

No idea at all on the detail around ownership, but the dream of the ride is wonderful.

Hats off to you matey, these are the trips that fulfil our lives. Do the back roads and enjoy the Thai people and culture. Motorways are for petrolheads.

Looking forward to hearing the reports

T

 

[harrythefinn]

Had a crazy moment like that before. We used Yamaha nouvas , Pattaya,Laos, Vietnam Border,Cambodia and back. I seem to remember about 3,500Kms over 7 days. They are bullet proof and economical on the fuel, even always flat out. One problems was the spokes, I did 2 sets on the rear wheel. There are a few posts by HIKO on this forum about the scooter trips. Just do it, a blast.

 

[madjbs]

You may have ownership problems, depending on the type of visa you have and where you end up buying and selling the bikes. You also have to get a document from either your embassy or Thai immigration, which sometimes will only given out to people with certain visas. Also, as Slash mentioned, it takes a few months to actually get the ownership documents and number plate for a brand new bike.

Better to rent bikes or buy second hand ones and keep the ownership transfer documents blank so you can sell them to someone else easilly later.

 

[Pounce]

Lukes suggestion was great, but it's looking harder.

https://www.gt-rider.com/thailand-motorc ... 4594#44594

I've contacted several hire companies, so just waiting on a response about both options so far.

Just putting this out there, but would anyone be willing to buy new ones for us & get them licenced? We would be willing then, after the ride to sell them back to you at a good discount, then you could onsell them to make a small profit.
All cash would be upfront from us for the initial purchase, so you wouldn't be out of pocket.

 

[Pounce]

1st knockback.

Benz from Mr Mechanic said no. Only will let us ride them around Northern Thailand.

 

[johngooding]

Pounce wrote:

Just putting this out there, but would anyone be willing to buy new ones for us & get them licenced? We would be willing then, after the ride to sell them back to you at a good discount, then you could onsell them to make a small profit.
All cash would be upfront from us for the initial purchase, so you wouldn't be out of pocket.

Great to see you are thinking out of the box. I never really understood what that meant, but it sounds good.
If you get really stuck I am sure I could do something on the lines of the above, but I am badly located for your journey; being in Khon Kaen. I am sure that there is someone on the board in Chiang Mai who knows the Honda dealers well and can set that up. Ideally they also have mates in Phuket who could help with the sales side.
If you do decide that flying to Khon Kaen, (easy, 3 flights a day from BKK) and starting from there is an option, I am happy to help.

 

[LivinLOS]

Why not just buy a couple of second hand waves.. say 15k baht.. Second hand (so already regged) and not bother to do the name changes..

You could even post them back to the owner for a token amount back via the post office, its 2300 baht from Phuket to CM.

 

[KZ]

If you take smaller back roads it may be fun, but you need to have good maps or printed guides with instructions for bicyclists. Riding on the side of highways is no fun, it's even dangerous. I'd rather take a 125 Nova or Suzuki 150, or the new 125cc Honda scooter, they go fast enough to ride on the freeway if you have to - it's still a challenge!

 

[PICO-PICO]

I did Phuket ---all of the North and along the MaeKong -- Isaan 3 times. A wonderful trip, if you avoid the highways, mostly utterly boring and dangerous.
If you do go too much on highways, dont forget your gas mask.
E.g starting from Phuket , go up to Ranong over the to the Easternshore.
Avoid the 41/later 4 a much as you can, you can not always. Endlessly boring, only trucks at 100kmh plus who will haven no mercy with a slow scooter.There are beautiful roads just along the sea shore, no traffic and enough little resorts to stop wherever.
You ride more km but you are in Thailand.

Safe trip

Pico

 

[Pounce]

Thanks for the generous offer Mark, I'll be in touch when we sort out what we're doing.

Option 3 is now on the table. It's been suggested we leave Pattaya & head through Cambodia to Vietnam & back. Is this a good ride to do?

I've been reading all the posts I can, & there seems to be a lot of different experiences with border crossings everywhere. Is there a basic list of what to do, what you need, etc. whether the bikes are owned, rented or borrowed? Visas needed if we're only in country for about 2 weeks but going all over the place?

Thanks for all the replies, you'll soon get sick of me & my muppet questions.

 

[DavidFL]

Pounce wrote: Thanks for the generous offer Mark, I'll be in touch when we sort out what we're doing.

Option 3 is now on the table. It's been suggested we leave Pattaya & head through Cambodia to Vietnam & back. Is this a good ride to do?

I've been reading all the posts I can, & there seems to be a lot of different experiences with border crossings everywhere. Is there a basic list of what to do, what you need, etc. whether the bikes are owned, rented or borrowed? Visas needed if we're only in country for about 2 weeks but going all over the place?

Thanks for all the replies, you'll soon get sick of me & my muppet questions.

Try this one for border crossing info
https://www.gt-rider.com/touring-informa ... -crossings

 

[Auke]

Pounce wrote: Option 3 is now on the table. It's been suggested we leave Pattaya & head through Cambodia to Vietnam & back. Is this a good ride to do?

Maybe read the posts suggested by Harry the Finn posted by Hiko on crossing the Vietnam border (see https://www.gt-rider.com/thailand-motorc ... t2247.html).

Very difficult if not impossible unless you want to jump through a lot of hoops and know beforehand which bikes (engine numbers, registration numbers, etc. you want to take over the border and where and when you want to go.

 

[Pounce]

I'm still coming though the plan seems to be changing all the time.
Looks like Laos is out & I might be coming on my own.
If that's the case I'm thinking of just hiring a KLX or D-Tracker & going where the wind blows for the 2 weeks.
Road/dirt I'm not too fussed.
I've been reading everything I can on here & learning the basics in Thai so being on my own won't be a problem.
If anyone is planning anything over the Xmas period, I could probably hook up with, or meet in passing.

Just a quick query, has anyone or does anyone just free camp if the need arises?
You know, sleeping bag way off the side of the road for the night if you're away from a room or will the wee beasties of the night get to you?