I need a bike - advice please..

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andrew55

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Jun 18, 2010
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Virgin post. Have enjoyed GT site for some years. You guys are obviously dedicated to its success. Thank you.

Wanna buy a 2nd hand tourer of around 400cc.

Find myself north of Sukhothai for a week each month. Been shuttling my 135 BKK bike on my pick-up and touring solo a bit from there. Need a proper bike as think I've got my throttle wrist seized in 'flat out' (110kph, downhill and head down like V. Rossi)

Experienced with big bikes. Have had a '78 XS1100 since 1981 in Oz, and also have a Trophy 1200 there.

Rented several bikes out of CM over the last few years. Thought 400cc seemed adequate with some gear work to have a scratch on the twisties, 120-130 on highways, and passably nimble for a bit of dirt(god forbid) or a creek..

Before you tell me a BMW... I have 70,000.

Think that puts me in the market for:

*CB400- think leaning this way. Good for a pillion and luggage, but 1-up fun when worked.

*Steed or other twin? Had a CX500 as a youngster but no experience of twins since. Are there advantages - less gear changes - lower down power? Am I being academic with 400 size?

*Not sure about a 'soft' chopper style. Always thought myself a sports tourer but rarely confident to hang off the saddle in Thailand. Broke my foot on a dead wombat once. Hate to try a water buffalo or even a small elephant. Guess I'll need to rent a Steed or similar to see.Are they comfortable? Pillion? Can you still 'ride' them?

*SR400/500? Read an old thread saying most don't have green book?

Any comments or suggestions please?

Also clubs Sukhothai area? Met 'Wood' at Wood MC in Mae Sot recently who said they have a club. Nice guy. Info on web seems to be all Thai. Problem for me.

Thank you.

PS - I look forward to a beer at GT's watering hole.

PPS - Better to get shot out of a cannon than squeezed out of a tube.
 
mbox999

mbox999

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Nov 7, 2007
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Hi and welcome to gt-rider.
To be honest 70000 thb will get you a CB 400 without green book ...and therefor a possibility of getting confiscated.

For 70000thb i can recommend a brand new Tiger Boxer 250RS which comes with 3 years/30000km warranty and having owned one myself it ran great. Even did a 1011 km/daytrip on it nakhonsawan/umphang/nakhonsawan and another daytrip together with tonybkk which was 720km/day nakhonsawan/phitsanuloke/petchabun/nongbua/nakhonsawan . The Tiger Boxer 250RS costs 72000 thb and here is more info: http://tigersachsclub.com/tproducts.html

here is a slideshow & onboard video of the Tiger Boxer 250RS:
and here you can order a tiger boxer 250RS ( being delivered to the nearest postoffice ) : http://tigersachsclub.com/tigersachsshop.html

hope that helps & happy trails,

Mbox
 
mbox999

mbox999

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Nov 7, 2007
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here is another on board video doing the 1011km to umphang: [youtube:24dn3eo4] /youtube:24dn3eo4]

and this video was made by tonybkk when we went to petchabun ( i did 720km that day tony did over 1000km on the er6f)
[youtube:24dn3eo4] /youtube:24dn3eo4]

and here a walkaround my Boxer (note: the lights have been modified ):
[youtube:24dn3eo4] /youtube:24dn3eo4]

happy trails,

mbox
 
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andrew55

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Jun 18, 2010
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Thanks Mbox.

Forgive my prejudice but a 250 sounds like just the thing for my daughter in Oz on her learner's permit.

Pics do look sweet though... I think too small but anywhere to rent one for a decent trial?
 
mbox999

mbox999

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Nov 7, 2007
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andrew55 wrote: Thanks Mbox.

Forgive my prejudice but a 250 sounds like just the thing for my daughter in Oz on her learner's permit.

Pics do look sweet though... I think too small but anywhere to rent one for a decent trial?
Click to expand...
Hi , where are you located? In Bkk the Tiger Showroom could let you test it ( make appointment if you wish- pm me)
If you are located elsewhere the closest to the boxer 250 is the boxer 200 which is what the police is riding , i did my first testride on a policeboxer . Approaching the BiB friendly and asking them will likely let you test one .

hope this helps,

mbox
 
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andrew55

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Jun 18, 2010
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Very impressive Mbox. To be honest I need a little quicker. Looks like I stay out of the bars and save some more month.
 
mbox999

mbox999

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Nov 7, 2007
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andrew55 wrote: Very impressive Mbox. To be honest I need a little quicker. Looks like I stay out of the bars and save some more month.
Click to expand...
Happy saving :) next in line which does faster is the kawa ninja 250 for about 147000 thb....but if you top it off to over 245000 thb you could get a er6n . There are some er6n/f already second hand available too so you could look for those.

happy trails,

mbox
 
mbox999

mbox999

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Nov 7, 2007
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andrew55 wrote: Very impressive Mbox. To be honest I need a little quicker. Looks like I stay out of the bars and save some more month.
Click to expand...
forgot to mention that there is a "racing tuneup" available which adds about 10-15% power & speed...this racing tuneup costs around 5000 thb but you'll loose the 3 years/30000km warranty .

mbox
 
David Learmonth

David Learmonth

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Apr 23, 2006
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Never ridden a Tiger Boxer 250, though what I have read has been good so far. Capt. Slash has been all over this country on a Honda Phantom & doing more kilometres in a day than most people. Unless you really need to go like hell 250 should be adequate to see Thailand on - especially at the price. :)
 
TonyBKK

TonyBKK

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Dec 27, 2007
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andrew55 wrote: Very impressive Mbox. To be honest I need a little quicker. Looks like I stay out of the bars and save some more month.
Click to expand...
If your budget is only 70,000 Baht you are going to be hard pressed to find anything bigger / faster than the Tiger Boxer 250 with a plate and green book...

Buying an old 400cc is a roll of the dice- you might get lucky and find one that's mechanically sound, but the vast majority have been "maintained" Thai-style, which is to say not really maintained at all. And when the Thai's repair their bikes you'd be amazed at some of the ingenious things they do to get their bikes back on the road without spending the money for genuine replacement parts from Japan...

If you're looking for a "real" sport bike I'd recommend you look for a second hand Kawasaki Ninja 250R. None are older than 2008 (when they first went on sale here in Thailand). They are 100% legal and unlike Honda, you can find CHEAP OEM Parts and certified mechanics all over Thailand that can service and repair your Ninja 250R with Genuine Kawasaki Parts. Keep that little parallel twin cranked up over 9000 RPM and the little Ninjette is wicked fun- very light and agile and drops into corners effortlessly. NOTE: You might want to upgrade the tires if you plan to really push it.
IMG_1379SSR.jpg


I've seen second hand Ninja 250R's going for as little as 80k Baht, but seems average second hand price is closer to 100k.

If that's too much for your budget take a serious look at the Tiger Boxer 250RS. Not a sport bike, but a very capable all arounder at a price that can't be beat. I've been very happy with the service I've received from Tiger on my purchase of their little Retro with sidecar. :clap:

Ride On!

Tony
IMG_1324SSR.jpg
 
mbox999

mbox999

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Nov 7, 2007
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David Learmonth wrote: Never ridden a Tiger Boxer 250, though what I have read has been good so far. Capt. Slash has been all over this country on a Honda Phantom & doing more kilometres in a day than most people. Unless you really need to go like hell 250 should be adequate to see Thailand on - especially at the price. :)
Click to expand...
Actually last year Captain Slash came to visit me and we had a little drivearound in nakwan and did some exploring of local places he was on his Phantom and i drove the Boxer 250RS, here the thread: nakhon-sawan-locality-t6699.html#p40256

mbox
 
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Franz

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Jun 28, 2007
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Andrew, u got anybody local who can help you ? For there's some good websites:
www.bahtsold.com
www.thaisecondhand.com
www.mocyc.com
www.panthip.com
Right now the secondhand big bike market is dead, not much moving and used bikes are cheap like never before.
I got 2 SRX4's with legal book before, all below 50.000.- right now an SRX6 also legal for 60.000.- Of course did I not care for their state as I wanted to rebuild them.
So far seen on these websites are mainly CB400's, XJ 400's and some Bandit 400's in quite good condition all around 60-80.000 with book.
Anyway if you go to buy one, just hand over the cash to the seller at the rego office once it is clear the rego in your name can be done.
Trick is, if you buy a bike in Bkk but live upcountry, get a friends agreement (copy of ID & Houserego) to have the bike used at that adress and the rego can be done within 2 hours in your name. Usually if there's something wrong you'll know by then and still have your money.

The real problem then comes if you re-register upcountry because then depending on where you are it can get hairy. CNX registered bikes are known for legality as they are checking very thoroughly up here, all old docs and fotos of the bike at first registration are sent up and checked, also both VIN and engine number and then here you'll see if it's still the bike that was first registered or a restamped one.

Good luck in finding a matching bike. Rgds, F
 
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Dougal

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Dec 18, 2007
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Hi Andrew,

Welcome to GT Riders.
Something most seem to have forgotten to mention: You can buy a new Kawasaki with a deposit and monthly payments .
That is if you are fully legal over here with work permit etc.... I've heard of guys being able to do it on retirement visa as well but not sure how that works.

Best of luck.
.
 
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