Kawasaki Big Bikes In Thailand

[KZ]

Yep, you ALWAYS have to double-check everything here in Thailand. Even simple things like tightening a chain is sometimes done wrong by "experienced" mechanics in "reputable" shops. Usually there's a sticker on the side of the swing-arm for riders who want to play mechanic! Guess they just don't care. "Mai pen rai" they'll say, it'll stretch sooner or later... A friend of mine who bought a brand new Phantom had the same problem with the steering head, it was way tight, the front end wouldn't move with the bike on the center stand. Bolts are often either too tight or not tightened at all. -
There should be a small chain guard on top of the swing arm like in the picture on page 2. You wrote that there's no guard at all?
I'm interested in add-ons, what do they offer? I'd like to install a bash plate under the engine and hand guards. Do they offer these kinda things? Would appreciate it if you could let us know!
Btw, I read about the 2009 Yamaha WR250R Enduro and the Yamaha WR250X, a supermoto, and have to say the Kawasaki looks better! Yamaha also makes a full-size 125cc Enduro with a watercooled engine, 21"/18" wheels, 41mm forks and digital tach - now that would definitely be something for the Thai market! maybe they'll bring it in...

 

[TonyBKK]

Congrats on the new bike Beddhist!

Funny- I had the same chain tension 'issue' with my Ninja 250R- when I picked it up new from the Kawasaki shop in BKK the chain was fine, but when I brought the bike in for the 1000km service they tightened the chain too much so I loosened it up myself when I got home.

Fortunately I haven't noticed any problems with the steering head.

Enjoy the new bike!

 

[beddhist]

When I say "no chain guard" I mean nothing worth calling that. That bit of plastic serves no purpose at all.

As far as the steering bearing is concerned: I'm almost certain that it's a ball bearing (which I regard as an even worse design fault than an open-running chain). Checking ball bearing adjustment is very difficult, especially if the bike isn't propped up, but I know what I'm doing. Ball bearings must have no pre-load whatsoever or the life will be significantly shortened.

Being a bike mechanic myself I'm a fussy bugger, especially when I buy a new bike.

Accessories for the KLX from Kawa: zero.

Now we seem to have rego problems. First, when we picked up the bike they made us pay to transfer the rego to Suphanburi, the province where Su officially lives. Yesterday they rung her up and asked for some document back. To "protect buyers and sellers" *they* are going to register the bike in *Bkk*, but Su will be the owner in the green book. Clear text: while Su paid for the bike it seems she isn't the owner 100%. They somehow prohibit the on-sale of the bike, because it's cheap. I don't understand how any of this works and the legalities of it. It's no issue to us at this point, as we don't want to sell it. I just hope it won't stop us from getting English rego, because that would sink our planned trip.

 

[Ian Bungy]

Our New KLX250 are supposed to Be Delivered in Chiang Mai this week? I already have some Accessories and as soon as the Bikes actually arrive one will go to the Shop to have the other parts Made :wink: What we will have available are:
Exhaust Pipe, Two Brothers Racing Style.
Full Alloy Skid Plate/Sump Guard.
Radiator Guards.
Carrier/Luggage Rack ( Normal Size not the Huge things )
Prices will be confirmed once Completed and i will post them on the Board. 8)
Other Stuff like Hand Guards, Alloy Bars etc you can get at any of the Motocross or Bike Shops.

 

[KZ]

beddhist, I wouldn't worry much about the address, as long as Su is listed as the owner of the bike. Maybe it'll make the transfer easier, my theory is that the dudes in the small provinces don't know how to issue a book for a 250cc bike. Maybe they don't have the new software - who knows?But how can they "somehow prohibit the on-sale of the bike, because it's cheap" - ? A green book should be transferrable at any time? What do you mean by english rego?
I've had several trucks, Waves, Boss and Phantom and CBRs and sometimes my name was written in english and sometimes in thai, but it never made any difference.

Ian, I'd be interested in the alu skid plate; I'll stay away from the muffler since I had to pay a 1000 THB fine (ouch!) for my HRC after-market muffler here in Hua Hin.

 

[Azoulay]

Hi KZ, HiFriends,

Could you a bit develop and explain what do you mean by "I'll stay away from the muffler since I had to pay a 1000 THB fine (ouch!) for my HRC after-market muffler here in Hua Hin.", do you mean that the Brown People caught you because you were too noisy ?

I would then have to review my bike which are fitted with some nice Termignoni....

Do they control that now or is it something else ?

 

[KZ]

Yes, two of my friends and I had to pay 1000 THB each in the last month for loud pipes!

 

[johngooding]

Do they collect 1000Baht for every Harley that rumbles past as well?? They seem to be the noisiest of the bunch.

 

[Rhodie]

Dropped by Kawasaki in BKK today.

There appears to be a shortage of Ninjas.
The D-Tracker is proving more popular than the KLX, here in the city.
Makes sense.
They could supply either the next day.

All the KLX & D-Trackers had chains so taught,
that there was absolutely no play in them.
I pointed this out to the manager - a decent guy -
but he just shrugged his shoulders, saying "no problem".

I did manage to get an explanation for the Ninja/KLX-D-Tracker price differential.
Apparently due to the KLX/D-T having upside down forks.

Tried a customer's D-Tracker [yes, this does pose a number of questions]
which had been brought back with a broken seat strap.
Due to TGF holding on too tight and one side gave way! :shock:

Re: remapping & pipes.
The Mgr is referring everyone to DirtShop saying that they [Kawa] cannot remap,
but DirtShop can sell you a new ECU along with pipe & other accessories.
Which did not make sense, but then this was in very broken english.

 

[beddhist]

Ian Bungy wrote: Carrier/Luggage Rack

Ian: where can I get one of these? We bought some Jap brand (but Vietnam-made) large saddle bags at Paddock in Bkk, but need something to keep them away from trouble.

I'm also after a top case, but the Chinese brand they had looked dodgy to me.

Also, does anybody know where I can get a power socket? (Not the cig. lighter size, the smaller size a la BMW?)

Thanks,
Peter.

 

[beddhist]

KZ wrote: But how can they "somehow prohibit the on-sale of the bike, because it's cheap" - ? A green book should be transferrable at any time? What do you mean by english rego?

Su couldn't explain it to me, either. She wrote:

"Today Kawasaki call me
They don't permit me register my bike plate.
They protect the person buy the bike and sell it."

Kawa will register the bike with a Bkk plate.

We need rego in English (all of it, not just the name) to obtain a carnet and apparently Malaysia also requires it, as well as a plate with Roman letters, not Thai. This is discussed in the topic "Carnet for Thai registered bike". Makes sense, since nobody outside Thailand can read Thai characters.

Another modification we need to be able to enter Cambodia: a light switch. Apparently lights out during the day is the law there. The KLX doesn't have one (bad idea anyway, particularly with a bike with FI).

 

[pseacraft]

Very interesting to hear about an aftermarket ECU for the KLX. I know that there is a company in Japan working on one as the FI KLX/D-Tracker has been there for a couple of years . Was not aware of one being available today. Maybe they are confusing it with the KLX450 which is available?

I have a Two Brothers Racing M7 can for my KLX and will be modifying the TBR S-pipe to accept the KLX's O2 sensor. I also have a Utah skid plate and a set of DirtBagz Ranger bags and racks for it. Now I am just waiting for the bike to show up. I am now hearing that it won't be in Udorn until the 26th which turns out to be the day after I go back to the desert. Way bummed.

Eric

 

[DavidFL]

Aha. Overall sounds like not everything is not going smoothly.
1. Bike quality
2. Rego
3. Modifications
4. After market accessories

A bit frustrating for all I guess & not so smooth or straight forward.
But "jai yen yen", it is to be expected there will be teething problems while "they" get it sorted out the first time.
But aint it great to be able to have this wonderful opportunity to buy NEW cheap value for money dual purpose / off-road bikes here in Thailand.
Three cheers for Kawa. I think you're onto a winner!!!

 

[Ian Bungy]

I Totally Agree David, Great to have Real Bikes at a Great Price!!!
How about Talking to the Guys at Kawasaki and getting another Column started like for Yamaha & Triumph?
Beddhist I am having most of the Stuff Fabricated in Chiang Mai. Give me a bit of Time as soon as everything is organised i will publish a List of accessories and Prices For your BMW Powerlets and other Top Stuff go to: www.whitehorsegear.com I have brought a lot of Gear through them and the stuff is normally delivered to Chiang Mai about a week later with No Hassles. :wink:

 

[KZ]

No bike has a center stand anymore, not even the 250 Ninja, and kickstarters are also a thing of the past, at least I don't know of any new street bike that has one. I just wrote "center stand" because I didn't want to write "when we put the bike on a plastic crate so that the front end was in the air" - it was meant more figuratively, the crate acted as a center stand.
Teething problems with the new Kawas were to be expected, and a tight chain or a torn seat buckle are no big quality issues. "Normal" registration shouldn't be a problem, our new Ninja owner hasn't had a complaint. Modifications are always a tricky business and it's up to the owner to sort that out. And after market accessories should be available soon, or could be ordered or brought in. All in all I agree: Three cheers for Kawa being smart to secure the "beginner's market" with fairly priced small bikes. That's what Thailand needs and I'm not surprised at all that the 250 Ninja is "sold out". I predict these Ninjas will multiply like rabbits and soon outnumber Honda's CB400.
beddhist - you need a rego in english; how about registering the bike the ususal way and then get a certified translation? And a plate with roman letters? Can't imagine how that'll work, how do you spell "sara ooh, sara ey"? You sure you need that? - I see cars from Malaysia with their local plates here in TH, and some thai cars with a malaysian license sticker on the bumper.
I've been to Cambo with a bike and had the headlights on all day, the locals point to it and laugh! Same thing happened to me in 1991 in TH. You could ride with no helmet, no brakes, no muffler, no plates, no license or insurance, and nobody would care. But headlights during the day was a big deal! - I'd simply get some electric tape and put a few strips over the headlight in the morning and have ten baht ready in case a cop stops me.

 

[klx250]

I checked the chain on mine in the showroom and it was perfect.......they took it out the back to prep it for the road and when I checked again....there was no play whatsoever, it was tighter than tight....... and remember when you sit on the bike the chain becomes even tighter.

 

[KZ]

Well you're lucky those mechanics spotted the loose chain!

 

[beddhist]

Yes, I agree with most of what's been said here. Cheers to Kawa for selling a new bike for only 1000B more than what ST in Chiang Rai asked for a 16 year old Degree.

The Kawa workshop in Bkk looks like an OP theatre. I'd say the docs still need a little training.

Thanks for the pointer to the socket. And thanks to David for creating yet another forum.

My question about the headlight was because I read several posts on ThaiVisa and Khmer440 about the headlight off issue, so I assumed the cops like to hand out tickets for it. It used to be similar in Spain in the '80s. Every other person would point to our headlight and shout "La luz, la luz!" 10 years later I got pulled over by the cops for riding with the light off (alternator almost dead...).

I'm sure we could enter Malaysia, Laos and Cambo with standard plates and rego. But Indo, Timor Leste, Oz and NZ? With unreadable paperwork and plates? The RAC in the UK has graciously agreed to issue a carnet for the bike, but for the same reasons they require readable paperwork. I don't think the plate would be an issue, we could make one ourselves. Don't know whether they would accept a certified translation of the rego.

Thanks to all,
Peter.

 

[DavidFL]

The KLX 250 has arrived in Chiang Mai

A light weight small & manageable bike

Also the D-Tracker

If you want to buy one, rent one from Mr Mechanic for a day or two to test them out..

 

[muzza]

I tried both bike in the car park at Rama 9 and got the impression that the KLX actually has more oomph, I checked the spec and notice the D tracker max power is quoted at 7500 rpm and the KLX at 9500.

So if it the same engine are they tuned differently?

It all pretty relative as they only have 22/24 hp.

I am also wondering if you get the 300cc mods available on the market , what do you do regarding the fuel injection as all the kits are l referring to the carb version of old.

I also see the KLX 250 is now in the UK line up for 2009 but not the D tracker.

 

[pseacraft]

My KLX has finally arrived from Udorn. Only a couple of short delays in BKK, which I attributed to the supply chain. Sadly only SWMBO can touch it as I am out of the country and must wait a few weeks before I can have some fun.

Eric

 

[Franz]

Eric, saw them in CNX, beautiful and so is yours, congratulations !! As I'm not a native English speaker, could you please enlighten some of us what's: SWMBO ??? cheers, Franz

 

[pseacraft]

Franz - no worries.

SWMBO = She Who Must Be Obeyed (aka XYL = ex-young lady)

Someone in the forum uses it also, I picked it up from Amatuer Radio.

Eric

 

[TonyBKK]

pseacraft wrote: Sadly only SWMBO can touch it as I am out of the country and must wait a few weeks before I can have some fun.

Eric

LOL- I see SWMBO practices safe sex :wink: the mirror condoms are an extra special touch :lol:

Congrats on the new bike! Happy Trails!

 

[pseacraft]

thanks Tony.

I think she left them on to keep my drool off!

She is having a good time teasing me when I call by walking outside and turning it on. Today she said it sounds great. just wait till I put the 2BR M7 exhaust on it....
:twisted:

Eric