Here is a nice one in today's Grauniad........
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2009/j ... ike?page=2
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2009/j ... ike?page=2
Old man and the CC.... Guardian
- Thread starter danwhite
- Start date
Do you remember 'Jupiter's Travels' published in the 70's? ... A Sunday Times hack who went around the world on a Triumph. Wonderful book. .... All on an old Triumph!
I like the cc guy. I did 5000 km plus around Thailand, Cambodia and Laos on a souped up Kawasaki GTO 125 stroke in 2006. so I know where he is coming from... Bit like a minsk except faster. Could be fixed absolutely anywhere.... Luang Phabang. PP.... Anywhere in TL.... All for beans. Parts whereever you went
A mechanic in Cambos did something voodoo to the carb with bits from a nighthawk when he changed the cylinder..... It went really, really, really fast after that....... Then it blew up.
I like the cc guy. I did 5000 km plus around Thailand, Cambodia and Laos on a souped up Kawasaki GTO 125 stroke in 2006. so I know where he is coming from... Bit like a minsk except faster. Could be fixed absolutely anywhere.... Luang Phabang. PP.... Anywhere in TL.... All for beans. Parts whereever you went
A mechanic in Cambos did something voodoo to the carb with bits from a nighthawk when he changed the cylinder..... It went really, really, really fast after that....... Then it blew up.
Good story, haven't read all of it yet but definitely will... thanks for posting it!
Makes me realize how much guts the guy really has - at that age with only a little money. How may people would back off on that idea because it seems impossible or at too crazy. The average rider would save a lot of money, buy a BMW GS, fit it out with spare parts, huge fuel tank, roll bars, GTS and maybe even finance a pickup truck for back-up like those two actors who went around the world and wrote a book about it.
This guy is making a mockery out of the whole process - just grab a 125 in Mexico and go! I love it. Less can be more!
Food for thought: Maybe people wouldn't be as open, friendly and hepful if he would show up with an expensive GS...?
Makes me realize how much guts the guy really has - at that age with only a little money. How may people would back off on that idea because it seems impossible or at too crazy. The average rider would save a lot of money, buy a BMW GS, fit it out with spare parts, huge fuel tank, roll bars, GTS and maybe even finance a pickup truck for back-up like those two actors who went around the world and wrote a book about it.
This guy is making a mockery out of the whole process - just grab a 125 in Mexico and go! I love it. Less can be more!
Food for thought: Maybe people wouldn't be as open, friendly and hepful if he would show up with an expensive GS...?
Yes.... What with him and Ted Simon going at it round the world at the age of 70, it gives us all hope I think.
Doing it on a local bike is one way and one kind of experience. Did anyone run into the couple from Perth going from Oz to Marrakesh on the postie bike? They were in CM for a bit. I met them in Ayuthaya when they were on their way north. Posted here
https://www.gt-rider.com/thailand-motorc ... t4713.html
Doing it on a GS or whatever is just another kind of experience...... When I was on the battered GTO that rattled I had lots of chats on the way with riders on huge machines from Germany and so on....... Always interesting, friendly and entertaining.
I am sure we had very different conversations with mechanics though.
On this last trip around the north (on a very modest motorcycle) I ran into riders on all kinds of machines both Thai and foreign. Its great just how friendly people are..... In one small village I got a round of applause from a whole line of Thai people on parked up Harleys and BMWs as I rode in...... Great fun.
Doing it on a local bike is one way and one kind of experience. Did anyone run into the couple from Perth going from Oz to Marrakesh on the postie bike? They were in CM for a bit. I met them in Ayuthaya when they were on their way north. Posted here
https://www.gt-rider.com/thailand-motorc ... t4713.html
Doing it on a GS or whatever is just another kind of experience...... When I was on the battered GTO that rattled I had lots of chats on the way with riders on huge machines from Germany and so on....... Always interesting, friendly and entertaining.
I am sure we had very different conversations with mechanics though.
On this last trip around the north (on a very modest motorcycle) I ran into riders on all kinds of machines both Thai and foreign. Its great just how friendly people are..... In one small village I got a round of applause from a whole line of Thai people on parked up Harleys and BMWs as I rode in...... Great fun.
When I had to use the ferry on my Cambodia trip, I arrived as the last pick-up was just bording, and squeezed my little CBR150 in as they pulled up the metal gate. I managed to turn the bike 180 degrees around on the sidestand. Talked to a guy on a 400 Suzuki Enduro, his big bike was stuck between the cars, tooig to move. When we arrived at the other side of the river, I was first out the gate while the guy with the big Enduro had to wait for several cars to move before he could turn his bike around. He overtook me close to the next river where the whole thing started over. He couldn't get the big bike onto the ferry backwards, and once on the ferry couldn't turn it.
You did Cambos on a little CBR?..... Excellent.
I actually found my battered GTO 125 two stroke was better in Cambodia than the larger (big tank... Small engine), boss. The boss may be more comfortable, but the GTO rattled and bounced over the crappy roads with no problem. The bigger, heavier bike packed up with the mud and grit (mind you it was a bad choice of route for that machine) and needed major (expensive) surgery in Siem Reap...... Also there was the peace of mind that the rattling gas-cylinder-delivery-bike could be fixed in any village for the price of a piece of toast in Waterloo station since parts are ubiquitous.
Mind you.... I am no big bike expert. The biggest machines I have toured on have been 350s (Enfield in India 1995, Jawa in Vietnam 1994)...... I certainly wouldn't turn my nose up at the chance to do Laos or Northern India on a GS or something of that ilk..... A different experience.
I actually found my battered GTO 125 two stroke was better in Cambodia than the larger (big tank... Small engine), boss. The boss may be more comfortable, but the GTO rattled and bounced over the crappy roads with no problem. The bigger, heavier bike packed up with the mud and grit (mind you it was a bad choice of route for that machine) and needed major (expensive) surgery in Siem Reap...... Also there was the peace of mind that the rattling gas-cylinder-delivery-bike could be fixed in any village for the price of a piece of toast in Waterloo station since parts are ubiquitous.
Mind you.... I am no big bike expert. The biggest machines I have toured on have been 350s (Enfield in India 1995, Jawa in Vietnam 1994)...... I certainly wouldn't turn my nose up at the chance to do Laos or Northern India on a GS or something of that ilk..... A different experience.
Well, I didn't have much time and needed a vacation, so all I did was to go straight to Snookyville and explored the area, includig Kep. Can't really call that "doing Cambodia". But I rode the bike from Bang Saphan to BKK and Trat on the first day, that's 700km, no problems. Just hunkered down behind the small fairing and twisted the throttle all the way - that little bike would go 140km/h steady, and depending on the direction of the wind would go either 130 or 150. I was surprised at how well it coped with the dirt roads close to the bridges; most were dry and even, freshly graded. These days you could go with a FZR600 without any problems.
With the Koh Kong road now surfaced that whole part of Cambodia is great riding...... Did you sample the Kep crab in Kampot pepper?...... Superb.
That sounds like super fast little bike....... I am not a speedy person myself, but I did try out the Kawasaki Ninja 250 the other day...... Thats an a amazingly nippy little fella..... I was quite tempted to buy one.....
That sounds like super fast little bike....... I am not a speedy person myself, but I did try out the Kawasaki Ninja 250 the other day...... Thats an a amazingly nippy little fella..... I was quite tempted to buy one.....
KZ
Good stuff there, that's quite a quick holiday ride. Any chance of some photos & a brief trip report / outline, pretty please.
Now
I'm probably wrong, but as a rocket scientist (profile) with 322 posts up it might well be your first illuminating trip report for us to read. :wink: Bring it on please...
I didn't write a trip report since I only went to Sihanoukville to hang out on the beach, and a little CBR150R doesn't make things much more exciting. If it would have been a Siem Reap / Phnom Penh cross-country trip on a Transalp...
But I'll dig through my old files to find some pictures of the trip over the weekend!
But I'll dig through my old files to find some pictures of the trip over the weekend!
I did the Sihanoukville trip in 2007, the bridges across the rivers were being built, they should be done by now. Bang Saphan is 400km south of Bangkok, I made it the first day to Trat, appr 700km. Navigating BKK was the most difficult part!
Next day on to the border, the bike was no problem at all. The customs guy on the cambodian side said there was a small fee involved and wanted to keep my bike papers until I returned to pick them up. I said okay, but I would need a receipt that he had received them, which posed a problem for him, so he let me keep them. The small fee was forgotten.
On to Ko Kong, I spent a night in a cheap guesthouse and enjoyed my first cambodian meal - steak with fench fries. Next morning fresh baguette and french coffee, I hadn't had that in ages!
From there it was a relaxed one-day-trip to Sihanoukville. Got me a bungalow directly on the beach. I had about two weeks af vacation, then I had to back in TH for work.
A picture says more than a thousand words, so maybe I'll start with some beach pics of Serenity Beach, the biggest beach in Snookyville with most of the action.
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My favorite hang-out, the Sporting Club - would like to know if it still exists.
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Next day on to the border, the bike was no problem at all. The customs guy on the cambodian side said there was a small fee involved and wanted to keep my bike papers until I returned to pick them up. I said okay, but I would need a receipt that he had received them, which posed a problem for him, so he let me keep them. The small fee was forgotten.
On to Ko Kong, I spent a night in a cheap guesthouse and enjoyed my first cambodian meal - steak with fench fries. Next morning fresh baguette and french coffee, I hadn't had that in ages!
From there it was a relaxed one-day-trip to Sihanoukville. Got me a bungalow directly on the beach. I had about two weeks af vacation, then I had to back in TH for work.
A picture says more than a thousand words, so maybe I'll start with some beach pics of Serenity Beach, the biggest beach in Snookyville with most of the action.
<img src=""
My favorite hang-out, the Sporting Club - would like to know if it still exists.
<img src=""
![>](http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm108/negerkuss/serendipitybeach28jp.jpg" alt="" />)
Guess most of you are interested in the bikes - 250cc Enduros are the transportation for farang over there, some even have nice new 400cc single or twins. Locals have Honda Waves, which have a slightly modified fairing, and I haven't seen one with a kick-start, they were all E-start.
Buying and registering a 250 or bigger bike doesn't pose a problem at all.
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Buying and registering a 250 or bigger bike doesn't pose a problem at all.
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