Thailand On A Small Bike? Options?

[Tom B]

Hi there fellas,

Looking to do a round trip of Thailand on a small bike (less than 150cc) and sell it afterward on the journey's end. I've noticed that the Honda Waves are popular, but it doesn't look like the bike I'd go for unless I absolutely had to. Wondering if you could help weigh in on what some other options could be .

Thank you in advance

 

[Dodraugen]

Check out Kaidee.com - thousands of bikes for sale. And you can see what bikes and models thats actually in Thailand.

https://www.kaidee.com/c12-motorcycle-motorcycle/

Honda Wave would a good option imho. Parts available all over the country and guys who know how to repair them. And the most reliable bike in the world.

 

[DavidFL]

Honda Wave the way to go.

 

[DavidFL]

Or try an Yamaha Exciter
Thai Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. - ไทยยามาฮ่ามอเตอร์

 

[Dodraugen]

Maybe a Suzuki GD 110?

Or a Honda CB150R?

 

[David Learmonth]

Honda Wave would be my choice. Pretty much unbreakable. Every town will usually have at least one Honda dealer & every village usually has a chap who can repair or service. Parts quite cheap & available
Had two Waves in over 10 years - 80,000kms & no problems. Mind you - I've never been round Thailand on one

 

[Tom B]

Thanks a bunch guys!

Thanks for the Kaidee link @Dodraugen.

Glad to hear such universal appreciation of the Honda Wave bike ... and great that you're highlighting the importance of having a bike that's easy to repair when things should go wrong. You're almost making it too easy for me to choose the Wave; although I do like the looks of that Suzuki GD 110 from Dodraugen's #5. Seat looks spacious enough to throw on saddlebags and a duffle bag on top. Am I right to assume that the Suzuki won't be as easy to fix compared to the Honda?

In any case, you've given me great help and confidence in the upcoming purchase! Thank you again.

 

[Tiyaan]

I quote the Honda Wave!

The engine never breaks. If anything else breaks (unlikely) every second guy in Thailand can fix it.
Bear in mind that I don't recommend more than 200km a day - your bottom says thank you.

 

[John Aero]

Yes while I know couple of Scandinavian’s up here who have done many many miles on a Scoopy and Phantom (is this the worst bike Honda have made?) would agree with the Wave – go for the power 125 version rather than 110? Think main issue on scooters is lack of room due to low seat height – Wave should be bit better. You see them in the villages with knobbly tyres – an idea if you want to go up dirt tracks?

 

[Tiyaan]

I've done lots of dirt tracks on Honda Dreams (almost same as Wave), down South in the 90's
And unless it's raining, you won't need knobs. However with this kind of bike you can't go fast.

No the Phantom is not even that bad and its engine is good for around the world 5 times ..

... this is the worst bike Honda ever made:
(but again with an engine good for 200'000+ km)

 

[Alamo]

I bought a 2008 Honda CBR150 a few years back. Have put 35,000k on it on the open road mostly. Cheap & easy to service. Cruise at 110-120kph no prob. Did 800km in one day once.
10liter fuel tank vs 4liter for wave.
Yamaha MSlaz are awsome.

 

[Alamo]

View attachment 117092Maybe a Suzuki GD 110?

Or a Honda CB150R?

I have never seen this CB150R.
Is it available here?

 

[Dodraugen]

I have never seen this CB150R.
Is it available here?

I saw heaps of them in the local Honda Wing shop in Lampang last week so I suppose they are...

 

[Tiyaan]

Hey Alamo,

I met a guy like you in Krabi 3-4 years ago, at Patrik's workshop (he does enduro tours down there)

Was that you?

...

And yes the new little Honda CB looks pretty cool. The Suzuki GD is also made to last forever and it looks as if it was made for the Indian market.

Anyhow, at this point one has to think for them self, these newer bikes are - lets say - normal bikes with less power and are the perfect choice if one has license restrictions.
On the other hand if some people like inflicting pain among themselves, and experience the real small-bike-kick, then you have to have done your trip through Thailand on a Honda Wave!

 

[FaraGit]

Try this place. Good for selling and buying.
ซื้อขายมอเตอร์ไซค์มือสอง SmokyBike บิ๊กไบค์ Big Bike

 

[Tom B]

I'm down in Si Racha, Thailand now. Been to a few secondhand stores today looking at Honda Wave and prices; brought local help to get through the language barrier. Not entirely sure what I'm looking for and not sure how much these shops are to be trusted, i.e. do they mess with the odometers? Tomorrow I'll enlist some help to work through the online sources(Kaidee and Smokybike) you provided. I would assume it's also possible to get a better deal when not going through a vendor.

At any rate, I won't be purchasing a new bike. It'll be a second hand. Any guidelines for what constitutes a good buy for these bikes? Not sure I would want to get on an old workhorse that's got tens of thousands of kilometers behind it already. Most of the ones I looked at today lay in the 5k km - 10k km range which to me appeared attractive, but with prices thereafter; then again I'm an utter amateur and not sure what to look for.

To conclude, I'm looking for some insight that would set me up with an alright bike at a fair price, too!

p.s. The CBR 150 is super sweet and a 10-liter tank is most def a nice feature.
p.p.s @Tiyaan That setup is just hilarious, haha! Brilliant.

 

[Tiyaan]

Hey Tom

Just for your peace of mind ... the odometers are ALL turned back. You have to use common sense in checking the bike you want.

The red one in my pics allegedly had 18'000km when I bought it in 2013 but I think was somewhere in its 60's-80's. I rode it for over a year when I was living in Krabi and last year I did a 2-3'000 km trip.
And of course some problems came afloat: the shocks got leaky withing a few weeks but the repair kit for the front and the job done at my neighbour's shop cost me ... I don't remember .... but way less than 1'000 Bath. I only remember changing the rear shocks and the couple cost me 600 bath.

Make sure the brakes*, lights and the horn work, that wheels are straight and its bearings ok.

* a good thing to check is if the nuts to adjust both brakes (I have drums) are moving freely cuz they tend to get rost-welded.

Prices range from 7'000 to 30'000 Bath. ( I paid 20'000 for mine .... and should have paid no more than 10'000 but I never regretted it)

Important:

Make sure you get all papers, taxes and insurance! It's quite common for people trying to sell you motorbikes by skipping this part. Putting the bike on someone's else's name my accelerate the process but .... then it's not your bike.

 

[Tom B]

Hey Tiyaan!

Immensely appreciated your "protips". Getting the impression it's hard to go completely wrong as long as some common sense is applied, and, have a checklist for things to look over before buying. Thanks again!

 

[Tom B]

Thanks guys! After having gone through numerous outlets, i finally came across someone that appeared honest enough to give my business. For the price of 23k i am now an owner of an 8 years old 125S Wave.

It dawned on me that it's gonna be tricky to mount any sort of GPS on this model, so will have to figure something out.

 

[Dodraugen]

By a phone holder for 2-300 baht and download Mapsme or something similar to your phone. Well - you will need a power outlet on your bike I guess. Or maybe a powerbank could be used...?

 

[Tiyaan]

I quote the smartphone GPS - I use Navigator (some idiot gave it thesame name like google navigator but you'll easily find it in playstore)
It's free and works with free OSM maps. It's not perfect but I usually plan my routes on the laptop and upload it to my rock-bottom-basic GPS by putting waypoints to strategic crossings and turns. I then name these WP in a way I know what to do when I'm there.

Here some examples:

01-XI first point, crossroad go straight
02-O3 second, roundabout 3rd exit
03-YL road fork turn left

This is my bad solution for a GPS-holder:

 

[Tiyaan]

Another trick is simply to buy some velcro tape and stick one side to the read of your phone. Careful in the heat though ... it the glue usually sucks and comes of after some time. I did in the car and it came off on a bumpy road

 

[Dodraugen]

This is what I use on my 250 cc bike in Thailand. I have a poweroutlet which I connect to the phone. I download maps - I use ‘Mapsme’ very good maps that are FREE.
I think I paid 230 baht for this and 6-700 for the poweroutlet. Works like a charm. Not as good as a GPS though but considered it cost less than 1000 baht alltogether and a GPS easily cost 20-30 k baht I think its a great option.

 

[Tiyaan]

Yours Dodraugen looks waaaay too professional
but it only has one catch ... there is no place to fix fix in on a Wave

 

[Dodraugen]

Yours Dodraugen looks waaaay too professional
but it only has one catch ... there is no place to fix fix in on a Wave

Could be a bit difficult on a Wave but there are ways...