Finally have my ADSL connection working again so here's a brief report of a trip myself, Ian and Kiwi John did last friday (17/11).
Ian owns the X-Centre in the Mae Sa valley and has good knowledge of the trails around the area. I've had my little Tiger for about 2 months but had yet to take it off road. Ian is also a Tiger owner (the shop runabout) and was keen to go playing in the woods. As we were preparing to leave the X-Centre, John rocked up and Ian generously provided him with a 200cc 4-stroke dirt bike so that he could join the fun.
As I don't know the area to well, I'll leave Ian/John to fill in the details but the trip consisted of meandering up the north-east side of Doi Suthep, starting at the Mae Sa valley and hitting tarmac near to Doi Pui.
Here's some pics and I hope Ian and John will add some detail about the location.
The weather was dry and sunny and as it hadn't rained in CM for a bout 3 weeks, the trails were mostly dry and dusty. We followed a route that Ian uses to take his customers in 4 wheel buggys for part of the way then crossed into terraced farmland. This area is cultivated by the locals and as it is generally steep, they cut terraces into the mountain. Riding along these terraces provided awesome views but was a little hairy at times as the trail is narrow and overgrown with a big drop-off into the valley but the scenery made it all worth it.
John had the best bike but the Tiger's coped surprisingly well. Here's ian putting his through it's paces:
The trail was pretty steep in places and cut up a lot with big ruts caused by the rainwater run off. This provided the other guys with some laughs as they watched me struggle to get to grips with the terrain (I am not renowned for my on-road riding skills, let alone off-road!).
I am guessing that the whole trip covered about 20 - 30km and it was great fun. Would be a different proposition in the rainy season but the terrain was not too difficult and the Tigers handled it pretty well. I reckon that they are better than a Honda Wave in the chassis area but the wave has a smoother engine. With the longer travel suspension and knobby tyres, the Tiger has more flexibility to go places.
Thanks to Ian and John for showing me the way (and waiting for me!) and I hope they post here to provide more detail.
Cheers,
Pikey.
Ian owns the X-Centre in the Mae Sa valley and has good knowledge of the trails around the area. I've had my little Tiger for about 2 months but had yet to take it off road. Ian is also a Tiger owner (the shop runabout) and was keen to go playing in the woods. As we were preparing to leave the X-Centre, John rocked up and Ian generously provided him with a 200cc 4-stroke dirt bike so that he could join the fun.
As I don't know the area to well, I'll leave Ian/John to fill in the details but the trip consisted of meandering up the north-east side of Doi Suthep, starting at the Mae Sa valley and hitting tarmac near to Doi Pui.
Here's some pics and I hope Ian and John will add some detail about the location.
The weather was dry and sunny and as it hadn't rained in CM for a bout 3 weeks, the trails were mostly dry and dusty. We followed a route that Ian uses to take his customers in 4 wheel buggys for part of the way then crossed into terraced farmland. This area is cultivated by the locals and as it is generally steep, they cut terraces into the mountain. Riding along these terraces provided awesome views but was a little hairy at times as the trail is narrow and overgrown with a big drop-off into the valley but the scenery made it all worth it.
John had the best bike but the Tiger's coped surprisingly well. Here's ian putting his through it's paces:
The trail was pretty steep in places and cut up a lot with big ruts caused by the rainwater run off. This provided the other guys with some laughs as they watched me struggle to get to grips with the terrain (I am not renowned for my on-road riding skills, let alone off-road!).
I am guessing that the whole trip covered about 20 - 30km and it was great fun. Would be a different proposition in the rainy season but the terrain was not too difficult and the Tigers handled it pretty well. I reckon that they are better than a Honda Wave in the chassis area but the wave has a smoother engine. With the longer travel suspension and knobby tyres, the Tiger has more flexibility to go places.
Thanks to Ian and John for showing me the way (and waiting for me!) and I hope they post here to provide more detail.
Cheers,
Pikey.
