Great plans, little experience; your thoughts

[Saafvoski]

Hi all, I'm brand new to this forum as well as to motorbikes. I have driven 50CC's though

I'm a 21-years old guy from the Netherlands, moved to Australia about a year ago for a working holiday, and got inspired to fly to Thailand next, buy a motorbike ( starting small, say 100-250 CC), cruise around for a bit and then drive all the way back home ! Haven't even got a motorbike license, might get it in Thailand if possible, but I might just take the risks.

Reckless? Or Doable with some caution?

[John Downs]

Very doable. You won't know unless you try it.

Good idea to get a license before you head out. Because there is no access for bikes through Myanmar (Burma) to the west of Thailand and it is quite expensive and difficult to head north through China, you may consider renting a bike in Thailand and touring Southeast Asia for a time to get familiar and then fly to Nepal or India to buy a bike. I suggest practicing in the rural areas before riding the big urban areas. Making it through Bangkok at rush hour is great training for riding in India. You'll see what I mean when you get there.

In the meantime there is plenty of information and travel tales here and on advrider.com to keep you busy reading.

Best luck and welcome to Horizonsunlimited.

Kindest regards,
John Downs

[Belle]

Welcome and great to have plans and do stuff!

Of course its doable BUT please learn to ride for your own sake, then get a licence and get legal because if you don't you just become one of those people that we as riders all battle against. And there are enough of them on the roads of the world already

[jak750]

This is an awesome idea! Plan and go!

[Saafvoski]

Thanks for the replies,
so yes i probably should get a license. Could I get this in Thailand, not being one of their citizens and all that?

Why is there no access though Burma and how expensive is it if going through China?
Not a big problem though I guess, flying to india from bangkok is like 100$. But I want to China anyhow some day so why not asap?

And what about from India onwards through Pakistan and Afghanistan- tricky?

[Saafvoski]

anyone know answers to these question?

[markharf]

The reason people don't answer is that your questions are often asked here, and often answered. People get weary of providing the same answers repeatedly. You might want to do a search: use google with the following format (for example).

site:horizonsunlimited.com china motorcycle rules

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

[mark manley]

Originally Posted by Saafvoski

Thanks for the replies,
so yes i probably should get a license. Could I get this in Thailand, not being one of their citizens and all that?

Why is there no access though Burma and how expensive is it if going through China?
Not a big problem though I guess, flying to india from bangkok is like 100$. But I want to China anyhow some day so why not asap?

And what about from India onwards through Pakistan and Afghanistan- tricky?

This sounds like a great idea but check your medical/travel insurance, it probably won't cover you for bikes over 125cc and not at all if you don't have a licence.
The problem might be getting a carnet for India for a Thai registered bike, it might be easier to rent bikes in different countries and travel around, not quite the same thing but will give you an idea about bike travel. If you like it go home and get a licence and plan your trips from there.

[nicola_a]

Originally Posted by Saafvoski

Hi all, I'm brand new to this forum as well as to motorbikes. I have driven 50CC's though

I'm a 21-years old guy from the Netherlands, moved to Australia about a year ago for a working holiday, and got inspired to fly to Thailand next, buy a motorbike ( starting small, say 100-250 CC), cruise around for a bit and then drive all the way back home ! Haven't even got a motorbike license, might get it in Thailand if possible, but I might just take the risks.

Reckless? Or Doable with some caution?

Go for it mate!! I might join you
I assume you can ride a motorbike but are just unlicensed.
Please DO get a licence, you won't get far without one....
John Downs had a great tip and good idea to explore SE Asia first (if you have dollars then you can rent motorbikes pretty cheaply to explore the area for a few weeks/months) and then buy a bike in Nepal or India.
Make sure you do your research on Iranian and Pakistani visas if you plan to go that way.
Check with your travel insurance about motorcycle related incidents and also you sometimes require proof of travel insurance for visas etc.
When are you planning on leaving?