Hi!

I have been living and riding around the Chiang Mai area for the last 2 years.

Many weekends and longer breaks I take my wife and our luggage out to ride up to 500 km. out from Chiang Mai to the fabulous roads and destinations around the North and North East (Issan) areas.

There is virtually NO end to the fabulous roads in this area, anyone with vast motorcycling experience will agree when you look at costs, food , road quality, scenery and quality and cost of accomodation, nowhere in the world can match North Thailand.

All the information you need to convince you is available on David's excellent GT rider website.

There is just ONE piece of the puzzle missing, in my opinion.

A visitor has no easy way to get the RIGHT bike to tour this area.

I have that bike, and I am leaving Thailand in April 2009.

The rental bikes are either cheap but have too low power (Honda 125/150 4 strokes)

Or reasonable power but on-off road bikes with the wrong riding position (KLR Kawasaki 250- oh yes this one is too expensive at 1000 baht/day)

Or good power but too expensive (1000 baht/day)and too heavy and a bit old and no parts/service outside of main towns and unknown reliability (400 Honda 4 cyl)

Or too big and MUCH too expensive (BMW etc)


So what will I do with MY bike, the PERFECT bike for touring the North?

2003 Kawasaki Victor 150 2 stroke.

I bought it with 7000 km in 2005, now have 38 000 km. It is far and away the best of over 30 bikes I have owned and toured on. Can you believe we travel 2 up with 30 lbs. of luggage in saddlebags and on the tank and ride fast up hills and safely on the unbelievable twisty mountain roads here?

Few people really understand how strong a recent technology watercooled 2 stroke can be. This bike pulls HARD thru the top 3000 rpm of its 10 000 rpm range, and pulls FINE two up from 3000 rpm. On Thailand roads, there is never any really safe place to ride over 65 mph. My bike will go 65 mph all day with 2 people on it.

Downhill twisties are MUCH easier on a 120 kg. bike than on a 220 kg. bike

Its amazing.

Its cheap.

Its reliable.

It can be fixed unbelievably cheaply in any small town in Thailand.

I'm not sure what to suggest, but maybe you have an idea?

I paid a little over $500 us for this bike 3 years ago.

If you dont know what this bike looks like, email me and I will send a picture.

Ron in Chiang Mai Thailand