Hi from Nonthaburi

SimonB

SimonB

Junior Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2011
Location
Nonthaburi, Thailand
Bikes
BMW F650GS
Greetings from submerged Nonthaburi!

Pretty happy to have joined this forum - looking forward to finding new bikers to ride with. Not that I am unhappy with the groups I ride with now, but more is always better when it comes to riding.

I ride a F650GS, a mini-GS if you believe the locals I ride with... I don't! I like to get wet and muddy and use my bike as it was designed. I've had my best rides in Nan and Uttaradit as well as the usual Mae Hong Son loop. Loved the road to Umpang and hope to do it again sometime soon.

I have organised a two-day training course run by none other than Simon Pavey. He will be in Thailand in December and teach a two-day course in Ratchaburi province. Anyone interested can visit http://www.offroadskills.com/off-road-skills-in-thailand for more details.

I also drive Land Rovers off-road here. I have 2 Series II and 1 Series III in mostly working condition...

Looking forward to meeting and riding with you at some stage...

Ciao.
 

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Nope. Actually, 20 years in Thailand and I've never been to Laos. I was supposed to ride there from Nan this past February, but one of the crew 'lost' his passport. We are trying again next Feb and are pretty confident we will get over this time...

I have taken the Landies to the Khmer border in Trat and my first Landy and I went to Loei in 1991 when the Chiang Khan to Nong Khai road was a little rougher that it is now... Mostly I go to Kanchanaburi and Ratchaburi as they don't go very fast so trips close to Bangkok make sense...

Cheers.
 
I saw a bunch of young thai guys, in really modded but also pretty messed up suzukis the other day..

These were all jacked up and off rd setup, but also looked like they had been rolled and put on their sides a few times.. Looked like they used them off rd hard.. Not just show ponies.

They were all heading onto back Rd / trails from Nahm Prea to Samoeng when I saw them.. Thought it looked like fun and relatively inexpensive for 4x4 playing.
 
Suzukis are a pretty popular choice here. Being light they make light work of some obstacles, but with a 1,300 cc engine and very small cabs, they can be impractical. They also have short axles that cut non-standard channels in mud, and are liable to roll over... Upgrading the axle to normal width makes them significantly safer. Also means you don't ruin tracks for bigger trucks that come through after...

Wading into deepest darkest Pathum tomorrow with 600 kg of rice on-board. Should be a worthwhile trip for once.

Ciao
 
Actually now you mention it, I think these did have wide axle mods.. One of them was also comically twisted where it had obviously had a serious roll.. But as mentioned, looked like a very cheap entry to 4x4 stuff. I have never done any 4 wheel proper off road (deserts in africa but not jungle).

Well done on the emergency run too.
 
Is the rice to help the traction?


SimonB said:
Suzukis are a pretty popular choice here. Being light they make light work of some obstacles, but with a 1,300 cc engine and very small cabs, they can be impractical. They also have short axles that cut non-standard channels in mud, and are liable to roll over... Upgrading the axle to normal width makes them significantly safer. Also means you don't ruin tracks for bigger trucks that come through after...

Wading into deepest darkest Pathum tomorrow with 600 kg of rice on-board. Should be a worthwhile trip for once.

Ciao
Click to expand...
 
TwoLR in Ayyuthaya.jpgTraction in, but float out perhaps... We ended up getting 2 tonnes of rice, water, tuna, and other criticals to 3 villages in Ayyuthaya province - just 4-10 km East of the Route 32, aka, Asia Highway; Thang Klang I believe.

Lost a windshield pane early on in the day to an oncoming rock, knicked a wheel rim on massive potholes made by high pressure water and bubbles as the water is forced from east to west sides of the highway (it will be in a state for a long time after the water goes down..) Power steering pump blew and all the fluid in on the floor at my office... nothing ventured etc.

Ciao
 
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