Constantine Phaulkon
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2011
I have no idea where this post should go, moderators feel free to move it, but I need some advice on where I can find two things: somebody to teach me off-road riding using a Kawasaki D-tracker or KLX 140 dirt bike, fully manual, when I am in Chiang Mai (CNX) in mid-October, and, two, related to number one in my mind, somebody to rent me a semi-automatic (like the Honda Wave?) or (better? seems to me maybe better) fully manual street legal bike while I am in Chiang Mai in mid-October, so I can tool around town.
Right now I know how to ride a fully automatic underbones scooter like the Honda Click. I've driven a fully manual Kawasaki D-tracker for 1.5 hours without falling off and stalling out only twice (that's progress right? well maybe the not falling off part is not progress by off-road riding standards).
The off-road riding stuff I figured out, since a patron of Rider's Corner Bar & Restaurant has offered to give me some lessons, but I'm not sure if I can rent a manual motorcycle in CNX--hard to find these for rent, though I did find a shop that wanted me to rent to own. Last I checked Tony's Bike Rental, a good shop, they did not have a manual but they did have a semi-auto (Honda Wave) for rent. Other than saving gas, I don't think learning to ride a semi-auto is superior to a fully automatic torque converter like I know now, for city driving? I don't feel that it is--if anything the constant shifting in a stop and start environment is a distraction. So my goal is this: if I rent a fully manual scooter or motorcycle, then I can buy one, and learn to shift really well, with the idea that I can become a better off-road rider--or is that not true? Perhaps riding around CNX is really not a substitute for being on a track? In which case option two is a waste of time, and I might as well just stick to taking lessons on a dirt track, which is option one.
Any advice appreciated.
Right now I know how to ride a fully automatic underbones scooter like the Honda Click. I've driven a fully manual Kawasaki D-tracker for 1.5 hours without falling off and stalling out only twice (that's progress right? well maybe the not falling off part is not progress by off-road riding standards).
The off-road riding stuff I figured out, since a patron of Rider's Corner Bar & Restaurant has offered to give me some lessons, but I'm not sure if I can rent a manual motorcycle in CNX--hard to find these for rent, though I did find a shop that wanted me to rent to own. Last I checked Tony's Bike Rental, a good shop, they did not have a manual but they did have a semi-auto (Honda Wave) for rent. Other than saving gas, I don't think learning to ride a semi-auto is superior to a fully automatic torque converter like I know now, for city driving? I don't feel that it is--if anything the constant shifting in a stop and start environment is a distraction. So my goal is this: if I rent a fully manual scooter or motorcycle, then I can buy one, and learn to shift really well, with the idea that I can become a better off-road rider--or is that not true? Perhaps riding around CNX is really not a substitute for being on a track? In which case option two is a waste of time, and I might as well just stick to taking lessons on a dirt track, which is option one.
Any advice appreciated.
