i love riding my rot mawtoesai (motorbike)

[olmate]

Anyone got any hairy motorbike stories from thailand? Ive had a few close calls and i have especially learnt not to lean too hard in corners and then power out of it bad news especially when you have your toes hanging outta a pair of thongs. Also saw a head on between truck and car on the way out to Paalu waterfalls insane!!!!!! Not much left of the car. If i was cranking everylast bit outta that 250cc and going faster well i guess i wouldnt be telling this story. But gotta give it to the locals, skillful bunch of riders they are.

[lomuamart]

I think most people would shudder at the number of times they've had lucky escapes on the roads in HH. I hope your smilie was intended as a joke at the end when referring to local drivers.
Quite a few of us have lost friends through the insane driving/riding of the Thais here. I wouldn't credit them with anything on the roads, especailly after dark.

[olmate]

The smile was for the local riders, not drivers. For example i have never in any country other that thailand seen 4 people pile onto a 150cc scooter and dissapear down the street no probs. I have been riding moterbikes for about 10 years now and i posted this topic for fellow like minded motorbike riders and to share their experiances in thailand and maybe even derive a few tips for the novice and vet alike. As all bike riders know "when on bike stay away from anything bigger" the thais seem to do this remarkebly well except for when a car chases them down.

[lomuamart]

Fair enough, but four on a bike is illegal, the police should be doing something about it and when they eventually lose control of the bike with no-one wearing helmets and four people on there, some small kids, it's not very funny.
Certainly not something to "glorify" in any way if you've been here for any amount of time and seen the carnage. It's not clever, or even good riding, it's just downright stupid and irresponsible.
Up until last year, I believe, Thailand had the highest number of motorcycle deaths and serious injuries of anywhere in the world - and that's with a population of some 64 million. China has now managed to overtake it, which isn't surprising bearing in mind the number of bikes and people on the roads.
I'm sure that there will be some useful info for us here on the do's and don't and how to best survive Thailand on a bike, but please don't praise Mum and Dad as they trundle down the road with their babies on board and especially not the drunken teens at 11pm onwards who think they're invincible, have an accident with another bike and the net result is two dead, two seriously injured etc etc. This happens almost every day in HH alone.
Again, I trust something useful comes out of this thread for those not used to the roads here. I'm only concentrating on your assumption that the Thais are good riders because they have the uncanny ability to jeopardise four lifes in one go.

[Jaime]

But gotta give it to the locals, skillful bunch of riders they are.

Lomu - I'm glad I refrained from responding to this comment - you put my feelings far more tactfully and eloquently than I would have!

[Toni]

i have never in any country other that thailand seen 4 people pile onto a 150cc scooter and dissapear down the street no probs.

Not much fun when they're coming down that particular street on the wrong side of the road with no lights on!

[Digger]

[quote="olmate"]Anyone got any hairy motorbike stories from thailand? :D[/quote]

Only about my old Norwegian mate Stu who had a variety of bikes including the noisiest chopper I ever heard and a Harley to boot.He worked as a welding inspector in Spain for a month and then a months holiday in Hua Hin where he rented a house and recently became father to lovely wee boyAfraid he cant reply to your post as he was killed a couple of months ago.Need to take care mate

[olmate]

Again, I trust something useful comes out of this thread for those not used to the roads here. I'm only concentrating on your assumption that the Thais are good riders because they have the uncanny ability to jeopardise four lifes in one go.

Well i gather nothing useful will come from this topic now because people will get to your essay and be scared off completely venturing anywhere near a road in thailand let alone bother to post something. As i stated earlier this topic is to share stories with fellow motorbike riders! lomuamart do you ride a motorbike? If you do great share some of your skills and experience from riding in Thailand. I would have alot to learn still and i have learnt from the past, ever since my first visitto LOS 5 years ago i always carry my own helmet with me on the plane as the ones you get from the hire companies are useless! Oh there you go a helpful hint for someone about to visit and planning on hiring a bike. Have you got a helpful hint lomuart if you do luv to hear it.

[lomuamart]

Helpful hints. Yes.
Don't ride drunk, wear your helmet, watch out for water buffaloes up country, watch out for dogs everywhere, watch out for children, in fact watch out for pretty much anything that moves on, or around, a road.
My "essay" was in response to your observation that Thais were good riders. Having lived here 8 years, almost lost my leg in a motorcycle accident last year and knowing of three westerners who have been killed on motorbikes in HH over the past year or so, I would beg to differ. It was only that part of your posts that I disagreed with.
Oh yes, also watch out for anyone doing a right hand turn or U-turn. They never check what's going on behind them. Never trust an indicator light - the direction that's indicating may well have no bearing on what a driver/rider intends to do. And lastly, for the time being, do not assume that traffic will obey a red light, particularly at night when there is no police presence about.
I'm sure that you, with your experience of visiting Thailand over the past 5 years, will have much more to offer, as will others.

[olmate]

From a motorcyclists perspective the majoroty of thais are good riders, that is they avoid accidents as best as possible. The unfortunate reason there are so many fatalaties is the lack of protective clothing worn ie decent helmets (which you wont get from a hirer and are unaffordable for most thais to buy) long pants/sleeves and enclosed shoes. And mainly the fact that in thailand the bigger the vehicle the more the right of way it has.
Maybe the topic title should be changed to "Motercycle safety and stories of adventures in LOS" There are some truly fantastic rides in thailand and everyone i have been on have had some close calls, but that is the risk i choose to take with appropriate precautions in place.

[olmate]

Digger may your mate Stu rest well. It is unfortunate that all around the world motercyclists risk their lives everytime they throw a leg over.
But hopefully through rider and DRIVER awareness the situation may be improved especially in thailand.
Like your mate Stu i am i dedicated motorcyclist and when i ride of have a motorcyclists mindset, its tough but it is what i enjoy most.

[lomuamart]

From a motorcyclists perspective the majoroty of thais are good riders, that is they avoid accidents as best as possible. The unfortunate reason there are so many fatalaties is the lack of protective clothing worn ie decent helmets (which you wont get from a hirer and are unaffordable for most thais to buy) long pants/sleeves and enclosed shoes. And mainly the fact that in thailand the bigger the vehicle the more the right of way it has.
Maybe the topic title should be changed to "Motercycle safety and stories of adventures in LOS" There are some truly fantastic rides in thailand and everyone i have been on have had some close calls, but that is the risk i choose to take with appropriate precautions in place.

[lomuamart]

Sorry, dunno what happened there.
Anyway all I was going to say is that, yes of course proper precautions are necessary on the road here. Unfortunately, olmate, the Thais are not very good at avoiding accidents or taking those precautions. That's why there are so many needless lives lost in this country every day. It's the total opposite of what you're saying. Thailand had the highest number of motorcycle fatalities or serious injuries in the world for years. It's now second to China.
I'm not having a go at you, just trying to point out the reality of the situation. I bet I could walk outside now and stroll into town on Petchkasem Road and at least 60% of the riders and their passengers will be underage (therefore no licence or insurance), wearing no protection at all, but trying to get to where they're going.
This is the big difference. 99.9% of Thais in town are not riding big bikes for touring pleasure. They're simply trying to get from A to B. They have no training, no awareness of other road users and as a result, many perish.
On a more positive note, yes there are some great bike rides in Thailand and one that I'll never forget was two years ago between Pai and Soppong right up north. Truely spectacular, but a long way as my wife was riding pillion on a seriosly underpowered bike. The hills were a problem.
Dr Dave Soul Monsta published some photos of motorbike crashes a while ago. It made for sobering thought. Unfortunately, I don't think many Thais look at this site or really would take much notice even if they did.

[Mongo Slade]

Lomuamart, I saw the post that Dr Dave posted.....not a pretty sight After reading your post, I'm a believer and I most certainly will not get on my g/f motorbike again without a helmut. I'm considering myself lucky to have ridden on her bike for 27 days without incident.

Olmate, I'm taking your advice......i'm bringing a helmet with me from home.

Thanks guys, for all of this useful information....

[buksida]

From a motorcyclists perspective the majoroty of thais are good riders, that is they avoid accidents as best as possible.

Does this guy ride around town with his eyes closed?

Its a long weekend at the moment, here are a few snippets of todays action:

Crossing Petchkasem Rd today took approx 24 minutes because a woman on a motorsai decided it would be quicker going up the wrong side ... straight into a pickup turning right.

Turning right myself off the main road some time later and witnessing a pure miracle as three motorsais miss an oncoming bus by millimeters in their haste to get across. The sudden braking of the bus causes mayhem behind...

The guy with the propane bottle strapped to his 8 year old, never serviced, kawasaki did a grand job of cornering at high speed without the bottle coming off, skidding across the road and igniting a wooden restaurant packed with hungry patrons.

Those parents must think the world of their 18 month old son as they let him have the best seat on the bike, right at the front, best view in the house and guess what, no pesky helmet to hinder his view.