Big Bike Service

[dozer]

There is quite a lot of interest in big bikes in Ratchaburi, maybe worth looking.

[Gin tonic - no lime]

Yes 'usual suspect', that shop on the corner of Chomsin by the tracks was my first stop. I took my wife (interpreter) and the chain along for the conversation. No tool, but they did suggest a spot going north on Petchkaesem right across from the bicycle shop. It is a service place, and after a few minutes he dug out a home made tool. It was basically the same design as the factory tool, but made from a piece of about 3/4" plate with a couple of 1/2"NF threads tapped in each end, and a gap torched out in the middle where the chain fits in. The gap was about 1/8" too narrow for this chain. On second though, I suppose I could ask him if I could rent it from him, and make the gap a little wider to accommodate my chain!!

[Morgan33]

I have been ripped off and my bike(s) badly damaged twice by the supposed experts on Big Bikes in Hua Hin. One delivered my bike to Pattaya and actually changed the front wheel and tyre for an old one before they delivered it so be very careful before you put your trust in them. Big Bike Motorcycles in Bangkok run by an American called Mark seems to be the best that I have found.

[Gin tonic - no lime]

That is why I do all my own work if at all possible, and why I am willing to spend nearly the cost of the chain I need to have installed for a tool so that I can do the job properly.

Do you have contact info for Mark? am in BKK right now....

[Nereus]

That is why I do all my own work if at all possible, and why I am willing to spend nearly the cost of the chain I need to have installed for a tool so that I can do the job properly.

Do you have contact info for Mark? am in BKK right now....

I looked at the Web site of a quality tool supplier that I know in Bangkok, but they do not stock what you are after.
You can buy them off the Internet, although one site I looked at would not ship them overseas. Some good comments about which brand is better if you Google it.

[Gin tonic - no lime]

Finally I got together with my wife's brother in BKK. He has a little welder and a cut off saw. We pieced together a home made tool from a piece of 3" channel as base, and some 12mm x 50mm long fine thread grade 5 bolts and nuts. Just lined up the nuts with the correct space between them, welded 2 on to the channel flange, one pair on each side of the gap. Then ran a tap thru them to get rid of the distortion from the welding job. I took one of the bolts to a machine shop, and for the grand sum of 50 baht they machined a 60 degree taper on the nose of the bolt. This was the only part of the plan that did not work.... the bolt material was not hard enough to swage the ends of the chain pins out to the specified diameter. I solved this quickly by drilling a hole in the end of the bolt to accept one of the chain pins that I cut off from a couple of spare links I had laying around. I took my angle grinder and hand ground a taper approximately the right angle, then everything worked like a charm. This is not a job I would want done by your "regular" Thai so called mechanic. The link plate is a very tight press fit on the pins, and the specified gap between side plates has a tolerance of only .010, I have a set of small (up to 3") micrometers so this was not a problem for me, but even just trying to convey that specification to a Thai unless he was a machinist or something similar would IMHO be impossible.

In any case the bike is now back on the road, chain, and traction from the new Metzler SportTec M3's is much better than the Michelin Pilot Power's that were on it. They came standard equipment on my new 2009 Aprilia 750 Shiver and I loved them. I was going to import it here, until I discovered the $6000 import duty
http://www.metzelermoto.com/web/product ... fault.page

Any of you big bike owners feel like a ride sometime give me a shout... p/m and I will send my cell #. I have found a few decent roads around here that you may or may not know, but always looking for more

[richard]

Bout time you took me for a spin on it if I can fit

[bozzman101]

cp shop gone but not forgotten by many who were ripped off there !!!!!!!!
mr pon has dissapeared into the hills some of his staff are in a shop on the klong mabey some are in the monkey house as for a real chain splitter my chain was done with angel grinder hammes punches has lasted over a 2 year years on a shadow 750

[bozzman101]

ps i go for a run around the hills with you sometime cheers

bozzzzzzzz

[Morgan33]

Gin Tonic - no lime - sorry just seen your request for info on Mark at Big Bike Motorcycles in Bangkok. His telephone number if you still need it is 0897 616 6766

[fach3003]

Hi there
I had a chain go on me at Croft Circuit Back in 1995
Was riding an old Yamaha FZR600R back then....
The chain went through the seat , smashed the plastic
Front sprocket cover and slapped hard into my back
The pain was pretty high worse than a bad crash....
I had marks up my back for weeks you could see the outline
of the chain up my back....Won my first NEMCRC F600 championship that year as well
This was the last time anyone did my chain!

from then I never let anyone work on my bikes other than the old man and myself....

Sold up everything to come here end of last season...its proving hard
To walk away from after 15 years...

Got my eye on ebay now looking for a race bike...back to the uk
In May....sent for my 2011 ACU license already....this break has made me more hungry than ever
My last race...October last year (feels like 5 mins ago)i ended up fourth place in a Potato field
Tryed to outbreak the 2nd and 3rd place guys into a hairpin...we all went down!....the leader fell
Half a lap later...the race was stopped they counted back as i was fourth....haha

I use 2 hammers to do my chains....one behind against the chain ( a friends handy for this)
and the other to welt it till its looks about right! ....

Any other racers out there???

Regards

Fach