Category Archives: Motorcycles Suitable for Thailand
This category is all about motorcycles and motors scooters that are suitable for driving in such Southeast Asian countries as Thailand. Due extremely high duties on imported bikes that can nearly double the prices charged in Europe and the U.S. comments about bikes that are prohibitively expensive here, lack parts availability and that are suited chiefly for high speed interstates in Western countries are of no interest here.
Both bikes look right at home in the Five Star Centara Hotel parking lot but the Sym 400 has elephantine proportions compared to the compact 115 c.c. Yamaha Filano.
The elegant Yamaha Filano is a stylish way of getting around Pattaya so long as you stay in the slow lane and keep the distances short. Just don’t expect it to behave like a real motorcycle or keep up with its bigger brother the Yamaha Elegance.
The elegant Yamaha Filano has the same classy rounded lines of an Italian Vespa
but it costs only half of what a new Vespa costs at slightly under 50,000 baht. But whereas a Vespa still l has a direct drive from its transmission to its rear tire, the Yamaha Filano uses a belt. Which doesn’t sound as technologically advanced even though Vespa pioneered the direct drive in 1946. But that’s a good thing because that direct drive doesn’t leave a lot of space for the scooter’s wheel. Which is why Vespas have small 10 inch diameter wheels.
I have never driven a Vespa so I really can’t comment on its ride or handling. But I will suggest that a Vespa 150 with its 11 inch front tires and 10 inch diameter rear tires should be even less stable than the Yamaha Filano. Which has larger 12 inch tires.
I can tell you that the Filano with its smallish 12 inch wheels is far less stable than my Yamaha Elegance. This is due to the Elegance’s much larger 16 inch diameter tires.
Driving the Filano feels like piloting a speedboat through a wavy river.
The prowl of the speedboat wanders as its being jostled by the wake of another boat. Small imperfections in the road can have the same effect on the 12 inch wheels of the Filano. Smallish wheels simply do not impart the gyroscopic straight line stability that larger diameter wheels provide. The effect is magnified by the absence of the upper bracing that keeps the bike’s frame from flexing.
Weighing in at over 493 pounds the Sym 400 is massive compared to the Yamaha Filano. And although it’s a far superior choice to the Filano on the highway, it s massive proportions undoubtedly makes it a very bad choice for Pattaya driving conditions.
But so what if the Filano doesn’t track like an arrow the way a real motorcycle or underbone does.
So long as one keeps speeds down to 20 to 30 miles an hour, one can expect a little bobbing and weaving. Which is what I call the cork in the waves effect.
The elegant Yamaha Filano is a great little device for getting around the city so long as one is not in a hurry. There’s a lot of room under the Filano’s seat for carrying groceries and other things. There’s also a hook between the driver’s legs above the floorboard for carrying groceries.
The little scooter’s fuel injected engine starts up immediately,
and the bike seems very well put together. The drive belt should last at least 50,000 kilometers. There’s very little on the elegant Yamaha Filano to go wrong, so maintenance should be close to zero. The well placed turn indicators, horn and brakes have a nice feel to them. But if you are wanting to keep driving at anything faster than 30 miles an hour, you would be a lot better off getting yourself a real motorcycle or a good underbone such as a Honda PCX, or Yamaha Nouvo SX 125.
Pattaya motorbikes are not the same motorcycles you’d want for America’s highways. Neither are scooters with their floorboards. Even though Honda and Yamaha are trying to convince you otherwise. They are totally inferior to a Honda, Wave, Yamaha Nouvo, or Honda PCX.
As the picture says, this bike lacks chassis stability. And this goes for any bike with a floorboard. They used to call them motor scooters and as far as I am concerned they still should be to distinguish them from all true underbones which have an upper brace such scooters lack.
Pattaya motorbikes–Forget those scooters with floorboards
But what the hell, if you really want to buy a scooter go for it. Just don’t expect it to be as stable or safe. But it won’t handle anything close to an underbone style of motorbike. If you really prefer a Vespa with its pygmy tires or a Vespa Japanese copycat as a Honda Scoopy, Yamaha Filano, or Yamaha Fino, buy it. After all it’s a free world. If you really prefer that sixty year old technology who are we to stop you? But before you buy into it, you should familiarize yourself with what a true underbone is and its terrific contribution to motorcycle technology.
The popularity of motor scooters emerged from the ashes of World War II
in the form of the Vespa which helped put Italy back on wheels. Italy was devastated by the war. And most Italians were too poor to own cars. The solution to Italy’s postwar transportation problems came from the fertile mind of Enrico Piaggio when he masterminded the Vespa. It was small. It was cheap to own and operate. And it had cool flowing lines that appealed to both men and women. Moreover, the engine and transmission were entirely enclosed. So there was no oily chain resulting in both driver and passenger being able to keep their clothing unsoiled. In 1946, the Vespa had very small 8 inch diameter wheels that gave it the high speed stability of a roller skate.
When I was a boy growing up I thought they were cute.
But I never forgot my Dad’s telling me how unstable those roller skates were due to their small tires.
As a young man, my Dad had owned Harleys, and even though he considered all motor bikes to be dangerous he singled out motor scooters to be the absolute worse of the lot.
If this 1958 Honda Super Cub looks like a Honda Wave or similar bike from Yamaha, Suzuki, or Kawasaki, it should. The strong bracing beneath the upper cowling provided far superior handling and stability to any Vespa with its floorboard and small wheels. During the 1960’s the Japanese Big Four was able to crush all such rivals with its far superior technology. But people don’t study History. That is why so many uninformed people actually go out and buy Vespas and Vespa Japanese look a likes.
In 1958 Honda introduced its Super Club which would transform the entire worldwide motorcycle industry during the 1960’s. Until then, the motorcycle market in the United States was dominated by Harley Davidson, Triumph, BSA, and Norton. It was a relatively small market that had a bad boy image as motor cycles then were associated with tattooed, motorcycle gang types. In those days both the British marques and the Harleys dripped oil from their chains and other mechanical parts. The Super Cub looked like a girl’s bicycle with a motor. It was light weight, extremely reliable, it could get over 200 miles to the gallon. But it couldn’t even do 50 miles an hour. Honda then went through a 12 year advertising campaign while popularizing such slogans as “You meet the nicest people on a Honda.”
The design of the Super Cub was revolutionary.
It had a fully enclosed chain. Its engine comprised the lower portion of the bike’s frame. It had large 17 inch diameter tires. Thanks to Honda’s placement of its engine and transmission in a far forward position with the chain driving the rear wheel. Such was not the case with a Vespa which coupled its back wheel directly to the engine’s transmission. The direct drive of the Vespa did not allow for large diameter tires, which is why even today Vespa only have ten inch diameter wheels on most of its models.
The result of this revolutionary small motorcycle is that Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki were able to completely dominate the motorcycle market
of both the U.S. and the rest of the world. Harley, Triumph, Norton, and BSA faced nearly complete extinction. As for Vespa. It never was even in the running with the Honda Super Cub or with its descendants from the Japanese Big Four.
This Suzuki underbone has its covers removed thus exposing the upper steel bracing that gives such underbones such outstanding rigidity.
Take a good look at the picture above. Yamaha Nouvo, a Honda PCX, and Honda Wave, are simply more powerful incarnations of the Honda Super Cub. In the picture Honda has removed the upper cowling.
There is virtually no major mechanical differences between the so called “Real motorcycles” and such underbones
“real motorcycles” place the gas tank directly between the driver’s legs. Whereas underbones place the fuel tank under the bike’s seat.
An underbone’s large diameter tires coupled with this upper bracing gives it far superior handling and stability to a Vespa or Japanese Vespa look alike. It is true that many modern day scooters with floorboards are now able to offer larger diameter tires than a Vespa. This is due to their utilizing belts and chains instead of a Vespa type direct drive system. Nevertheless, all motorbikes that have floorboards lack this upper bracing. So there is no way that such a scooter can corner like a true underbone. Or come close to offering the same stability.
So here’s the bottom line on Pattaya motorbikes .
All scooters, such as a Vespa, Yamaha Fino, Filano, Honda Scoopy or Honda Click are inferior to underbones.
Most of them have a single weak rear shock. They usually have smaller tires. And they just plain lack all that upper bracing, and for good reason. It costs money to put that bracing into a bike or a second rear shock. In a world where money is number one this means more profit per motorbike. Provided that motorcycle manufacturers can convince enough dumb people to buy such inferior products.
If you want one of the finest Pattaya motorbikes for city driving that is stable at highway speeds, stay clear of scooters with floorboards.
This Honda PCX 125 PCX 150 showdown pits a Honda 125 PCX against its replacement, the PCX 150 for fuel economy, top speed and other performance differences.
The PCX 150 I rented has a 5.9 liter fuel tanks versus the 6.2 liter tank of the PCX 125. The latest PCX’s come with a significantly larger 8 liter fuel tank. If you are driving on a lot of rural roads in Thailand this PCX 150 is an excellent choice but if one’s driving is mostly confined to city driving that are typical of cities such as Pattaya, the Yamaha Nouvo Elegance is slightly better. Either bike or for that matter the new fuel injected Yamaha Nouvo SX are superb choices that will totally outclass lesser machines such as the Honda Click, Scoopy, or Yamaha Mio, Fino or Filanos
A good Norwegian friend of mine, who owns a condo several floors above mine, already owned a PCX. He often drove it from Pattaya to Rayong to visit one of his Norwegian pals. So it didn’t take much to convince him to help me perform a comparative road test. We would pit his Honda 125 PCX against the 150 c.c. model that had just replaced it. Bottom line for Peter was, would the new model outperform his 125 enough to convince him to upgrade.
Theoretically, the PCX 150 should have a higher top end and accelerate faster than its 125 c.c. predecessor
at the expense of poorer fuel economy. But Peter, who had helped me do the 135 Yamaha Nouvo Elegance/125 Yamaha Nouvo SX comparative road test, and I had discovered that theory oftentimes departs from reality.
Peter’s 125 PCX could never do more than 105 kilometers per hour, a speed he was well satisfied with But what the hell, if you can get a lot more top end and power out of a 150, why not get one? You only live once and the price here in Thailand for Yamaha Nouvo’s and Honda PCX’s is really chicken feed compared to what we had been paying for cars back in our home countries.
So I rented a PCX 150 up the street, and Peter and I took off for Rayong.
For doing motorcycle reviews Peter and I make a terrific team. In Norway Peter works three months on and three months off on small ships north of the Arctic Circle. Peter is truly a worthy descendant of those Vikings of more than 1000 years ago. With Peter on board, we would perform the road test with precision and daring.
To kick off the Honda PCX 125 PCX 150 showdown we agreed to fill up at the same gas station we used for previous road tests. We also insisted on filling up at the same pump to make sure that both bikes were at the exact same lean angle. After completing our 140 kilometer test loop we’d use the same gas station and the same pump. We would conduct our fuel economy comparisons to perfection. So that no one could question the validity of our findings.
Small motorbikes like the Honda PCX or Yamaha Elegance have fuel tanks that hold less than 2 gallons of fuel. So even the slightest variance in lean angle or failure to completely fill a bike’s tank can cause very significant errors.
To keep our Honda PCX 125 PCX 150 showdown scrupulously fair Peter and I also agreed to change drivers
when we got exactly 50 % through our road test. Actually, we never did include Rayong in our test loop. As one approaches Rayong the traffic changes from highway driving to city driving. So we had decided beforehand to do a U turn approximately ten miles before we’d get to Rayong. Immediately after doing our U turns we stopped both bikes. I had been driving the PCX 150 whereas Peter had been on his PCX 125. This put Peter on the 150 and me on the 125. Since Peter outweighed me by more than 10 kilos, we had already agreed to switch drivers. This was to negate the performance disadvantage the heavier driver would impose on the bike he was driving.
I didn’t quite take the PCX 150 to its absolute top speed. But I came pretty close before fear of all the insane Thai drivers around me convinced me to back off the throttle. As for Peter? I already said he was a worthy descendant of all those fearless Vikings in their long ships. So yes, Peter did wring out the last mile per hour out of the 150.
The Honda PCX 150’s performance in our Honda PCX 125 PCX 150 showdown was very impressive. But the bottom line is I’m still driving my six year old Yamaha Nouvo Elegance 135. And Peter’s still terrorizing the neighborhood on his Honda PCX 125.
