Motorcycling Northern Thailand

Northern Thailand is a not mentioned every day when people talk about great riding areas but I had been reading on forums the roads there were very good and indeed they turned out to be excellent.

Something I paid less attention to in my research is the north of Thailand gets quite hazy with smoke from burning off before the April/May rains arrive. I thought ok how bad can it be. Quite bad as it turns out, I have manipulated these photos a lot to try clean up the grey smoke haze.

I decided to rent a motorcycle from Chiang Mai and chose Tony’s Big Bikes. The rental process is smooth and fast and I was soon on my way. I picked out a Kawasaki ER6N for this ride, a model made in Thailand, and rented a helmet and jacket as well. Many of the helmets were looking a bit tired but I managed ok with the one I picked and was happy it had a tinted visor fitted. The jacket was a Thai clone of an Alpinestars air flow jacket and was ok but each day my t-shirts ended up soiled from it so perhaps the jacket was well overdue to be washed.

As with some scooter rental places in Asia, Tony’s will keep your passport as security in lieu of a credit card authorisation and provide you with a photocopy to show at hotels. This did not prove to be a issue for me on this trip but I mention it further for your information as I was asked for my passport a number of times including by police and I would have been more comfortable to have had it on me. When Tony’s asked did I want insurance I naturally said yes but later examination of paperwork seemed to suggest there was no insurance on the bike merely a small medical cover. There is a chain and lock provided and I made sure I fitted that every night. I had no problems but will investigate if the other rental shops have insurance next time.

Most of the route planning I did after reading the excellent Captain Slash blog and also posts to the forum on GT Rider. I decided to do a 4 day loop to first visit the roads around Nan then over to Chiang Rai on what is billed as the best road in Thailand then down to Mai Hong Son and back to Chiang Mai on the other half of the acclaimed Mai Hong Son loop road.

My route day one was short and easy since I was picking up the bike and shop opening hours are well past the time I am usually on the road. My first issue was the bike had very little fuel in it. Rather than adopt the standard fill up before returning Tony’s bikes come with what the last rider left which in my case was a couple of litres. So not a great start trying navigate in the busy morning traffic of the fairly large city that is Chiang Mai with next to no fuel. Still I found a petrol station soon and took the time to relax over a ice coffee before riding out of Chiang Mai.

Petrol stations are all ‘full service’ still in Thailand.

Not your everyday roadside building. Just stopped to adjust my bag, sorry about the power lines.

Highway 118 heading north east from Chiang Mai.

Highway 120 which had an excellent hilly section.

Highway 1251 If I recall correctly.

And above should be the 1091 to Nan. All good riding roads as you can see.

The day had really started to get hot by the time I arrived at Nan so I was grateful to arrive at my hotel early and get under the shower to cool down and get into shorts, sandals etc. On tour once I arrive at a hotel and park the bike I do not get back on it unless I absolutely have to ride somewhere to get food – just nice to have that clean break from the riding gear until the next day. Setting out on foot once the sun had dropped a bit lower I was surprised to find not one single restaurant or cafe in any direction and so with hand gestures ask at the hotel counter where to get something to eat and was pointed to the south. I eventually found a large area of street food stalls and not being able to communicate just walked around until a woman cooking took pity on me and gestured her dish was noodles plus some green vegetable and some meat in clear gravy so I gave the universal OK sign and sat down on the near by plastic dining setting and followed the locals lead of putting some of the provided sliced chilli in to the dish which was then quite tasty. It was one of the great moments in this trip, sole tourist in the town eating with the locals. Total price less than $1.

Day Two my route was to do a small exploration of the roads to the east and north east parallel to the border with Laos before joining the 1048 highway to Chiang Rai – said to be the finest ride in Thailand.

First riding south I branched off onto the 1162 with the sun trying to shine through the heavy smoke.

Some of the roads after this were in poor condition, lots of broken up tar and loose stones. My route after 1162 was 1243 – 1168 – 1225 and the 1257 which was terrible before joining the 1081 which was good in parts and the 1256 also good in parts. I was pulled up by a border police patrol on the 1257 but they laughed once I pulled off the helmet and said something which no doubt translated as “ah just a tourist”.

The small villages along the way were interesting with every daily activity taking place in the middle of the road however the rough roads and slow going started to wear thin and I would have to say the recommendations for riding this area seem to out of date with the condition of the roads. That said there was a lot of road work machinery in the area so it could be brilliant new surface by now. Also if I was on a road-trail or adventure bike with tyres and longer suspension travel more suiting the surface then it would be better.

 

Some of the good bits above and below.

On my first day I had noticed the ER slipping around a bit and put it down to the brand new tyres that had not been scrubbed in. Day two I was still getting a lot of movement with some front end drift and the rear stepping out despite riding very sedately. I wonder about the road surface and noticed the local cars cut the corners all the time to the point that the outside lane of the corner has seen little traffic so with the bike always sliding I figured maybe it was because the road was not swept clean by the cars and had layer of dust making it slippery. So I started to also cut the corners, something I never do and really hate seeing but doing so did help return some grip to me and let me enjoy the riding a little more – but I was still lacking grip and feeling the bike constantly moving about.

After the back roads of the Nan region I eventually hit the 1048, said to be by some the best ride in Thailand. I only have one photo that came out any good due to the smoke – but below, which I doubled back to take, sums up this road rather well. Yes it is good, but not the best IMO. (that is still to come)

I liked Chiang Rai. Smaller than Chiang Mai and far less touristy, friendly and still offered convenience, nice places to stay, eat and drink. This was low season so it may well change but Chiang Mai at the same time was over flowing with backpackers, Russian couples and Chinese tour groups and the staff in shops, hotels, cafes and bars all had a certain weariness you normally only encounter in far bigger cities.

Breakfast with a view Chiang Rai. The ER is parked just off screen to the right.

My route day three took me along road 1089 near the border with Burma but whilst having a few beers the night before I came to the conclusion that the slipping and sliding was actually from all the burning off and was a layer of ash on the road. It was just too slippery to be anything normal. It reminded me at times of the feeling of being on a very low traffic road where a fine layer of silt from trees had settled, except in this case it was an invisible layer.

So I decided to stick to main roads and cut across to the 108 via the 118 and 109. Which to my delight were still excellent riding roads. I was by now thinking there are no straight roads in Northern Thailand. The days start quite cool the first couple of hours. I had to put two t-shirts on under the mesh jacket to cut the wind and then mid morning to midday is mild. But after lunch heat builds and rises quickly to the mid 30’s and on the low 40’s by mid afternoon before quickly cooling from late afternoon on. I have never experienced heat that comes and goes quite as quick anywhere in the world. 

Above, stretching the legs on the 118

The 108 is a main road between Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai but it was not bad riding and anyway is the only option to get to the northern section of the Mae Hong Son loop which is the most famous riding road in the the whole Golden Triangle region.

The 1095 started out less than great with the road chopped up in many parts and with a fair amount of slow moving traffic. The road improved and the traffic thinned but the amount of smoke increased and in many places fires were burning close to the road leaving a film of ash and a very slippery road. My theory on the fires causing the slippery conditions was confirmed with this and when I saw signage actually warning slippery road ahead (in English for the tourists who do this loop trip from Chiang Mai). It was a fairly cautious ride south to the town of Mai Hong Son. I have plenty of dirt bike experience and riding unsealed roads does not bother me however these conditions offered less grip than a graded unsealed road and more like the unpredictable loose small pebble type of unsealed road where the bike is constantly stepping out so you can only ride near to upright. This pushed my arrival right into the fierce afternoon heat and I was very glad to get off the bike and wash the smoke and perspiration away.

Riding Northern Thailand is so easy with many coffee shops at petrol stations and by the road that have very reasonable priced food and drinks and free wi-fi.

Apologies for the poor photos. I have an old model iPhone with all the limitations of it’s camera and I had left it in HDR mode to try get photos to cut through the smoke haze but ended up with some shots a bit blurred. (but the smoke in the photo’s is nothing like how much there was in real life so still a success) Mai Hong Son was small and very friendly. I will get a better phone (camera) soon, promise or even take a proper camera with me (maybe… I travel as light as possible)

Leaving Mai Hong Son on day four my thoughts were that this loop was a bit over rated for motorcycle riding however I soon changed my mind. The road improves and improves and then turns into a absolute amazing piece of tar. I was a little hesitant thinking well this is mighty fine stuff but it will surely not last long – but in fact it goes on and on. As usual the best roads seem elusive to capture in a photo but imagine this sort of stuff below just never ending.

It was an amazing ride, just beautiful.

After this I had plotted a route for day 4 over Mt Inthanon and this was a bit of a challenge as the road up from the west was in very bad shape. However down the other side was excellent. Sorry no photos as I broke my rule about stopping when I saw fuel and got the the top of the mountain and realised there was no services and I was low on fuel and low on energy so I just cruised down towards Chiang Mai for a late rest break before tackling the traffic jams on the long ride back into the city.

Always take a break and refuel when the opportunity first presents itself.

Above - doing it rough on a morning coffee break riding the Mai Hong Son loop.

The Kawasaki ER6N was a great bike for this ride. Light and nimble and comfortable. A heavier machine may have been a lot of work on the slippery surfaces and just not needed on roads always tight and twisty. I am not such a fan of small parallel twins or the newer boxer twins, in trying to present higher power figures on paper manufacturers seem to have produced engines with high lift cams offering far less torque at lower revs yet the nature of these engines is to try shake apart and not to be smooth high revving even with heavy counter balancing so you tend to ride them back in the soft lower rpms. However sine I was riding so conservative the engine in the ER6N rarely got any exercise. I covered the miles in comfort and ease despite having a high degree of fatigue from other riding completed immediately before this so kudos to the big K for making such a user friendly machine available in Thailand.

I had a great time despite the conditions and in fact I already have a draft plan to ride there again at Christmas when it will be cooler and no fires. Really easy to ride Thailand, as always I used my old Garmin GPS, there are a few map versions on the net, not all cover the region properly but the later versions of SE Asia map does. 

I travel super light with a small carry on bag but if you bring a suitcase then can leave at rental shop however no motorcycle luggage was available. I spotted two rental shops in Chiang Rai so flying to there and doing day rides would give access to many good roads without the need to carry your gear or navigate Chiang Mai traffic – but it would be too far from the lower part of the 108 road from Mai Hong Son.

If you live in the southern hemisphere you should put Northern Thailand on your must ride list, it was great fun.

Turning Point

 

Nice to see some sunshine. Lovely autumn day. I believe this might be only the 2nd ride (in Australia) I have done this year. That is mostly due to the weather. I have however covered considerable distance in other countries. Some I have already posted and one tour I am still to write about.

The delay is partly because I need to work on the photos I took from my iPhone which all came out very poorly due to having it in HDR mode. You may have noticed some ghosting and out of focus shots in New Zealand and that is the reason. I really should get a small compact to take with me but I love to travel light so maybe a new phone is an option. Todays photos however are from my Olympus Pen and are straight from the camera, no software whatsoever!

All the riding overseas this year has certainly spoilt me and also altered my opinion of a many number of things. I just did a half day today, I found the ride lacking something so came home early. I however did enjoy to ride my own bike again.

Motorcycling New Zealand North Island

New Zealand truly is a paradise for motorcycle riders. The south island gets a lot of press but I recently rode the north island and the riding was superb.

As with my south island ride I used the Hema New Zealand motorcycle atlas to plan my route and plotted the GPS route in Ride with GPS and I convert my GPS track files to maximum 100 point routes using GPS Babel.

 

I rented a motorcycle for this trip from Auckland Motorbike Hire who are based in a small seaside village of Maraetai out of Auckland. The owner Randall can arrange transfer from the airport and there are a couple of homestay B&B accommodations nearby. The beauty of this starting point is not having to navigate the city, I picked up the bike the afternoon I arrived and then next day was able to get an early start. The town also has a couple of takeaway shops but these close early so the downside of this location is there is nothing to do in the evening so if you were arriving later then just be aware no food or drink available.

The good riding starts the moment you leave town and that takes all of about 1 minute. No city traffic or freeways, just a stop for a coffee and then at the end of the street you start riding along a scenic seaside road.

For this tour I rented a Suzuki 1250 Bandit. Above is my ride and the beautiful water views that greeted me on embarking.

Day one I rode a loop around the Coromandel and my route was then south to Rotorua. I had a look around the historic town of Thames then rode some lovely curves following the ocean to the town of Coromandel for lunch.

  

I have developed a couple of rules when motorcycle touring to help make things go easier. One of my rules goes something like this – if I see something close to when I need it then stop right there and then. How this works is if it is bit early for lunch but I see a place that looks really suitable then I make myself stop, often that is turn around go back and have a stretch and then eat a bit sooner than I might normally do because if I pass by then chances are that the next place may be less inviting or too long coming. This rule also applies for fuel and morning coffee or afternoon tea, basically my experience has been in rural areas if there are lots of places selling fuel but I think no it’s a bit soon I will get fuel at the next town then the next town turns out to be a just a name on a map with nothing, then I have to ride on a low fuel level to the following town which means I tend to worry about the fuel consumption for that leg of the ride rather than enjoy the scenery or curves. So now I just stop. On the BMW in North America I did not worry about fuel as much because it had a range double what I am used to but on this ride I broke my rule once and nearly got caught out but more of that later.

Leaving Coromandel (above) I was told by the locals the ride south to Tauranga was not as good but I think the locals are so spoilt with fabulous riding roads that some which might be less than the very best are discounted however for a visitor it is all good riding and indeed many roads not even talked about would be listed as good rides in other countries.

Terrible riding, I hated every minute of it

Yes Mr Sign I am certainly doing that. Yippee!

By the time I got to Rotorua I realised the seat on the Suzuki was extremely poor and felt similar to some narrow and hard item found on sports bikes. Apart from that the bike was excellent, the stand out feature being the engine which was superb. I was leaving it in top gear all the time as it had mountains of torque down low and strong power mid rpm that I simply did not need to change gears be it in a 50kph town or overtaking a truck at highway speed. The seat however was unbearable so I roamed around a discount variety warehouse and decided to fabricate a cushion pad from a exercise mat. I cut the mat up and used two elastic straps to hold to layers together. This item worked remarkably well and I don’t think I would have enjoyed the ride had I not taken this action.

When I toured the south island I commented that I found the menus a bit limited and very similar at many places with mostly British comfort type food on offer so it was great to find Rotorua had a diverse range of dining options as well as a lively town centre in the evening. I was the only person in the Korean restaurant but the food was excellent and cheap.

Day two my route was to ride around the coast to Gisborne. Away from Rotorua early for a big days riding the road is a few metres away from the shore of a series of beautiful lakes. The road and forest in this region reminded me of parts of Idaho state forest. But then of course I started riding the coast.

This was for me one of the best days riding I have ever experienced. The locals again downplayed half of the route but for me it was all amazing. But what made it so special was the people. Despite not being that far away once on the cape you are by New Zealand standards a bit ‘off the beaten track’. The traffic there thins out then disappears to leave you on the road alone. Beautiful coastal vistas with small communities consisting of a few houses. Children stop and wave, a guy outside the local general store waves to me as I pass by, I felt like I had stepped back in time, in a nice way.

 

I did not stop much in the morning, the road was very nice riding and I was comfortable with my new padded seat and so I just enjoyed it. I soon realised that there were not many options for food so I had a sandwich at a small general store and after lunch I started one of the most incredible rides I have ever done. From the top of the cape to Gisborne offers most every type of curve and scenery you could imagine. It even throws in an active volcano off the coast.

Still with me. That’s just a fraction of the amazing scenery, it was only mid afternoon when I descended from the mountain range above and was looking to get fuel at Tikitiki only to find there was none. So I rode on then saw a sign for Ruatoria with the fuel symbol so decided to apply my before mentioned rule and take a detour to top up rather then test if there is any fuel between there and Gisbourne since the Suzuki did not have a huge range. This spur of the moment change proved to be a highlight of the tour.

I arrived in Ruatoria and found a fuel bowser behind the food store and filed up on low octane. The young guy loved bikes and was excited to have me visit and chatted about where I had been and was going. He told me his dream was to save enough money to get a road bike and ride the roads I was riding as he currently only rides his dad’s farm bike which is maybe a 125cc. I decided to take a break and walk about the small village and got an ice cream cone from the other shop open in town which was an old fashioned ‘milk bar’. I asked for a single but the woman seemed delighted I chose passionfruit flavour which did not seem popular and loaded my cone up with four scoops! I tried but could not eat it all however just sat in the shade under a tree and relaxed. The road was quiet for awhile then a woman drove up and stopped in middle of road looking at me like I was from Mars and then waved so I waved back and then she gave me a huge smile and drove off. That beautiful moment made me so happy and as I sat there enjoying a cool breeze I felt truly at ease with the world.

Some of the local flora leaving Ruatoria glittered silver in the afternoon sun.

Arriving at Tokomaru bay I found many deserted buildings and wondered about the history of the place which had a beautiful beach and bay with a stunning headland.

 

The road then returned to hug the coast and offer many scenic views of totally empty beaches.

An unbelievable day of riding.

Day three I was riding out of the motel and things felt odd. Stopped in driveway and saw the rear tyre was flat. I walked to the road and saw a petrol station nearby but closed so decided since the tyre was not totally deflated to ride in to town to find next nearest. Just crept in at about 15kph on side of road and pumped the tyre up and tried to find anything sticking out or hear any air leaking but could not find either. I purchased a can of that tyre repair inflator and I also had my own puncture repair kit and compressed air with me so just decided to see how I go with it.

My route was to Taumaarunui via a couple of nice roads. The country has been in a drought and the normally green land was a straw yellow and brown. Every night the tv news talked about water restrictions and hopeful messages that rain might come soon. I was hopeful that it would not be too soon but I was outnumbered by the rain dancing locals and would be getting wet later today. However the ride south from Gisborne was dry and through some lovely hill country where the road was tight and twisty before opening up some.

At Wairoa I chatted to some other bikers over breakfast and then checked the tyre and it was already half down so I decided to pump it up then ride on to Napier and see if anything was open for puncture repair but being a Sunday was not hopeful.

More fantastic riding but of course nothing open in Napier for tyres so I deflated the tyre and filled it with the tyre inflation/repair foam and as instructed rode around town slowly and was going to get some photos of the art deco area but it started to rain. The bikers I had met at breakfast I met again when inflating my tyre and they told me the road I was going to take to Lake Taupo was a bit boring and they were taking a isolated type route west from Hastings that was twisty. I considered it but was not sure if the tyre would hold so wanted to stay on more main roads. As it turned out the locals for the 2nd time showed they are spoilt rotten for good riding as the route I took was full of excellent sweepers and only a New Zealand rider could say it was boring, here in Australia it would be listed with the best.

I rode out of the rain at Napier and into the occasional light shower but was happy that the tyre was staying up. I had to stop and put my liner back in the jacket as it was very cold on what was like a tableland area near Rangitaiki. The sky was dark and actually the lights were on in the car park of the solitary shop in the area where I stopped. I was still hopeful of not hitting heavy rain but got caught shortly after Taupo.

At Turangi I had a brain fade. My route was via Tongariro national park as I had wanted to see the volcano but it was raining steady and looking up I could see it was likely to even heavier in the mountain range but still continued on my original route. Also I rode past two perfectly good petrol stations breaking my rule.

The rain did get heavier and my WP10 ‘water proof’ Alpinestars jacket proved to not actually be waterproof. The zipper has no outer storm cover nor is it a water resistant type so the water came through and got around the tiny inner storm flap rather easy. Also my Held four season ‘water proof’ gloves soon got soaked through. So I was starting to think why did I not short cut to my final destination and skip this heavy rain because cannot see anything anyway and said to myself ‘well I am wet now already so it cannot get any worse’ then looked at my fuel gauge and noticed the LCD bar read out had gone to reserve.

The fuel gauge on the Suzuki is probably the other thing on the bike poorly designed. Mostly it displays 3 bars when the bike 3/4 or more full, then two bars and you would expect to see one bar then a flashing bar when on reserve. That is standard with the 4th bar only occasionally showing when filled to the very brim soon to disappear. On the Suzuki it goes from two bars to reserve. One bar is the reserve. This was what nearly caught me out.

In the middle of a national park with no cars in the rain soaking wet - and on reserve. I rode on thinking well I will get fuel at the shop I expected to see in the middle at the volcano area. Of course there is nothing and the sign says no services, so I pull into a forest park ranger office to ask but it is closed. I keep riding trying to feather the throttle and thinking what to do when the inevitable happens and then coming up to a road junction in the gloom I make out the familiar shape of a petrol station and then the welcome sign that the lights are on and it is open. I think I might have said woohoo a couple of times!

Day four my route was to be a loop south but I ran into light rain that soon turned heavy and so I turned around. My route that day returned to Turangi so I decided to ride to there and if I had to, simply find a coffee shop and see how the weather went. As soon as I got back to Lake Taupo I could see it was fine towards Napier and wet to the south and west. So I decided to revisit the road over to there as I really liked that road and it’s sweeping corners.

Hello Mr Blue Sky, nice to find you here.

Parts of this road again remind of the grand views on some of my riding in North America.

Day five and the rain has moved from the south and west to where I am in the middle and east. I have a route plotted that takes me right into the rain. I try riding to the west from Turangi but run into heavy rain so from the same higher vantage point as yesterday I see the western side of the lake is totally heavy rain so no option but to ride the now familiar eastern side to Taupo.

From Taupo I see very heavy rain on my route north east so decide to try ride around it and then keep making my way north purely based on where I can see it is raining and where it is clear while still more or less heading north. What is unexpected is the roads are all still excellent riding despite not being recommended anywhere. I start to wonder are there any roads that are not good riding in New Zealand.

Hmm, definitely not going that way.

I managed to rejoin my planned route from Tirau where upon noticing more than 6 cafes in a row in the main street I decided to apply my rule that the next place would have nothing and had an early lunch at a coffee roasting house/cafe which was run by a German bloke and enjoyed both an excellent coffee and great light lunch.

This road from Tirau to Tauranga was like Burringbah range in NSW Australia but 10 times as long. Wonderful.

From here I guess I put my head down a bit and did not take too many photos even though the riding was great, particularly coming over a range Waihi to Paeroa which was a superb piece of road and I should have stopped to take some pics but the rain was right behind me so I wanted to keep moving. Not long after I got caught in a bunch of passing heavy showers for the next hour or so before finally a dry ride for last bit of road back to Maraetai.

Once again New Zealand has stunned me with how good it is. I took a few photos sure but it really represents just a fraction of what there was to see and corners to ride. Even the rain could not stop me enjoying this ride enormously. I was planning a East coast Australia two week tour for Christmas but now I am thinking I might go back to New Zealand, even if just for a few days…