Anyone have any information about rides and bike rentals in Northern or anywhere in Thailand. My wife is from there and we will be getting back there eventually. We would like to do some riding while in country. Any info is appreciated. Ride on.....
Can't help you directly but some Brit bikers I know reckon there is some wicked road riding on very good tarmac roads in Thailand. But one must take care, gravel on corners is very common. Lots of info here. http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=utf-8&fr=slv8-tyc7&p=thailand%20motorcycle%20hire You might also look under Thailand at www.horizonsunlimited.com Check out real Muay Thai Boxing while you're there. Savage stuff.
check out http://www.gt-rider.com/ they have fantastic info, maps and routes. I've done a 5 day ride out of chang mai and it was one of my best memories ever. Fantastic roads, amazing scenery, good food and nice people. The road to Pie is particularly twisty/fun. similar to putty rd/OPH but more amazing scenery.
Mate read this ride report by Gaspipe, it is a fantastic read and has loads of info on Northern Thailand as well as a few people to contact whom I am sure would help you out! http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=192281&highlight=gaspipe+thailand
GT-Rider as given in a early post have a link for bike rentals: http://www.gt-rider.com/ http://www.gt-rider.com/motorcycle-touring-rental-services.htm For more upmarket options, tours and BMW bike rentals try: http://www.discoverymototours.com/index.html Have fun!
I was in Pattaya, Thailand last June. I rented a Honda Transalp for $12/day. I took it up into the hills and found beautiful riding on asphalt and dirt. In Pattaya, there are hundreds of bikes for rent. I'm sure there are some rentals in Chiang Mai as well. Mostly, they rent to tourists who only ride (and drop) the bikes in town. They have all types of bikes, including a couple of big Honda 650 dirt enduros with street tires. I preferred the Kawasaki KLR650 and the Honda Transalp. They have lots of Jap racer bikes as well. All motorcycles are in various states of decay and disrepair. Check tire pressure, brakes, fluids, tranny, engine...EVERYTHING before you ride off!! Make sure you get a good bike that will make it out and back. Insurance: You are on your own. If you drop it or crash, expect to pay for the damage. If it is stolen, you have to make a deal to replace it. It is not unheard of for the owner of the rental business to "steal" a motorcycle from a customer, hide it, collect payment, then rent it out again the following week to the next unsuspecting tourist. Try to get some international insurance, or travel insurance. Drivers license: The rental people don't care. It is good to have an international drivers license. The Thai police won't bother you unless you run someone over. All traffic laws are optional. Most street signs and stop signs are ignored. There is a helmet law, but it seems to be increasingly ignored the further away you are from a city. Riding back in to Pattaya, a policeman on foot waved me over (I think for not wearing a helmet). I pretended like I didn't see him. That was the end of that.
http://endurotours.com/ Also, i found this info posted by another inmate who was responding to a similar query as yours
