I’ve been living in Thailand for the last three months, riding a Ducati 796 and various other bikes (I work for a guy who’s really into bikes). Absolutely loving it, but I have no idea how to dress.
Even in a t-shirt and short I’m absolutely dripping with sweat sometimes. I haven’t got a clue how to dress here for the bike, I’m going out in nothing, but I feel so vunerable. A simple spill could turn into a world of pain for me.
Has anyone had any experience of this?
Also as a bonus I’m allowed to get a brand new bike (within reason of price), had my eyes on the CBR 300, but not so sure if I’ll get bored of it really quickly. You do not want to be doing too much speeding here, the roads are very unsafe, no one signals, people drift lanes erratically - it’s like playing some computer game set to crazy mode!
Not to boast or anything but this is what I did last week after a hard day at the office:
Basically in a nutshell I what can I wear for over-all protection? Also what are the lightest boots I can wear for protection?
What about mesh gear? Dangerous B has an all mesh get up with all the armor, which I think it prolly the most protection you’re going to get with the most ventilation…unless someone knows of anything else.
You’ve ridden a ducati and you want to get a CBR300, why? :hehe:
spent 5 years living and riding in thailand ,only been back in uk for a year,done mainly off roading so you had to wear the gear all the time,mesh jacket with ce armour ,moto cross bottoms,and motocross boots yes its hot and when your dragging the bike through the jungle your sweating but I’m sure you have seen some of the accidents over there they happen daily ,start reading the news over there you will see there is 1 or 2 deaths of foreigners on bikes a week,as they say in thailand up to you…
Yeah - Lagos is pretty f hot. I bought a full body kit (that normally goes under a big shirt for the super moto boys). I just wear it with a t-shirt underneath. Also have some drag gin jeans.
As for the bike - I got an off road KTM (450 exc) - as riding anything faster seemed pointless given the state of the roads.
I tend to just ride to the beach - cos it’s so f*cking hot - it just kills you riding any distances. A super moto style helmet plus sun glasses lets cool air on your head too, which is a godsend.
Already seen one accident. The driving over here is absolutely mental. Best thing to do is keep well away from everyone and assume they will drift lanes and pull out on you. Never seen anything like it. Makes London look like some kind of full scale sensible drivers committee on a quest to show how well they know the highway code.
Over here people are drunk, they drive all over the place and generally speaking you yield to whoever has the biggest car.
As for the CBR300, the 796 isn’t mine. I borrow it but my boss would probably rather I didn’t at times. It’s a great ride, but not mine. I can’t get credit over here nor can I import my own bike here (duty on things over here is INSANE).
So I’d love a new bike but can’t afford to spend too much, a new CBR 300 seems like just the ticket. You absolutely don’t want to be riding too fast here, it’s far too dangerous. I don’t have much cash to play with. Old second hand big bikes are more expensive and sell very quickly. Most bikes over here are very small CC. Like the Phantom, 200cc, CBR 250r, Ninja 250…etc. Bigger bikes are rarer and rather expensive.
I’ve ridden a fair few bikes here, good fun. Some roads are great. Some are just… :hehe:
I met a cab driver the other day who showed me his leg after a crash at “5-10mph” into a wall in shorts… yeesh it looked like a shark had taken a bite out of it.
I know the perils of it, especially coming from a country such as Greece where in the summer, it’s just better to drive an a/c car. It’s too hot for biking.
Mesh textiles might be the best but you are still going to sweat. If you’re riding only ‘around town’ and are sure to ride defensively every so often then I wouldn’t mind the risk of shorts. But to do it every day, I wouldn’t…
