which bike to buy

[jiz]

The Honda SH150 is the best scooter Honda ever made.

Not sure if you can still find one at a dealer ?

[Garzan]

56 minutes ago, jiz said:

The Honda SH150 is the best scooter Honda ever made.

Not sure if you can still find one at a dealer ?

Why do you think it's the best one ever made? Not to be contrary or anything, but curious. I think it's the biggest step-through they make/made, and you can argue the merits of a step-through design for carrying all the misc stuff most people end up carrying on a scooter at one time or another. Wasn't that bike made in Vietnam and had import duty tacked onto it? I think I saw one once at a small wing dealer in Udon. If it is/was the "best scooter Honda ever made", that doesn't seem like a universal opinion given the number of them around. I remember being interested in one until I saw the purchase price on it.

My guess would be the Cub variants are/were the "best" for the market that Honda ever made, but I wouldn't really want one. :-)

[jiz]

1 hour ago, Garzan said:

Why do you think it's the best one ever made? Not to be contrary or anything, but curious. I think it's the biggest step-through they make/made, and you can argue the merits of a step-through design for carrying all the misc stuff most people end up carrying on a scooter at one time or another. Wasn't that bike made in Vietnam and had import duty tacked onto it? I think I saw one once at a small wing dealer in Udon. If it is/was the "best scooter Honda ever made", that doesn't seem like a universal opinion given the number of them around. I remember being interested in one until I saw the purchase price on it.

My guess would be the Cub variants are/were the "best" for the market that Honda ever made, but I wouldn't really want one. :-)

The Cubs are probably their biggest seller. 

The SH150 is the top of the Honda scooter lineup. Considered the best in its class, was designed for the Europe market. Best seller in Italy besting Vespa. 

Bigger wheels, bigger shocks, disc brake front and rear, big frame for bigger people,   a bit more HP than PCX, step through convenience, (can carry a case of beer) fit and finish is superb. 

Not popular in Thailand, too big for average Thais and costs more too. but consider you recover the premium when selling it second hand. 

And one more thing...it doesn’t look goofy like the PCX. 

 

SH150 listed for sale on Baht & Sold.

http://www.bahtsold.com/view/honda-sh150i-automatic-scooter-323126

 

[NorCalKid]

What's up w the second hand shops and registration?  Some saying takes a month to change over green book.   Then today one tells me,  ohhh sometimes big que.  Have to go back the next day.   May take 2 days???

WTF,   is it a same day thing or a takes a month thing?   Are the shops just batching together and transferring once a month? 

Looked at another CB today.  Looked like no maintenance ever. 

[stubby]

For around town the click is great fast off the mark and nimble,if you are going longer distances get a used 250 up the smaller scoots just run out of steam imho.

[Garzan]

Before I moved out to the village, I lived on the Darkside. Riding Sukhumvit on a routine basis, I was happy for the extra ccs, and what felt to me like an improvement in stability that the PCX offers over smaller Scooters. I was renting from @Hallmark, getting a different model bike each month until I got to the PCX. That's when I stopped renting and bought my own PCX. 

@noddyWA and @furryman rode a Click and an Airblade from Pattaya to Nong Khai and back to Pattaya. Not something I'd want to do on that size bike. Part of why I sold that PCX of mine, and bought a new Forza was wanting to make that sort of ride with the convenience of a 'twist and go' scooter with something a whole heck of a lot more comfortable for my sixty-plus-year-old bones. The Forza is a very plush and comfortable scooter and only felt like a huge land yacht for the first month or so. But if I were ~only~ riding in town, yeah, smaller is better. :-) In town only, a Moove would be a pretty good option. Flat floor for the case of beer, small form factor for parking, and at only 110cc, not very expensive. :-)

[jiz]

Agreed.

The only reason to have the (hideous) Forza scooter  is if you weigh as much as a small elephant  or have a steady diet of highway use. 

Have you noticed, many of the 300cc scooter owners drive too aggressive in town?

Gonna end in tears  if they don’t slow down and blend with traffic. 

 

[Garzan]

1 minute ago, jiz said:

Agreed.

The only reason to have the (hideous) Forza scooter  is if you weigh as much as a small elephant  or have a steady diet of highway use. 

Have you noticed, many of the 300cc scooter owners drive too aggressive in town?

Gonna end in tears  if they don’t slow down and blend with traffic. 

 

3

Hah! I guess my Forza is now even more hideous since it has a top box and pannier mounts on it. 555 My CB500X has panniers but no top box. That mounting hardware looks (to me) more natural on the motorcycle than it does on the scooter, but it's handy for trips no matter what it is on.

Is 83KG small elephant range? I'm not sure. Compared to the wife, I guess so. 555 Elephant or no, my Forza is certainly a comfortable ride, no matter what it looks like, or how big/small I am. :-)

I've noticed, but I wouldn't limit it to the larger Scooters. ANY of the larger bikes, Scooters or motorcycles, and particularly with tourists, seem to attract more than their fair share of overly aggressive, asshole riders. Those guys are a blink away from a major hurt for them, and whoever they are riding with, and whoever they crash into. I like to think that the people who live here have seen enough aftermaths, that they slow the heck down, no matter how many ccs they have strapped between their legs. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work out that way. 

[Scuba+]

ANY of the larger bikes, scooters or motorcycles, and particularly with tourists, seem to attract more than their fair share of overly aggressive, asshole riders. Those guys are a blink away from a major hurt for them, and whoever they are riding with, and whoever they crash into. I like to think that the people who live here have seen enough aftermaths, that they slow the heck down, no matter how many ccs they have strapped between their legs. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work out that way. 

Yes the extra power just encourages faster riding, otherwise why bother buying. Faster riding means greater risk to being road kill. I'm pretty sure i see expats going too fast also, you can usually tell by quality of helmet. Funny enough I'm happy going slower, i have time, why race, that wasn't the case 10 years ago in the UK

[Garzan]

18 minutes ago, Scuba+ said:

Yes the extra power just encourages faster riding, otherwise why bother buying. Faster riding means greater risk to being road kill. I'm pretty sure i see expats going too fast also, you can usually tell by quality of helmet. Funny enough I'm happy going slower, i have time, why race, that wasn't the case 10 years ago in the UK

 

7

7

I'm much, much better at it now than I was before my last accident. I think the biggest factor in that was not keeping a 'cool heart'. I got cut off by a car driver, and rather than tell myself, "whatever", I got miffed, and cut back around her, and was confronted by a suddenly stopped car a bit further on down the road. That momentary lapse in judgment gave me my "I ride a bike in Thailand" scars on my left leg, and left arm. Even I can learn when it hurts enough. 555 I am far better now at thinking, "Whatever", and keeping a cooler heart. Just because someone else is driving/riding like an ass doesn't mean I have to join in with similar behavior. 

Sometimes you buy a bigger bike because it either has features you want, or it's just plain more comfortable. That's why I bothered to buy the two 300cc and one 500cc bikes. I will never see the top end of any of my bikes, I just don't feel like riding that fast anymore. But I do like "comfortable". 

[Scuba+]

I'm much, much better at it now than I was before my last accident. I think the biggest factor in that was not keeping a 'cool heart'. I got cut off by a car driver, and rather than tell myself, "whatever", I got miffed, and cut back around her, and was confronted by a suddenly stopped car a bit further on down the road. That momentary lapse in judgment gave me my "I ride a bike in Thailand" scars on my left leg, and left arm. Even I can learn when it hurts enough. 555 I am far better now at thinking, "Whatever", and keeping a cooler heart. Just because someone else is driving/riding like an ass doesn't mean I have to join in with similar behavior. 
Sometimes you buy a bigger bike because it either has features you want, or it's just plain more comfortable. That's why I bothered to buy the two 300cc and one 500cc bikes. I will never see the top end of any of my bikes, I just don't feel like riding that fast anymore. But I do like "comfortable". 

Good point about the "cool heart" and "whatever", i just think mai pen rai when someone cuts me up or other dickhead manoeuvre.I'm relaxed i don't get road rage, i just laugh. Another one hard to resist is trying to beat people and be faster, i let them go

[jiz]

Garzan,  Apologies about the 'hideous Forza' crack. To me it looks like a tribute to plastic.

I confess the seat does look comfy and I'm sure it's good Honda quality.

[Garzan]

1 hour ago, jiz said:

Garzan,  Apologies about the 'hideous Forza' crack. To me it looks like a tribute to plastic.

I confess the seat does look comfy and I'm sure it's good Honda quality.

It is encased in lots of plastic panels, just like it's little sibling the PCX. I haven't had to replace any panels yet, and hope not to, but my understanding is that all those panels are fairly inexpensive, which makes it simple to do body repair in the event of an accident. 

Besides, with my extensive collection of authentic Hawaiian shirts, my "fashion sense" could be questioned. :-)

[gimmesum]

I have an airblade that I had repainted, extra size michelins, new leds all around, new belt weights for quicker acceleration, repadded seat, usb charger and although I have toyed with buying a pcx or aerox I don't believe I can get a better ride for handling and comfort than the current bike.  Top end is 100 kmh but anything over that and you will simply outrun your suspension and brakes on either bike. I wish they made an airblade 150cc here.