Motorbike on Ko Chang

[chris19713]

I like to do a spot of 'motorbike whoring' on vacation I find this best on the smaller islands aka Ko Phangan etc.. Not something you can really do in Pattaya. Anyway I was hoping to get away to Ko Chang this time & hire a bike do the deed. I want to ask is it safe to hire & ride a motorbike on Ko Chang from lets say White Sand Beach to Kai Bae Beach. What are the roads like on this stretch & do the police pull you up to check you out - can't imagine they do. Comments appreciated.

[rucus]

I drove most of Koh Chang on a visit this year. In my car. If I were to rent a motor bike I would get a bike of at least 150 cc as the roads have many very steep hills, curves and blind spots. My best guess is that Koh chang has many, many bike accidents. Driving there is not for the faint of heart.

[Cerberus]

Massive number of motorcycle accidents on a daily basis on Koh Chang. Its is not necessarily your own skill level that counts but that of other drivers who have had no experience of driving on such very steep and winding roads.

 

Having said that I have driven a motor bike there each time I have visited, just drive very defensively and expect cars on the wrong side of the road travelling to fast, as they were unable to change gear and did not expect the curve to be that sharp. If your two up then a bigger bike is better when climbing some of those hills, on your own a good 125cc will do the job.

[Piece Corp]

I ride my motorcycle to Koh Chang. The most dangerous stretches are at the north and south ends of the island, with

steep hairpin and S-curves. The middle part of the island, white sands to Kai Bae is not nearly as problematic,

except for some steep hills. Be very careful at night however, since there are few street lights, shadows can be

tricky, and roads are narrow. Drinking and driving at night is asking for trouble, yes there are lots of accidents.

[barney]

Koh Chang is my favourite place in Thailand for riding a bike......... the hills and bends down by Lonely Beach coupled with the views, fantastic.

Just take it easy if you're not a really experienced rider.

[LaaMok]

Kai Bae to lonely beach is the worst one, White sands to Kai Bae is very easy! I have collectively spent two weeks there now, and I have found the only problems is twats hogging your lane on corners (as cerberus said) I was there a week ago, and some Thai guy came flying around the corner and went right infront of me, luckily we were both going slow, and i managed to pull over and stop, he did apologise profusely, but I just let him get out of the way and move on.

 

 

I rent a bike from the pier, you must check the brakes before you rent, and I dont mean sit on it and try and push, get your passenger on and try a small incline, everytime I have rented a bike there, none of them have had brakes strong enough to slow me down to a reasonable speed on the hill, let alone stop me!

[Spear of Destiny]

If you haven't had a motorbike accident, you haven't been to Koh Chang.

I got stopped by a tree and broke my collarbone on Koh Cang.

Drinking and driving at night is asking for trouble

[Von Sandels]

Allso remember that during summertime at Koh Chang rains a lot. so the roads are slippery.

The sharp curves and deep hills have deen mentioned allready.

Just take care.

[Edge]

Most of the bikes there seem to be 100-110 cc which is pretty hopeless up the hills, especially 2 up.

 

They also seem to have predominantly drum rather than disc brakes, which fade going down the other side.

 

Add to that they're mostly automatics, so there's no engine braking and the engine might cut out going down hill.

 

It all happened to me at night, in the rain, with a panic stricken TG on the back, an accident at the bottom of the hill and, as the engine cut out so did the lights.

With both feet on the floor and flip flops melting, we arrived at the accident, which was fortunately well lit up and somehow passed through it, restarted the engine and went safely on our way.

I swapped my bike in next morning for one with gears, which was a lot better both going up and down.

 

It's a bundle of fun.

There's no circuit on the island so you just go as far as you can one way, turn round and go as far as you can the other way, turn round and go back to your hotel - just the once.

[ducati]

Safe or not has very little to do with your driving skills as there are loads and loads of bad and/or drunk drivers on Koh Chang both on bikes and in cars. Having said that, it´s by far the best way of getting around the island and i always rent one myself. But safe it is not by any means. To reduce risk try to stay moderatlely sober, wear a helmet (you´ll have to bring one as the ones issued are more tupperware than helmets) and rent a bike that looks brand new so you know breaks and tires are in order.

[Piece Corp]

Imagine at night, there are no street lights, roads are narrow, no shoulder

 

[Shuggy]

Found these videos on Yotube. Shows what some of the roads are like. Ive driven a car there. Will never ride a bike there.

 

 

<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JpQBZ1UZZ0Y?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oYYckyB4_ag?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ke_tk01d4sA?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[cyan]

Edge and Shuggy....Nice to see you here & posting about motorbikes on Koh Chang. After a trip to Saigon, this doesn't look too bad, it looks pretty The video with that guys bike trapped under the pickup truck looks pretty bad, but also seems that all 3 crashes might be the motorbike riders fault.

 

I didn't realize Koh Chang had this many hills, looks like a nice place to visit, I need to look up how far it is from Pattaya.

[pokey]

WTF everybody is on the wrong site. No wonder the brits and ozzies feel at home

[kpdxxx]

I like to do a spot of 'motorbike whoring' on vacation I find this best on the smaller islands aka Ko Phangan etc.. Not something you can really do in Pattaya. Anyway I was hoping to get away to Ko Chang this time & hire a bike do the deed. I want to ask is it safe to hire & ride a motorbike on Ko Chang from lets say White Sand Beach to Kai Bae Beach. What are the roads like on this stretch & do the police pull you up to check you out - can't imagine they do. Comments appreciated.

 

Do it! I just came back after a week there. It was low season so less people, but I manage to get around the whole island and it was my first time on a bike.

 

I've posted a TR recently with some pics of the roads.

 

I drove at night and on a wet surface and took it slowly and was sober. If you do that you should be ok.

 

Just be careful if you have a pillion passenger as that alters the handling of the bike. Also, keep away from the very edges of the road as some edges are washed away and there is only steep cliff.

 

the east side of the island is a doddle. only between whitesands and the ferry pier and kai bae and the lonely beach. other than that just do it and wear a helmet.

[samaus]

Good fun riding the eastern side of the island, though as mentioned roads are steep and narrow in places.

 

I almost ended up in a roadside ditch which was my own fault ..going too fast downhill. Have also heard there's lots of accidents.

[samaus]

Correction .. western side of the island.

[Nudels]

Riding Motorbike on Koh Chang is very dangerous. We had same situation like shown in the first video. If you drive with pillion rider and you don't have checked tire pressure this could be fate. Narrow curves and uphill grade needs attention. Don't forget that road surface and and tires sometimes loose grip. not only in rainy season. We have had luck in this situation. I could slow down the engine and my wife and me slides across the road.

If you are careful this Island offers max fun for bikers - I would drive again everytime but only without my wife.

[Briankaplan]

drove the whole island for 4 days, beautiful views, great scenery, but watch out for the hairpin turns and on coming traffic on those turns, there are not alot of them, alot great straight streches to ride down, dont go fast and you will be fine.

[themosch]

I drove a motorbike a few years back for 2 weeks. Found it pretty easy to get around the island and not more dangerous as our Belgian roads. So no problem for me!

But then again i also ride a bike and car in Pataya and Bangkok so i am used to dangerous roads i guess!

[Freeze]

If I drive my motorbike on Koh Chang which Beach and better still which guesthouse should I park my bike at?

I'm thinking Kai Bae Beach.