Harley Davidsons in Thailand: Thinkin' Out Loud

Two Fat Boys on the Mae Hong Son Loop

- Posted on 19 May, 2009
Rding Harely Davidson Fat Boy to Mae Hong Son
Poor Richy. It's hard to get away in the middle of the week when a guy's got a business to run. Richy has an idea for a tour run, a ride he's wanted to do on his own for a while. The tour combines one of the original tours with an extra day side trip. Schedule worked out that we would leave on a Monday morning. So me and this other fella ended up on two of Richy's 2006 Twin Cam Fat Boys with four days and only about a 1000 Kilometers to kill. It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it. This is going to be some of the best work I've ever had to do, Richy knows it.
 
Now, Richy's a friendly fella; always smiling, always positive. I dunno how he does it. The smile is always genuine even when he has to force it out over clenched teeth. Today, his teeth are clenched but he is smiling. His brotherly hug and shove as we leave the shop is tainted with just a hint of jealousy. He stands in front of the shop watching us boom off on a "mission." Gotta be tough; watch your scooters head out for four days along the Burmese border to some of the best Motorcycle roads the world has to offer with your friends ridin' them, grinning ear to ear.
 
It's all good, as 'they' say. Ten minutes into the ride I forgot that "poor Richy" thing. A quick cup of coffee, a few minutes going over the route out of town on to the first stop, we fire up the Fat Boys, head south out of town. Still a bit of morning traffic on the road.
 
Thailand is a motorcycle friendly country the majority of the traffic on the road is of the two-wheeled variety, filtering up to first in line at the few stop lights is easy enough and no one gets their nose outta joint. The road south through Hang Dong can be busy; after that we're on four lane highway with sweeping curves through rice fields and small built up areas. Great place to roll up a few more "Rs" and settle in for the ride.
 
The ride will be an hour of lowland highway to start with, four days on mountain roads and a two hour ride through rice fields home. We're lookin' forward to it - in no hurry to get it done. The idea here is to enjoy the ride and enjoy the sights along the way. I think we can handle that.
 
Soon enough we turn west up Doi Inthanon to the peak. We'll shoot some photos and head down the back side of the mountain to the Mae Chaem Valley. Lunch is bowl of noodles over the Chaem River, then boogie up the road to Mae Hong Son. It's a full day, we'll ride as far as Mae Sariang and stop for the night.
 
Poor Richie.

North Thailand, Harley Davidson Tour Day Three

- Posted on 18 May, 2009
Elephant Harely Davidson Golden triangle
Couple of us guys found a karaoke joint down the street from our hotel. Karaoke is not my thing, but the beer was cold and cheap and no one was singing. Woke up bleary-eyed and hungry Richy is as animated as ever, points me to the breakfast buffet. There was fresh brewed coffee, an important ingredient to any early morning (8:00 AM).
 
With a belly full of eggs and ham I made one last sweep of my room and headed out the door, next stop the Golden Triangle. We ride along the Mae Khong river heading to the town they've named "The Golden Triangle." Situated on the Mae Khong river with views of Myanmar (Burma) and Laos this is a tourist destination for Thais and foreigners alike.
 
We passed elephants walking on the side of the road, waited for a couple cattle crossings and cruised into town to check out the activities. It's a short ride.the light is good a couple more elephants with their mahouts stroll by. Now Richy he gets this idea it would be good to get a photo of them pachyderms and the bikes. I swear, he musta put a peanut on my seat. He thought it damned funny when I had to wipe the trunk juice off my seat before we took off for Chiang Rai and Wat Rong Khun.
 
Wat Rong Khun is an amazing stop. A must see for any Thai traveling in the north it I pulled the Dyna up in front of it where there was no parkign allowed and managed to get a few shots of hte bike between the Thais mugging for their own shots with the bike, they were respectful and didn't touch. Something you'll notice when riding a Harley Davidson in Thailand, the Thais love big motorcycles and they love Harleys most of all.
 
The three hour ride back to Chiang Mai is over the main artery out of the far north. We rode over well maintained broad mountain roads to a high mountain valley with rice fields and small villages and into another stretch of forested mountain roads and in to town.
 
We went on the ride, ostensibly, to prove out sme new routes and define schedules that allow for some sight seeing and plenty of ride time. Any excuse for a ride, no? After the ride, we went over each leg of the tour and examined the pros & cons. Richy's attention to detail on every aspect of the ride kept the cons to a minimum we worked out alternatives.
 
The ride was missing something though. No drama. No break downs. No one lost or missing. The Dyna? pulled like a racehorse and and rode like a dream. Three days in the saddle and I felt a helluva lot better than I do after one day in my computer chair. Gotta ride more, work less.

North Thailand, Harley Davidson Tour Day two

- Posted on 18 May, 2009
Harley Davidsons in Thailand
Woke up with the Mae Kok River at my doorstep, the phone ringing I thought it was my alarm. Hit the snooze, roll back over. The damned thing rings again - seconds later; Richy, “We're burnin daylight man!”
 
Richy's enthusiasm is contagious, you can't resist it. Up in a flash wolfed down a quick breakfast and we hit the road. “Long Neck” Paduang tribes folk and more mountain roads along the Burmese border.
 
We get into some tight Switch back roads pass a couple folks cooling their brakes. Tourists on their own, shoulda come with us. Before the ride we talked the route over, we all know there's a third and second gear descent; downhill switchbacks, elephants on the side of the road, water buffalo just another day on Thailand's backroads on a Harley Davidson.
 
Everyone on this ride has been there before. Everyone is more than happy to back again. The cool of the mountains is a welcome relief from the heat in the valleys. They grow and roast some might fine coffee in these mountains I made sure to drink my fill.
 
We hit the highways in the early afternoon. I don;t know where you're from, but back home we got “freeways” Long, endless ribbons of asphalt straight as gun barrels reaching for the horizon, fenced and protected from cross traffic. Thailand is a little different, very few roads are straight for very long usually shaded and run through the villages and towns as main arteries. There are stretches of empty macadam without a soul, sweeping curves lined with banana, teak and bougainvillea and we make the most of those traveling at speed to make it interesting, giving us time to soak up the scene.
 
We've by-passed the majority of towns and cruised through the small villages. We end up in Chiang Saen on the Mae Khong river, near the Burmese and Laos borders. Once again we get to relive the ride over frosty beverages and a “roll your own” Thai BBQ. Buffet tables laid out with pork, beef, chicken, prawns, vegetables all ready to cook a few plates of pre-cooked foods and a small barbecue at table. A guy could get used to this.

First Harley Davidson Tour Through Northern Thailand

- Posted on 18 May, 2009
Touring in Thailand on a Harley Davidson
A couple months back Richy calls tells me he is starting up a tour service and can I put together a web page for him? Richy and I have talked about this business for a few years. I am enthused as hell, a little bit jealous, but enthused, none-the-less. Then the guy asks do I want to go on a proving ride on one of the tour routes? And will I ride this 2006 Dyna with only 8000 kilometers on the clock?
 
Will I! I'm about as ready to go for a ride as a man can be. I've been sittin' in front of this computer so long I've grown roots and my work chair follows me around the house like a lost puppy. I was due a little "Road Time."
 
Richy has put together a fleet of late-model Harley Davidson Fat Boys and Dyna Glides and is offering guided tours around Thailand. Between Richy, myself and a few other fellas going we got about 35 years road experience in Thailand, Richy thought it might be a good idea to check a few things out. He needed someone that knew which end of a camera to point at what and could string together more than five words describing the rides. Lucky for me I sit in front of a computer most days and bought a couple digital cameras over the years.
 
Packed everything up two days ahead of time; laptop, cameras, spare batteries and chargers, extra compact flash and few days worth of socks, was standng at the door to RichCo Motorsports and hour before anyone else showed up. The pack was a had a bit of weight to it. Richy had though of everything; here's a chase truck!
 
After a few cups of coffee and a cinnamon snail the group got underway. Our first stop was the cave at Doi Chiang Dao. The ride over well-maintained highways to Chiang Dao and dramatic country roads through lush forests brought us to our first scheduled stop. At each stop we went over the route discussed options we came to the conclusion this is the perfect first hop long enough to get a feel for a strange bike with good broad roads medium traffic and some fantastic scenery.
 
The next destination was Doi Ang Khang for lunch among the gardens there. Through mountain roads Teak and Pine forests and a few switch backs to keep us all humble, the area we ride through is dotted with Thai villages and a few settlements started by the Kuomintang (KMT), (remnants of a group of Chinese fighting against the communist takeover of China). We spent the rest of the day cruising the mountain roads up in Tha Ton a small resort town along the Mae Kok river. Over a few frosty beverages and assorted plates of Thai food we came to the conclusion it was an excellent day's ride with available fuel stops should we need one (we didn't).
Eifing the Road from Mae Hong Son to Pai