My brother-in-law and myself are touring Thailand for a full month in February.

The idea I have is this -

We will travel long distances on the railway and when we find somewhere we like, will hire a 125cc motorcycle to tour locally.

I think a small engined 125cc bike can be hired for about £4 a day or £25 a week.

OR

Do I hire a 125cc bike in Bangkok and ride it long distance?

I prefer to use a small engine bike to cut down on fuel costs and avoid having to pay additional travel insurance for larger capacity bike.

I don't have a problem riding a wee bike (I have my beasts at home).

We intend to concentrate on South Thailand.

No jokes about sex tourism please - We are going there to see this beautiful country beside's I'm happily married.

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Triumph Bonneville 800 (2004), Yamaha XT600E (1999), Honda XBR500 (1986).

I have to agree with "Wuming" here. North Thailand is a blast riding around in. Start in Chiang Mai and travel around the north and also a bit to the northeast. Visit Chiang Rai province and ride along the border Mountains Ridge to Myanmar and the golden triangle area. Do the Mae Hong Son loop with 1864 curves from Chiang Mai and visit the smalltown of Pai and the extremely cosy and idyllic town of Mae Hong Son and then Thailands highest mountain Doi Inthanon. Visit Nan province, the hidden gem of the North and ride around beautiful and curvy roads all day and look at temples on mountain tops. Stop and get off the bike for a day or 3 and do a jungle trek, visit Caves ethnical tribes, waterfalls etc etc. Visit Loei province and the national parks of Po Kradung and Po Reua. Further to Udon and Nong Khai and the border to Laos. Visit Uttaradit and get Your bike ferried over the Sirikit dam on a bamboo raft. Visit Tak province and drive the "Death road" to Umphang. And so much more. Mountains, landscape, winding roads, villages, mid-size towns, ethnical minorities and their dwellings, Laos on one side, Myanmar to the other. And its less touristed and thus cheaper than the South. The beautiful Places of Southern Thailand are mostly the islands. Those are not best visited by motorbike.

Riding out of Bangkok isnt easy either. There are several main roads that are prohibited for motorbikes in that area.

A 100-125 semi-automatic Honda Wave/Dream costs from 3000 baht for one month and these bikes are bullet proof. Check brakes and general condition before renting however. Personally I would prefer a 250 ccm, the New Honda Crf250L is just a lovely bike. But a 100-125 will get you around as well....

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In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

I agree with Snakeboy; avoid hiring in Bkk, head for Chiang Mai (take the o'night train or fly) and rent there.
CM is an ideal base as there is a thriving bike community there. You can hire an old 125 dream for as little as 100bt/day or a 250 CRF or KLX costs about 800bt/day. I've been all over the north on a 125 dream, probably best to get a newer one and make sure the tyres are in good condition. Strap a bag on the backseat and use a small/medium size rucksac to hang over the handlebars, resting in the step through part of the bike. For more local info have a look at the gt rider website
Have fun !

Another rider for the NORTH. I've done BOTH. Rented both of my big Thai trips.
Up North you can really get lost and have a ball on dirt roads, going right along the Burmese border. A ton a great mountain roads too. The South is HOT, Touristy, Hectic and populated.

All that said, no matter where you end up ... you'll love it. Thai people are the best ... and any little roadside shack can fix a flat on your 125 ... and they'll clean and oil your chain as well! All for about a £1.

Have fun ...

Limited experience here Kentboy but like the others said Chang Mai (rented a scooter for a day and it was a blast!). The north is lush and hilly and seemed great for two-wheels and you can't go wrong with a 125

Im here at the moment and riding a 125cc honda wave... bullet proof and have ridden up from kuala lumpur. With the others on the north is nicer. If you rent a small wave check oil regular as they only carry a small amount, but theres enough power for me and my baggage

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I have booked the flight so the trip is definitely ON.

Booked flight with China Southern airline - London Heathrow to China (11 hours) then change plane for last leg to Bangkok. PAID £442 return. Most other airlines were quoting upwards of £500.

We will be staying the first few days at the Livingstone Lodge Hotel in Bangkok (£28 a night). Will need a few days to recover from long flight and aclimatise to the 40 degree searing heat. We are a bit concerned to see that Bangkok is currently unsafe in some parts due to political unrest. We will keep and eye on this and will change venue if it gets any worse. I understand western tourists are not the target in any case.

For those of you interested here is my budget for the month (30 days). There are two of us (myself and my brother in law) -

COSTS PER DAY

Accommodation £15 (x 2 of us gives us £30 a night).
Food £3
Travel £5 (combination of railway / motorcycle hire).
Other £5 - No jokes please, we're both happily married and want to remain AIDS / Hep A free. Lol.

TOTAL PER DAY: £28

Should be enough for mid-range hotel or a good guesthouse. I understand railway travel is cheap and a 125cc bike can be hired for about £3 a day (leaving us £2 for fuel). We are taking British Army jungle sleeping bags with us so might even decide to camp out on the beach or under the stars if it's safe to do so (thieves and bugs accepted)...

We will eat using street sellers.

The exchange rate for Sterling is currently 58 Bh. This seems pretty good.

I have travel insurance in place (Cover For You - DIAMOND level) - £64 for the two of us.

The whole trip will cost a total of £1,200 - Not bad for a trip to the other side of the world for a full month. A package tour holiday to Thailand costs upwards of £3,000 for a full month!!!!!! A huge saving eh....

I have taken on board what you chaps say here. We will travel the long distances by train and then hire bikes locally when we find somewhere we like the look of. We will go North instead of South.

Is there any Hubbers who would like a meet up? We arrive 23 February and will leave 22 March.

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Triumph Bonneville 800 (2004), Yamaha XT600E (1999), Honda XBR500 (1986).