Afternoon dirtbiking fun at Bo Din, Minburi, Bangkok! KLX351, CRF450R, XR650R

**TonyBKK** · 10-10-2013, 08:27 AM

A 'bit' wet at Bo Din these days

Juri had a really nice camera- what a pic!

Gorgeous afternoon!

As I was riding down this flooded road spotted a huge water lizard. Reckon it would be mad mojo to run over one of those bad boys...

Satonic stalled and struggled to get his CRF started. Man do I love my e-start!

Mud mud mud!!! Juri got himself good and stuck!

We all got stuck! After dragging Satonic's bike out we just laid it down as it has no side stand...

I got stuck too

This mud just sucks you in!

We escaped exhausted but undamaged. Looking forward to hitting Bo Din again soon!

**Satonic** · 10-10-2013, 10:13 AM

Haha I warned you not to follow me into the sinking mud! Great day tiring day out!

**Bettyboo** · 10-10-2013, 10:53 AM

Those are perhaps the gayest trousers I have ever seen; were you riding a motorbike or playing golf circa 1790???

Makes me jealous though; looks like good fun. There's a KTM dealer in Dubai, I looked last year at the smaller cheaper ones, but can't really justify it...

Out of interest, what seat height is the kwakerwaker? A couple of inches lower than the CRF?

**TonyBKK** · 10-10-2013, 11:07 AM

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

Those are perhaps the gayest trousers I have ever seen; were you riding a motorbike or playing golf circa 1790???

Makes me jealous though; looks like good fun. There's a KTM dealer in Dubai, I looked last year at the smaller cheaper ones, but can't really justify it...

Out of interest, what seat height is the kwakerwaker? A couple of inches lower than the CRF?

I'm not wearing trousers! I knew we'd be getting wet so I wore board shorts!

(and FWIW, I really don't dress to impress)

**Bettyboo** · 10-10-2013, 11:09 AM

Originally Posted by TonyBKK

I really don't dress to impress

Clearly...

Seat height?

**TonyBKK** · 10-10-2013, 12:43 PM

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

Out of interest, what seat height is the kwakerwaker? A couple of inches lower than the CRF?

You'd have to look it up but I'm pretty sure the KLX 250 is a bit taller than the CRF-L

Or are you asking about KLX250 seat height compared to Satonic's new CRF450? I took it for a spin and seat height felt roughly the same, but the suspension is much much firmer on the race bike so a lot less sag.

**Bettyboo** · 10-10-2013, 12:48 PM

^ ok, thanks Tony. I sat on the Honda here in Oman, it was a 2012 model that they were trying to get rid of cheaply, just felt a tad too high for me around town (riding on the dessert, but regularly stopping to cross over roads at a slight incline). Hoped the kwakerwaker would be a tad lower, as there's a shop in Muscat I was planning to visit.

**TonyBKK** · 10-10-2013, 01:52 PM

A few vids from yesterday afternoon's little dirtbike outing

To get to Bo Din you just follow Ramkamhaeng till it ends, hang a right, then left at first light, follow that until you see a 7-11, turn left, then right at the next T, and follow that road until you see the sign for the Korean International School, follow that road until you see the reservoir.

**Aberlour** · 10-10-2013, 02:13 PM

Looks like an absolute blast Tony, great shots mate.

**TonyBKK** · 10-10-2013, 02:21 PM

We slowly made our way down the flooded road next to the reservoir and I cautioned Juri as last year there were some deep holes and ruts in the road that would probably swallow us if we rode into them...

He still wanted to press on through, but then a couple big 4WD trucks came by and we watched them drive down the road, and sure enough, they nearly got swamped a bit further on where the road is all torn up under the water. I'm glad we didn't try it! It would have been a bit nasty swimming in that murky water and a long way to push a flooded bike back to dry ground!

**TonyBKK** · 10-10-2013, 02:23 PM

Originally Posted by Aberlour

Looks like an absolute blast Tony, great shots mate.

Thanks

I didn't take all the pics, some are Juri's and some are Satonic's, but I don't think they'll mind me sharing them here

Juri had a video camera too but unfortunately it seems there was a problem with his memory card, so none of his vids were captured... :/

**TonyBKK** · 10-10-2013, 02:28 PM

I briefly lost the fellas and was really surprised to cross paths with this lone Thai dude riding around all by himself in slip-on loafers on a Kawasaki D-Tracker 125 with nearly bald road tires!

Super nice guy and he was keen to follow us and also wanted to know if anyone had a waterproof bag for his phone

**TonyBKK** · 10-10-2013, 02:56 PM

We played around in the hilly area that's on the NE side of the reservoir but we all got stuck, including the Thai kid, and pulling the bikes out of that mud was exhausting. We finally made our way back to civilization just after the sun went down. Poor Satonic on the CRF450 has no headlight and didn't enjoy that one bit!!

Looking forward to the next one!!

The End

**English Noodles** · 12-10-2013, 08:32 PM

What mod is on the KLX, Bill Blues? Drop me a private message if you fancy offloading it.

Nice thread.

**TonyBKK** · 12-10-2013, 09:24 PM

Originally Posted by English Noodles

What mod is on the KLX, Bill Blues? Drop me a private message if you fancy offloading it.

Nice thread.

Yes, it's got the Bill Blue 351 kit, Mikuni TM-33 carb and a few other bits and bobs and I have no plans to sell it.

I've also got a brand new in the box Kustom Kraft 330cc Big Bore kit that I don't need.

A friend of a friend asked me to pick it when I was back in the States but seems to have flaked out...

I'd accept a reasonable offer

**Betty Swollocks** · 21-10-2013, 04:23 PM

TonyBKK, where did you get the bike stands, local or imports?

**TonyBKK** · 21-10-2013, 09:48 PM

Originally Posted by Betty Swollocks

TonyBKK, where did you get the bike stands, local or imports?

I get mine from Dirtshop on Onnut though I've discovered that 320sp has them for quite a bit less. I'm not 100% sure but believe they are locally made.

**OhOh** · 21-10-2013, 11:54 PM

Thanks for your report.

The journey seems to have been on mainly flooded mud roads, am I right?

Do you encounter many rocky trails?

What depth of water can you ride through and what sets the limit. Have you any special waterproofing or air inlet mods on your bikes? Lastly have you any tips with regards to crossing fast flowing, rocky bottomed streams/rivers?

**TonyBKK** · 22-10-2013, 02:03 AM

Originally Posted by OhOh

Thanks for your report.

The journey seems to have been on mainly flooded mud roads, am I right?

Do you encounter many rocky trails?

What depth of water can you ride through and what sets the limit. Have you any special waterproofing or air inlet mods on your bikes? Lastly have you any tips with regards to crossing fast flowing, rocky bottomed streams/rivers?

^ Bo Din is just a local stomping ground in Minburi, a suburb of Bangkok. It's an abandoned quarry and a lot of 4X4, dirtbike and trials clubs come out here to tear around.

It's mostly mud and dirt, not many rocks other than the boulders that the trials guys trucked in.

The KLX can normally go through water up to the top of the airbox which is about even with the bottom of the seat. Deeper than that and you are toast

The most challenging water crossings I've enjoyed to date would have to have been in Laos. Walked across and it didn't seem too deep and the bottom seemed solid, but once I set off I guess I took a different line and ended up in deep sand, almost lost it, but survived!

Oh, and there were some tough ones on the "Missing Link" trip from Sangklaburi to Umphang and back!!

Here's the ride report-

The Missing Link- Riding from Sangkhlaburi to Umphang and back!

Check out this awesome vid that my buddy Mike put together:

West Thailand Adventure (extended cut) on Vimeo

**OhOh** · 22-10-2013, 12:27 PM

^Thanks.

The electrics don't mind all the water then?

The videos I have watched show riders gunning through and falling off followed by attempts to restart a flooded bike! Others showing riders doing pirouettes on top of one boulder after another seem a little unnecessary. Most show riders in open woodland or from NewZealand bikers travelling over open heathland. Neither match the jungle that I have around here. Without the "tracks" it would be unpenetrable. The tracks are very rough or near vertical slippery red clay, both of which I am currently struggling on.

But as they say "Practice, practise, practice".

Your photo above looks, judging by the lack of spray, to show a more slow and cautious approach however.

I will take a look at your links.

The Missing link one, I have just stated to read, is more typical of the tracks around here.

**TonyBKK** · 22-10-2013, 01:21 PM

Originally Posted by OhOh

^Thanks.

The electrics don't mind all the water then?

The videos I have watched show riders gunning through and falling off followed by attempts to restart a flooded bike! Others showing riders doing pirouettes on top of one boulder after another seem a little unnecessary. Most show riders in open woodland or from NewZealand bikers travelling over open heathland. Neither match the jungle that I have around here. Without the "tracks" it would be unpenetrable. The tracks are very rough or near vertical slippery red clay, both of which I am currently struggling on.

But as they say "Practice, practise, practice".

Your photo above looks, judging by the lack of spray, to show a more slow and cautious approach however.

I will take a look at your links.

The Missing link one, I have just stated to read, is more typical of the tracks around here.

No, modern bikes are made to go through water. The limit to how deep you can go is usually the airbox, though as this fellow demonstrated in the big flood a couple years ago, even that can be overcome!

I'm not sure what other videos you've been watching so can't really comment. For our Sangkhlaburi to Umphang epic ride we had an experienced guide and even though the GPS tracks are now freely available on the GT-Rider site, I still wouldn't recommend trying to do that ride without guide.

Definitely when you are out in the jungle far from civilization and with no phone reception it makes sense to be prudent! If you break yourself or your bike in the jungle you can be in for a world of hurt!

An experienced enduro racer recently told me, it's not the fastest rider that wins the race, it's the one who makes sure that both the bike and rider survive to the finish line.

That slippery red clay that we find all over SE Asia is super challenging! good tires and proper suspension setup help tremendously, beyond that it's all about practice practice practice!

Ride On!

Tony

**OhOh** · 22-10-2013, 09:53 PM

Thanks for your reply again.

I have just finished looking at the other thread. Wow an epic few days. Looks tasty but not for me quite yet

Your advice in the other thread about looking for local Thais on bikes made me stop this afternoon at a small dirt track where there was racing going on. All very entertaining and friendly but I am even more aware now of my inexperience.

**Golden Inn** · 30-10-2013, 02:33 PM

Hi Tony

I am interested in the Kustum Kraft, how much do you want for it?

Regards

Preben

**Albert Shagnastier** · 30-10-2013, 08:54 PM

Originally Posted by TonyBKK

No, modern bikes are made to go through water. The limit to how deep you can go is usually the airbox, though as this fellow demonstrated in the big flood a couple years ago, even that can be overcome!

That's cos he was revving it constantly so the outbound pressure doesn't allow any water up the pipe.

**terry57** · 30-10-2013, 09:06 PM

^
Nope that is not correct Albert,

He made it through because he connected a hose to the exhaust pipe and the exhaust was allowed to escape normally.

I must say, I'm very impressed how the electrics held up on the Honda.

No pipe and the machine would of died within 5 seconds.

Thread: Afternoon dirtbiking fun at Bo Din, Minburi, Bangkok! KLX351, CRF450R, XR650R

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