Dirt Bike Thailand
Intro
Something I’d never tried, in fact, 2 things. A bike with a manual gearbox, and then heading straight off-road into the jungle. Today I’d like to share my experience trying out a very popular pass time here in Chon Buri, Thailand. Living in this area for a long time, I’d noticed the popularity of this hobby, due to the hundreds of miles of publicly accessible dirt roads, yet never dared to try. However this year, I was lucky enough to chance across some new friends who’ve been dirt biking in Thailand for decades, and one of them took me out for my first taste of dirt biking in Thailand.
At our rest stop, seems I blinked for this shot (nvm)
Gears
The bikes we rode today are Kawasaki KLX 250cc dirt bikes which are specially made for this off-road action. Plenty powerful enough, with big knobbly tires and buckets of suspension travel they’re ideal for dirt biking in Thailand. I’d only ever ridden semi-automatic bikes before, and this was a 6 speed with a clutch. In any case, I did have experience with left foot for gears and right hand and foot for braking, which helped me immensely. I just had to shuffle my manual car experience around in my hands and feet – right foot is now a brake, right hand a throttle and brake, left hand clutch and left foot for changing gears. So that does take some time to get your head around, if like me, you’ve only driven cars most of your life. By the end of the ride I vastly improved.
Moving off from a standstill is actually the hardest part, after some time my brain is stitching it all together and building the new muscle memory required. There’s nothing like going in the deep end to learn quickly. Very quickly! Practice makes perfect… once I can get myself up and down the gears confidently, it’s time to hit the dirt.
At the storage unit, everything required, boots and suits of armor.
Let’s Ride!
Soon I will get hold of a go-pro or similar to mount on the bike or helmet. It is the only way to film whilst riding these beastly machines, where your full attention is required. (I would like to bring some footage into my posts soon.)
So first off we got kitted out with knee and shin paddings, protective trousers, boots, and a full upper body protective under armor and the loose fitting t-shirt over the top, and proper helmets with special highly scratch-resistant visors – an innovation instead of the stereotypical dirt bike goggles.
Rolling the bikes out ready to ride …
What I can do is explain as much as I can from my experience in words. I’d like to talk about riding – something I am still a beginner at. I’m very comfortable driving cars, yet manual bikes larger than 150cc are a totally new challenge for me. A car driver needs to let go a large extent to master these new laws of motion. On the road it’s also fair amount more intuitive, than heading off into wilderness trails. Where there is tarmac, there is good traction and the bike is behaving normally most of the time. You’re avoiding or spotting slippery surfaces, whereas dirt biking you are sliding about the entire time!
The tracks go off in this direction …
Alien Sensation
Now when you come out onto these trials, into dirt, deep slippy sand, mud, water … rocks, drops, ruts etc. It’s another story again. The machine is twitching all over if you don’t keep the revs up in the correct gear. Application of constant throttle stabilizes the bike – too slow? You’re wiggling and wobbling. Not too much, unless you know what you’re doing already, but you need to engage it in turns to keep the bike upright. Speed, posture on the bike, commitment and proper throttle application is the trick to smooth steady progress over horrendous terrain.
At first, it feels disorientating. Unable to dial in exactly how much of a passenger vs in control I was especially once we hit off-road. Scary a little, adrenaline is flowing hard, because I must get connected and at one with this machine quickly, just to stay on it. Getting the hang of sandy bends was a serious challenge, some momentum and making the back of the bike swing round is required. Next time, I feel I will practice mastering the cornering whereby you have to put your inside leg straight out (without scuffing the ground) for balance and helping the bike tip into the corner. You can also move back slightly on the exit.
After this ride, I found tips on how to corner a dirt-bike on YouTube. That’s what I’ll be getting the hang of next, which should make things become less daunting.
Taking a break, this is exhausting!
Getting the hang of things
For the first hour, I’m almost coming off the bike a few times yet somehow I hang on. I know the split microsecond if things get too much, I’ll just bail and drop the bike but I haven’t had anything like that happen yet. Almost, but then the bike somehow just rights itself and keeps on going. It basically always wants to keep rolling straight on, I must persuade it to take my chosen course.
I’m aware of my incompetence, and being extra careful to make sure I don’t make any sudden inputs or wrong gears to surprise the bike, which might end badly for me and the Kawa. For now, I just keep progressing and seeking for the feel of the machine. The bike moves around underneath me but I’m not sure how or why yet. I’m know I need a little more time to become one with it. So for now the sensation is quite alien.. go easy, be patient, it’s going to fall into place.
Mr. Jeff
Tipping Point
We reach an impassable part of the trail we picked today, even though we’re in the middle of nowhere, suburbia still exists by crow’s flight 10-15km south from our location near the beaches. We find city workers and heavy machinery digging a gargantuan hole in our trial and blocking the way, a major water supply line right out here in the jungle needs work…
It was after the rest and on the return journey I began to get an actual feel for handling the bike. On the loose surface, you have to use 3rd or 4th gear (of 6). 1st and 2nd are for moving off. 3rd or 4th is where the revs are just right, below halfway, yet high enough and with the torque band to bite the loose surface and keep going.
I got used to just tipping it enough into the corners and using power all the way through to get out. The sensation once it comes it does become a lot more natural – once you control the machine and learn to trust it’s capabilities. I’m looking forwards to exploring those limits a lot now.
Dirt Biking in Thailand is one of the most adrenaline fuelled and breathtakingly beautiful ways of exploring the local landscape you’d otherwise never get to see.