Farewell My Sweet Ride

I'm just days away from selling the only new (motorized) vehicle I've ever owned. It's not the biggest bike I've ever ridden, but it represents more than 6,000 miles of great memories. For example, every day for five months I took a right off of Patong's Nanai Road and accelerated through the double chicane that connects Sai Nam Yen and Phisit Karani roads, and every day it brought a smile to my face. What follows is the journal entry I made on October 15, 2004, the day I bought the bike:

I bought a motorbike today, specifically a 125cc Honda Dream. It's brand new and black. I had planned all along to buy one, but was hoping to buy used. However, the four Thais I happened to speak with on the subject very quickly, and in no uncertain terms, disabused me of that idea. Moreover, I'm sure that one of them – a young woman who lives in my apartment building – will not soon let me live it down.

"Secondhand no good for you," she said. I nodded thoughtfully and she hit me with, "What you thinking, man?" before wincing in apparent disgust. I tried to counter by saying, "Well, I just want a good value. I'm only g-"

"You CRAY-zy!"

"I don't see the-"

"You buy, two days KAPUT!"

"OK, OK, I got ya."

What followed were staccato blasts of Thai that did not seem to be in any way flattering.

Another tenant told me of a scam in which a "Thai man" would sell me a used bike only to steal it back later.

"How would he know where I live?" I asked.

"He know," she responded flatly.

"But why not just steal some other bike?" I pressed.

"He TAKE! Want to sell same same, OK?"

I wasn’t about to argue with that, and was reminded of a promise I'd made myself never to buy a used vehicle from a private party. In 2000 I bought a 1994 Honda Accord EX from a friend of a friend of a friend only to have the transmission blow up almost immediately. The car has been great ever since, but I always told myself 'never again'.

I hitched a ride from (yet) another fellow tenant and went to a nearby Honda motorbike dealership – just like a Honda auto dealership, really, but on a motorbike scale. The saleswoman spoke passable English and was more than happy to answer all of my questions.

I didn't walk in totally defenseless; I had a good idea of the market rates for both new and used bikes from a few weeks of online research. I kicked the tires of the lot's "flagship" – a silver model with all the bells and whistles (such as they are on a motorbike) for about US$1,300. There was also a "special edition" model in an outrageous shade of green for about the same amount of money. The saleswoman really, really wanted me to bite on that SE. "Perfect for you, I think," she said.

There were several smaller-engine models available for well under $1,000, but I figured, given my size and the kinds of hills I’ll have to traverse on a regular basis, buying anything under 125cc would be a bad idea. But then again, we're only talking about one cylinder.

I ended up paying about $1,025 for a model with electric start and not much else, but with title, registration, and insurance included. No fuss, no muss. They zinged me for an extra three percent for paying by Visa (for the record, my Visa debit card). At least I saved a little by passing on the digital fuel gauge and "double lock". The former looked rather shoddy, while I didn't see how the latter could do anything to discourage a motivated thief.

I think I got a good buy, but the price was about double what I had hoped to spend on transportation. Before finally signing on the dotted line, I dealt with my sticker shock by going to lunch – and talking motorbikes with the restaurant staff – and afterwards lounging in my apartment to think about it a bit more. I soon convinced myself that the extra money would be an investment in peace of mind and, given the bike's strong resale value, that I could sell it at a deep discount if necessary and still manage to spend less than I would have on a long-term rental.

I did think about checking out the Suzuki and Yamaha models available (one offers automatic transmission), or at least visiting a Honda dealer in a more remote part of the island. I even shared my ideas with my new friends, albeit reluctantly, considering the body blows I had taken just hours before. They informed me that Honda is the undisputed motorbike king of Thailand, while Suzuki and Yamaha are still comparatively new to the market and have not developed much of a reputation, good or bad. They also said any discount that might exist elsewhere on the island would be instantly negated by my white face. Of course, their explanation was a bit more colorful, but I don’t think we need to go there.

Apparently a sales promotion was in effect. While I was filling out the paperwork on my new bike, the saleswoman laid out a number of gifts: a rice cooker; an electric fan; a Honda jacket, key chain, and shammy; a mini FM stereo; and one helmet. Unfortunately the helmet is one-size-fits-all (known in Thailand as "free size"), which means that on a head my size it affords about as much protection as a plastic yarmulke. I'm looking forward to using the rice cooker, but will re-gift the fan, radio, and jacket at the first opportunity. The jacket would actually be pretty cool if: 1) it were about twice its actual size, and 2) it did not prominently feature an obese cartoon angel on the back. Definitely not bad-ass.

Turns out that Hondas enjoy as solid a resale value in Thailand as they do everywhere else. My selling price is more than fair, but my final cost still works out to about a $1 for each day I actually rode (not just owned) the bike -- less than half of the average long-term rental rate. Gas prices have nearly doubled in Thailand since I bought it, but I still pay less than $2 to fill the tank and less than $5 in an average week. And no, I'm not prepared to start driving in the States again. I'll bike as much as possible and will try not to watch when I refuel my car for the first time.