Abandoned Enduro Course Chiang Mai

Accidentally wandering on to an army base

Short video of a night ride

I went for a ride with my riding buddy to the Jungle at night. It was pretty good fun to be fair.  Will write more about it soon 

KLX 250 adventure "Ridge Rider"

Here are some pictures from my recent adventure in the Samoeng loop.   Me and my friend tackled a course named "Ridge Rider".

The course is on the Samoeng Loop, the trail is impassible on any other transport than a dirt bike.  There were some incredibly dangerous parts where I was really pushed to the limit and I had a fall which resulted in tumbling over and partly crushing my foot under the bike.  Thankfully I wear armored boots and I managed to avoid serious injury! I highly suggest always wearing as much protection as you possible can. You can't afford to take risks on courses like this. You are often in the middle of nowhere and the terrain is always very challenging.  Don't get cocky and take too many risks without the skill or the protective equipment.  I also recommend good insurance too!

Below are some pictures.  I am writing this in here to merely bookmark the event, I hope to go back in a few more days to film a night time adventure.  Going at night is not recommended alone, jungles tend to get more lively when the lights go out.   Be-careful out there.

First real off road on the KLX 250 in Chiang Mai

KLX 250 in Chiang Mai

My first real off-road ride

I recently got a KLX 250 off road bike.  I'd been eyeing up various bikes over the last few months, street-bikes mainly however a combination of no access to credit here in Thailand (being a foreigner is tough here at times) and also my savings being eaten up by random events meant buying a bike in excess of 250,000THB is fairly difficult to achieve. 

Most bikes under 300cc are fairly cheap here, a few years old and you'll certainly save a bit.  I managed to come across a KLX 250cc for 90,000THB. Off-road bikes tend hold their value a lot more than road bikes, unless they are really beaten up or have a huge number of mileage on them (some do as some people tour up and down the country on them than follow trails) they won't ever decrease that much in value - such is the way in Thailand. So 90k is a pretty reasonable rate to pay for a bike here.   

I've ridden loads different bikes over the years and I rode a CRF250 (Honda's 250cc off road bike) but I never rode a KLX until I bought it. 

I read a few review that compared the KLX to the CRF, most reviewers said they were a fair comparison.  They're both dual-sports bikes in the same CC range, but the CRF is a slightly heavier and bulkier, which some people like but I ultimately dislike bulky bikes with small engines. I rode the 125cc version of the varadero in the UK but it's kinda pointless in many ways. I recently rode a rental Yamaha NXC and it was pretty crap, the read is huuuuuuge for such a small powered bike. It makes you wonder why they make them like that at all. 

I'm pleased to say the KLX 250 is not a chubby bike, which is good, because it shouldn't pretend to be something it's not. It's a field bike, adventure bike, a go anywhere bike, but it's not a highway cruiser. It weighs just over 100kgs, so it feels quite nimble on the roads. With a quick flick of the wrist and letting the clutch pop out it will easily fly up on to the back wheel.  So there is a certain "hooligan" feel to the bike.  I'm glad to live in Thailand as I don't think this bike would last five minutes outside my house in the UK. This bike is a teenage joy rider's dream!  It would be gone in the blink of an eye and around a farmer's field until the petrol ran out. 

For one of my first ride I took it around some gentle dirt roads and trails in the video above.  

I currently don't have an editing suite for my videos so it's just a plain and simple 10minute long continuous footage of me on my bike.  

I'll be back to type some more about my experiences of this bike soon.