K11 Owners Group

ChrisWeeK1100RS · Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:42 pm Post subject: K1100RS survives 1864!

Hey everyone,

The brick has survived! 5300kms and a lot of burnt petrol later, I'm happy to report that the bike has survived with minimal battle scars. A lot of stone chips though Smile

The route we took was from KL (capital) to Surat Thani for the first day, 890kms, followed by Hua Hin (100km south of Bangkok) then Kanchanaburi, Mae Sot, Mae Hong Son (infamous 1864 corners!) and finally Chiang Mai.

It was probably the most exhausting and yet most fun ride I've ever been on, and the bike performed flawlessly. Highway speeds hovered around the 160-180km/h range, but that diminished significantly when we hit the infamous 1864 from Mae Sot to Mae Hong Son.

The scenery along the way was breathtaking, some of the best I've ever seen on a bike, especially over the hilly area between Mae Hong Son and Chiang Mai. The weather was perfect for biking, cool and dry, unlike what we're currently experiencing now in Malaysia (it's monsoon season now)

Here are some of the more memorable shots from my trip, hope you like them! Smile

Chris

Border crossing! This is the Malaysia-Thailand border, we'd not see this place again for 2 weeks; behind my bike is Sunny's Triumph Sprint..

Nearing Hua Hin we came across this unique entrance to a temple, left my bike there as a size reference just how big this statue was...

In Hua Hin we accidentally stumbled on this gathering of bikers for Hua Hin Bike Week, they'd arranged the bikes in a fashion to spell out 'Long Live the King'...

Custom choppers were abundant...

This bike had a 330 rear tyre!

Trike powered by a turbo-charged Nissan SR20 engine; next to it a Honda Gold Wing with sidecar...

In Kanchanaburi, we visited the famous Tiger Temple, yup, that's a real tiger on my lap Razz

That was one massive tiger, his head was as big as my torso...

I still don't know why we did this; we rented scooters to get to the Tiger Temple, this is the gang at a coffee stop; weird that I chose a white one..

This was freaky, we got to an area called Magic Hill in Mae Sot, where things actually roll UP-hill. I have a video of my bike rolling uphill in You-Tube, will post the link at the bottom Smile

At a restaurant in Mae Sot, beautiful landscaping...

Whenever we stopped along the way between Mae Sot and Mae Hong Son, kids would come out in droves...

The start of the infamous 1864 corners, destination MHS, a mere 327km away that would take us pretty much the whole day...note the mist! We had to stop a few times cos we just couldn't see the road...

The scenery along the way to MHS...brilliant.

At one point we were riding above the clouds...bliss!!

And finally...my fave shot of my bike during the whole trip Smile

BTW, if you guys wanna have a look, the link for the Magic Hill video on You-Tube is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_wlglljO5o

I'll post more pictures of the bikes at Hua Hin Bike Week in a new thread Smile

Cheers!
Chris
_________________
"Ride hard or stay home..."
'93 BMW K1100RS
Mileage: 37,000km-ish
Malaysia

Ted · Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:56 pm Post subject:

AWESOME!!!

And you're definitely right, that is one HUGE head and one HUGE rear tire!
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Ted

KOG#1

drikko · Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 12:43 am Post subject:

WOW I am blown away by that trip! Mae Hong Son and the 1864 corners is now firmly on my bucket list. I get up to KL fairly often, I'll get in touch next time. Perhaps we can have a look at the scenery at the Beach Bar!! (already drooling at the thought...) Shocked

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Frank · Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 3:25 am Post subject:

G'day Chris

Great photos, you lucky bugger to get to have a tiger rest his head on you. (love tigers and am so jealous)

Sounds like you had a awesome trip as well.
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Gold Coast Australia

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hirschhs · Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 3:45 am Post subject:

fantastic pics pics Chris, thanks for sharing. Love the scenery and the bikes are retty good too!
Tigers? Mind blowing.
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Cheers, Steve H _______________________________________
K-less in Bucks
2001 ST1100A

1994 Yamaha 600 Diversion 'Hers'
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SugarHillCTD · Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 7:14 am Post subject:

Chris,

THANKS for the pictures and a look at your area of the world.

This has to be in the running (if not the outright winner) for the award for the most exotic K11 trip report with pictures ever.

Excellent. Thanks again.

John
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jpberens1994K1100RS · Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 10:36 am Post subject: Your trip

WOW!!!!!

Just outstanding!!!

Thanks for those spectacular views!

You ever get to the US, especially the mid-west, your welcome to stay & use my K1100.

Many thanks for sharing.
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1993 K1100RS that I'd rather be riding FAST!
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supercat1 · Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 3:10 pm Post subject:

i envy you. like big green monster envy.

and that bike looks slick. i also like the color on the k12 there at the end.
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Ernie-NH · Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 5:45 pm Post subject:

MAN... Chris,,! What a terrific ride-report ! Just awesome,,,

You should get a double-gold star for getting that BIG, really BIG, pussy to put its head on your lap ! I DONT have the Kahhonies to even get that close to a cat like that ! Double, no Triple, Gold star for you !

Best regards............// Ernie-NH
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Saltcreek · Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 7:35 pm Post subject:

Great pics, Chris! I'm so glad you're a member of this forum.
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1994 K1100LT Mystic Red, bfd, 37000 miles, sold Sad

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Flying Duck · Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 7:57 pm Post subject:

Rumor has it they keep those tigers pretty drugged up. I had my picture taken sitting down in between a couple of them when I was in Thailand. They're FRICKIN' HUGE!

Greats pics! Makes me miss Thailand. I've been to Thailand several times. Great country, friendly people.
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ChrisWeeK1100RS · Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 10:28 pm Post subject:

Hey guys!

Thanks so much for the well wishes and compliments, I'm very happy you all like the pictures! Smile

It really was an amazing ride, and apart from tigers on my lap, it was also the small things we experienced that made a huge difference, I mean for instance, along the way, we'd have to refuel every couple of hundred clicks or so and every single gas station we stopped at had at least one really nice coffee shop serving really, really good local coffee for about a buck. And every gas station also had a 7-11 and a restaurant, and VERY clean toilets. Locals would come over and chat, ask about our bikes, the ride, etc. Most of the time I got this distinct 'these guys are nuts' vibe though, when we told them our journey plans. Haha Razz

The weather was another treat. I'm used to really hot and humid weather (so hot sometimes that by the time I get to my front gate I'm already sweating like a pig under my riding gear) but the weather over there, especially after Surat Thani and Mae Sot, was just amazing. Perfect riding weather; cool, sunny and dry. On one morning as we were setting off, the temp was 16 deg C. I've never shivered while riding my bike, ever, till then.

Honestly, based on the hype of the infamous 1864, I expected it to be a nightmare, but it was ok. Apart from some rutted areas and less-than-perfect asphalt, we had to look out for tell-tale signs of diesel spillage as a lot of trucks ply that route between Mae Sot, MHS and Chiang Mai. I did slide a few times, but was able to catch it, thankfully. The K is very well balanced. 70% of the entire route though is smooth, long sweeping bends.

It can be very tricky that 1864, and it will bite you if you get too complacent, or lose concentration but it's also a really amazing road to ride on. There was this one memorable area, I was tailing a friend on a Honda Varadero, about five car lengths in front and suddenly he went over a crest, I saw his back wheel lift-off the ground and he disappeared. It was an incredibly abrupt drop, followed by a tight left-hander, major pucker factor. The good thing is due to the tightness of the corners, speed was never a problem, we could only average about 80km/h, and some were 1st gear corners. Think of U-turn going up a steep incline and that what some of the corners were like, especially from MHS to Chaing Mai.

Anyway, it really was a memorable ride, I enjoyed it so much and we're hoping to do something similar next December, there have been whispers about Laos / Cambodia as well as Kunming, China...

Here are a couple more shots, this coffee shop was built right on the edge of a hill, overlooking another hill and valley, needless to say we hung around a while Smile

And I changed my mind, this is my fave shot of my brick during the ride, haha Razz

Cheers!
Chris
_________________
"Ride hard or stay home..."
'93 BMW K1100RS
Mileage: 37,000km-ish
Malaysia

hirschhs · Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2009 3:41 am Post subject:

Hey Chris, I have interests in Kunming so let me know if you decide to visit.
It has the worst traffic I've ever seen and I've seen some!
It's also undergoing massive development at the moment (particularly in my sector) so, although it's a spot in which foreigners still get stared at, that is changing slowly. Visit the stone forest it's 90ks away.

All the best
_________________
Cheers, Steve H _______________________________________
K-less in Bucks
2001 ST1100A

1994 Yamaha 600 Diversion 'Hers'
2006 Kawasaki Z750s 'Hers'

Off the grid · Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 6:09 pm Post subject:

Great pics Chris....loooove that 2nd-gen FZ1 in your group!
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