Road-tripping in Thailand on the Honda CB500x
So close yet so far. Perfect reasons to take off for a motorcycle trip
Still buzzing from what must have been thousands of curves across just over a hundred kilometres of road, it occurred to us that perhaps we should take a break and refuel our bodies, since the Honda CB500X we were riding showed no signs of using any significant quantity of gasoline. We were at Pai canyon, a small lookout point for tourists along the highway with four food and one coffee stall. My partner enjoys the occasional coffee, so she requested one. The beans were promptly ground in front of us, mixed with condensed milk, ice and water, and served in a convenient plastic container. All this while, I bit down on a pre-packaged Tuna sandwich knowing full well that the nearest fresh tuna was at least 1200km away. Both the sandwich and coffee were fresh and delicious. If this was roughing it on a road trip, it’s exactly my style.
Motorcycling through Thailand
If you’re a motorcycling enthusiast, or have become one in the recent past, you’ve probably known or heard of someone who’s ridden a bike around our ASEAN neighbour. In fact, there is now a land route from North-East India through Myanmar into Thailand. Heck, you can go all the way to Singapore before you hit the inevitable shore. There are many reasons for this, not least of which is the incredible road network. You’re very unlikely to see a badly potholed section of tar. In terms of distances, the country is about 1600km long and 1000km across, so there’s plenty to explore. Of particular note is the Mae Hong Son loop — a long circuit west of Chiang Mai which is considered one of the best riding roads in Asia. Among the first stopovers on this route is a popular, but still tiny town called Pai, which we visited. If Chiang Mai were Pune, think of Pai as Wai, except 140km away.
Nestled in a valley replete with waterfalls and lush greenery, Pai is a small town with a growing tourist population, pioneered by backpackers. It’s close enough to the border with Myanmar to have cultural influences of the hill tribes in terms of food and clothing, but significant enough to have all the infrastructural niceties of the rest of Thailand. Think perfect 4G connectivity, AirBNB and the most incredible gourmet burger I’ve ever eaten on the street. The Pai river itself is popular for white water rafting at various skill levels, and you can even take a slow boat to Laos, which takes two days and costs just 1750 baht, or about 3500 rupees. In fact, our overnight stay and jaunt in the night market ended up costing less than Rs 2000 for the two of us. Try getting that deal in Panchgani any night of the year.
And that, in essence, is a microcosm of the type of experience you’re likely to have on any road trip in Thailand — it’s cheap to the point that Himachal Pradesh is likely to make more of a dent in your bank balance. Food, boarding and infrastructure are organised and consistent, typical of a nation that takes tourism seriously, and with pride. You never pass a street stall without a sing-song “Sawatdi-khaaaa” (Thai for namaste, quite literally), friendly smiles and a disarming lack of guile. Thailand also has strong cultural connects to India, having a Hindu and Buddhist history. It occasionally surprises the uninformed when encountering names and iconography from the Ramayan and other Hindu mythology. There is, in fact, a Thai version of the Ramayan on TV, with Ram played by a Gujarati. He has a huge fan following!
Having been (and motorcycled across) the country twice, I almost tend to take it personally when people refer to the country and its sex trade, as if the nation is one giant red light district. It isn’t, and you should definitely avoid visiting it with someone who holds that belief. This author travelled the length of the country with his partner, feeling perfectly secure despite being a nervous traveller. It truly is a place where you can hit the road without any specific plan and come off the bike feeling like you’ve explored and seen something new.
Motors in Thailand
Riding or driving in the country is bound to feel familiar to an Indian tourist. For one thing, they drive on the left side of the road — a colonial vestige similar to ours. They accept International Driving Permits issued in India. Being part of the ASEAN region with a large contract manufacturing industry also means that vehicles tend to be similar to what you’ll see on Indian roads. Toyota Innovas and Corollas, Suzuki Swifts, Nissans and familiar European luxury cars in urban areas. What you’re likely to be unprepared for is the automotive culture of customisation that seems to pervade the country. It’s ridiculous! On my first day in Bangkok, I was passed by a courier delivery truck with massive oversize rims and tyres. Even cabs — whether licensed or Uber — are seldom seen without an obligatory level of customisation.
Automotive enthusiasm is even more evident in the two-wheelers the Thai ride. Unlike in India, where culturally, we’re about “bigger is better”, the Thai have a different take on their commuter vehicles. Step-thrus and scooters across the country actually use thinner tyres than stock to make the bikes lighter on their feet, just like amateur drag racers! Unsurprisingly, no scooter or step-thru is considered road-ready without an obnoxiously loud exhaust to announce its arrival. There’s even an entire industry to support motorsport with these small vehicles. Suspensions, big bore kits and specialist mechanics are all available to make your lunatic Luna dreams come true. Don’t expect great prices though. Despite what you may have heard, Thailand isn’t exactly cheap for automotive parts or gear.
In the four years since my last trip to Thailand, there has been significant growth in motorcycling culture beyond scooters and mopeds as well. Honda, Kawasaki, Triumph and Ducati all have state-of-the-art manufacturing bases in Thailand — which is why we in India are able to buy these bikes today. You see, India and Thailand have free trade agreements in place that lower duties on vehicles imported from Thailand. This is partly the reason why we chose to ride the Honda CB500X on our road trip. It’s a Thai-produced vehicle of a modest displacement, and a format perfect for India.
As a background: adventure touring and ‘standard’ (meaning you sit upright on the bike) motorcycles have seen a strong resurgence across the world. This is happening in India as well, despite our high regard for fully-faired sport bikes. Adventure touring in general is on the upswing, with every able-bodied Indian having made it to Leh at least once. The Honda CB500X is a parallel-twin cylinder adventure-touring motorcycle. It’s extremely comfortable, relatively simple in terms of electronics, accessible in height and weight, and smart-enough looking to be attractive to many. It’s an excellent package for the kind of customer who wants to step up from a Royal Enfield — India’s motorcycle touring staple.
If it’s a spec-sheet comparison one is looking at, then the CB500X is not going to win any contests. WIth a basic digital console, standard non-adjustable suspension and no traction control, equipment levels are modest. But this doesn’t detract from the motorcycle at all. I can’ remember the last time I was on a motorcycle that did 300km with as little drama. Handling was neutral to the point of being beginner-friendly, power was sufficient to haul ass two-up with luggage, and fueling is perfectly accurate and gentle, which made corner carving in Thailand’s brilliant northern roads an absolute blast. The closest any Indian motorcycle comes to the package is the Kawasaki Versys 650, which we’ve also tested and highly recommend. The CB500X comes with slightly less equipment and power, but with no less ability. Fully kitted out with panniers and a luggage rack, we rented a CB500X for our motorcycle trip for 1400 baht, or less than Rs 2800 a day.
We’ve long heard rumours of Honda bringing the CB500 series of bikes (there’s a naked and a faired sportbike in the range) to India. It makes perfect sense: enough power to offer something different, a simple package that should make buying and maintaining the vehicle reasonable and the storied Honda brand, which has a strong connect to the Indian buyer. We’d love to see a CB500X for the Indian market at a good price. However, Honda doesn’t have a track record of aggressive pricing. The extant CBR650 motorcycle, despite being assembled in India, is priced beyond most of the competition despite its very basic spec. Were the CB500X to come to India, Honda would probably follow tradition and price it above its peers — in this case the Versys 650 — which would make it hard to recommend. Still, we can dream.
