TheNHBushman.com

A very experienced scooter driver

I hate it when I go to a foreign country and I cannot go around easily on my own. Fortunately, in Thailand, getting around couldn’t be easier. Just walk over to the local scooter rental place and pick up a motorbike. No one will even ask you if you have a driver’s license or can drive the thing - all they want to know is “you got money, yes?”

The typical scooter is a 4 speed with an automatic clutch that engages when you push the shift pedal. There is a centrifugal clutch for when you take off from a standing start. If you really want to know more, do some research online about these scooters. They differ from the Taiwanese style scooter by the fact that these scooters have larger wheels and tires, and were designed for long distances. Thai people frequently take multi-hundred kilometer trips (so did we) on these scooters and they can go the distance, no problem. I had this scooter up to 90 KPH with Hui-Chen on the back and it was not “squirrelly” at all (like a smaller tire version certainly would be). The only mishap we have experienced is that I burned my leg on the damn tailpipe, and its taking forever to heal in this tropical environment. With my luck, I’ll end up losing my leg to a burn from a scooter tailpipe!

This is the Suzuki scooter that we rent for 150 Thailand Baht per day, or US$3.65. Cheap! Its 100cc and goes fast.

Shifter for the 4 speed transmission - front pedal gears up, rear pedal gears down

The burn site, which is healing slowing and is rather infected