Ok - this is killing me to ask this - but need to :-(
Due to time constraints - I will not have enough time to actualy ride down to Samui & Phuket for the "Bike Weeks" however have heard that I can put my bike on the train? (True?? If so any info and tips would be greatly appreciated).

My MC and a few other solo bikers will need to do the same as with the work scene we can depart at the 11th hour as they say...

Cheers

Chris

At the Chiang Mai train station they told me that I can only take the bike with me on the train - cannot send it if I am not a passenger...

Can send it by post though! Small bike Chiang Mai to Chumpon - 2200baht. Post office to post office (poste restante). Can mail bike to Samui too.

Big bikes - don't know.

If there are a few bikes - try to find a transport company - should be a lot cheaper.

I have travelled with a motorbike on the train before.
Fare for the bike was higher than for me (insurance I think)
It was up to me to make sure it was secured, so would not move during the journey and the staff at the destination were not exactly willing to help offload it.
That was a long time ago though.

see also this post: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Sending-Moto...nd-t247566.html

It also appears that you can load the bike on a bus, and it will go anywhere the bus goes. Never heard about that, but it sounds cool.

I would make fun of you for having to ship your bike to a bike week rather than ride...however, I am thinking of shipping my bike to Sturgis, as I really can't take enough time off from work to ride half way across the United States. So, yes, I feel your pain.

This post has been edited by submaniac: 2009-03-06 14:06:58

Post it. Go to the Mae Ping Post Office & start from there. Ride your bike up the ramp into the mail room, wack your address & a stamp on the seat & away she goes all the way to Phuket.
You just need a Phuket address, C/- the Post Office? & need to pick it up on a working day.

i think if there are 2 or 3 going then a transport company would be better.are you riding it back up again. when are the shows in question?
Allan

Thanks everyone... Actually the bikes are motorcycles (per say...) mine is a CBR 929RR, a few other sport bikes as well...

Koh Samui and Phuket are the destinations - so thinking of trying to take them down on the train to Suratthani...

If need to do a 2 leg journey by train , no problem.. Yeah, the work thing lately has really put a constraint on our longer rides and time tables... But given the local economic factors - need to stay on top of the game (work and projects..)

Chris

With the caveat that I dont intend to be here during Song Gran, and by extension bike week, I can happily assist anyone with using my place as a shipping address on phuket..

If using the post office option its post office to post office not door to door..

Trains a bit of a no go as we have no rail lines to phuket.. Surat is closest.

I put my moto on the train from Hat Yai to Bangkok and it worked out well. I didn't travel with the bike because they didn't have room on my train. They put the bike on the train before mine and it was waiting for me when I got there. There is a shipping doc and the people there will load it and tie it town for you. I recommend you bring your own tie downs otherwise they'll use nylon rope which may chew up your plastic or paint.

If you are north of BKK, you'll need to change trains in BKK and the schedule will be subject to room on the train. Note, not all trains can take a bike.

Thanks for the info! Looking into it this week.
Already have the tie downs already from previous moving - still in good shape.

Cheers!
Chris

had my bike railed surat - Nakhon Pathom, planning a 4:30am start to Nakhon Phanom b4 Saung Kran. I arrived, no bike, no-one spoke any english, but managed by my rough thai to get that bike coming later. 5 bloody hours later, and bike with a free layer of chicken fertilizer. it's like pissing on a power socket - try it once and you'll never try again!!!!

mmmm bike by train..... no comment from the old fart

can you think of another way to get from samui to Nakhon nowhere in a day?

Taking the train to Chiang Mai can be good fun so I looked into sending my bike up to Chiang Mai by train but after hearing some horror stories about abused bikes I dropped the idea. Apparently very few stations have a ramp to get the bike on and off the train.

Not a problem if you're sending a scooter, but big bikes are a problem.

Read a trip report from a group that traveled from Singapore by rail and apparently on arrival in Chiang Mai the staff basically dropped their BMWs to the ground and managed to blow one guys fork seals in the process.

So, unless you've got a small easy to lift bike or an old beater that can take some abuse I think sending bikes by rail is not such a good idea...

I've only heard good things about sending bikes via Thailand Post though.

Happy Trails!

Tony

Ummm... you could perhaps RIDE the bike?

Good to know as I was considering this to go south to north, allow me to take a months worth of luggage easier and avaoid the dull HKT to bangkok bit..

If they can load and unload then thats an issue.. Can you not ride the train with it and therefore ensure safer loading and unloading (few 100 baht notes) ??

1 and 1/2 hrs ferry, then 1500kms in a day, just b4 Saung Kran. Not this black duck.

if sending by post, wrap the bike in some protection...towels, bubble plastic.. anything that would protect your bike from taking damage if dropped or scraped..

Sent my bike with post 3 times.. 1 times the side fairing was all scraped up and the post officer told me it was like this before it got sent... yeah right.

with train you got to do the same thing since it will probably be standing next to boxes or other bikes and it will touch other objects for sure ( careful of your paint ).

As said before i would not send a big bike with the train due to most station dont have a ramp so they have to lift it off the car which aint easy if you are 3 people ( thai ) and under a time table..
post is your best option i guess if you dont want to drive it to the destination.

/peace

This post has been edited by phobic: 2009-06-09 19:44:23

As mentioned earlier in the thread there can be situations where you and your bike end up on different trains, in which case you won't be able to keep an eye on your precious...

I've see the way the Thai Post sends bikes- they strap them securely to a special shipping pallet that is specially designed to hold a bike. So there's no chance of the bike tipping over.

Final option LivinLos (as you probably recall from personal experience ) is to pay somebody with a pickup to truck your bike to it's destination. There are actually a bunch of pick up trucks in Bangkok that offer that service to guys with race bikes- shuttle them and their bikes to and from the race tracks.

If you have a car you can buy a bike trailer for as little as ~40,000 Baht and drive to your destination. (I'm thinking about getting one)

Where there's a will there's a way!

Happy Trails!

Tony

Well i got me a truck....... just gotta sort out another bike......or 2....

You guys with trucks etc have ya seen this looks like a cool lightweight loading ramp.

http://www.grandprixlegends.com/motorcycle...ading-ramp.html

This post has been edited by thaicbr: 2009-06-09 22:59:10

Here's my dream trailer:

Ride On!!!

Yeah would rather ride and post my luggage than truck.. Just thought the sound of getting on a train in Surat, and getting off in CM, with bike and extended luggage for a month, sounded a dam_n sight easier. To be fair the road between Phuket and Tak (with the exception of some around Krabi and maybe the Ranong road, is a long, main road, slog, without much fun in it..

If they could sort the train it would make it much easier but it is what it is I guess.

Transporting yoru bike Laos style

incredible!!! did it get to the destination?

Yes it did, all the way from Luang Prabang to Vienchienne (SP?) It wasn't my bike but I was a passenger on the bus. They'd check the ropes at rest stops but otherwise, full speed ahead