Just came back from a Phantom-only outing and another couple of hundred kms logged (thats a lot considering Singapore is 20x30km across or so). Have a fair bit of storytelling to do.
So long as I don't see the Phantom as a racing machine it's pretty much perfect for Singapore roads, according to my expectations.
It isn't a fat old man's bike - there's plenty for torque to go around although the gear ratios are too close for my tastes. Nothing a sprocket size review wouldn't fix in a few months' time.
Compared to my old bike (Y125) the TA200 requires a bit of talent in prediction. It is not underpowered provided you give the mill a few moments to spool up and the necessary torque is transmitted.
The most fun thing is the "custom" aspect of the machine. Every Phantom rider that turned up for the outing today has a totally unique machine. And I feel that the more TLC I bestow on mine, the happier I am.
I haven't got angry or suspicious looks from anyone, nor has some errant car or lorry driver insolently cut across my path because motorcycles are easy to bully (yep, you don't need road manners in Singapore!) - but quite the opposite. Pedestrians and bus stop occupiers stare like they haven't seen a Phantom before, and literally beg for me to open the throttles wide (mine is supremely loud at low RPMs for some reason, but in a great way). This is more or less the first time in 6 years of riding where I observe other road users responding to my turn signals.
Now that says a lot considering competitive Singaporean culture - I haven't changed at all, it's just the bike.
I was surprised to note a trio of very young riders in today's group riding Phantoms for their first motorcycle.
I'm thinking that most youths prefer speed, power, agility and indeed, that's why Yamaha cubs and junior sportsbikes are popular. But these two have no such delusions of grandeur and focus instead on learning from the old-timers and bestowing their seniors' attention to detail on their beloved mounts.
I took 7 years to learn enough motorcycling skill (most of it the hard way) to fully appreciate my recent purchase - and not just appreciate but unleash the full potential of this mediocre powerplant. Those two young men had motorcycling talent from day one (and had only recently got their licenses late last year). Demonstrating to them some components of my old style of "offensive riding" from the Yamaha days did well to assure others that they aren't riding helpless overweight machines.
It does seem that a number of other drivers behind me quite fancy the huge sound my exhaust makes when at full throttle at low rpms. 5 second burst of that and the car behind seems to recede in the rear view mirrors... and for that matter the engine sound is not boring at all. Seems like every part of the powerband has a different note and like a well tuned instrument I could make any sound I wanted, literally
I also love the huge tyres on this thing. Went 95+ kph in extreme wet conditions without much of a problem. Just watch the braking distance. And the weight transfer...
Yep, I don't regret at all choosing a Phantom over... everything else available.
Kalyan, congrats. Your way ahead of the game and the rest, you’re happy with and enjoying your bike; that’s what it’s all about.
Below is a pic of a Phantom’s speedo that has done the mileage shown in just 11 months since new, riding in Thailand! The gent who owns it is a true biker, doesn’t own a cage, and rides with a skill that will shame many a rider.
With the hardware he has ridden here and back in his home country being the top gear of Japanese, European and American rides – what does he choose to ride most of Thailand with recently?
11 months! I doubt I can reach that mileage even if I continued spending 6 hours a day in the saddle - I haven't run out of back roads yet in Singapore.
Speedo cluster looks a bit different from the local breed - our indicators are on the front fork brace and we have no fuel low warning light save for the vibrating tank cover.
The bike is very sensitive to any changes to oil level, riding habit, TYPE of motor oil. brand of petrol etc etc! It's a blast figuring out what the prissy lil mistress likes because with a custom gearing she's very, very quick from 0-70kph. 70-100 is a bit slow but if you just floor it from low rpms she does it in a few seconds with a B-17 style roar. Pretty good with all that dead weight. With all the low end torque she eats up most of the "boy racers" and their tuned pipes........... which are tuned for RPMs way higher than they have the skill to use.
I used to race stripped down mopeds and the Phantom is a dream. I drag my knee in corners, well almost, since I ride with nothing but jeans and a cotton blouse lol.
Can anyone tell me how long a phantom chain is (How many links) with genuine standard sprockets fitted? I want to bring a good quality x ring chain with me on my next visit for my phantom.
Can anyone tell me how long a phantom chain is (How many links) with genuine standard sprockets fitted? I want to bring a good quality x ring chain with me on my next visit for my phantom.
Regards Andy
About this long,
The Honda brand Phantom chain is the continuous loop (no master link) type, and long lasting if maintained. One chain replacement in 85,ooo kms so far.
Can anyone tell me how long a phantom chain is (How many links) with genuine standard sprockets fitted? I want to bring a good quality x ring chain with me on my next visit for my phantom.
Regards Andy
About this long,
The Honda brand Phantom chain is the continuous loop (no master link) type, and long lasting if maintained. One chain replacement in 85,ooo kms so far.
I tried to have an original chain fitted at mittyon last time, but they could not undo the swinging arm because the spindle was seized in. They fitted a cheap d.i.d chain, but it is rubbish and makes one heck of a noise and stretches all the time. They wanted to cut the swinging arm in 2 to fit an original chain
Are these pretty bikes really out of production in Thailand? Seems to be a hotly debated subject down here.
There are new ones in the market, very rare in IRC Fire Edition trim, and some have been bought by one of the local bus companies as a rescue / dispatch bike.
In the meantime 5-10 year old veterans of various economic crises soldier on...
I keep threatening about getting rid of mine and then my wife, son and friends all say no.
We all love it as it is a good looking bike (I agree with that), it's comfortable (and it fits my fat ass), it slogs on all day and it is really an OK bike.
What they actually don't do, other than my son who is 5 (with his own helmet), is they actually don't ride the dam_n thing so they have no idea what it is like.
To be honest I like it a lot too but I really really want something bigger that goes faster, looks more sexy, makes more noise and has more bells and whistles
than my Phantom.
And then I think again that it really isn't THAT bad and I am too lazy to change it.
So I will keep it until the next urge hits me and go through it all again.
Loving this thing more and more each day - my favourite has to be the 'open' design that makes for easy tinkering. Plenty of accessory sockets too, though I'm leaving mine stock, not safe for me to go overseas anyway.
Most fun is getting someone else to try the bike and watching it go. Whole different perspective!
Did my own faux fur grip, some tyre painting and stuck a rose on the windscreen for the goth punk thing today.
I keep threatening about getting rid of mine and then my wife, son and friends all say no.
We all love it as it is a good looking bike (I agree with that), it's comfortable (and it fits my fat ass), it slogs on all day and it is really an OK bike.
What they actually don't do, other than my son who is 5 (with his own helmet), is they actually don't ride the dam_n thing so they have no idea what it is like.
To be honest I like it a lot too but I really really want something bigger that goes faster, looks more sexy, makes more noise and has more bells and whistles
than my Phantom.
And then I think again that it really isn't THAT bad and I am too lazy to change it.
So I will keep it until the next urge hits me and go through it all again.
Why don't you get it re-piped and jetted (along with getting the valve's clearance checked and replacing the -from the internet- crappy cam chain tensioner? I'm actually a big fan of the sound of Tsuguki's exhaust, although I don't know if they'd have one that would look good on your bike I do know you can get them on the cheap in LOS. Biggest thing would be to get the length right; manufacturers study the engine's characteristics and ensure that the length versus the diameter of the pipes are correct to scavenge the exhaust gasses for the desired torque at the desired RPM level. Get it wrong and you'll be either riding a chopper that feels like it has a 2T in it (no oomph from the line unless you rev the snot out of it and ride the clutch) or no top end (just as bad because you'll eventually run out of oomph at speed although take-offs will be fun).
I keep threatening about getting rid of mine and then my wife, son and friends all say no.
We all love it as it is a good looking bike (I agree with that), it's comfortable (and it fits my fat ass), it slogs on all day and it is really an OK bike.
What they actually don't do, other than my son who is 5 (with his own helmet), is they actually don't ride the dam_n thing so they have no idea what it is like.
To be honest I like it a lot too but I really really want something bigger that goes faster, looks more sexy, makes more noise and has more bells and whistles
than my Phantom.
And then I think again that it really isn't THAT bad and I am too lazy to change it.
So I will keep it until the next urge hits me and go through it all again. <img src="http://static.thaivisa.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" />
I had the same feeling as you with my kawasaki boss. I got a kawasakivulcan 400 now and i love it now. It goes a lot faster and has more torque.
But like with most big bikes it is hel_l to find a good mechanic and parts for it. So that is the downside once its running its great. But when you need to go to the mechanic its hel_l because they cant find original parts.
I got a kawasakivulcan 400 now and i love it now. It goes a lot faster and has more torque.
But like with most big bikes it is hel_l to find a good mechanic and parts for it. So that is the downside once its running its great. But when you need to go to the mechanic its hel_l because they cant find original parts.
Had the same problem when I had a big old bike. The mechanics also cheat on prices of the parts and are slow to complete repairs anyway.
So I say it ain't worth the hassle. I'm much, much happier after I traded for a Phantom--totally legal, comfortable, reliable, easy and cheap to maintain. Handles traffic much better too. OK, it's a dog--but it's a very good dog.
I got a kawasakivulcan 400 now and i love it now. It goes a lot faster and has more torque.
But like with most big bikes it is hel_l to find a good mechanic and parts for it. So that is the downside once its running its great. But when you need to go to the mechanic its hel_l because they cant find original parts.
Had the same problem when I had a big old bike. The mechanics also cheat on prices of the parts and are slow to complete repairs anyway.
So I say it ain't worth the hassle. I'm much, much happier after I traded for a Phantom--totally legal, comfortable, reliable, easy and cheap to maintain. Handles traffic much better too. OK, it's a dog--but it's a very good dog.
I don't really agree, my big bike is 10 times better as a phantom or a boss in power handling ect. But the downside is the maintenance. So once it runs good it is much better. But you will hate it when they have to fix it. But once your driving with someone on the back or just alone and you feel the difference in torque you never want to go back. That is my problem.
I am getting the urge again and I am going to look at a Yamaha Virago 400 this week and IF I buy it (and I have my wife's permission) I will be putting my Phantom up for sale next week at a reasonable price.
I went for a ride yesterday with my mate Dave Boo, me on my Phantom and he on is Kawasaki something or other.
We left my place at Klong Lan, up to Khampaeng Phet, up the route 1 to somewhere north of Tak then cut across country to Mae Ramat, down to Mae Sot, back to Tak and then back home.
470km and it was a good day out apart from being caught in the heavy rain twice.
We actually went down the 1175 from Tak to Mae Ramat (me on the Ninja 250); I've been dying to try that route. It was a really good ride with a maximum elevation of 964m (yes, I kept the GPS set to the page that displayed the elevation!). Would be an awesome road for someone who wanted to get their feet wet in mountain riding EXCEPT for the fact that a good 40 or so km of if is in poor repair. Plenty of curves and nice elevation changes that aren't as strenuous as the Mae Sot <-> Umphang run (which will cause your testes to drop if they hadn't already).
Actually the Phantom did a good job for olde tymer Bill, much less shifting than I did. The thought did cross my mind if he was getting annoyed with my frequent shifting (the Ninjette is particular about the power band it wants to be in on those types of roads), but then I remembered that I was leading and picking the lines to avoid the pot holes and he owed me for that, because otherwise I'd have been right on his rear pushing him! I was a bit annoyed that he couldn't keep up on the straights though; but once again we were in a ride together and I just had to suck it up....
We actually went down the 1175 from Tak to Mae Ramat (me on the Ninja 250); I've been dying to try that route. It was a really good ride with a maximum elevation of 964m (yes, I kept the GPS set to the page that displayed the elevation!). Would be an awesome road for someone who wanted to get their feet wet in mountain riding EXCEPT for the fact that a good 40 or so km of if is in poor repair. Plenty of curves and nice elevation changes that aren't as strenuous as the Mae Sot <-> Umphang run (which will cause your testes to drop if they hadn't already).
Actually the Phantom did a good job for olde tymer Bill, much less shifting than I did. The thought did cross my mind if he was getting annoyed with my frequent shifting (the Ninjette is particular about the power band it wants to be in on those types of roads), but then I remembered that I was leading and picking the lines to avoid the pot holes and he owed me for that, because otherwise I'd have been right on his rear pushing him! I was a bit annoyed that he couldn't keep up on the straights though; but once again we were in a ride together and I just had to suck it up....
What he forgot to mention is that I left the gas station in Mae Sot on the way back to Tak a couple of minutes before him and sat waiting nearly 5 minutes at the top of a hill before he turned up.
I was happy that he was leading though as I missed most of the potholes and the reason that I didn't keep up on the straights is that the warp factor 3 mode has been disabled.
To be honest I enjoyed the run and when I got up the next morning I realised that I had slept all night and my back didn't ache at all.
What he forgot to mention is that I left the gas station in Mae Sot on the way back to Tak a couple of minutes before him and sat waiting nearly 5 minutes at the top of a hill before he turned up.
I was happy that he was leading though as I missed most of the potholes and the reason that I didn't keep up on the straights is that the warp factor 3 mode has been disabled.
To be honest I enjoyed the run and when I got up the next morning I realised that I had slept all night and my back didn't ache at all.
And our well preserved member leaves out the fact there were more Burmese honeys than you could shake you fun stick at and I kinda got held up enjoying the scenery in Mae Sot(and raises the question as to why he zipped on out of there).
What he forgot to mention is that I left the gas station in Mae Sot on the way back to Tak a couple of minutes before him and sat waiting nearly 5 minutes at the top of a hill before he turned up.
I was happy that he was leading though as I missed most of the potholes and the reason that I didn't keep up on the straights is that the warp factor 3 mode has been disabled.
To be honest I enjoyed the run and when I got up the next morning I realised that I had slept all night and my back didn't ache at all.
And our well preserved member leaves out the fact there were more Burmese honeys than you could shake you fun stick at and I kinda got held up enjoying the scenery in Mae Sot(and raises the question as to why he zipped on out of there).
I got too tired of beating them off my chopper is why.
Have loved reading all the stuff regarding the phantom I have a 16 year old 2 stroke 150cc and I can tell you now in over 6 years of ownership with over 60 ,000 clicks it has never ever let me down it is an old rust bucket but it climbs the hills on samui as if there was no tomorrow and it still keeps up with the newer models such as the ted and black flame 200 cc. The only money I have forked out is for service at the local honda dealership and tyres although I could do with spending 300/400 baht to reniew the seat !!!!!!
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