What a breath of fresh air.  I only found this forum while trying to get HD Australia's contact details to ask the following question.  But this site is a pearler. Well done guys.

I want to go to Thailand to visit a mate for about 3 months and would love to take my 09 Street Glide (what a machine!!!).  The questions

1. How the hell do I find out who ships bikes from Aust to Thailand  2. Is there a dealership in Thailand 3. Is my license transferable to there and 4. Has anyone done this who could give me the heads up.

 

thanks in advance

Beaver

Thanks for that "useful" reply

Mate, if you could see how ugly I am... it would not be an Op...it would be miracle if I could go un noticed

A bloke wanted to get his prostrate tested but was too embarrassed to go to his usual doc so his mate told him to go to Thailand as they have really spunky female doctors and it would be enjoyable and anonymous. 

He went to a doc over there (I think it was Miss Ho) and half way through the procedure, his doc said, "you know it is quite normal for a man to get an erection with this type of procedure".  The bloke said, " I dont have an erection" and the doctor said, "no but I do"!!

G`day All , Beaver , "Hello Welcome" lol , ya could look up www.harley-davidsonbangkok.com , the website for Power Station Motorsport , they may be able too help ya as they are the latest HD Dealership in Bangkok , it`s on what they call locally , "Soi Lao Embassy" not too far from Ramkhamhaeng Uni area by memory , though check thier web for the address , phone and email contacts !
The fella managing it , last i know of , was a Kiwi/Aussie Expat Ross ex Victorian , a top bloke and always happy to help and have a chat , beer or lunch with the aussie fellas that bother to drop by , the last thing i expected too hear while there though was "G`day Mate" which was a nice surprise , after a million Sabai Dee Krub`s , i think he runs the Thai HOGroup from there also and not sure but i think they have some sorta hire deal for members , though couldn`t see that being cheap , he will even go ride with ya and has a few old shovels layin around that he said , after i asked about hiring a bike too take up north too Chiang Mai , next time ya over , don`t hire a hog but come and see me and i`ll lend ya one an go for a ride with ya , out to Kanchanaburi , Bridge over the river Kwai , Commonwealth War Graves Cemetary and Death Railway Museum (also run by an Aussie QLD`er that does a great job of collating and maintaining the CWGC) with ya for the day , which is an eye opener and great day by the way !
Though If ya plannin on going for some cheep accessories , forget it and settle on a Dealership t-shirt or something affordable as i was advised , as everything Foreign attracts a shocking 70% import duty , so a AUD$30k heritage here is worth AUD$50k there , no shit , equating to something like , @ 900,000 thai baht here and @ 1.4 million thai baht there , for the exact same bike !
Regardin shipping maybe they could steer ya in the right direction , though it`s comin up too the Thai Hot Season and big bikes and the rediculous traffic in Bangers don`t go well together , though people do , do it , fugg cookin ya own bike !
I got some family up north and a couple of bikes there a T200cc honda phantom (like the shadow here) which the cops tend too use and they concider em a chopper lol and a few 100cc , 125cc honda stepthroughs which everyone has , as they`re easy and cheap to run and service and anything out of the ordinary can become a prob with parts , tyres and tubes and stuff , carry a cheap tyre plug kit brought from Oz with you if ya do end up takin ya own ride , as punctures are common and can strand ya when remote or off the track , but there are a million service shops for the common bikes which helps !
I once looked into takin me own bike over and can`t remember now , as it was a few years ago , if i got a quote from a local aussie mag add or another shipping Co or local HD Dealer even , but the price was about AUD$4k back then , took six weeks aparently by boat , the bike had to be handed over 2 weeks prior too shipping , though thought better of it , knowing thais and thier "No Worries" attitude toward everything and hearin stories of crates arrivin upside down , trouble clearin ya ride once landed and shit , definately made up my mind not too risk it , though it would be kool , maybe not so practical ?
I`m not too sure about takin a bike for a "holiday" so too speak , but back then , to import ya ride permanently? , even though ya own it , ya had to pay 70% of its market value to the thai government as import tax or something , sorta like buying ya own bike twice lol ?
Things may have changed since then , though i doubt it ?
Deffinately beware the famous ol`thai ladyman or katoey , especially when thier in groups and pissed , they still can and usually do punch on like fellas and don`t mind creatin a scene at times as they`re totally accpted by main stream society there , though and in any case also remember L.O.S wihich used to stand for Land Of Smiles , these days doubles for Land Of Scams as there is one for everything and every other day of the week too , watch ya gear and although most Thais are great friendly and hospitable smilin people and I myself have never had no real trouble there , it wouldn`t be too hard too find yaself in the middle of some dodgy situation , so expect to come across the often more typical shadey and desperate peoples that do carry weopons and will clean ya out in the blink of an eye !
The crims and gangs often do have the help of cirtain corrupt boys in brown and it pays too be very weary in crowds or not , even for Thais themselves !
Cheers and Kob Khun Krub , Skin

Look up Carnet D Passage. Many freight comopanies ship all over Asia. Your licence is valid

Scotti, its Khop(b) Khun Mak Khrap

G`day All , yeah Hound Dog and Beaver , even though most Thai cops couldn`t even read it and yeah i have got by showing my nsw drivers licence before even though havin the international licence in my pocket too , they just look at it stupid and wave ya on , it`s actually better to go get an international licence @ $25 at ya local rta and some travel insurance too , starting at @ $150 from a local travel agent , ya just have to go and pay up , no questions too answer at all , just to cover ya butt if you intend to be there for 3 months or so and travelling around the country by bike , as foreigners in recent years and increasingly desperate times , have been the targets of scams on Thai roads and Thai law is such that if you as a foreigner are involved in a wreck of any sort , you are deemed to be at fault for the simple reasoning that if you were not in the country , there would not of been an accident , hard to believe but true and the usual deal of course is an out of court settlement for a rediculous amount of cash just too make it go away and they and whoever else that involves themselves are only toooo glad toooo help , for a cut !
Adding Mak or Maak Maak ? is just adding another word or way of spelling it mate and intensifying its meaning (very , very very) especially by adding a bit of pitch , isn`t it ?
I guess ya can tell im married to a Thai/Lao Issan Ying from the Korat Plateau and have in my dozen visits over the years only learnt the basic thai/lao/pidgeon/slang and can`t read or write Thai in any way , only been with my wife for 15 years and really should know better though as "Thai" friends in Bangers at times can`t really understand me either and then again are ya really sure on ya spelling of thai words in english , as it tends to varrie beyond belief , one only has to look at Sukhumvit Rd signs to see about five different ways that they spell it in thier pidgeon engrish on the one road , all depends on what book ya learn from hey , your khop khun mak khrap , i have seen it spelt several ways in different books , is it kawb khun krup , kop kun kup or kaub khun maak khrab , kaub khun der , kawb khun kawb khun or just Khrap , lol ?
So excuse my ignorance but i go by my walking dictionary and family as it really don`t interest me past the basics and enough to get by and talk over the phone to the family , i find the longer i don`t go back there , the more i forget the lango , but after being in the village for a month or so with fugg all english spoken , it all comes back soon enough , but who sorta gives a fugg anyhow , Mai Pen Rai or is that , may ben lai , hey ! Shon khrap , Skin

Hahahaha Scotti, Im just having a lend of you mate. I lived in Thailand for a few years in the days before almost anyone spoke English ( Pasar Angkrit) It is a very difficult language to learn as tonal inflection ( there are 5 phonemic tones) is paramount in ascertaining what a word means. In English we dont use tone to denote meaning and hence its like starting from scratch. Its also why Thai sounds somewhat "sing-song" to our ears. Its funny as at times and you can get things spectacularly wrong which causes laughs all round. Scotti, you wife probably speaks Isan right? I think there are some real differences which makes it even harder for you mate!!

G`day Hound Dog Yeah Absolutely hey , love the country , love the people and the easy going lifestyle though don`t actually agree with all the crapola they shove down thier peoples throats , though being a non confrontational buddhist nation , they seem too just accept it and deal with it , though with more education and the WWW things are slowly changin there , but yeah the lango , i left it at the basics as the tone/pitch thing still gets me and with 13 or more dialects to contend with , it`s very obvious and noticable to people about where ya family is from just by the dialect of Thai spoken or in my case Okka Westy Slang version of Thai/Lao at best , though it is enough to get by , lol !
I`ve had mates live there and teach english and some have done the kick boxing camps and travelled there since the 80`s , which i can only imagin would of been wild and others just gone there too get ink`d , i like thier Sakyant , magical and mystical protectional Tattooing and have my back and chest pretty much covered in the stuff , although it`s ancient Khmer and i don`t understand the majority of it , exept for its roundabout meanings , ink is cheap and these days its all safe there !
Although i been with my girl for 15 years now , i have only been there a a dozen times since 2000 and still concider myself a new comer too the Kingdom though i have travelled driven and riden north to south , east to west but still only seen a small percentage of what the country has too offer , it`s great down in the islands with good diving and sports fishing though after bustin your butt working here in Oz there`s nothing like going to the village for a month and throw away the watch , 1 month feel like 3 and thats where and when i tend too learn most of my version of Thai / Lao , which really , as long as i can get by and my family understand me , i`m happy with that , as at least ya can catch up via phone when keeping in touch and although read a few language books and cd`s , don`t go as far too worry about the spelling and shit , i`m an Aussie and my English is bad enough hey , lol ! I personally hav`nt had a drama there but have seen a bit and it`s always in the front of my mind in Thailand and know a fair few that have been scammed , robbed and cheated for many thousands of Aussie dollars and as the world seems to be turning too shit rather quick these days , the poor and somewhat desperate peoples only have one choice , too sink or swim and although our village respects and accepts me as i do them , it took a few years before they let me into the way they roll and i can tell ya it is an eye opener as too some of the things they get up too ! But although they ain`t got much the mainstream country folk would invite ya in , feesd ya and share what litle they have and would virtually give ya the shirt off thier backs , just too sit , chat and get too know ya and as you would know , can laugh , talk sing and smile all night !
I love em all , respect their ways and do as they do , thier way first and that seems too have worked for me as the first farang to enter our awesome little rice village Nongkam , just north of Phimai and Sai gnam on the Korat Plateau , our village is out in the middle of rice fields , one road in , but at least it`s sealed these days , our nearest main one street town is 12 or more k`s away and is called Prathai , which boasts another 2 farangs !
Regarding travel by bike or car in Thailand, have ya ever had any dramas there that might help anyone here abouts in their travels , i have seen people get rorted on bikes and whilst driving with thais seemingly targetting them on purpose and had a fair few near misses meself , requiring some instinctive evasive action , and although it`s a bit hairy sitting back and letting a thai drive as your life really is in there hands over there , it seems to be the easiest option regarding not secoming from a targetted rort on the roads and if ya find a good reliable driver , befriend them and get thier card as some of the death rides i`ve had there still give me nightmares lol ? Cheers All , Skin