Trip on a Phantom to Doi Intanon

Yesterday Feb 20th we rented a Honda Phantom ( see below...really only 250 cc but twice the power of the one we usually use.  Probably twice the weight however. ) to see if we had a BIG BIKE we would enjoy going on longer trips without too many aches and pains!  I was warned that it was a long wheel base but didn't really understand the implications.  We rode about 200 Kms or 120 miles to the top of Doi Intanon, the highest mountain in Thailand, just south of Chiang Mai.  When we started out in the morning it was probably about 75 degrees F and it felt quite cool on the bike, but at the top of the mountain it was probably closer to 45 F.  That temperature felt quite cold with only light jackets on.  By the time we rode down in the afternoon it was very, very hot on the bike.
Riding the bike was an experience;  if we were on a nice flat straight road it was great BUT if we were going over curvy mountain roads with uneven surfaces it felt very unstable like the tires were under inflated.  I even stopped to see if that was the case.  Of course learning to use a hand clutch again and the different gears compared to the little Suzuki Smash we rent was also distracting,  and on a few occasions I shifted the wrong direction which probably caused some anxiety for Bev.  At the bottom are pictures of the places we visited.




Doi Intanon  statistics Created by Google My Tracks on Android.
Total distance: 194.69 km (121.0 mi)
Total time: 7:44:16
Moving time: 6:33:47
Average speed: 25.16 km/h (15.6 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 29.66 km/h (18.4 mi/h)
Max speed: 78.30 km/h (48.7 mi/h)
Max elevation: 2529 m (8298 ft)
Min elevation: 238 m (780 ft)
Elevation gain: 2736 m (8975 ft)
Max grade: 38 %
Min grade: -23 %




Here are some pictures..