Omega Racer: Big Motor Sale 2017

Although not as big as the Motor Show, the Big Motor Sale is still enjoyable and a nice way to spend a few hours. Plus, the entrance is free, which gives it some extra points in my book.

First off, Benelli...still trying hard to get a market share here in Thailand, but still struggling to get the right "street cred". The shadow of Chinese reputation looms dangerously close to the "Italian" brand.
The bikes themselves are not that bad, aesthetically, but lack a serious dose of authenticity. What I mean is, they need to find their identity with the designs and maybe take some risks, otherwise people will leave the Benelli booth rather unimpressed...just like me.

This beak....sorry....I just can't....

The Piaggio booth included Vespa, Aprilia and Moto Guzzi.

As soon as I saw the Guzzis, my heart filled with love. The V9 are well made and got very good reviews so far, but I like the V7 better, especially the III, which sadly is not available in Thailand yet. The biggest problem for the Guzzis though, are their price tags. At 200k baht more than their direct competitors (Triumph Street Twin/T100 and Kawasaki W800), one has to love them A LOT to buy them. I do love em, but not that much...

The 50 year anniversary edition. Moto Guzzi is almost 100 years old (1921), but one of their most iconic bikes, the V7, was first built in 1967, hence 50th anniversary edition.

A beautiful sport bike, the Aprilia RSV4. I wonder where the pillion is supposed to sit, since there are passenger footpegs installed.

Cut a few bits from the fairing and, voila'...a new model! Bloody genius!

There are so many different versions of Vespas that my head was spinning. Unfortunately, the one I liked the most was also the one that cost the most! 600.000Baht (about 18k$) for the beautiful 946"Emporio Armani". wow

Triumph is great, but of course I'm biased, being a Street Twin owner. It's hard to look at the Scrambler and not think: What if I had chosen this one instead of the ST? Dangerous thoughts.

There was a very nice Street Cup, designed by High Field from Japan. Love that fairing!

"What if I had chosen the T120 instead of the ST?"....
hmmm

The Bobber....great looking bike!

A random mini racing bike.

RSV Racing from Bangkok present this sweet seat cowl for the Street Twin. Made of aluminium with integrated LED lights.
I think you'll find it very soon at omegaracer.com! :-)

Spoke rims for the ST are also available. For more info, please write to info@omegaracer.com.

I like Stallions. They do their own thing and come up with new bikes at every show, it seems.
There are many models to choose from, from 125cc to 400cc, single and V-twin, cafe, chopper, classic, scrambler...even an adventure bike! Prices are more than competitive.

A Stallions Special
It's got a nice stance, only the pipe-work leaves me a bit perplexed. lol
I think I want the same stuff he's smoking!

That high pipe will make every ride an adventure.
Still, I'd rather use this one than the new Kawa Versys 300. More on that later.

HONDA. The fact that I took 10 times more pictures of Stallions bikes than of Honda, speaks volumes.

no comment...

The "off-road" scooter

I mean, it looks ok, for a scooter...until you realize that for nearly the same money you can get A REAL OFF ROAD BIKE, and not just any bike...a friggin AFRICA TWIN ffs
scooter verdict: foggeddaboudit

Yamaha is doing well, especially with the MSLAZ, the new weapon of the well-off Thai youths.
Here's my favourite though, the eternal SR400.

QBIX....still not sure if I should love or hate it, which is a good thing I guess.

Kawasaki...that's the one I was talking about. The Versys 300. Just look at all that plastic body work to make it look bigger than it is, but then you try to find the engine and all you can see, are two skinny header pipes sticking out from the hole that is the engine compartment. I hope those panniers contain the additional 500cc , because otherwise this one will go nowhere.

The ZX10R...a proper bad boy.

a ninja pose

Banned in Europe, but still going strong in Thailand, the venerable W800.

The ER6n has been renamed Z650, but if you asked me, it just went downhill from the 2009 model.

Another Thai/Chinese product is the GPX. Not as prolific as Stallions, but I give them 3 stars for the effort.

Wait a second...I've seen this fairing before...

Suzuki, dear Suzuki....what are you doing? Your range of bikes are as inspiring as your recent MotoGP efforts. When I hear the name GSX, I picture your amazing sport bikes of the 90s, but then I'm harshly reminded it's 2017 when I look at the GSX-S150. Trying to ride the MSLAZ wave, are we? Try again please...