Greetings
Someone is offering a great deal on a 2005 Black Honda Phantom. Two questions: and downsides to having this bike, which I use mainly for tooling around Bangkok? Any pro and con advice appreciated.

And, would it be difficult to find part, get repair work?

Oh, guess a third question: I live in the NANA area, any recommendations for reliable repair shops not too far?

Thank you very much.

Bests,
Ladoga

The Honda Phantom AT200, from around 2005 could have problems with the camshaft chain tensioner. But it's nothing serious, any Honda dealer can fix it and it's takes a few hours of your time.

A Honda Phantom AT200 would not be my favorite choice, but then if you have a good deal, you cannot do wrong with a Honda. The engine is simple, any mechanic can work on it, parts are plentiful in Thailand.

The downsides of a Honda Phantom is that it is not the fastest machine, but who needs speed in downtown Bangkok. What can maybe concern you it that the Phantom is not as easy in tight traffic as a Honda Wave or Honda Sonic.

Dear News

Thanks for the quick and helpful advice.

You got me thinking now on a different track: Among the Honda Wave, Honda Sonic and Yamaha Fino, which is best in descending order and why? The Fino scooter has that sorta cool Italian-design look. But which is the most reliable, easiest to maintain and better ride?

Thanks!

Bests,
Ladoga

If I had to select a motorcycle, I would first look which dealer is the closest to my home. Then I will look what he sells and more important what he can repair/service.

The Honda Wave would be high on my list of useful motorcycles, it is simple, extremely easy to repair, and with its semi-automatic transmission it has enough power and acceleration to ride around town. The Honda CZ-i is also a good choice.

To be honest, I'm not a guy for automatic scooters, especially when you source them second hand. Thai teenager ride them hard, service them as less as possible and most of the time only sell them if something is wrong.

But if I would go for a automatic scooter I would select one with fuel-injection, automatic scooters will always use more fuel then manual transmission bikes, and the fuel-injection option would minimize the fuel consumption.

Thanks. Very helpful. Greatly appreciated.

Printing the advice and will start looking around. Was looking for a bike just to zip around neighborhood sois, maybe a bit more of Bangkok on Sundays when traffic is slight.

Another good choice is a Tiger Boxer 250 RS, it is a difficult bike to find secondhand, but it is a great bike for Bangkok with a now-and-then weekend out of the city tour. It handles prefect on the open-road and in tight traffic, it's big enough to do some serious rural Thailand exploring...

The Tiger Boxer 250 RS costs new 72,000 Baht, what is maybe a bid over the budget if you where looking for a secondhand.