We Were Up Early,

as we were going out, 

 but first of course it was Valentines day, no prizes for guessing what is in the box,

 and this is where we ended up, the National Sports Stadium on Soi Chaiyapruek 2,

 as we left the truck we noticed the start for the trick motorcycling,

so we watched some of the riders going through their routine,

 it appears the idea is to get your bike up on one wheel only,

 and perform gravity defying tricks and turns,

 the next competitor is off,

 it all looks very complicated,

 and far to dangerous for me,

 and Diana would have a really hard time trying to stay on the bike with me,

 we were quite early,

 many of the food stalls only just opening,

 in fact we were still not hungry, we had eaten so much last night!

 as we made our way in to the showground there were a few trucks and cars on display,

 I am not sure if this one is a work in progress,

 or if it is supposed to look like this,

I do not recognise the car companies logo that was on the bonnet,

 speaking of a work in progress,

 this one with it's straight 6 engine definitely is!

 this truck is familiar to us, we see it most weeks when we are at the market as it is parked at the rear of the buildings that we walk past,

 we then made our way into the showground,

 where I noticed this rarity, a Ariel motorcycle, 

 but diesel powered, 

 we walked around the outer circle of the showground,

 where lots of stalls had opened,

 like these kids sized waistcoats,

 or secondhand leather jackets, all on the floor priced at just 500 baht each,

 lots of leather work stalls,

 and clothing outlets,

 then a real surprise, 

 a look alike Morgan 3 wheeler, 

 but this one powered by a Honda engine,

 also for sale were skid lids as we used to call them, crash helmets nowadays, 

 but the stunning artwork on them had to be seen to be believed,

 the first two 'choppers' of the show, little and large,

and a 'chopped' three wheeler,

we then saw some of the most way out crash helmets ever, 

based on the Predator,

the amount of work that must have gone into creating them must have been enormous,

there was also this one on display with the Predators outer suit still on,

I am sure we have all seen bikes with hi-rise handlebars before, ape hangers as we used to call them in my day, but I have never seen a bike with ones as tall as these,

mini bikes seem to be getting popular and expensive if you want a custom one, 

this one a Ducati look alike, I think I would prefer the real thing!

a nicely presented German Harley, yours for 820,000 baht,

I noticed this machine, 

as it had a super charger fitted to it,

we made our way round to a retro stall, 

with these early motorised bicycles on display,

we then went from the ancient,

to the modern, this one of the latest Indians, there is an agent for them here in Thailand,

not everyone's cup of tea, but I like them, 

although given a choice I would prefer an Indian Chief from the late 1940s/ early 1950s, I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the new Indian, the Indian Chief Dark Horse, it is the new entry level Indian, which has been stripped of most of its shiny bits, ditches the whitewall tires, and is finished in a menacing matte black paint scheme, cast back wheels lower the profile even further, as does its single-seat saddle, which can be doubled-up as an option, mechanically, the Dark Horse is all Chief and features the same Thunder Stroke 111 cubic-inch V-twin as the rest of the lineup, pricing starts at $16,999, two grand or so less than the more traditionally-styled Chief Classic, now tempting as that is I still think I would try to stump up the extra readies and go for the new Classic,

we made our way to the old bike area, always popular with me if for no other reason in my past I have thrown many of them down the road, with me still attached!

BMW's I am not sure if this is a R26 or R27,

Norton's, I think this is the Model 7 Norton Dominator 500cc twin,

also on the stand was this American army truck,

and keeping to an American theme this early Harley Davidson,

in need of some TLC and spare parts,

possibly the smallest bike of the show,

a fairly conventional rear suspension swing arm set, 

but whoever designed the front end went in a completely different route,

what a neat little machine,

I have absolutely no idea what is going on here, but I guess you can pose to have your picture taken,

there were a few bikes for sale, 

like this one,

this is the card at the front with the details about the bike,

there was definitely a cowboy/Indian theme as usual,

so you have the buffalo bike,

if not the smallest 3 wheeler here, it must be remarkably close,

I remember this Ford Anglia from last year when it had the Harry Potter livery,

but it has had a face lift for this year,

lots of room decorations, for your man cave,

I have to admit I did like this bike, 

so reminiscent of a 1960s cafe racer,

it even had a 4 leading shoe front brake,

we have seen a number of motor scooters in town,

but this one with the attached side car looked so neat,

I mentioned earlier that there was a cowboy/Indian theme,

well at the side of the stage in the showground,

there was an Indian village, complete with a bucking bronco,

and horses,

but back to the iron horse,

this one with an engraved tank as well as engraving on other parts on the bike,

the bike also had a strange looking front end set up, notice the reversed handle bar lever,

the stage in the centre of the showground,

believe me when I say it will be loud!

another couple of custom bikes,

they may look nondescript, not all shiny and new, but the amount of work that has gone into these is really impressive,

a mean machine, on the same stall,

and now for something complexly different,

a bit difficult to see, but there is an armed bike in there,

it has two mini-guns,

driven by all manner of cogs and wheels, complete with a telescopic sight, must be fun trying to use that on the move,

imagine seeing this in the rear view mirror,

as we left another car parked up, we are next on our way to the annual plant and flower show at the temple complex down the road, as there are so many pictures I have split today's post into three parts, to see our afternoon with the plants just click the 'older posts' button.