Motorbike Madness

   They call them motorbikes but we'd call them motorcycles.  They are mostly small to medium sized, beginning at about 1200 CCs and going up.  They are ubiquitous in South East Asia and no less so in Thailand.  Coming in a variety of  configurations, many of which are three-wheeled which they call samalors, they are the most common form of transportation.  As many as five people ride on the same bike and there are often riders in the sidecars.
   The samalors most commonly have sidecars which are used for everything from selling ice cream to hauling bricks.  Many are equipped as portable kitchens for cooking food for sale.  Some have the engine in the back with a two wheeled carrier in front.
   Motorbikes have their own rules of the road.  When other vehicular traffic stops these bikes do not. They are a particular hazard when pedestrians cross through stopped traffic as they zoom between the stopped vehicles heading for the front of the line at a traffic light.  If the street is too congested they often ride on the sidewalk,  One way street signs do not pertain to them.
  Many years ago I was riding on a motorbike taxi in Saigon during rush hour.  We hadn't gone very far when the driver reached back and pulled my knees into the bike.  Tolerances were small enough that this was necessary so I wouldn't bang my knee on another vehicle.
  These motorbikes even serve as wreckers moving stalled bikes.  With a rider on each seat the rescuing motorbike positions behind the stalled one and the rider of that bike extends his leg to push the dead one.
    On a Bangkok street I saw a motorbike equipped with a metal handle behind the driver.  Clinging to the metal handle was a woman in a wheel chair as they sped down the street.  It must have been an exciting ride, never mind the exhaust fumes from the engine spewing in her face.

A broom sellers pedal powered samalor.

The engine in the back.

Poe's motorbike which is typical.  Note the security chain.