A growing collection of first-hand notes on getting around Koh Samui on two wheels - which bikes suit the island, how rentals and delivery work, the best routes, and the things worth knowing before you ride. Curated by the team at Samui Bikes, who rent scooters, e-scooters, motorbikes and bicycles across the island every day.
I rode the Super Soco CPx and Yadea G5 Pro on back-to-back mornings over the same 38 km north coast circuit: the CPx averaged 55 km/h on 46 per cent and hit 70 on the straight, the G5 Pro 50 km/h on 44 per cent and 60 flat. On the ring…
I mapped the Click 125's home ground early one February morning: the 12 km Chaweng coastal loop from the south beach to Bo Phut Fisherman's Village, mostly under 50 km/h with no real climb until the Choeng Mon headland, done on 0.28…
Planning a G5 Pro day I start from the map, not the attraction: fix a 55 km route first, then find attractions and a midpoint charging café inside it - building outward from a destination is the road to range anxiety by 3 p.m. I ask the…
I plugged the G5 Pro into the outdoor point at my Chaweng hotel's bike parking at 6 p.m. and it was full by 8 a.m. - the charger draws just 4.5 amps from a standard 220V socket, so the overnight hotel charge is the simplest, most reliable…
From 100 per cent I rode a mapped 78 km flat coastal loop - Chaweng, Mae Nam, Nathon, back - at 42 km/h and returned on 6 per cent, so the specified 80 km range holds on Samui's coast. Elevation rewrites it: the 6 km Nathon climb drank 35…
From a full charge I rode the Chaweng-Lamai-Hin Ta beach loop, 28 km, and used 31 per cent - three laps before a charge, so any beach-loop holiday has abundant range on the G5 Pro, not merely adequate. A fuller northern day - Mae Nam…
At the Chaweng rental shop a Dutch woman bypassed every petrol scooter to spend ten minutes on the Yadea G5 Pro - battery level, charge time, whether the motor would disturb the jungle - because she wanted to cover more ground without…
The Yadea G5 Pro covers 80-100 km on a single charge - enough for a Chaweng-to-Maenam coastal run an...
I took a Yadea G5 Pro out to Bophut on a quiet weekday and the first thing I noticed was the silence: no engine noise between the fishing village houses, just tyre hum on the road. Electric scooters suit Koh Samui better than most people…
I booked the XMAX 300 for half a week and a Honda Forza 350 for the other half, running the same ring road circuit, and the differences were smaller than the spec sheets suggest and more useful. Loaded with two helmets, a dry bag and a…
On the 14 km Nathon-Bangrak straight I held the XMAX 300 at 90 km/h the whole way without lifting: engine calm, handlebars still, the CVT settled into top ratio inside the first kilometre - at 90 it is cruising, not working, which changes…
Leaving Chaweng at 6 a.m. the XMAX 300 covers the counterclockwise ring road to Nathon in 48 minutes of riding, holding 85 km/h through the coast, plantations and three climbs without the engine stretching - 65 minutes and purposeful on…
On the mountain road access climb above Nathon two-up last March the XMAX 300 held 65 km/h on a gradient that drops a solo NMAX to 45 - its 28 horsepower against the NMAX's 15 treats an incline as background noise, not an event. On the…
Last April I mapped a Samui grand circuit plus Nathon market and a southern-cape detour - 143 km - and took the XMAX 300 because no other rental scooter finishes that distance without rider or engine visibly tiring; at 90 km/h two-up on…
At the Chaweng rental strip the XMAX 300 customer arrives already knowing which model they want - they skip the Scoopy comparison, walk over, check the tyres, ask about ABS and pay without hesitation, because they ride 300cc and above at…
The Yamaha XMAX 300's 292cc engine delivers effortless cruising speed on the southern ring road past...
After 35 mm of overnight rain I took the ADV 160 onto the Nathon plantation laterite in mud 40 to 60 mm deep over firmer earth, and the rule that morning was speed above 15 km/h for gyroscopic stability - below 10 the rear wandered, above…
On the ADV 160 last October I rode a rooted Hin Lad descent I had walked a Scoopy through two years earlier: the Scoopy clears 110 mm, the ADV 160, and that 50 mm is the whole difference between walking and riding, no advanced technique…
On the steepest root crossing above the Nathon plantation last October I put a folding ruler under the ADV 160 and read 158 mm - its specified 160 mm clearance is real, and the same root scrapes the NMAX's 135 mm undercarriage, a 25 mm…
At Hin Lad waterfall last October I rode the access trail on the ADV 160 beside a friend on an NMAX 155: the trail drops 80 metres over 2.5 km of laterite, loose rock and exposed roots, and the ADV took it seated at 30 km/h while the NMAX…
At the Chaweng rental strip last March I watched a man walk past the Scoopy and NMAX row straight to the ADV 160, check the tyre tread, bounce the front suspension and ask about the Hin Lad waterfall track before he asked the price -…
The Honda ADV 160 offers 164 mm of ground clearance and ABS-equipped adventure geometry that handles...
I lined the NMAX 155 and PCX 150 up at the Chaweng petrol station one Saturday and rode both south to Nathon: the NMAX pulled out first, ABS pulsing once on wet tarmac by Big C, the PCX beside it with identical midrange but a quieter…
Over three days on the same NMAX 155 I changed only my technique and watched the numbers move: aggressive junction starts and high speed gave 31 km/l; smooth acceleration and a steady 70 km/h cruise gave 38; adding a tyre-pressure check…
I start every full island tour from Chaweng beach road at 5:45 a.m., turning north on the NMAX 155 because the pre-dawn light on Choeng Mon bay is the island's best and the bike reaches it before a single tuk-tuk has started. The narrow…
The 62 km counterclockwise ring road with three climbs and a dozen junction pauses is my benchmark for every scooter, and the NMAX 155 returns from it with my core temperature barely risen, no hand fatigue, and a 67 km/h average including…
Descending the Chaweng Lake viewpoint road when a squall dropped 20 mm in eight minutes, I braked hard at 55 km/h on the first painted line and the NMAX 155's ABS pulsed through the lever and stopped me straight - my first decisive proof…
Seven years ago on my first morning testing the NMAX 155 above Chaweng I held 85 km/h for three minutes with no strain on the engine or my wrists, and that set its character: a scooter for riders who already know what they want. The…
The Yamaha NMAX 155 bridges the gap between everyday scooter and proper touring machine. Its 155cc e...
I rode the full ring road on the PCX 150 and the NMAX 155 on back-to-back days, same rider and route: the NMAX averaged 71 km/h to the PCX's 68 and held 65 km/h two-up on the climbs where the PCX settled to 58, its 15.4 horsepower…
I rented the PCX 150 for three straight days last October, 50 to 65 km each, and tracked how I felt: no real seat or handlebar fatigue by day three, only mild shoulder tightness from a backpack - where the NMAX had given me wrist fatigue…
Leaving the Chaweng ring road junction north at 5:50 a.m. two-up, the PCX 150 reached Choeng Mon bay at dawn - 14 km of flat coastal tarmac - with the engine barely audible: the northern ring road is its most natural early route before…
The rental staff on Chaweng beach road handed me the PCX 150's smart key - a fob you keep in your pocket, ignition by button - and over three days the relief of not digging for a metal key while juggling sunscreen, water and a helmet was…
I rode the full ring road counterclockwise two-up on the PCX 150 last March - 62 km of coastal and elevated tarmac - and my pillion stayed comfortable throughout, the suspension soaking up the Mae Nam concrete joins without her bracing…
At the Chaweng rental strip last January I noticed PCX 150 renters ask about the seat first, then storage, then ABS - where NMAX renters ask about top speed. A Japanese couple spent ten minutes on seat height and pillion comfort before…