TRAVEL | Thailand: THAILAND UNLEASHED – Far up North on the Touratech BMW R 1300 GS

Muddy single trails, dilapidated bridges, hair-raising river crossings - far off the beaten track, a Touratech test team with fully equipped BMW R 1300 GSs battled its way through the jungles of northern Thailand towards the border with Myanmar. On board: Touratech brand ambassador Charley Boorman.
“Made for Adventure” is the Touratech claim for the best motorbike accessories. Decades of experience as well as state-of-the-art designing and manufacturing processes are important guarantees of outstanding product quality. But to ensure that technical accessories and rider equipment really deliver what demanding adventure riders expect of them, Touratech test teams regularly set off on adventurous journeys to test new parts under extreme conditions. BMW are not the only ones who opened a new chapter in the history of the Boxer with their new R 1300 GS. The completely redesigned motorbike also meant a boost in new developments for Touratech. And these naturally had to be subjected to extensive testing out on the stages. With heat, mud and adventurous track conditions and covered in dense rainforest, the north of Thailand offers the perfect conditions for an intensive test ride. With Peera, the Thai Touratech importer, the test team had the perfect man on site. Having travelled to every corner of his fascinating home country himself, well organised and networked and imbued with the adventure spirit, Peera meticulously made all the necessary preparations. And as a special trump card, he conjured up Pruchayar Chaiyasotthi as a tour guide, who has become a YouTube star with his off-road adventures in Thailand under the pseudonym "Mr Art".
In small cabins by the roadside, there is almost everything you need; often even tea and a snack.
Thanks to Peera's perfect organisation, we are completely relaxed when we start the 1300 early in the morning and head towards the border with Myanmar. The road soon turns into a track and the forest gets closer and closer to the narrow carriageway. Small villages and individual huts scurry past, the scent of wood fires and exotic flowers permeates our helmets. We quickly get used to our fully packed BMW R 1300 GS motorbikes, make minor adjustments to the settings and get into a lively travelling flow surprisingly quickly.
Jungle track near the border with Myanmar
"Keep left!" Charley's voice echoes from the headset of my SENA communication system. He can't believe that I keep forgetting to drive on the left because of my enthusiasm for the magnificent landscape. Charley? Yes. None other than motorbike adventure icon Charley Boorman accompanies us on this test ride. The connection between Charley and Touratech is as old as it is intense. It goes back a good 20 years, to the time when Charley and Ewan McGregor kitted themselves out with Touratech products for their legendary "Long Way Round" motorbike tour of the world. In the meantime, Charley has completed numerous highly acclaimed motorbike and travel projects around the globe. Charley's "Race to Dakar" with the Touratech-built 650 rally BMW is unforgettable - again filmed for a huge audience to cheer on. In 2007, Charley and Ewan travelled together from Scotland to South Africa. They called this endeavour "Long Way Down" in reference to their first big adventure together. As part of his "By any means" series, Charley travelled 30,000 kilometres from Ireland to Australia without using a plane, crossing numerous countries along the way. As an ambassador for the ACT UK 2022 and Croatia 2023 projects, Charley was again using Touratech equipment, so it was almost a natural progression to embark on a bigger adventure together with a Touratech team. For Touratech, CMO Martin Wickert and Elvio Andrade, Head of International Sales, are taking part in this extraordinary endeavour. A small media team will also be on hand to document the adventure. Renowned off-road photographer Claudius Vasilescu is responsible for the photos, while Stefan Klabunde is in charge of capturing gripping moving images.
Spectacular sunrise in the mountains
Now, outside the rainy season, the notorious clay roads of northern Thailand are comparatively easy to drive on. As a result, we make rapid progress and reach largely unspoilt national parks. We realise how lucky we are to have a local guide, Pruchayar, when we reach our accommodation for the night deep in one of the parks. Instead of a hotel, a real homestay awaits us. We are staying in a small hut on the property of a local family. The food comes from an open kitchen and tastes incredibly good! We can't get enough and try our way through the varied menu. And of course there is not only the "arrival beer", but also a few other cool drinks in the early night. More and more families in remote regions of Thailand are trying to earn an additional income with the concept of homestays for individual travellers. All the huts we stayed in on our trip were actually very clean. The differences in quality were more apparent in terms of animal flatmates like mosquitoes, spiders, snakes or iguanas being there or not.
The friendliness of the people in Thailand is not artificial
Even insignificant temples along the way are often artistically designed
After a classic Thai breakfast, we continue our journey on rutted trails. The track winds along steep slopes, climbs mountain ridges, cuts through deep valleys and repeatedly crosses watercourses of varying widths. While the low-lying areas are dominated by almost impenetrable rainforest with only small clearing islands, we are surrounded by a sparse pine forest at higher altitudes. This epic glide through a world that is as strange as it is fascinating is interrupted by occasional police and military checks due to the proximity of the border with Myanmar. Scooters are the means of transport par excellence for the locals not only in the bustling cities, but also here in the deepest backcountry. The Thais steer their scooters over the washed-out tracks with two or three people or even a whole family on one bike and with sometimes crazy loads – which of course puts our riding skills on the ultra-modern machines into perspective to some extent.
Away from the tourist routes, the tracks are often adventurous
Some paths merge into a riverbed until they emerge again at some point
But there are plenty of situations where our skills are in demand. One day, shortly before the sultry midday heat sets in, we reach a river. We have the choice between a wobbly plank bridge or a water crossing through a wide, muddy ford. When our guide Pruchayar points out that even the scooter riders dismount and don't cross the suspension bridge with three people on one vehicle, we decide in favour of the water crossing. Pruchayar sets the line. But he gets into an unseen rut and tries to get back on course with a strong push on the gas. At first everything seems to be going well, but a stone gets in his way on the exit. Wham! Fortunately, nothing happened, but the rest of the team approach the ford with increased caution after this lesson.
The media team is relentless in such situations. They don't offer a helping hand, but instead shoot mercilessly with their cameras. Everyone does their job: we as drivers and the media people as photographers and filmers, to capture the most spectacular and authentic images possible. And it doesn't matter to the guys whether it's 35 degrees or we're out on a strenuous trail for the sixth day in a row. If the perfect picture is not yet the can, that means: Once more up the steep ascent, once more through the mud hole and please stay close to each other so that the drone shot is perfect. This goes on all day until the evening, when darkness almost suddenly sets in.
A trip to the north of Thailand is not for the water-shy.
Charley is not only an extremely experienced motorbike globetrotter, from whose expertise we benefit on this test ride. He is also a born entertainer. With his wit and dry British humour, he always lightens the mood, even in tense situations. From his long and deep travelling and life experience, from countless accidents with and without a motorbike, Charley draws on an immeasurable repertoire of heart-warming stories, so that we can hardly contain our laughter, and not just once. Even in the evening, when we are lying around the campfire, exhausted but content, Charley always has a anecdote prepared. His travel biography goes back much further than "Long Way Round". Even as a child, Charley spent long periods on the road with his father, Sir John Boorman, a director, screenwriter, film producer and last but not least Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). And this in an era when travelling was still a hassle.
Visitors in motorbike clothing are a rare sight in the temples.
The Buddhist temples are places of peace and contemplation.
Before Pruchayar takes us back to civilisation, we get down to offroad riding business one last time. We are still missing a waterfall as a photo motif. Pruchayar has an idea. We follow a single trail that becomes increasingly narrow. It seems a bit strange to us, but signs that we can't understand at least point us in the right direction. Pruchayar will know... When a fallen tree blocks the path, my doubts grow. But Charley, in his pragmatic way, has already removed a ZEGA case from his GS and balances the 1300 through under the tree trunk. Pruchayar decides otherwise, he simply takes the creek bed. The rest of the team follows him. After 20 minutes, we are sure that Charley has made the better choice, as we have been pushing our bikes through the stony stream for a few hundred metres. When we hit the path again, we are disappointed: we can't go any further. Our guide sheepishly admits that it is a footpath - which is what the signs say. As if in confirmation, European hikers appear at this moment and look at us disapprovingly. After five exhausting hours, we are back on the main track. From here it's not far to the touristy town of Pai. After the solitude of the mountains, we first have to get used to all the restaurants and pubs and the party atmosphere among the thousands of backpackers. Luckily, we find a quiet location outside the town where we can relax and reflect on the impressions of our test ride over some excellent Thai food.
Magha Puja 2024: A holiday in honour of the Buddha on the full moon day of the third month.
Petrol station in a remote mountain village.
Bamboo rafts are an alternative to ramshackle suspension bridges.
Both the ZEGA Evo cases and the products from the new Waterproof Extreme soft luggage range survived the tour well. Although the fine dust settled on our faces, it couldn't harm the helmets or the moving parts of our equipment. We clean our Compañero suits provisionally with a strong splash of water from a bucket before we set off back to Chang Mai, satisfied.
After intense jungle adventures, we return to Chang Mai.