BIG BIKE

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BIG Bike Shop
Big Bike Shop on Rath U Thit Road, Patong Beach, has earned its place in business after 12 years on Phuket

-Bikes are a special trade, Jay says. A special business that takes special people!
Jay's real name is Buoy Angsatchaphong. She is the owner and daily manager of the Big Bike Shop. Count on her to be special, indeed. Behind the smiling Chinese face of this woman you will find a multi-talented, well-educated person with a keen business-sense and a warm heart.
-To me it runs in the blood, she says. My family has been managing motorbike shops in Bangkok, so I guess I was raised on bikes!
"Bikes run in my blood", says Jay "it's family business."

"Bikes run in my blood", says Jay "it's family business."

Jay was born in Bangkok but has been around the world. She did her studies in Penang, Malaysia, which has a strong, Anglo-Saxon educational tradition. Going to Holland she worked as a dressmaker (her profession by trade) for a while, as she had family there.
Sitting in the Big Bike Shop with Jay it is easy to understand, why this line of business is something else. We are on Phuket - dream island for many people, who come here to live out their fantasies. Big choppers, tropical nights, brown-skinned girls and booze are all part of it.
-You wouldn't believe how many times our bikes come back in with broken mirrors! We have to replace more than 500 mirrors each year!
That seems to be the jealous Thai ladies favorite vengeance: breaking mirrors, scratching tanks, ruining upholstery.
-I call it the "lady accidents", Jay laughs.
The mirrors also seem to serve well as souvenirs. As well as tank-lids, turning lights and other "accessories".

On Phuket the Big Bike adventure began in 1986, when Jay - at that time still with her partner and husband Alan Deacon - set up shop and began to bring in bikes from Japan. There was a definite shortage of bikes then, not at all the splendor and variety of 1998.
-Mostly it was sales, back then Jay remembers, all in all, we must have sold about 500 bikes. They have gone to every corner of the world. And we still do sales. The last Intruders this month went to Norway, England and South Africa.
Big Bike Shop has constantly between 80 and 140 bikes on display - for rent or sale. Due to the peculiarities of the Thai bureaucratic systems, most bikes are being imported as "spare parts" and become assembled in the shop. That's good training for the mechanics, most of whom are self-taught. Jay sighs, the mechanics problem is one of the biggest for her shop.
-You know, I have to make constantly sure that things are being done right, that there is no sloppy work and so. You must Most mechanics are self-taught

understand that in Thailand nobody is trained to take any responsibility for what they are doing, so this is a common problem. Luckily I've got Marc to manage the shop, when I am not around.
That happens often - Jay not being around. She is a busy person, her businesses reach far beyond the Big Bike Shop. She has a housing development going on here in Patong and right now another big plan - the Guy Residence - is in the final stage.
-This is something which has never been done yet, says Jay proudly, -a first class luxury accommodation for men. I am sure this is going to be a hit!

Road conditions and drivers' behavior are a dark chapter of bike-life on Phuket. Death and accident rates are high.
-Yes, Jay says, every season we loose ten bikes because of total damage. According to our statistics, three drivers every season will never come back, because they lost their lives on the road.
Big Bike Shop has taken some consequences.
-We almost don't do racers any more, Jay says, they are to dangerous and they attract the most dangerous kind of customers: young boys with no experience on fast and heavy machinery. We rather do the choppers - we are the only ones that rent out Harleys on Phuket - and the enduros.
Another thing in Thailand is the insurance situation. At present there are no companies, who are willing to insure motorbikes, other than third party medical only. So the hirer always has to pay for himself and the bike in case of accidents.
-We try to help and minimize those costs, Jay says -we don't want to make a profit on the accident situations. You might find that situation different, though, when you rent a bike at the beach...

Which bikes does the Big Bike Shop have in stock for the moment?
-Well... Jay looks around, -today you can pick for instance one of our 5 Harley Sportsters, one of our 4 V-Max 1200's, or one of our seven African Twins and Transalps...
Road accidents are not the only circumstances that cause bike losses. Frequently customers will take a bike to the airport, leave the country and let the bike sit there.
-The other day we found a Thai boy, happily riding around on one of our bikes in the village next to the airport, Jay laughs.
After 12 years with Big Bike Shop in Patong, Jay sees the future all bright.
-We have so many regular customers and they keep on coming, she says. They even book in advance by fax to make sure they got the bike of their choice. I am planning to modernize a little bit. Time to set up a computer, so we can communicate with our customers by e-mail and keep better track of things.