French · 7 years on Samui
French motorcycle tour guide living on Koh Samui for 7 years. Marc leads group rides across southern Thailand and knows every road on the island.
Updated: May 2026
Above the Nathon junction last October, I turned the CB300R onto the mountain pass road at 7 a.m. - empty tarmac, cool air, no tourist traffic above the junction. The switchback section begins at kilometre 2 and continues for 4 kilometres of consistent gradient and tightening corners. In third gear at 45 to 55 km/h the CB300R was in its natural element: the suspension tracking the surface, the motor pulling from corner exit, the braking progressive and fade-free. I have ridden this road on fourteen different bikes over seven years. The CB300R is the most appropriate machine for it.
Riding the central viewpoint road from the Chaweng side last January - a 9-kilometre climb to the island's highest accessible point - I used second and third gear through the ascent, with the CB300R's engine working at 5,000 to 7,000 rpm through the steeper sections. The road surface varies: tarmac to rough asphalt to concrete repair patches. The CB300R handled each surface transition without requiring rider adaptation. At the summit the view across both coasts was visible; I paused for 20 minutes before descending the same road toward Nathon. The descent is the better half.
On the Nathon ring road straight last February, I held the CB300R at 95 km/h for a 3-kilometre section - the bike's sixth gear operating at a comfortable rpm, the motor note relaxed rather than strained. The CB300R is not a highway tourer by category, but Samui's ring road straight between Nathon and the northern junction provides enough distance to use the bike's cruising capability. For a rider who wants to experience what 31 horsepower feels like on open tarmac before returning to the mountain switchbacks, the Nathon straight is the opportunity.
Leaving Chaweng on the CB300R at dawn last November, northbound on the coastal road to Mae Nam - 18 kilometres of flat, well-surfaced tarmac with sea views - I used fourth and fifth gear at 70 to 80 km/h with minimal traffic. The CB300R's upright riding position gave clear sightlines to the coast. At Mae Nam I turned south toward the Big Buddha, adding the approach road - a short climb with coastal views - before continuing to the Fisherman's Village for the evening market. Total circuit: 46 kilometres, completed in under two hours without any riding urgency.
On a beach access track south of Lamai last March - 200 metres of hard-packed sand and gravel between the road and a guesthouse - I walked the CB300R rather than riding it. The CB300R's 147-kilogram kerb weight and road-biased tyres make loose surface riding unpleasant and inadvisable. On the same section a Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 - adventure-biased tyres, higher ground clearance - would have crossed without concern. The CB300R's limits on Samui are the same as its strengths: it is a road motorcycle optimised for tarmac, and it should stay on it.
Seven years of riding the Honda CB300R on Koh Samui has produced four consistent route recommendations for the bike: the Nathon mountain pass, the central viewpoint road, the north coast circuit from Chaweng, and the ring road full island circuit. All four routes stay on tarmac. All four use the CB300R's 31 horsepower and six-speed gearbox in their natural range. All four offer the kind of riding - mountain corners, highway sections, coastal sweepers - that a motorcycle licence holder comes to Samui specifically to experience.
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