My Little Obsession with Chopper...

Ever since the last last time when the oak tree is still short and green, i mistakenly bought a Honda Steed, thought my wife and I could enjoy some chopper style glamour riding we saw from Harley ads.

Well turn out that the chopper was a mistake, cus it didnt create much pleasure for riding, it is heavy, hot engine cooking my inner thighs, and my favourite shoes getting wet despite not raining, just merely the road is wet... and ultimatum event that makes wifey shouted to me "Please sell this bike!"...the hot exhaust scarred our small thighs, yes, each and every one...

Ended up the steed was a really brief affair. So brief that I couldnt even remember the time frame I have own it and what happened to it, did I sell it personally? or trade it in? It remains a mystery...but i do have a photo to proof that i did rode it before...

Cool Right!? Thats like 10 years ago...ah looking at the picture, i missed my tight jean, my tight shirt and my small waist line...

Well moving on, as I said, i do not really remember the time line when this bike existed beside me, thus not really remembering well, what bike i had next, but i know, its definately not a chopper...cus wifey has already deleted this category in my list of wanna-gets.

As much as I know very well, that i will not get a chopper, probably, again. But deep down, i always hold a little sensation that is really to tinkle whenever i sit that clamshell posture, with my arms spread wide to hold the ape bars and don that half cap helmet. Since young when we boys came to know motorcycles, choppers (read Harley Davidson) are probably the 1st kind of bike we know and it was drilled to our mind that if we ride these kind of bikes, we will be cool.

Fast forward a few years...Wifey and I got a car, then i get to spend more time alone on a motorcycle. That dormant thought of owning a chopper came alive again...

At my job and housework, there are full of procastination...but when it comes to bike....a few words is just enough to pull together the long process of the thought of getting the bike and gotten the bike.

Chance upon a working partner who owns a spraypainting workshop, he has done up this small (i said small at this point of time becus I have acquired my unlimited license and handle a few big bikes already) chopper to a beautiful state and topped it up with a beauitful number. this partner of mine was a really nice old chap, thinking of retiring and told me he wanted to let go of almost all his "properties" soon. I could not afford his workshop but i sure like his suzuki intruder 400!

He let me have the bike for $2000. Before he finished the next sentence, i went and came back with the money and took the keys.

At that time when I bought this Intruder, i would have known more about bikes then the last time i was riding the Steed. Intruder was a much nicer bike then the Steed (in my humble opinion)...it was shaft driven, so there are no chain sound to chip into the melody of your rumbling exhaust, the design of the Intruder was spot-on old-school drag style, which match the retro fever at that time...

Stay tuned for my chopper experience...cus it dun stop at the Intruder!

The Jap who is as reliable as Mount Fuji

Yes, it is the famous, hottest selling Fazer 6 Naked. After a short while with the Varadero, I realised much of my character in riding, I know now that I love naked street tourers, mid range cc of 600s to 1000s.





I booked one thru my regular dealer. Took the much rare competition white like the picture above. Excited much more then ever, as this Fazer will be my 1st Class 2 motorcycle bought brand new. Love it when i see the meter is all zeros....





After acquiring the bike, i wasted no time getting things fixed up....1st of all, Leo Vince again...they seems to be getting alot of my money these days....after $1500 poorer, the carbonos are up on my Fazer...

And thats not all, after about another grand or two later, my fazer is super tourer mode ready with Hepco Beckers, Bagster, Garmin and Barracudas...the list goes on....

And I wasted no time again to fulfilled my tradition....I went on countless times to Thailand, and hitting the finale recently in April, to Phuket to take part of the annual Bike Week event.

It was especially fun when i have 2 of my closest riding buddy having the same bikes. we have some occasions tearing down the highway together on the way up north. Unforgettable.

a short clips of riding my fazer with my tourbroz.

A One Night Stand with a Fat Lady

Going on to my 9th month with the lovely japanese, Z1000 was powerful and really unbeaten in the duration of my relation with her....on everyday roads, she accepts no pillion and has slaughtered countless 2-wheelers and chariots, leaving their beaten steed with the riders looking down in despair...always ready to instill fear with my Leo Vince battle horn to motorists in the CTE tunnels ... I always make it to my destination (thank goodness) as happy as making a killing.....Life is still full of pride....


...but Life is also fair....when the notice to renew the insurance for Z1000 came, the once arrogant, tall standing rider, with even a taller ego....simply dwindled and diminished into the like of a barn mice....


3 times up Thailand with the Z1, I reckon the kick i had with her was about enough, i was thinking of changing bike again...The urge came surging when one of my friend offered himself to carried on my instalment of the Z1 and promised me that he will take care of the bike for me in the period under his ownership...


Well, i am free again, and its the best time of a biker again...looking for a new ride~!


I was looking for something different now...but i have absolutely no clue...until i met Mark at ASPhoon Serangoon one Friday evening...and I saw what i wanted....


A Used Honda Veradero....




Thinking with the friendly price of this Varadero, i could try out dual purposes...perhap in the long run, i could like this category and eventually go on to have more pro-dual purposes, like KTMs and BMWs... Lets try...


With no much time wasted, i got my hands on the Vara and to make my spending spree even more sinful, Claudio, the guy from Leo Vince, knew that I have acquired a XL1000, delibrately told me that there is a exisitng stock of a Leo Vince Titanium waiting to be cleared and is offering a very good price for me only.....well, no prize for guessing whether I got the pipes....


* Catch a glimpse of the Leo Vince pipes installed on the Fat Lady....



To carry on my tradition, I immediately organised a ride up Thailand with the boys.

This time to Hatyai but coming back via Betong, which consisted of more B-roads which is what I like to test out this biggy dual purposes...


The ride is one of a kind i would never forget, its the most comfortable ride up Hatyai thru the North South Highway. Fat Lady is never as heavy as it seem. Sitting posture was straight, windscreen is big enough to leave me fresh and unbeaten after every distant. Luggage was more then convenient for me with the side panniers and the 52litre top case. Leo Vince was performing at its job too, providing the sound to complete a perfect scenario like a the frosting of a ice cold beer flowing out of the beer mug...


But thru this lady, i also discover the things I do not like for my riding preference.
I still prefer the characterisitc of inline fours, pickup was okay but inline were smoother, i would like more of that power-on-tap thing, but when I did the throttling I was doing with my Z1, i didnt get it.... cornering is alittle bit more tricky and required more attention. Mainstand is hard to hit, had a few near missed stationary falls, not to mention the embarassment the incidents it has caused...


But the main killer was a little problem in the bike, the engine does not have a smooth power delivery, every other second I experienced a little power loss from the throttle, resulting in little jerks along the whole journey. Its nagging and the mechs could not solved it. I lose hope....

I went back to the dealer after the Betong ride...and told him I had enough of this "different" ride...and moved on....in one corner of my mind I was thinking maybe its a good idea to have a brand new bike...so that there is warranty and no nagging problems the previous owner left behind...


Well, timing is always good when you think it is.....


Had a longer chat with the same dealer lead me an information about Yamaha is releasing some brand new old stock models for cheap clearance....one model especially intrigues me when one of my riding buddies was riding it....


Check out the next blog of one of my loveliest and longest affairs....

The Other Japanese

Its time to blog again…it seems like this blogspot account of mine as been missing a big portion of my latest action in motorcycling recently. So now here I am, in the office, during lunchtime, while waiting for my lovely finance gal Kelly to buy lunch for me, pick up the “pen” and start “writing”, updating the adventures of 2009 and 2010.

Ok where did I stop? On the CB750? Oh yes and Thailand! Well, still love the destination. Love it even when I fly there without my bike to Phuket recently with wifey to enjoy a nice weekend there.

*please note that I have gain an “insignificant” amount of weight since the last picture. Life’s too good. :-P
Ok coming back to riding. Well, yes, I admit, I do not like being called an uncle…in fact, in the period of time when I was with my CB750, I grew to such paranoid of portraying an uncle image, that I promised myself, that my next ride will definitely silent those who called me an uncle…. And it was sooner then expected….

In my line of work, I have to visit some motorcycle dealers to chat up with them and follow up orders from them, at the same time, getting to know them better for my own sake, cus I will be in some point of time, their customer too. Eventually after a lot of roundings with the dealers, I eventually visited afew of my more favourite dealers more often then the others. Loois motor is one of them…

There is always an eagerness inside me, when I do the last right turn into Kaki Bukit Place where Loois Motors is located. The eagerness to know and see whats new in their showroom, especially the used bike section on the 3rd floor. Everytime, I would hope that my love for a new bike will not overcome my sense of logic (especially the logic of not wasting money)

But came this fateful Saturday. The lift opens, the always-friendly Mr Lee say hi to me and finger-pointed something in a corner of the showroom. “Just came in! Want to try a different brand?” he shouted across the showroom to me….

It was dark black with matt gold handlebar, the original headlight cowling was something out from a batman or ironman movie, upside-down forkies, the tail nicely flushed to a sharp point like a robotic wasp, not forgetting the give-away design: 4 copper aluminium straight cigerette-style exhaust sticking 2 by 2 sides.

Yes, for those knew. It was Kawasaki. The formidable Z1000R.

I have no control over myself, lose all logics discussed with Mr Lee and headed to the 5th floor for payment…that night I could not sleep, knowing that I will be shedding my uncle image soon….

well didn’t really had a good picture of my new Z with the original exhaust, cus sooner then most of you guy blinked, I have replaced them with a 4-in-1 Leo Vince SBK short tip which I could not describe how the sound can make me climax every time I blip the throttle…it always leave my trouser wet…


Remembered Lee told me to be careful with this bike, he said its not like your uncle’s CB750 and asked me to ride it with great responsibility….well I didn’t know what exactly he meant until I tried setting it free on North South a few months later…

At North South Highway, I nearly wet my pants too….but with pee this time….after I did a high speed corner at 250kph. Enuf said….Z1000R is a caged beast waiting for opportunity to be released and when it is released, prepared for the wildest ride…

The Leo Vince did not help at all in taming the wild beast but fuelled the adrenaline instead.

I remembered I was tearing down a carpark locally…was dragging to about 8,000rpm on 1st gear when I set off the alarm of a few cars parking at the side when I whizzed past….the next reaction was to look around to hope that there are no men-in-blues. Haha.

I was happy. I metaphor from an uncle to a head turner who has beast under my control. Super 4s stopped behind me at the lights, uncles stopped beside me shaking their head thinking that this bike is not for him. Gals gave me a 2nd look to prompt me to blip the throttle harder….Life is full of pride…

My love for Thailand

It is a usually long procedure, i hang the MP3 player around my neck, stuffed the earphones into my lobes, draped my leather Guzzi jacket (in some case, my Alpinestar Airflo), take out my dreaded specs, put on my red Arai and my specs back, wear my gloves, turn the keys and crank the engine. Blip the throttle.....Vroooommmmmm

This is the long procedures I have to go through everytime i leave my carpark, heading for the customs to embark on the 1000km journey throughout the night. Pior reaching the customs, I am already thinking of which petrol kiosks on the NSH I should stop for a break and which one I shoud not in order to optimise my fuel tank usage. But at the back of my mind, it is what i want to do when i reach the end of the North South Highway....

Like the carebear who reaches the end of the rainbow, I found my paradise at the end of North South Highway. Thailand.

Thailand, or the Land of Smiles they call, is pretty much true to the last alphabet. Well, lets not include the stern-faced uniformed thai custom officer who stamped your passport. Almost every thai that you came in contact with, return you with smile, and the ladies, their smiles are even coated with honey. Lets not start with the ladies now.

I love Thailand, I love Hatyai because it is the nearest City I could reach in Thailand. I love the currency exchange of Thai baht, I love the food in Thailand which is so economical priced (check out their Fuji restaurants!). I love the massage from the lovely Thai aunties. I love the kway tiao kia of Thailand. I love the people from Thailand, especially the Thai gals! (but of course, I love my wife and I am very faithful to her, LOL)

Now on my agenda for 2009 will be a good solid trip with my new bike to Phuket in April to attend the Bike Week event and the water festival they call it Songkhla. Check out this space for more....

The bike that can never go wrong

There is always a saying among bikers. A saying that you probably will hear before. The saying goes like this "Get a Japanese bike lah, nothing will go wrong one". Yes, for those who are basically paranoid of european bikes, this saying is practically their everyday chant to every biker he met.

And for this paranoid riders (aka Anti-Euro bike riders), they will probably bow to me when they meet my next bike.

Meet the Honda CB 750F2 , the mother of all Japanese bikes.....ok, not the original mother, cus that will be the year 1969 version CB750 with the double twin pipes hanging by each side. For those who do not know the history of this bike.

Let me begin a little on some history lesson....

Back in the 60s, where the motorcycle scene was dominated by the Europeans, namely the British with Triumph, Italians with Guzzis and Ducks and the Bavarian came up with BMWs (alittle sidetrack here, BMW stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke AG) until Honda developed the famous inline four engine and put together four exhaust, a big metal petrol tanks and first of its kind on a production bike, the front dics brakes and the electric starter. The CB750K is born. It create such a phenomena where the term "Superbike" was first used to describe this bike. Cycle Mag call this bike the greatest production motorcycle ever built.

Picture courtesy of Honda Japan

Not much later it was given the title of UJM (Universal Japan Motorcycle), not many model has attain this title. A UJM is a motorcycle that creates the mould for other brands to follow. True enuff, the other Japanese big 3, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki follow the UJM and created similar motorcycles that change the revolution of motorcycling.

Back to my own 2001 CB Seven-Fifty F2, it is a rare gem, US model, which unlike the Japanese version. is not power-restricted at 180kph. I have hit the top speed of 210kph during a few stincts along North South Highway. This bike is what the bike expert called a "boring" bike, why boring? because it is too reliable and smooth~! I had ever forgot to do a servicing and had it whacked up to Thailand without a clich~! on the way, i ever went out the wrong way into some about 70kms of quarry road and this old maiden still managed to clear the worst roads it has seen!

Love it, hate it, love for the reliability, the power-on-tap inline4s and the flexibility with aftermarkets (except the pipes~!), hate it because of the image it potrays (i got called "uncle" quite a couple of times while i was on the road), not a good conversation topic as it is a boring bike, and the lack of glamour and it is definately not a a chick magnet!

A Big Italian Affair

Its been a long time since i have type something here. I have been much into touring since the last time i penned something here.

Something to regret is that I have sold my ST1100 without doing any long trip on it. I found it too bulky to move in city although it rides like a dream on highways. Had a couple of falls on that bike solely trying to park it or push it. I reckon this bull is not for me to tame.

So I moved on, sold my ST11 to a big malay guy who loves it to bits. By the time I sold the ST, the famous Phuket Bike Week was around the corner, I was very fortunate to be offered by Piaggio to ride an exquisite motorcycle to Phuket to make publicity for this motorcycle. This motorcycle as depicted on the left (and that is a nice photgraph of me riding it!) is the famous (or the infamous?) Moto Guzzi California Vintage.

This motorcycle is powered by a 1100cc 90degree V-twin, chilled by an oil cooler and driven by shaft. Cost a freaking $32,900 machine price! Why the astronomical price tag? That is because this California Vintage is a exact replica of an old 1968 - 69 California where the LAPD uses the bike as their police bike, yes replicating the original bike up to the side panniers, old school windscreen and the black white pinstrips paintwork. This is also the only other bike those cops uses in their long history of LAPD bikes. The rest of them are all Harleys. (The Italians are obviously damm proud of this fact)

I have make fairly good amount of studies on this bike in order for me to be ready when I am suppose to answer those curious enquiries along the way to Phuket. There is also an almost impossible target set by my boss during that trip...it is to put it in the limelight at the Phuket Bike Week Dinner! As any seasoned bike traveller knows, although PBW (short for Phuket Bike Week) welcomes all bikes from everywhere, it is very harley based and bikers that reach Phuket during the PBW season are more often then sitting on a rumbling pushrod twin and some screaming eagles.

Not blaming them, as PBW is a show event, what could be more showstopping then a sparkling chromed harley. And in this case, we are talking about thousands of them!

Now after the ride to and from Phuket. I would say the bike is generally ok and comfortable to ride but it lack the top speed and not exactly fulfiling comparing to a booming Harley twin (my boss will kill me when he see this!)

The heat from the Vs in some occasional of riding thru Thailand weather can almost cook my testis*** (balls, in another word, which courteously mean, the engine is positioned in a manner that when its hot and running, the hot air are channel past the ride, on the California, the hot air passes through the rider's legs and most of them went between)



I had a great time with this bike though. Catches a lot of attention and especially in a Harley based event, it is something out of the blue. Most of the passerbys would tends to take a 2nd look.

An extraordinary encounter with a big bull

I remembered what I have wrote on my last blog with the PS 250.

After the Hatyai trip, I must get a big bike to go for the next hatyai trip again.

Well yes, I did what I said, eventually I sold the PS 250 a while after I came back from

trip. Sold to a friend of mine who went on to install every other bits and pieces on that

Special scooter. The last thing I heard about the scooter is that its changed hands again.

well....

anyway, after the trip, I have made good friends with a few of the tour mates...2 of them

Specially...one affectionally known as Momo (yes, named after the sporty steering wheel) and the other, a more quiet, Junior Leong (why Junior? cus there is a much older Leong somewhere in our Singaporebike forum)

Junior Leong went up with us to Hatyai on an ST1100, which the performance of his bike intrigued us greatly. so the time we came back, Momo, always has the honor of being the most impulsive one, trade in his X9 250 and bought a white ST1100.

As you can see on the top. Quite an artistic shot, at the time of writing, Momo has already made another trip up to Phuket with his white ST1100.

Awhile after he got his ST1100, it got me all the more excited and I almost immediately rolled out my beloved big bull. It was love at first sight.

The previous owner has resprayed the bike to a unique two-toned and have maintained the bike in a fabulous condition. Volt meter and electic horn are installed and this bull is tour-ready. This beast has give me a first time experience of travelling on a bike to over 200kph. The ever ready throttle eager to be twisted. This is also the 1st time I have experience the weight of a beast! well over 250kg after its filled ith petrol, this bugger is quite a handful when i bring it around Singapore roads...and to get it stuck in a jam is a dreadfu experience!

But when the beast is to roam on the open roads...the feeling is beyond description. It is designed for the open road, the right hand twist the throttle and immediately you could feel the overwhelming sensation of freedom.

The famous 888km journey

Came the date 9th April 2006. It is the day I put my favourite scooter and myself to the test.

Time: 2000hrs and Venue: 2nd Link GP Esso. That night I will start an incredible journey which is approximately 888km long and the estimated time taken for the journey will be about 13hours.

888km might sound quite a child's play to some of you guys but not me, it is my 1st time on such a long trip on just a 250cc puny scooter. my 1st time is to the really child's play Malacca and that is about 2 years ago.

At the time of me writing this blog, i have well forgotten all the exact places that we have went, stopped for breaks and the exact timings of each and every stops too. I just cut it short and brief.

We "lifted off" at 2015hrs and i remembered our 1st stop is pagoh and it is about 120km away. 120km is roughly about the 10 times me riding from my own house at Jurong West to my in-laws at Depot Road. I would have easily complete that distance, I thought to myself. But, I was wrong, my right palm, although with good riding gloves on, still started to feel skin-sore due to the constant twisting of the throttle. My shoulders started to ache as well on the fixed riding position and my teeth is fighting due to the chilly winds that hit me straight, all because my PS250 came to this journey without a windshield and I, being complacent, thought it might be too exaggerated to wear too thick cus anyway, we are not riding anywhere near the poles.

All these situations are happening only after 45mins into the journey where i only have clocked about close to just 100km! and its only my first 100km! This is the 1st time i felt riding is tough.

The max speed I have clocked on the PS250 is a pathethic 115km/h! This disheartening results is all due to this scooter is carrying not only myself but my wife and a considerable big amount of luggage of a 45litres back box full and a big haversack tied to the front.

ok lets go back to the journey...pretty almost the whole of the journey we are travelling in darkness and cold. This terrible ordeal clocked about 3/4 of the whole journey. To add salt to the wound, these unlighted areas are normally at the condition where the roads cutting thru the forest of the hills. Insects in most time crowds these dark highways...resulting some of them splattering themselves on our bikes and helmets visors. Quite an experience but not the cleanest one.

After a few more hundreds kilometers and some cigarette breaks later, I found ourselves passing through some highways which have some spectecular scenaries. There are huge hills (I could not call them mountains cus they are not that big but they are definately bigger then our very own Bukit Timah hill!) Although it is dark and not well lit in most of these areas but the silouettes of these nature wonders are enough to make me forget about the cold and the suicidal insects for a while. I forgotten where are those areas but its definately after KL. To most of the experienced riders, they should know where I was.

The ride carried on until about 12hours later where we reached the landmark that we have been stressing our puny engines the whole night for; The Thailand Malaysia Customs where the Malaysia NS highway ends and we stepped into Sadao, the custom town of Thailand.

The picture above is the 2nd day after reaching Hatyai. We stopped by for a Tim sum breakfast. Everything is cheap cheap cheap.

Well, I would say that riding up to Thailand is an exhausting affair. Especially exhausting when we are on a lower cc machine. Most of us reached Thailand with some "twisted" wrists, cus we really twist the bloody throttle till the max for the whole 13 hours just to reach 120kph!

But, this trip has tickled the tour-bug in me. Now the bug has came alive. I went to get my class 2 licence, so does most of my travel mates. Looking forward to next April and like all my travel mates, looking forward to getting our hands on a more adaptable machine (read: Class 2 tua gu*) that could easier conquer this 888km journey. Oh, by then it shouldnt be just 888km, i am already visualising me and my mates at the Patong beach having seafood and our tua gu park at the road side.

* Tua Gu = (in Hokkien) Big Bull, means a big class 2 bike in this context