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....

That Japanese who 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!