planning a 2,800km ride...

planning the ride has always been my favourite part of a trip...


route, packing list, place to stay, places to eat, nice food in area, service bike, tires, riding buddies, trip briefing, anticipation, etc are amongst the things to think about...


route planning is my utmost enjoyment.. have a destination, and plan everything in between... ride distance, petrol stop, lunch, hotel, places of interest etc..


this time... a trip to meet my fellow Motorraders in Hua Hin after their month long trip to the golden triangle and more.


Destination: Hua Hin
3 days to arrive (at leisure time)
places of interest: KawThoung of Myanmar, the corners of Ranong-Chumphon, the nice roads and corners of PhangNga-TakuaPa.


So planned the following:
Day 1: KL-Trang (700km)
Day 2: Trang-Ranong (450km)
Day 3: Ranong/KhawThoung
Day 4: Ranong-HuaHin (380km) - meeting point with JWs
Day 5: HuaHin
Day 6: HuaHin-Surat Thani (470km)
Day 7: Surat Thani-Hat yai (340km)
Day 8: Hat yai-KL (540km)


here's how it looks like on google map... :)

now... a route plan and schedule in place... apply leave and on with packing list etc... :)

my BMW R1200GS...

after picking up my newly acquired used BMW R1200GS 2008 in Nov 2009. i immediately took it to attend a Staff Dinner @ Sepang Gold Coast. halfway there, GS was jerking as if fuel starvation but still able to cruise along... a few KMs later, she decided to give up and i rolled to a halt... at Bangi-Sepang highway.


i waited for 15mins before attempting to restart her which failed too & its already dark... a few calls to colleagues & the SC at AB, arrangements were made to send GS back to AB Glenmarie. 2 hours later, a truck came to "rescue" GS while my colleagues came (after dinner) to rescue me!!


after diagnostic, i was told that the relay for the fuel pump has failed. further explanation on the probable cause is "storage".. it was replaced and bike was out of workshop 1 week later and no charge (including truck pick up) as it was under warranty.


a quick visit to Wunderlich proved to be expensive!! Akrapovic exhaust, vario panniers, lower protection bar, fork savers, brake-line protector, cruise control, bigfoot stand & BMW riding gears!!! Zumo 550 was installed.


blue wasnt my favorite color for GS but since i bought it used, i had plans for her to be coated in my fav Alpine White (which BMW later announced for 2010 prod, argh!!)


She has since evolved into what she is today with additional of... Alpine White color, Sargent seat, foglights, LED day running lights, Adventure panniers, front mudflap extender, rear splashguard, topbox (rear seat replacement), Zumo 660, slim tank bag, 3M headlamp protector, front beak extension and lots of stickers on panniers.


Now... i just need a pair of new foglights and black wheels, that will "complete" my GS. :)

not how she looks now but close..

why BMW R1200GS...

it started with a ride to Awana Kijal on my VFR800. the ride was long and was raining heavily. our planned arrival was supposed to be before sunset, however with the rain we arrived way passed 8pm...


after a quick shower, we went downstairs to have dinner... and my hands were so tired that i couldn't hold chopsticks with my fingers and ended up using a fork to eat noodles!!! it was then, i realized that alot of my weight is on my wrist riding the VFR.


immediately after the ride, i was already looking for solutions to long rides. and the options are - to install helibars on VFR OR change to a more comfortable bike for Long Rides.

 sample of helibar on VFR800

Helibars - will raise the handlebar to a higher position where riding position will be a lot more comfortable. example will be like the VFRs used by our Police Bike force. it was a quick solution for my long rides but i dread the look of the VFR with the modification... its just not meant to be like that!!!

More comfortable bikes - options were filtered to a few bikes namely, Kawa GTR 1400, BMW R1200RT & BMW R1200GS. All of them priced at RM115k plus minus. 

Kawasaki GTR 1400

BMW R1200GS Adventure

Weighing all 3 options... after a visit to Sunvay Cycle & AB Bukit Bintang

1. Kawa - awesome power, good looks but somehow i couldn't get used to the riding position and cockpit. Rejected...

2. RT - handsome, comfort and shortlisted

3. GS - rugged, nice riding position and shortlisted too

Brand new BMWs were not available due to shortage of stocks. 2 options were presented to me by the SC in AB, a used RT for 98k and a used GS for the same price of 98k. both are less than 1 year old.

in my mind, i have decided on the GS and wanted an R1200 GS Adventure!! the SC then told me that for my size, the GSA will become a burden to me after a few hundred KMs due to its size and weight. i bought his explanation... hence started looking at the used GS.

it was blue in color, 525km on the trip, 11 months old... after a quick look at the bike at the owner's hse in saujana, i decided!!! a week later the bike was in my posession!!! :)

my VFR800...

she was borned in 2003, but i didn't have her till August 2007. i remembered her as love at 1st sight after i have decided to get back to biking in July '07. She was in Red and only had 9k clicks on her. Sat there most of the 4 years. her previous owner didn't have much time for her...

after getting her, i have placed a new number on her WQJ8711... since then, i have showered her with much love via "more then usual" servicing, best oils available, a set of Ohlins suspension, a set of Honda Original panniers, Laser Exhaust, Power Commander, Paintshield Protection, 3M Headlamp protection, Gear shift indicator, heavier bar-end weights etc...

now, she enjoys her life more as we regularly goes for holidays, both locally and overland... that went on for 2 years till i felt that she was getting abit too sporty for my riding style... hence i looked at other options, ie BMW R1200GS.

But that didn't stop me from giving her the love she deserved, gave her a new coat of paint to refresh her now aging paintwork... the white theme was selected to cover her fine body...

with the new BMW, she was not neglected either, Jeffrey occasionally takes her out for a spin or two... and we had since went on tour a couple of times too. the two bikes met and i would say... a bond is in the air. one sporty while the other enduro... no clash in interest, only split in time spent..

1st April 2011, Jeffrey told me that he'll be meeting the buyer of my VFR in AmBank, i thought he was pulling an April Fool's joke on me.. but NO!! he was serious and the buyer made full settlement for her and was to meet at 1600hrs for a handover of cash & bike!! i was speechless... i had been planning to take her for a ride before something like this would happen, but i guess i had missed my chance for a final fling with her around the curves of Titi-Kong...

Loads of fond memories remain in my mind for our relationship... a 3.5 years of good times... i wish the new owner will treat you much better than i ever did. 

take care and you will be dearly missed, my VFR800... xoxo

hobbies

my fav subject... hobbies!!

"you have tooo many hobbies!!" is often heard by me.
it's true, too many that i am a master of non... sadly. for the records, here's a list of my past and current hobbies...

• scuba diving
• mountain bike
• photography
• 4x4
• motocross
• superbiking
• jet-sking
• rallying
• gps
• ham-radio
• travelling

well... i guess its the interest that keeps me going and staying happy. will write more of the hobbies in time to come... stay tuned...

photography

I have always like to look at nice photographs... to the point where i buy Photography Magazines just to see the nice pictures in it. In the magazine, I never took the effort to find out about Aperture, Shutter Speed, 18-55mm, etc etc

Last Monday, my view on photography changed... I got myself a 2nd hand DSLR from a friend who's selling it on HIS birthday. Since then, I have got the Nikon D70, a Lowepro Slingbag, a SB800 flashlight and today... a Tamron 18-270mm lens (just arrived on our shores recently).

Till now, I have gone to take some picture during the recent Rally in Sepang last weekend. and sad to say "no hidden talent". And all i have to say about photography is.... IT'S EXPENSIVE!

bikes...

I had always loved motorcycles... been riding since when i was 15. The 1st bike tried was a Yamaha RXS. it came with a clutch and i accidently wheelied it the moment i let the clutch go (too..fast) :)

then there was a Suzuki cub, 80cc belonging to a my fellow librarian friend which i crashed into the mesh fencing and sprained my left wrist (not fully recovered till today). went for a joy ride and was too fast to negociate a turn, understeered and went for the fence.

other bike that I have tested at that time were RXZ, Honda Fame, Honda Raider, Yamaha Cubs and of course Dad's Kawasaki Honey, which i occasionally "borrowed" for joy rides around school compound.

immediately when i turned 16, i took 'L' license and subsequently the full B2 license. that allows me to ride anything below 250cc. then, i was ride legally on the road on my dad's & friend's bikes. Mom & Dad never really agreed to get me a bike for 2 reasons... financial & safety. it was only when Uncle Loh offered to sponsor me RM1500 to get a bike that my dream came alive.

Being in Penang, Honda is naturally the main choice. I have narrowed it to either a Raider or a Raider Super Sprint (if i remember correctly, RM3.3k vs RM3.8k) i had to dig into my savings plus a bit of sponsorship from Mom to finally own a Raider Super Sprint... PBH9098.. i think.

sunday!! yee harr.. says the lone rider..

or so i thought... I intentionally left home abit late.. to miss the pack of riders that i knew would meet @0900hrs in Mobil. as usual, i wanted to ride at my own pace and not being presured or to presure any others..

the day started with the sudden jolt springing up from the bed... thinking that i was late and the alarm clock has failed me. but no..i was up 10 mins earlier. so i started with a bike wash, then to wash up and gear up in my own sweet time. even managed to sip down a cup of nescafe before going out. left home @0900hrs. a quick stop at BHP to top-up my fuel tank and off i go heading for Ulu Yam via federal highway, mt kiara, jln kuching, batu cave, batu dam and ulu yam. saw 2 bikes in mobil and gave out a sigh of relief as i have missed the main group.

as i stopped at a traffic light after batu caves, the scenery of batu dam lake flashed thru my mind and a smile broke on my face, i was looking forward to ride today! as i was riding thru the traffic in the village area, a biker rode passed me (i looked over to "greet" but to my dismay... he buat tak-tau only...so snobbish), nvrm... then he turned into Petronas and there i saw a big group there... in my mind... "sigh... there goes my ride". to make things worst, as i turned into the ulu yam road, another group was waiting after the junction (this is the FAST group, V.Rossi), at this juncture, i said "deng... so much for lone rider..."

not that i am anti-social... just that i love to ride at my own pace, feeling the wind, the bike and myself in my rides. i feel that riding in a pack can at times, create some peer preasure and resulting in unwanted results.

i was overtaken by 6 or 7 fast riders in the 1st few turns, knee sliding as they passed me... gosh, they are daring and good! as i was taking the turns towards the breathtaking view that i mentioned earlier, i was flagged to slow down by a guy by the roadside... at the turn that reveals the sight, there were some filming underway... traffic is slow at this point.. after this, speed picks up to it's normal pace but i was troubled by the few things that didnt go my way and the few sad news in the past month kept haunting me. i remained very careful...

heading for awana after ulu yam was smooth until getting many flashes from oncoming cars... i wondered what could be wrong... police? jpj? tis was answered... by an lone biker by the road flagging me to slow while shouting "jatuh! jatuh!", turning the left bend reveals that a rider had crashed... had to stop 300m after the crash site. stopped, snap a pic, and saw some riders leaving, meaning no major injuries... i too, started and left.


from there... i went on to Gothong Jaya and without stopping to Bukit Tinggi where i stopped for a breather at the peak. Headed for office via Karak and Jalan Ampang. Spent abit of time at the car fair before heading to Puchong to meet Abdul and Ron via the new Putrajaya highway. Caught in a 1km rain... kept on riding.. till Puchong. Got home at 1500hrs.
So much.. for a lone ride... sigh....

old love... re-ignited?

a friend from Penang called me today... and told me that he's arriving Sunway Extreme Park in the next 30 mins.. @1045hrs

how it started... when i was back in Penang for my School's 20th Anniversay gathering, i brought back loads of Jetski magazines to Francis. since then, he has been calling me for advice on his JetSki 550... i told him not to waste so much time and money on the 550. he can have my 750 if he wants it. couple of days later, he called again for opinion. apparently, there's a near stock 750 for sale.. RM8k! i told him it will be a good buy if below 6k. that was it... till this morning.

I managed to get by the park at 1400hrs after work... parked Pajero next to his Brat and walked towards a very nicely built office made of wood and glass.. there he was with Ron discussing JetSki... there I saw HER! what a beauty! All tis time I have only read about her in magazines and had some glimpse of her in pics. this was for real... she was right in front of me, i was speechless and could almost feel the saliva running down the edge of my lips. she is the Kawasaki JetSki SXR 800.

The last time i rode on a jetski was about a year ago when Francis brought his 550 for me to do some setting and tuning. We met in Sg Buloh Esso before heading to Kundang lake.

Coming back to the beauty... in magazines, she's highly rated for her beauty, her moves, her handling, her power and the ability to do 60miles/hour (out of the box) without any modifications or add ons. she's priced at USD5,999 and was told by Ron that Kawasaki Sunrock is willing to import it in with a condition of a minimum order of 5 units. they have quoted the price of RM27k for her. She's also available in Thailand for RM32k.

If only... there's a place for me to store and play with her, i would have commited to her there and then! the memories i had riding 1 is still fresh in my mind, the time spent by the lake with buddies. riding, chatting, drinking etc is just too good to just remain as memory. I want to re-live that moment wit tis gal next to me.. hmm...