20th March Ride

Pagi yang sejuk, berkabus, siap berembun lagi. Kalau lah hari lain, dah lama tarik selimut balik. tapi harini lain. Hari yang dinanti. Dah seminggu buat planning. 3 rider baru 'terjebak' sekali (caption in 3rd photo). Macam2 la usaha pujuk memujuk termasuklah sessi kafeteria yang membakar.

Unfortunately, last minute, kaki bakar tarik diri, ceh! Yang satu lagi terpaksa berbakti pada keluarga. Tapi tak pa, atas semangat kesukanan, kita telah let them off dengan written excuse masing2.

(Brader Hj: "setanak nasi, sekapur sirih saja jauhnya)

Yang ambik bahagian pagi ni sampailah 9 moto. Termasuklah Abg Haji yang menyembur semangat kelajuan kepada peserta baru dgn meniggalkan depa tanpa belas kasihan diawal 'pengembaraan' :-).




Walaupun baru, rasanya ketiga-tiga rider baru kita, tak asing lagi dengan speeding. Masing2 kaki rempit kereta. Masih boleh kejar dengan confidentnya atas straight hi-way. Tak lupa jugak brader Rudy kita yang tak berapa baru lagi, dengan kereta rempit yg diganti dengan CBR1000RR7. (Shahril-white, Aridee-green&pannier bag)

Bila masuk twisties, kawan2 kita masih lagi maintain laju. Wah, these fellas are new generation riders. Maybe Kawasaki 650cc engine makes everything easy. Bila selekoh masuk lebih tajam :-), baru depa tau!! Ada yang overshot masuk opposite side...dua kali plak tuuh! Next time maybe kena briefing dulu skit.

(Zahir-steady Eddie on his Versys, steady enuff to rob a bank today)

Anyway..bottomline takda major incident, takde yang tersungkur. Paling paling pun, pannier case hampir 'tercecah' divider jalan dan tapak kasut dah jadi mulut buaya.

Plan nak ke Banding terpaksa cancel dik JPJ roadblock. Ada rider baru kita yang lesen L pun belum ada...dlm bag pun takada katanya :-).

(Rudy - Kerja dia lap, sampai mentor pun kena lap..)

(Baik punya post - bakal bini sure kata abang I macho pakai moto besag, dia pun nampak besag ataih moto nih)

(Khidmat nasihat percuma jugak disediakan setiap Ahad, layan chocolate banana shake saja)

Lain kali sure lagi ngam punya......

Pai Tio Krabi part 1

Pai Tio is Makan Angin in Thai.

Always short of time, short space to pack up but never short of road to ride with great friends. Its time for the annual trip again to Thailand which by the way, started in 2009 when 4 Maverick Busas made that trip to Phuket (photo). Originally, the sheer fun of travelling through a smorgasbord of good food, has prompted us this trip.

Maverick Busas in Phuket May 09.

Planning it out took heavy consideration wether not to bring my better half along for the sake of safety, lonely kids at home and the long journey comfort. Off course it includes buying saddlebags, riding attires, disclocks etc :-). Finally, we decided to go..together. In less than one day later I got all the wifey attires - Kushitani pants and Fieldsheer boots.

And off we go at 6.40am that Saturday morning 19th Feb. 3 bikes proceeded to our first checkpoint - the Sg Muda RnR where we were joint by another 10 other bikes mostly from KL.

At first checkpoint- Sg Muda RnR

It was then made up of 2 GTR's, 4 Busas, 2 ZX14's, 2 1000rr's, 1 R1, 1 FJR, 1 Monster600. Indeed they made loud rumble! The feeling at that time was, are we going to have a safe trip and would it be complicated to manage the convoy.

The ride was brisk but relaxing going up the PLUS highway. I could always see the lead guy a.k.a Abang Haji, Uncle Busa(common to the forumers) or the King as one put it :-). Our stoppovers were at Changlun (nasi jugung Changlun or breakfast, insurance and money changer), Wang Kelian Caltex (2nd last one) and Wang Kelian Immigration checkpoint.

Got time for a bike display too (Gurun RnR)

One very interesting part about getting to Wang Kelian border post is the 5km of snaking road leading to it. Not only, the corners are super sharp, they go up/down hill off camber with full 180 degrees u turns at times. Many downshifted to their 2nd gear for fear of stalling and killing the engine abruptly.

Mock up glamour shot while refuelling near the border

Alternate way to pose - and have no idea its going to end up in a blog (Kecik2 kaki naik basikal, sekolah menangah pantang nampak moto, bila dah berumur nak jadi budak2 balik, camni la posingnya)

Wang Kelian Border Post

Travelling in a group larger than 5 motorcycles requires more than expected refuelling schedules. Stoppages can be unpredictable. On top of that, other human needs -bio,smoking breaks and bike breakdowns amounts to considerable delays. Contingency time must be set aside which I normally include when guessing an ETA. This time my guess was right.It was not until 12:50pm that we started our trip back again in Thailand.

......................... to be continued..........(yawn)

Versys Day 6th March

I got a big break last Sunday. A friend asked me to "take care of his bike" over the weekend. Yes, it would be an honour...it would be a BLAST!

So, after asking the owner's permission, hero pun mulalah trip, dari Kulim ke Alor Star. Terasa mcm kembara merdeka pulok :-). Sepanjang jalan asyik memikirkan - fuel consumption, comfort level, handling, engine power etc etc.

To cut it short here's my take:

Powertrain

RPM 6-7k will take you between 130-155km/h which I think is on par with previous 600 I owned (ZX6R 96). Torque dia ni is sufficient, especially when you can out accelerate beberapa kali, BMW yg beraneka warna when front traffic clear up . Top speed (with pillion) yg dicuba secara tak sengaja was ~180+km/h, dengan senang lenang.

Handling

With Givi midheight windshield, 130-140km/h cruising is comfortable. Getting more aggressive beyond that till abt 175km/h. Slapping becomes noticable beyond 175km/h. Cuma kena tunduk siket, the problem will be much relieved. Trip time of 50mins from Kulim BKE toll to Langgar toll in A.Star is comfortable. Highway bumps (ie: elevated co-joining land bridges like near A.Star Selatan exit) can be absorbed without the need to reduce speed at all.

Note: Excessive slapping at abt 120+km/h if you get close behind trailers/bus.

City riding, like other dual purpose, has the tall sitting position advantage for vantage view and slim meneuvering. Occasional clutch slips are noticable and quickly remedied applying half clutch. Tranny slips below 50km/h in top gear. Engine heat can be felt from mid afternoon onwards - even on 130km/h hiway speed.

Curve boogy, should be fun when u are upright. Tried some fast sweepers and it has to be wrestled a bit to get the extra lean u want (note the pillion), otherwise 100-120km/h curves should be easy.

Ergo

Upright riding, motocross shoulder up position, will sure to make u look like a BMW or KTM 990 rider. Upright riding WILL MAKE U SLEEPY, this is something I never experienced in the squat positioned sports bike. Pillion is about 4-6 inches higher than the pilot. 170km/h is noticable but tolerable. A tip, when carrying pillion, wear round shaped helmet. This lessen the pillion helmet chin nocking.

Gas Consumption

1/2 tank (not sure whats the full tank volume) will take you within 130km at an average speed of 140km/h.

All in all, although down on power and sturdiness of a GTR/Concours, this bike holds better when changing directions. And of course, doing at 1/3rd of the GTR price tag is really something to talk about.

p.s: special thanks to my friend - Zahir. Lets join our rides next time. Versys makes an excellent addition.

Ride 5th March

Kali ni ride on a Saturday pulak, sebabnya...the next day ada ride lagi..yeah syioook oooo. Mana lagi kalau tak ke Grik di Perak Darul Banding :-). This ride is significant because boleh cuba try test, FI Tuner yang baru di pasang.....klu tak caya tgk last 2 post haaa....

Geng yang sanggup bangun pagi2 Sabtu

Jgn tak tahu, ni pengantin baru, baru nak keluar jalan2. Selama ni tak keluar rumah. Katanya pengantin pompuan ni sgt suka masuk kona. Dia yg lean abg dia biasa jek. Aku yg menyarung baju "Busa Nation" yg lawa pun tak dapat menyorok perut yg kian bermaharajalela...tau tak pa, kan!

Sembunyi perut belakang windshield sambil menahan nafas, lagi 10s, buleh biru mulut....

Silap!

Baru lepas connect USB to FI Tuner, tak sempat nak pasang balik tail plastics, terasalah sangat nak rasa camana throttle response...tak sabar2.


Bila dah best punya adjust mapping sana sini, terasa lambat dah dok tune sorang2.


Jadi hero pun, pasang la balik fairing belakang.... till the final push in of the seat cowling. Then...teringat, aku tak pasang lock cable balik, macamana nak buka klu nak pasang pillion seat !!!




Maka - usung la moto pi kedai Ah Long BM. Sifu yang baru pulang dari Bagan, terus turun tangan assist his young mechanic - photo sebelah :-P

Rongkah macam2, barulah mudguard panel belakang' berjaya' diturunkan. Dan aku pun tersenyum manja kepada Sifu yang dah berpeluh ketiak.


Waaallaaah! terbukak dah, lega....boleh sambung tuning FI module tuuuhh. Map mana satu nak pakai harini ya?

HealTech FI Tuner

Just got a Fuel Injection controller unit. Cost about RM700 and it is a BLAST!

Easy to install. Should take about 1 hr (read the manual at least 3x as I wrongly cut the TPS and RPM lines - run the procedure through your mind at least once). 20minutes to get to the point when u start to splice the connection. 20 minutes to get the connections fixed up and 20 minutes to route and tie up loose ends. The unit will sit on the standard ECM at 1/3rd the size of the PC5.

Improves overall acceleration especially at 4K-6K RPM. Eliminates lean mixture in this RPM range caused naturally by the aftermarket exhaust and air filter (R77 Yoshimura and DNA airfilter). Seat of the pants horsepower increase of at least 5-10hp along with a crisp throttle feeling.

It makes overtaking feels twice quicker and you tend to ride like a maniac on trunk roads. Strong pull even at 1 gear position higher than normal.

Minus point - higher fuel consumption at least 30% more. I found this out during the ride today. Thats why the next feature it offers is handy. 3 maps, selectable with full, half and no throttle twist in "ON" ignition pos'n. I chose the zero map and used less gas on the way home.

All this comes unoptimized. My next plan is to Dyno Tune it at Sunway Cycle.