5-6th Sept 09 KL Shopping Trip

The new triple clamp cover from the GEN 2 Hayabusa, tested proven to work with no issues after this trip. (Note also the wristband was still around when we reached our destination, see next picture)

It's been a long while since I've got the chance to take the bike out for a ride. In midst of the many rainy days this month, I've decide to just go for a trip up to Kuala Lumpur. And who would have expected that the 2 days over the weekend was totally dry.

The ride up the KL was excellent, with minimum vehicles on the NSHW, the bike was riding great and the weather was wonderful. There were long stretches of empty road where the bikes were given a chance to rip the highways but gone are the days where maxxing out the bike's power was like a walk in the park. At the back of the head, it's already screaming, " That's fast enough!" when the meter just barely crosses the 300kph mark.

Picture was taken the following day, notice the wristband on the brake fluid reservoir is missing (curse the bugger who stole it.)

Sticking to our pump and go strategy for such trips. Reaching our destination was much faster than expected. We had gone up along with Bugsy (who was driving) and he has kindly agreed to be our logistics support. So the ride up was light and fast, no panniers no bags, just a set of rain coat and that's it.

Probably because it's been quite a long while since we last went to KL, I managed to just get ourselves lost right in the middle of the city. So there we were circling around the city for about 30mins before finding our way to the hotel. But still we manage to reach the hotel lobby in under 2 and half hour.Finally found, the hotel where the bike was given a place to rest over the night.

Returning back to Singapore the ride was quite straightforward as well. Ride pump and go. But probably the main hiccup was when I decided to push for a further fuel stop for our first stop out of KL. I had originally wanted to pump at Seremban or Ayer Keroh but pushed for Pagoh instead. Managed to reach Pagoh with another 2liters or so of petrol left in the tank, but it was kind of nerve-wrecking as the needle was already buried in the red zone and the reserve light has come on about 30km away from Pagoh. Still we cruised at about 190-200kph to the petrol station. From there on, it was smooth sailing all the way back to Johor Bahru for a bike wash and back across the customs (where there was no jam at all).

The Corbin Beetle Bags for GEN2 Hayabusa -in development -

Here are some of the pictures taken from the corbin website detailing the development process.










It's gonna look real sleek when it hits the market.

19th - 21st March Hatyai Trip

Went on a short getaway to Hatyai, Thailand during the March holidays. Surprisingly able to catch a good ride up for most part of the journey. Nice and dry.

Below are some highlights of the pictures taken.

SW-Motec & H&B Side Panniers: Ride Review

Took the bike out for a ride last night, mainly to test the stability of the bike at speed. Had a smooth ride from home all the way to the 2nd link. Overall at legal speeds, the bike handles pretty much the same, predictable and flickable. Probably a bit soft on the back end as the additional weight does show a bit when powering out of the turn. (May need to tweak a bit of the preload for the additional weight).

Upon reaching the second link bridge, I gently rolled the throttle on till the bike was at about 200kph. Nothing to suddenly while paying close attention to the road as well as the side panniers. Nothing unusual there again. Everything was pretty much the same, bike was very stable and manageable probably with a slight hint of buzziness in the handles. Nothing unexpected.

Next, I proceeded to the Gelang Petah Esso station to top up fuel and just before that when leaving the toll booth, I tried rolling on the throttle hard and shift at around peak power. It was probably then I realised that the rear is squatting a bit more than I liked; making the front end feel light. (Mental note to self: re-adjust the preload when back.) Had a brief moment hitting third gear before braking hard to slow down and entering the R&R.


Re-fueling was a fast event, took less than 10min to pump and pay. Again I was heading off onto the highway. This time round again I tried rolling on the throttle hard in the first 3 gears, and it still presents the same lightness in the front. Once the front settled, I simply rolled the bike to around 240-250kph and cruised on. Surprisingly, the handling did not really suffer much with the installation of the panniers. Maybe it'll show at higher speeds, that another test for another time.

One thing I noticed, when taking a bend, and attempting to power on the bike, there's a mild hint of slight wobble at the rear, suggesting that the suspension settings are off. Then I headed off to the Pasir Gudang/ Johor Bahru exit, taking the bend at slight over 140kph, and gingerly holding the throttle so as not to unsettle the bike. The bike is able to hold the line quite neatly throughout the turn.

Once out of the turn, it's back to trying out the straight line stability. As again, predictably stable and manageable to 250kph. And the stretch ended off at the toll booth leading to Perling. And to add to the drama, there was a police road block right at the exit. There the thought went across my head: "damn, there goes the money again..." Funnily they simply waved me off, probably thinking how fast this bike could have been travelling carrying that 2 gigantic boxes. Ha ha! To think I accidentally blew the throttle at them just before leaving...

The last part was simply the test of the weavability of the boxes under slightly heavy traffic. I guess it's a matter of getting used to it. When drivers see such a massive object coming up their rear view mirrors, they seem to react quite promptly clearing a gap good enough to pass through.

Eventually I took the first link back at the Woodlands checkpoint. There was where my main complaint for the panniers. The gap for the road leading to the Biometric checkpoint was barely wide enough for the bike with the pannier, I was scrapping the panniers left and right as I passed through the narrow channel. Can't imagine if those panniers were a bit larger.

Stay tuned for the next ride where I'll try to see what the bike will do in top speed when lugging these 2 crates.

It's a bird! No, it's a plane!

No... It's a bird that's as wide a plane... Wonder how stable it is at high speed and how it will affect the handling. Soon all these questions will be answered.