sgBikerBoy

Sunday Morning Off-Road ride to Pontian – Round #2

For this Sunday Morning Ride, we returned to Pontian and re-attempted the off-road section. This time, we came prepared. Siu Hon and I brought along our tire inflators, and we were prepared to let out some air in our tires before taking on the off-road section. I also wanted to get some (easy) off-road experience with my Pulsar and her newly overhauled engine. And for this time around, I wanted to try riding like a real off-roader – standing on the bike.

The Pulsar, the MaxSym 400, the 400x (with pillion), and the XJ6 Diversion attempting the off-road.

This off-road section is an approximately 2-3km stretch with a mix of (really loose) gravel, dirt, and grass – some really TALL grass. It’s not exactly technically challenging as it’s a straight and level stretch and we weren’t expected to hop over logs or cross any water body. And although Siu Hon and I attempted it last month, we turned around halfway as it was raining, the ground was wet, and let’s just say that one of our bikes had something more than just tires hitting the ground. =S Continue reading “Sunday Morning Off-Road ride to Pontian – Round #2”

Pulsar 200NS 2nd Engine Bearing Failure in less than 1 year

At 55,000km on the odometer, my 4-year old Pulsar was due for an oil change. So after returning from a short Sunday morning ride to JB, I went to LAB and got myself some Motul 7100 15W50. Changing engine oil is a relatively simple maintenance procedure, and I’ve almost always been doing it myself. But today’s oil change was anything but typical.

As I drained the used engine oil and removed the magnetic oil strainer, my heart skipped a beat when I witnessed this:

AGAIN??!?!

For those who have been following my blog, you’d probably know that I experienced an engine breakdown due to a catastrophic camshaft bearing failure less than 1 year ago. In fact, I was almost stranded in Chiang Mai, Thailand, some 2,500km away from home where there wasn’t any Bajaj dealership in the country at all. I had to FedEx the engine parts up from Singapore to get the bike fixed. Similarly back then, the magnetic oil strainer caught a massive amount of metal shavings from the grounded down camshaft bearing.

Continue reading “Pulsar 200NS 2nd Engine Bearing Failure in less than 1 year”

Sunday Morning Ride to Pekan Nanas

9 bikes – 2 Yamaha XJ6’s, 2 Honda 400X’s, a XVS950 cruiser, an NC750X, a MaxSym 400i, and 2 Pulsars. Finally, I wasn’t the only one in the group with a small displacement engine.

This Sunday, we headed to Jalan Sawah in Pekan Nanas – a nice stretch of back road that circles around Gunung Pulai.

Strangely, today’s traffic seem to be heavier than usual. The Causeway was rather busy even in the early morning, and some of us got caught in a slight jam. Even the smaller Malaysian roads were filled with slow moving trucks. Thankfully, the urban road didn’t last too long, and soon we found ourselves in the beautiful Malaysian back roads towards Pekan Nanas. Continue reading “Sunday Morning Ride to Pekan Nanas”

Sunday Morning Off-road Ride in Pontian

One Honda Super 4, a Yamaha 950XVS, a Triumph Daytona 675, a Yamaha XJ6 Diversion, and a Pulsar 200NS took a leisurely ride to Pontian on Sunday morning. None of us have been here before, but the plan for the day was to ride along a western coastal stretch which looked like it might be unpaved road on Google Maps. We thought that it’ll be fun to explore the western coast after exploring the eastern coast of Peninsular Malaysia last week.

That ~2km stretch of coastal road in Pontian.

Yup! You read it right! NONE of the bikes were built for off-road! In fact, Cheng Hui failed to inform Eddy about the off-road section and so Eddy brought along his Triump Daytona sport bike for this ride! Nope! Not a great vehicle choice for the terrain!

And so when we arrived at the mouth of the off-road stretch, Cheng Hui with his Super 4 stayed behind with Eddy and his Triumph Daytona. Siu Hon’s XJ6, Lawrence’s XVS950 and my Pulsar 200NS ventured ahead! The The Yamaha XVS950 Midnight Star – that’s a VERY gung-ho cruiser! Continue reading “Sunday Morning Off-road Ride in Pontian”

Labour Day Ride to Kg Panti, Kota Tinggi

It was a very last minute decision. Yup – it was on the morning itself that I decided to Join Sufi and Hafidz in their morning ride to Kota Tinggi and Kampung Panti – Hafidz’s hometown in Malaysia. The plan was to meet at B-Point at 0730h, and move off at 0800h.

I texted Sufi just before I left home at 0719h: “Wait for me. ETA 0800. No need breakfast. On the way.”

Yup! Told you that it was a LAST MINUTE decision. VERY last minute indeed!

Leaving B-Point and getting ready to move off towards Kota Tinggi.

It was a short and easy morning ride, and before long we reached Kota Tinggi waterfall resort. And since it was a public holiday, the place was filled with holiday-makers! As usual, we didn’t pay to get inside the waterfalls area.

The 3 bikes posing in front of the Kota Tinggi Waterfall Resort signage.

We hung around for a while before heading to Kota Tinggi town centre for some refreshing ice kachang. Continue reading “Labour Day Ride to Kg Panti, Kota Tinggi”

Sunday Morning Ride to Tanjung Sedili

What do 9 motorcycles – a Yamaha XJ6, a MaxSym 400i, a CB400 Super4, 3 CB400X, a BMW R1200RS, a NC750X and a Pulsar 200NS make? An AWESOME Sunday Morning Ride!

This week, we rode to Tg Sedili – the east coast of Kota Tinggi. Most of us have never been there before, and it looked like a great destination for a short Sunday Morning Ride.

We had a light breakfast at B-Point, got to know one another (many of us were meeting for the very first time), and started our ride at approximately 0750h.

Riding in the morning has its perks. The day has just Continue reading “Sunday Morning Ride to Tanjung Sedili”

Cracked radiator on the Pulsar 200NS

My Pulsar has just reached it’s 4-year mark, and it’s certainly showing signs of its age. I was just at Universal Motors yesterday for a gear lever replacement. And when I got home that evening, I noticed that the left side of my radiator assembly was shaking loose.

The 200NS radiator is held in place by four mounting points. And to damp it from the motorcycle’s vibrations, each of these four mounts are coupled with a rubber “silent block”. Turns out that TWO of the FOUR mounts were broken! One at the rubber damper, and the other was a metal fracture on the radiator itself! GASP!

The TOP-LEFT rubber damper was completely sheared.

The metal mount on the radiator fractured. As a temporary measured, I applied some epoxy putty to hold it in place while I made my way to UM for repairs. Even the rubber damper here is showing signs of age / heat deterioration and is cracking up.

Since the Pulsar was 4 years old, I already had intentions of Continue reading “Cracked radiator on the Pulsar 200NS”

Excessive gear lever play on the Pulsar 200NS

During my recent Sunday Morning Ride to Layang-layang, I experienced a gear shift issue on the Pulsar. Well, for some time now, I thought the gearshift on the 200NS felt strange. After the recent 2,000km run to Betong, Thailand and back, I thought that the gearshift felt kind of harsh. Initially, I attributed it to possibly spent oil. Although it was a mere 2,000km, I was running at high RPM’s for extended periods of time. And so when I returned to Singapore, I performed an engine oil change. Unfortunately, even the fresh oil – Motul’s fully synthetic 7100 – didn’t bring me the once-familiar super-smooth gear shift experience.

During the Layang-layang ride, it got worse.

Much worse.

At a juncture, I couldn’t downshift my bike! And I was forced to pull off from stationary on gear 2. Oh gosh! I hope it isn’t a gearbox issue. Now, THAT will be expensive repair.

So when I got back home, I visually inspected the gear shift area, and realised that Continue reading “Excessive gear lever play on the Pulsar 200NS”

Sunday morning ride to Layang-layang

I love Sundays! Especially Sunday mornings! Mostly because I get to ride! =) This Sunday, we headed to Layang-layang. This week, we have a larger group of riders – Roy, Huiqin, Naim and Muhd Rahim were on their CB400X, Zhengfang was on her MaxSYM 400, Siu Hon with his XJ6, and then me and my 200cc Pulsar. For several weeks now, I’ve been overwhelmed by larger displacement motorcycles several times my engine size. Com’on! I need some 2B riders joining me soon! =P

As usual, we met at B-Point for a light roti breakfast and spent some time getting to know one another. Some of us were meeting each other for the first time.

We took the route via Kota Tinggi to Layang-layang.

At 0800h, we started our journey a little later than usual. And by the time we got to the back roads, the Continue reading “Sunday morning ride to Layang-layang”

Pulsar 200NS Rear Monoshock Settings

The Pulsar 200NS comes with an adjustable nitrox-charged monoshock rear suspension. Although the damping is not adjustable, the spring preload is.

At my recent tour to Betong, and because I was riding with a group, I realised that when it came to corners, I seem to hesitate quite a bit more than the other bikes. It could be a case of chicken, or that my Pulsar was the most underpowered bike. But when I was discussing this issue with a fellow biker, he suggested that it could be due to the suspension setup of my motorcycle.

The Pulsar 200NS rear gas-charged mono suspension comes with NINE (9) levels of adjustment settings, with 1 being the softest and 9 being the hardest spring preload. The factory default setting is a very soft level 2. While this may be suitable for most “average sized” solo riders, heavier riders (like me) or riders with pillion and / or luggage should increase the preload for better damping.

Level 2 – the default rear shock preload setting on the Pulsar 200NS.

I tried borrowing various suspension wrenches from various people, but unfortunately Continue reading “Pulsar 200NS Rear Monoshock Settings”