Bye bye R1200GS

I received the news from the insurer today. The cost of repair for the R1200GS was economically unviable. And thus, the 1200GS was declared totalled – a complete write-off.

My red steed immediately after the accident.

It’s been 2 wonderful years together and we’ve travelled some 40,000km. But it’s time to bid farewell now…

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Shit… I Crashed!

It was the last day of the trip and I was almost home. In fact, a mere 300km from home. Southbound along the Malaysian North-South Highway, I just passed KL and was somewhere near Nilai, at about 10am in the morning, the GS went into a violent tankslapping mode. I fought it for a couple of seconds, but failed to regain control. I was eventually ejected from the seat of my GS – at highway speeds.

Did I high-side or or did I low-side? I honestly don’t know. I experienced retrograde amnesia. Till today, I have absolutely NO recollection of the accident as it happened nor the first 10-15mins after that – there’s a disturbing void in my memory.

Accident along NSHW, near Nilai.
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Why I Won’t Be Using Lithium Batteries In My Bikes

At (just) 2 years and 7 months, the battery on my R1200GS died. Yup, the dealer had warned me when I sent the bike in for valve clearance adjustments and general servicing last month that the battery wasn’t in good condition. It was tested to have only 174CCA when it should be around the 200CCA mark. In fact, the battery manufacturer claims to be able to output up to 290CCA on this model – so that’s some seriously deteriorated life.

Just 10.6V when the bike is powered up. Not a good sign.

While 2 years and 7 months may initially seem like a respectable age for a motorcycle battery to last, I was disappointed.

Why?

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Deepavali long weekend trip around Peninsular Malaysia

It was the long weekend and we took the opportunity to ride!

In prep of our big ride coming up next month end, we wanted to use this 3-day ride to test our bikes and our resilience to long saddle hours. And so we planned for a 3-day ride round Peninsular Malaysia!

Kelantan to Kelantan

The original plan was to ride from Kelantan Lane in Singapore to Kelantan in Malaysia. To make the ride a little bit more interesting, we’ve decided to take the East Coastal roads of Peninsular Malaysia.

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Pulled over by Traffic Police

First time being pulled over by the Traffic Police, and I kept thinking what I did wrong! Ended up with a nice little surprise from the friendly officer – received a little goodie bag from the handsome looking officer for gearing up in proper riding attire! 

Receiving the goodie bag from the friendly TP officer!

Edit: I’ve been receiving numerous requests from curious commenters on what’s inside the goodie bag. So I took a little peek inside, and here goes…

Contents of the goodie bag.

Goodie bag contains: a tankpad protector, a head buff, a pen, a post-it notepad, and a FlashPay cashcard! Thank you TP!

Gear up and Ride Safe everyone!

Failed Drive Shaft and Final Drive on my BMW R1200GS LC

My R1200GS left me stranded.

I was on my way to office on morning, merrily rolling along the usual morning traffic when I suddenly felt my rear wheel disengaged from the motor. Blipping the throttle only produced a cringe-worthy rattle with no power transfer to the wheel. And so I pulled to the side of the road and called BMW Assist.

I had to tow.

Grounded splines on the drive shaft mating surface.
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Sunday Morning Ride to Baryani Yong Peng

It’s Sunday Morning Ride again! This Sunday, we head to Yong Peng for some nasi briyani!

Nasi Briyani at Baryani Yong Peng.
Just arrived and parking our bikes.
Yup – we’ve got a p-plate CB190R with us! Cheryl just got her license and bike earlier this year.
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BMW R1200GS LC Clutch Switch Failure

At 67,000km, my BMW R1200GS clutch switch failed. Symptoms include 1) not being able to start the bike while in gear and 2) not being able to switch riding modes while the bike is in motion.

You see, for either of the above 2 to work, the ECU must know that the clutch lever is FULLY pulled in. The R1200GS that comes with cruise control and/or shift assist pro use a set of dual microswitch instead of the typical single microswitch. The first part of the switch senses that the clutch lever is being slightly pulled in, and the second part senses if the clutch lever is fully pulled in.

Using the GS-911 tool to diagnose the clutch switch fault.
Pulling in the clutch lever fully should actuate BOTH the clutch switch and the clutch switch 2.
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