sgBikerBoy reviews RainX Plastic Water Repellent

My past experience with RainX on my car windshield was somewhat good. The product delivered its promised – water bead and roll off the windshield even while traveling at speeds around 50kmh. Even without using the car wipers, visibility in rain was significantly improved. I eventually stopped using it as it caused my wiper to jitter and then I got lazy with the reapplication.

With its superb water beading efficiency, I’ve always wanted to apply it onto my motorcycle helmet visor. It would have been awesome if it worked as well on the helmet visor in the rain. However, I’ve always knew that the original RainX was not compatible with plastics. It even says so on the label. And so I gave up on that idea.

The bottle of Rain-X Plastic Water Repellent.

Until I came across the RainX Plastic Water Repellent! In fact, it says this Continue reading “sgBikerBoy reviews RainX Plastic Water Repellent”

Why do motorcycle front and rear tires have opposite tread patterns?

You will notice that many performance motorcycle tires not only are available in different sizes, but ALSO specifically for the front and the rear of the motorcycle. Sometimes, manufacturers may also have the exact same size of tires for the front and the rear of the motorcycle, leading some to ask – are they the same? If they are the exact same size, can I use a “rear” tire for the “front” or vice-versa?

Pirelli Angel CT tire size chart. Notice they have it in 80/90-17 for front and the exact same size for the rear too?

In short, the answer is Continue reading “Why do motorcycle front and rear tires have opposite tread patterns?”

My Early Christmas Present – Kabuto Ibuki Flip-up Helmet

The Kabuto Ibuki replaces my Lazer Corsica Z-Line! Early Christmas gift to self – I got me a modular flip-up helmet! I have previously ranted about my deteriorating Lazer Corsica Z-Line helmet, and would really have loved to stick to it, but I needed some parts replaced. I reached out to Lazer’s customer service more than a month ago and I must say that I have been rather disappointed with their responses so far – but I’ll save that rant for another post.

The Kabuto (formerly OGK) Ibuki Flip-up Helmet

Personally, my riding style is commuting / touring. Without going into the merits of open-faced vs full-faced helmets, my personal preference has always been with modular helmets as it seem to offer a little bit of the benefits of both worlds. Having come from Lazer’s convertible modular, I’ve been looking for a flip-up helmet for awhile now. Continue reading “My Early Christmas Present – Kabuto Ibuki Flip-up Helmet”

Lazer Corsica Z-Line Quality Issues

After some initial research, I purchased the Lazer Corsica Z-Line convertible helmet sometime earlier this year. I got it at a decently good deal from Regina Specialities. I think it was something like S$120 or so. Hey! And it’s PSB-approved too! That means it’s fully road legal in Singapore.

I liked it for it’s convertible feature – the removable chin bar converts the helmet from a full-face to an open-face quickly. Perfect for greater protection when required and functions as an open-face during those hot mid-day sunny weather.

The PSB-approved Lazer Corsica Z-Line convertible helmet with chin bar attached.
The PSB-approved Lazer Corsica Z-Line convertible helmet with chin bar attached.

Anyway, I took it Continue reading “Lazer Corsica Z-Line Quality Issues”

Resurgence Jeans – The most technologically advanced pair of riding jeans?

I’ve always believed in riding a motorcycle in proper protective gear. I’ve got a very decent modular helmet, a pair of good riding gloves, a great mesh riding jacket with armour, and a very nice pair of waterproof Goretex riding boots. But when it came to the bottoms, I had a somewhat okay pair of riding pants I bought online before my 2-month SE Asia motorcycle trip.

According to the Chinese website I purchased the riding pants from (does Alibaba sound familiar?), it was built with 600D polyester. And after using it on my tour, it held up pretty well despite the 2 falls I experienced in northern Laos. While there were some not-so-obvious scratches around the right kneecap area, the material held up and protected me from the rough skin-tearing Laotian asphalt. So then, why was I looking for a new pair of riding bottom? The armour on the made-in-China pants were horrible. Although it says “CE” on the what-appeared-to-be foam pads, I highly doubt they were really CE-certified. Moreover, the placement of the knee armour was Continue reading “Resurgence Jeans – The most technologically advanced pair of riding jeans?”

Review of the Motul 7100 on my Pulsar 200NS

Ok, I’ve travelled for quite a bit with this oil now, and feel sufficiently confident to offer an opinion.

It’s been some 300km’s or so since I fed the Pulsar 200NS with this cherry-coloured liquid from Motul. In the meantime, I’ve ridden it like a city commuter in Singapore’s traffic, travelled some really short distances daily for a week (~5min trips), got stuck in a jam somewhere along the Causeway, taken it onto the Malaysian North-South Highway (NSHW) and doing speeds, well, near the limits of this humble 200cc machine. So I’ve pretty much put it through various tests.

So, what do I think about the Motul 7100 15W50 ester-based fully synthetic 4T motorcycle oil in my Pulsar 200NS? Continue reading “Review of the Motul 7100 on my Pulsar 200NS”

Lithium-Ion batteries in Motorcycles?

After I killed my motorcycle battery with a deep discharge just barely 3-months after installing it, many have asked me if I considered replacing it with a technologically newer lithium-ion, or specifically lithium-iron-phosphate (LiFePO4) one. For awhile, I did explore to use the opportunity to “upgrade” to a lithium-based battery. But before that, let’s consider the merits and pitfalls of it… Continue reading “Lithium-Ion batteries in Motorcycles?”

Pirelli Angel CiTy tire review

My set of Michelin Pilot Streets have done some 17,000km’s, including the horrible roads during my SE Asia tour. The ultra uneven Asian road surfaces that I’ve travelled on has taken it’s toll on these excellent tires. In fact, when I was in Penang, a fellow biker pointed out to me the unusual wear on the rear wheel (I was in a Givi store then and showing him my Pulsar 200NS). While on the centre stand and as the rear wheel spins, the outer circumference of the tire actually “shimmies”. (I later learnt that it’s probably “scalloping” or “cupping” – perfectly normal tire wear pattern.)

My (ab)used Michelin Pilot Street tires that's taken me through the various roads of rural Asia.
My (ab)used Michelin Pilot Street tires that’s taken me through the various roads of rural Asia.

Anyway, it was time for  Continue reading “Pirelli Angel CiTy tire review”

sgBikerBoy 2016 SE Asia Tour post-trip maintenance

The last 11,000km brought me through various kinds of roads – good roads, bad roads, dirt roads, potholes, gravel, off road, bumpy roads, grass, and almost every other variety of bad Asian road. Also together with the fall in northern Laos, there are several stuff I had planned to replace when I’m back in Singapore.

Yesterday, being a national holiday, most shops weren’t opened. So I took the opportunity today to get some bike parts replaced: Continue reading “sgBikerBoy 2016 SE Asia Tour post-trip maintenance”

New rims – Autoglym Bumper and Trim gel

No Sunday ride today as I was feeling a little under the weather. Perhaps due to not sleeping well lately. So, I took the opportunity to do some bike maintenance instead.

After the usual washing and drying, I noticed some black parts of the bike were beginning to look faded. So I whipped out my bottle of Autoglym Bumper and Trim gel and started to apply it on the various matte black areas of the bike – especially the top box and panniers.

Autoglym Bumper and Trim gel. $17.55 from Autobacs on a sale.

Continue reading “New rims – Autoglym Bumper and Trim gel”