Pulsar 200NS – Page 4 – Ramblings of a Singapore Biker Boy

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”

Why I use Motul 7100 instead of 300V

Time for an oil change. My previous Pulsar blood was a concoction of Respol fully synthetic 4T 20W50 (800ml) and Motul 300V 15W50 (400ml). The Repsol was what remained from the oil change when I was in Phnom Penh’s Bajaj dealership, and the 300V was what remained of the oil that I brought along for the long SE Asian tour.

To be honest, I did like the 300V. But my own research suggested that the 300V, while being an excellent oil, was really designed for “racing use” (only). At the recent Singapore Bike show, I had the opportunity to speak to the technical representative at the Motul booth. He confirmed my suspicion that the 300V was built for “racing use” and the 7100 4T was probably more suitable for my purpose – daily commute and touring.

Continue reading “Why I use Motul 7100 instead of 300V”

Sun Morning Ride to Kampong Lor Buangkok

Kampong Lorong Buangkok – probably the last surviving kampong in Singapore. Kampong (or ‘kampung’) literally translates to ‘village’ from the Malay language, and is typically used to describe a laid back, rural, Malay-style village where single-story buildings with zinc or attap-leaf roof dwellings reside. Roads in a kampong are typically minimally developed or undeveloped.

The dirt road leading into Kampong Lorong Buangkok.

Continue reading “Sun Morning Ride to Kampong Lor Buangkok”

I think it’s the IU that killed my battery

Arghh! I couldn’t start my motorcycle again this morning! The last time I fired up my Pulsar 200NS was Tuesday – that’s only 5 days ago. Granted, I haven’t been riding much. But still, it was ONLY FIVE DAYS!

Since the last battery death and replacement, I’ve double checked all my additional electrical components, and am ABSOLUTE CERTAIN that, apart from the IU, none of the other additional electrical circuits are powered up when the bike is turned off. I’ve even went so far to remove my remote controlled alarm – which I suspected could be the cause of the battery drain.

Continue reading “I think it’s the IU that killed my battery”

I think I killed my motorcycle battery

I had only replaced the battery on my Pulsar 200NS motorcycle 3 months ago – just before I took it on a 2-month tour around SE Asia. My previous battery was about 2 years old and I didn’t want to risk a bad battery on the trip.

But shortly after returning to Singapore, and while performing maintenance on the bike, I had absent-mindedly left the key in the ignition and in the ON position. That severely drained the battery and was left with less than 5V. After an eventful jumpstart, stalling the engine down the road, and a good samaritan assisting in “push starting” my bike using his own motorcycle and his leg, I managed to get to KL and back without incident.

After the incident, I was Continue reading “I think I killed my motorcycle battery”

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”

THANK YOU fellow biker FD8352!!

Oh silly me.

As I was preparing to leave home this morning, my bike refused to start. Turns out that I left my key in the ignition and inadvertently left it in the ON position. It didn’t occur to me that the bike was powered as I had the engine kill switch in the OFF position.
I whipped out my multimeter and measured the battery voltage – 4.67V??!? Wow! My 5V-USB-powered onboard bike cam must have zapped all its juice, and finally died when the battery went below 5V.

Oh great! 🙁 Just when I was about to start riding. I tried to connect my (old) spare motorcycle battery – which was reading 11.5V – parallel to it. Cranked… No joy.

Next, I pushed my bike to where my car was parked and connected a set of jumper cables (I always carry jumper cables in my car). Cranked… Still no joy.

Then, I tried a Continue reading “THANK YOU fellow biker FD8352!!”

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”

The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 20

10 July 2016, Sunday. I collected my repaired Pulsar 200NS yesterday, and I’m itching to go riding again. But since the engine was newly rebuilt, I had to run it in like how one would on a brand new engine – keeping RPM’s below 5,000 for the first 500km or so, and speeds below 80kmh.

sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip, Day 20. Chiang Mai to Chiang Khong.

The ride between Chiang Mai and Chiang Khong was one of contradiction. It was a dichotomy between the most agonising ride and the most pleasurable ride on my Bajaj Pulsar 200NS. The 300km ride was estimated to Continue reading “The sgBikerBoy 2016 Trip – Day 20”

Review of the Rebuilt Pulsar 200NS Engine

Singapore to Pai, Mae Hong Son, Thailand.

As some of you would have known by now, my Pulsar 200NS engine died on me after I’ve travelled some 4,000 odd kilometers from Singapore to Chiang Mai, Thailand and around the famous Mae Hong Son loop. The troubles started surfacing when I was doing the Mae Hong Son loop, when the engine started acting strange. There was a loss of low-end power and the idling was very rough. At first, I had thought that it was Continue reading “Review of the Rebuilt Pulsar 200NS Engine”