Ramblings of a Singapore Biker Boy
Adventures and micro-adventures on a motorcycle
While my journey with the Honda CB400X was brief, it was fulfilling. This was the little machine that could. It had the power to munch miles, but yet frugal with fuel. It was light enough to take it through most terrains and could easily be serviced and repaired just about anywhere in this part of the world. Not that I needed it – the legendary Honda reliability lived up to it’s reputation. And in my 5 months of ownership, I’ve clocked close to 10,000km on this workhorse.
Safety has no compromise. In my recent 2,000km tour to Thailand, I experienced one of the heaviest downpours when traveling along the Malaysian North-South Highway (NSHW). Visibility was so bad that many vehicles had their hazard lights blinking as the crept along. I had a riding buddy close behind me, and over the Sena Bluetooth comms, I queried…
“Hey JC, I’m gonna lightly hit my brakes. With my tail lights turned on, can you help me take a look to see if the OEM Honda CB400X brake lights are obvious enough, or do you think I should add an auxiliary brake light?”
I tapped on the brakes lightly and intermittently.
“You should add an additional brake light.”
I’ve been holding out my purchase for a larger bike since I’ve gotten my Class 2A (201cc to 400cc) license in January this year. Well, the initial plan was to wait it out for my Class 2 (>400cc) license before I made the jump up.
However, an impending trip to Thailand with a group of riding friends reignited my itch for a larger capacity touring motorcycle. While I’m pretty happy with the Pulsar, it sometimes just struggles to keep up on the excellent Malaysian North-South highway (NSHW) for longer journeys. So that led me to scouting the local online ads for something larger.
