Review: Lupromax Engine Additive

I firmly believe in the theory: "The things you own, end up owning you". Too often we buy stuff based on the upfront costs without thinking of the additional costs. The costs may not be necessarily be monetary, but it could also be in the form of time and effort.

For example, if I were to buy a brand spanking new Yamaha R15 in Yamaha Racing Blue. I may end up spending every weekend washing and polishing my bike's exterior, lubing the chain and what not to make it look like it just rolled out of the showroom.
I may end up riding around to find an ideal parking spot or spending extra effort in covering the bike every time it is parked.
Worse still, having a constant fear that the pristine looking piece of machinery will be stolen.

So... the practical side of me ended up with a used Honda CBF150 which now looks like it has survived the Dakar Rally. Dust is a protective coating right? :)

Near miss at NUH!

Just 3 days after installing my DVR, I capture 2 near misses in one day.

At 0:40 a taxi signals left and makes a lane change, only to abruptly try and change back to his original lane, nearly banging into me. Best part is, he only changes his left signal to right signal after I horn him.

Then at 2:10, a car decides that he should drive out blind without checking if the road is clear. Good thing I noticed him behind the lorry.

Installed a motorcycle DVR

Finally installed my V-SYS 720p HD Motorcycle DVR. Got it from a mass order quite some time back for only $95.

Footage is pretty decent and you can make out the license plate numbers of the vehicles. Will probably have to shift the location of the front camera though. Can't use the footage for fancy videos with part of my fairing obscuring anything in the upper left corner.

Road trip: Singapore to HatYai on a 150cc motorcycle

On 1st September, I left Singapore with two other riders on a road trip towards Koh Samui.

Qing Feng and I went up on Honda CBF150 while Vanga rode on his BMW R1100 GS.

In the end, we decided not to head up to Koh Samui because of the long riding involved and the physical toll on our bodies  cruising at only 100km/h.

Our route ended up looking like this.

Day 1: Singapore to Ipoh

Day 2: Ipoh to HatYai

Day 3: R&R in HatYai

Day 4: HatYai to Ipoh
Day 5: Ipoh to Fraser Hill to Malacca

Day 6: Malacca to Singapore

1 more week to Koh Samui :)

In just a week's time, Vanga, Qing Feng and myself will be heading up to Koh Samui for the longest overland motorcycle journey any of us has ever been on.
Qing Feng and myself will be riding the reliable Honda CBF 150 which I'm sure many might consider under-powered motorcycles for this trip.

Feeling quite excited about this trip as we'll be riding through 3 countries. Can feel quite justified in calling myself a motorcycle tourer after coming back from this overland journey.

In the meantime though... I'm just watching the video from the Malacca trip that we did back in June.

Malacca15 from Kraviolle on Vimeo.

Honda: Live Unlike The Others

Last month, I discovered a series of videos by Honda. They talk about their history, the Dakar Rally and the new Africa Twin. My favourite is the second video in the series where they featured motorcycle tourers who are going or have gone on long journeys. It is basically a motivational video to inspire all those aspiring adventurers out there.

The first words you will hear when watching the video is "Always go". Its kind of like the famous quote that goes along the lines of "We only regret the chances we don't take". 

On a side note, only 2 more weeks till my next big adventure where I'll be riding to Koh Samui and back. 

Riding to Malacca on a whim

7 years ago I bought a road bicycle on a whim and cycled to Malacca and back over 4 days. That trip sparked off a love for being on 2 wheels and I finally made it up to Malacca again, albeit on a motorcycle this time.

Inspired by the sexiest chocolate man, Vanga, this group banded together and headed up on a trip that is hopefully just the beginning of a life of adventure. Or at the very least, the birth of weekend road warriors. By sheer coincidence, we were all on Honda motorcycles; two Super 4, two CBF150, a CB400X, a XR400 and a Phantom. We should have asked Boon Siew for some sponsorship! :p

Back on track

5 years ago I started out with a dream of riding to China and came up with a 10 step plan.
It took me 2 years to finally pass my Class 2B license as I was busy working part time to earn cash, but hey... I finally got it in 2012.

Though I have 2.5 years of riding experience, most of it was riding timidly exactly like how I was taught in school. No lanesplitting, no weaving around cars, never going above 60km/h on regular roads and 90km/h on expressways. And all that was done on my very uncle looking Honda CBF 150 motorcycle.

Definitely not a chick magnet.