Airtight lid (literally)...

Phew....
The Striker I got was really too tight for comfort.
Cheek-wise, it was ok. Snug, warm and comfortable.
But it was kinda tight on the crown. A hour or more and I was feeling the beginnings of a major migrane if I don't take it off.
That would not do on a long haul ride or touring.

So I sold it off to a nice gentleman and went back to the shop. This time, I really wanted a GP-1.
But, damn, it was EVEN tighter, even for a XL. The cheek pad was a hellraiser in trying to get past my crown (perhaps a statement of my well-endowed brain size....).
So I tried out the plain-vanilla matt-black Striker.
WTF? It was as light as the GP-1 and certainly lighter than the design Striker.
So I asked for the largest plain Striker they had. And it was a great fit.
No threat of a major migrane or anything. After 15 minutes of dicussions with the young chap whom I dealt with if the boss wasn't around, I managed to haggle it down to the same price I paid earlier.

And this time, I'm really happy.

The Striker in my office:



The Striker field-stripped:



Next toy, please....

A new lid for a new life....

Nothing much happening recently.
I joined up a new company and my supervisor (read: manager) happens to be an avid biker from SingaporeBikes Forum as well. Rather, he posted an ad for a vacancy for an IT Support guy in the company and I responded. One interview and I was in for the job.
Working hours are great, I get to do fun stuffs with spare PCs and servers we have in the office, my boss pretty much lets me do things my way lest I have an issue I need his help and the pay is pretty good, good enough to indulge in more addictive habits like more accessories and mods.
Like a new helmet.
I was looking for something to replace my faithful but crumbling Zeus flip-up which had been with me since 2003. I was in the market for a nice full-face that's nice on the wallet yet great to wear and offers reasonable protection (no more of those crap from China or Taiwan).
I had fancied an older OGK Aeroblade or even an FF3 if there's still to be had.
But a few friends were fashioning around Rjays GP-1 lids. They look cool, they were cheap and they seem sturdy enough with qualities to qualify for a middle-range lid.
So, with cash in my pocket and my wife tagging along, off I went to my favorite accessories store located in Kelantan. Nope, not the older brother. The younger one.
I came in and was ready to put cash down on the counter for a good GP-1 lid when he pulled me aside and said a new model of Rjays just shipped in. It packs more features, has better build quality and is both PSB-approved (like I care) and Snell-certified (this I care).
And he's gonna match the price of a GP-1 just for me.
Neat.
So I took a look. Damn, the thing's heavy. But its got anti-scratch visors, fully-removeable cheekpads and skull linings stitched with anti-bacterial linings and just looks plain cool.
What the heck, I'm all for it. I chose one and paid cash.
Here's the design I chose:



The Rjays Striker with the red skull design.
First helmet I bought with such a radical design. So much so, my wife was shocked and was like, "Are you sure?"

I was, for that moment....

I healed my speedo! Its a miracle!

People asked me, why on Earth would I spend close to $100 ($70 to be exact for a bargain-hunter like me) to get a device that would only calibrate my speedometer and not get a good "power plant" / "power stimulator" / 'electric-eel oil' device that allegedly 'maximizes' my bike's performance?

2 reasons:

1. I would rather save the $200+ these same guys spent for a real 'Power' device, like the Power Commander IIIUSB that will put a perpetual smile on my face everytime I ride the bike. Which I did back in August 2007.
Note : From what I heard, these same guys who got such a "power plant" device back then are now dumping it on the market faster than you can say 'Slick 50'.

2. I want a properly calibrated speedometer so that when I say my GSR redlines at 270km/h, it damn well is really topping out at 270km/h and not arguments from some schmuck claiming speedo error, SAE tolerance and all that crap.

Capiche?

That said, the Speedohealer is a pretty interesting device.
Installing it is a snap. Give or take, 20 minutes (most of it spent on opening up the tank).
But calibrating is a real bitch.
I need to benchmark it against something accurate.
Either I get a bike speedo (those Sigma BC computers that calculate speed based on revolutions of the front wheel and, by default, are damn accurate), log the time I need to travel at a displayed speed of 100 km/h for a distance of, say, 5 km, and do the math or get a GPS receiver and let the satellites do the work for me.
a: More money spent on a single-use device
b: I need to get a pillion and do the timing right
c: I just need a pillion with a GPS receiver

Being the cheap bastage that I am, I go for option C. A friend happened to made an investment for an Asus PDA with built-in GPS and Mapking pre-installed. Happened so he also invested in a SpeedoHealer.
So we simply spent an afternoon doing a few runs along a nearby expressway to get the speed done right.
So now, I can claim a true speed, or at least of a much better degree of accuracy than SAE's maximum tolerance of 10% error.