I'm all Italian now...

Its real, its legal
And its sooooo sweeeeet!!!....

Can't afford Arrows?
Mr. Giannelli to the rescue..



They're from the same manufacturer as Arrow (Arrow Special Parts S.P.A.).
I got them off a special clearance sale from the local dealer. Aluminium ones.
Not exactly the carbon fibre of my dreams, but hey, beggars can't be choosers and these cans will do the job as well.

Installing them is an act I can never want to re-enact.
If it weren't for my brother-in-law on a Sunday afternoon, I would have never gotten it done alone. Even if I did, it'll probably take me 6 hours. As such, we took 3 hours. All greased up, sweaty with bloddy hands from cuts.
Damn.

GSR600 a cheap bike? Fazer the king? 08 Hornet will reign? I don't think so...

Finally, PB mag (God forgive me for not reading them anymore since the late Ronnie Smith was no longer amongst the living) did a shootout that did a 'in-your-face' factual analysis on the budget bikes.
The Yamaha Fazer6 S2 vs the new 08 Hornet CB600F against the Triumph Street Triple 675 taking on the Suzuki GSR600.

The result is surprising to many but not for this avid rider.

Budget bike shootout (right-click to save)

C'mon, everyone. Suzuki did put some thought in this bike. Looks isn't EVERYTHING. Just because the Fazer S2 looks more aggressive, in reality its just a sheep in wolf's clothing. Its origin is as a tourer, for God's sake.
I'd give more credit to the Hornet for its all-out performance and intent.
But a much-heckled GSR takes the fight to the Street Triple closer than anyone expected.

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.

My heir has arrived...

Just a side note.

I'M GOING TO BE A FATHER!
WOOHOO!!!

Stay tuned for more news... :)

My achy-breaky handlebar....

Finally had the budget for a mid-end scram handlebar.
Found a good-looking one at a local shop here in Bukit Merah which I will not name and I swore I will never visit again.

I snagged a nice-looking GPR (not the Italian brand, mind you) handlebar which had a nice, low streetfighter profile.
$60 with installation.
The shop didn't mention it includes a disaster.

They tried installing it but couldn't get the tricky clutch lever bracket in. The mech kept trying to force it in with no succes (with me standing right in front of him). So I showed them a simple (and safe method in the right hands) to insert it in:
Use a screwdirver to wedge the gap opening a bit wider and slide it in.
Great, it works without much manhandling and forcing. But the mech slid it in too far into the handlebar's bend.
So with much gusto, he grabbed the bracket and tried to pull it back into position. With his bare hands. And no tools to assist.
SNAP!
There goes my bracket. Snapped into two.
The supervisor came over while we were fussing over it (and I haven't lost my cool yet), looked over the items and said, with his most confident voice, "Oh, the handlebar you purchased is slightly thicker than norm."

WTF? Thicker than norm? So these are guys are telling me they sell there's a new standard handlebar size outside the 7/8" thickness?
Or are they selling items with poor QC?

And here's the best part: they tried to sucker me into buying a replacement clutch lever bracket from them.

"Ok", I said. "I'll settle it with the boss."
Chaos reigns. Immediately everyone there said, never mind. We'll get you a new replacement.
2 hours later, I get a brand new one, courtesy of the mech who snapped it.

I swear to God, I'm not going back there, even for cheaper tyres.
In case, you wondering, they're the biggest and most prominent bike shop / service workshop in Bukit Merah.
You can figure out the rest....

Phew! Mr Morgan to the rescue...

Saved by the tool.
CarbTune Pro, that is.
This morning, I raised an SOS call-to-arms in the forum.
Luckily, an old touring friend responded and off I was in the early evening to his place.

He had bought a Morgan CarbTune Pro tool some time back and it was a lifesaver.
Since its a mechanical and uses stainless steel rods to indicate vacuum, no way in hell its gonna fail on me this time.

So now, its all up and tuned. The Ghost is running super-smooth with no bumpiness in the acceleration.
But I'm like dumping a ton of carbon & black smoke from the exhaust due to the earlier disaster.
So, I'm planning a high-speed "shakedown" run to my regular stretch to clear it out.
Plus, I just remembered I had some FP-60 fuel cleaner left in my storage closet. Well, time to finish it...

Argh!! Disaster! Get the doctor, quick!

What a day.
Ok, after getting all my items yesterday, leaving them in my bag overnight and getting all pumped-up and psyched this morning, I decided to install them.
As always, with proper tools and some help from the tech manual, all went well.
Spark plugs in, filter replaced, airbox cleaned out from the excess oil off the crankcase breather and inner chassis wiped clean.
So, I was staring at the four throttle body barrels and here I thought, "Hey, since I got them open, why not do that balancing thingy?".
For the uninitiated, what I was thinking of doing is termed "throttle valve synchronization". For non-EFI bikes, its often called carb-balancing. They have carbs, I have throttle bodies. Different parts, same concept. Essentially I'm trying to balance the air intake for all 4 TBs so the combustion across all 4 TBs will be equal. This will improve acceleration & keep it smooth. That's the theory anyway.
So I called up an friend who showed up with an electronic 4-port vacuum gauge. Instead of mercury like CarbTune or ball-bearings like the original Suzuki vacuum gauge tool, this one displays in a LCD.
So I was doing the thing, attaching the gauge, testing the tool and just spun a few rounds off 2 of the screws when the thing died.
Crap! The tool went deep-six on me.
All attempts to revive it failed. And here I was with the Ghost, coughing like an old man suffering from advanced stages of asthma and its ECG tool just died on me.
Sigh. Some wild guess on the balancing made it even worse.
So I'm now stuck with a bike that's running so damn rich, running it slowly on the road actually cools the bike to 80 degC, something unheard of.
Crap...

Time for some tune-up...

Pay's in.
So today, I decided to do some basic stuffs up for the Ghost.
Tyres were wearing out badly. Turns out I got the wrong replacements for the BT014.
I was reading about the Continental tyres and saw very positive reviews, especially for its durability and grip while maintaining a very reasonable price.
So I got them Conti SportAttacks Feb this year.
Less than 7 months later, I'm seeing the steel belt on the centre of my rear tyres.
What the hell?
Turns out, I got the wrong model. I should have gotten RoadAttacks, which comes in a dual-compound mode. Damnz. Wasted $300.
So, with the festive season (Ramadhan) around the corner, I decided to go tight a bit and get a lightly-used set of tyres any of the forumers are selling.
Enter the Michelin 2CT.
A kind soul was willing to part with his <2000km used 2CTs for $100. He uses the bike strictly for track and had only put on the 2CTs. But now he wants to try out the Power Race.
Checked out the tyres and found them in very good condition.
Done deal.
I also went shopping for spark plugs. NGK Platinum G-Power, recommended by some of my GSR buddies. They're only $1 more than the stock CR9E. Ok, done deal.
Stock Suzuki air filter. Damn these GST increase. I got them previously for $35. Now its $39. Oh well, I still can't afford a BMC yet. Maybe 2 months time.

Let's see how the installation goes tomorrow...

The press! They're after us!

Tonight's gonna be interesting.
About 2 weekends ago, a local mag approached us to do some photoshoot and maybe a piece about the GSR and the current active group. Some interesting events happened on the that day. But that's another story for another day.

Moving forward, about 28 GSRs managed to gather that day for the shoot. Someone came out with the ingenious idea to arrange our bikes in what I nicked as the "Triangle of Terror". Here it is for your enjoyment:

So, tonight, MCA wants to have a chat with us as content for the article.
Glad to see the bike is getting some exposure. A lot of riders see it on the ride but know nuts about, a year on.

The article's coming out in October. Maybe, maybe, I can ask permission from MCA to post a scanned copy of only the article, from a copy I paid for, of course.
No guarantees, though....

(More) Power to the people!!!

Darth Maul had a nice quote (probably his only quote in that whole movie):

At last, we reveal ourselves to the Jedi.
At last, we will have our revenge....

So, I decided on an one-upmanship:

At last, we have received our Power Commander-IIIusb for GSXR 600 K3-K4.
At last, we will have our ponies....



Now was that a mouthful or what?

The Ghost will have to spend a day at the treadmill....

Brake that Braking pads...

Brakes became a major agenda for this bike late last year.
Already nearly 6 months in the local market, close to a year on the European markets, more than 4 aftermarket manufacturers already producing it & no one thought of bringing aftermarket rear brakepads except those stock ones from Suzuki.

Let me explain:
The rear brake system for the Ghost is exactly the same of the newer GXSR 600/750 K7. Meaning its a whole new design and a whole new brake pad model.
Now, oddly enough, the rear brake pads seem to have diminished itself much, much faster than the front. It was like eaten eaten 2/3 of the material while the front is barely 1-2mm worn. And all this while I tend to favor the front brakes.
Funny thing is, even a few GSXR K7 riders I spoke with had the same issue.

Well, imagine the rush to find suitable replacement pads. I was adamant in refusing to use Suzuki pads. At over $60, I'd be better off with a pair of EBC pads at a much lower price.
But, as fate would have it, none of the shops even thought of getting stocks ready.
Until we met Braking.
I was lurking around the local forum and came across an ad from an local agent for Braking parts. Braking, as you may know, does, well, braking parts from Italy. Their reputation puts them above EBC, to my understanding.
So I made a phonecall to them for our replacement pads. Lo & behold, they had stocks. Last 4 pairs, that is. $40 bucks. It turns out the guy had purchased 4 sets (front & rears) for the K7s. But no one wanted the rears.
Guess we helped him clean house.

So now, my rear brakes are officially supported by Braking.

Until the next change...

Wind, wind blow away...

One of the minor complaints about the Ghost (and I can assure you I have very little complaints about the Ghost) is of its rather... naked-ness when touring.
Simply said, high speed touring with it is a bit of challenge. A pain in the neck is a better analogy.
But I say again, the Ghost is not some tourer that's dressed up or touted to be a street racer. Its a streetfighter first, pure & born one. Yet it still can go on touring, though do not expect the same comfort you would on a big tourer like the STX, FJRs and the such.

So, in anticipation of more touring activities, some time last year I headed back to Motorworld and, in a moment of pure impulse, snagged a nice Ermax "double-bubble" windshield in a "light-smoked" tint. The price, I can assure you, is very reasonable compared to buying it from Ermax or authorized dealers in Europe and shipping it over.
Looks something like this one mounted on a showcase GSR600:

Well, I had a mixed reaction about it after some time to sober up.
On the optimistic end of the scale, it does look good. Comparable to the Puig ones (which didn't come out until much later), has the sporty double-bubble look & of course, Ermax screens are used by Rossi (though I must now categorically state I do no like Rossi).
On the other end of the pessimistic scale, it somewhat took away the raw, naked feel of the bike most GSR riders are familiar with.
In the middle, it works as it was intended to, though to certain extent.

Here it is in action on a road trip to Melaka:


Well, sadly, I sold it to GSR buddy as I need to finance another project and it just didn't sit with me well in local roads.

Now, as I write this, I'm considering of getting another one...

Oops! Time to catch up...

Wow!!!
It has been a year since I last posted.
Damnz! Where have I been all that while?

Well, for one, there was an upheaveal in my working life. 4 job changes in the last 5 months. Guess I've been trying to find something I can fit in. Looks like I have now.

My personal life aside, the Ghost is now 1. Yay! As of May 5th. Up to that point, I've added a lot things on her and removed quite a lot of her.

She looks very much different then when we first started out. So I guess these next few days are a good time to catch up.

Oh, and I got some positive feedback and encouragement from readers who actually took the time & effort to read through my ramblings. To them, I thank you with no reservations.

Its been a while....

Wow!
Can't believe its been nearly 3 weeks since my last posting.
To regular readers, my sincere apologies as there was a major incident at my workplace involving a crashed server, precious data in the database within it & a stupid DBA involved.
Anywayz, enough of that.
Got some pics of the crossbar that solved my handlebar dilemma:



Also, my cable-tie brakehose mod has been done. A painful 3-hour work it was. But the difference is really there. No more sponginess in the braking. However, its the pads now really letting me down. Suzuki stock pads has been a downer and will always be. Well, its gonna be either Ferrodo or SBS after this.

Handlebar solved!

I went downtown to a few accessory shops over the weekend to survey prices for my mods list.
One of them being handlebars. I was eyeing those MX ones or streetfighter ones. But the criteria being they must have the crossbar.
So I went to a few scram shops and found the prices for aftermarket handlebars a bit tad surprising. Or rather out of my projected budget.
So I rode down to Motorworld, one of those shops with every accessory under the sun. Went into the basement section and saw a few nice streetfighter bars on sale. There, the next inspiration came to me.
The sales guy, an avid fan of the GSR bike himself, mentioned that crossbars are sold seperately. He showed me a few JDM cross bars. The whole set costs around SGDD$75, a very cheap alternative. Its simply coz the stock handlebars are pretty good themselves.
So, I decided to head down to good ol' Ah Boy, that man in bike parts and accessories. What you can't get, he can find. And at cutthroat prices.
I asked around and got a simple crossbar. It was black and fits 7/8" bars perfectly. SGD$8. Damnz. I paid on the spot.
Now to fix it on....

SS-hoses? I've got da answer....

Ever since its introduction, stainless steel-braided hoses are one of the hottest "to-do" mods I've heard.
Although its actually targetted for track-oriented riders who wants to have a fast day at the track but needs a fast way to stop without bursting their hoses, many street-riders here swear by them even for normal commuting. Considering the general car-owner's attitude towards bikers, I would agree with them.

Getting a SS-hose setup is beneficial aesthetically. The main downer, however, is cost. An average, reasonable quality one can cost between SGD$170-200 for a 2-line setup.
Considering I'm still saving and allocating my financial resources, a setup is out of question.

Not until I found this alternative, snipped from a local Toyota RAV4 forum (Lexus RX300 to you continental owners):
http://rav4expedition.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=93

Essentially, using cable ties to secure the rubber hoseline. The cable-ties (lots of them) will act as the steel-braid, preventing the rubber hose from "ballooning" and thus less hydraulic pressure loss during braking. I know of some very good industrial strength cable ties that can be had for cheap.
Of course, this mod alone will score an absolute zero in the aesthetics department. Imagine a brake hoseline with close to a hundred cable ties on it. *shivers*
Something's needed to cover it.
That's where Lizard Skins come in.


A little mod and it can be used as a hose / cable cover for the Ghost:


Time to hunt for cable ties tonight....

Weekend's coming...

Ahh....
I can smell the weekend already.
The missus will be working the whole day on Saturday. Half day at her regular job and the other half at Pizza Hut.
So, perfect day for me & the Ghost to hang out and recce the mod list.
Current mod list to date:
1. Dual-Star mirrors
2. Handlebar (Pro-Taper recommended to me)
3. Gauges
4. Helmet skinz for my MX helmet donated to me (all thanks to Boy Naz)

On the side note, I realized I need goggles for my MX helmet. Saw the Oakley Crowbar at Marina and I LOVED IT. Unfortunately, I hated the selling price (SGD$80+).
So sourcing for alternatives.

Someone I know in China is doing a group buy for the new Oakley/Fox goggles:

for.... SGD$49. And these are aithentic stuffs.

A cheaper alternative would be something I just discovered. Paulson's Bubble Goggles:


They're pretty popular with skydivers and equestrian riders, it seems. They were used in Days of Thunder


My only issue with this particular goggle is the strap. Thin, it doesn't look like its meant to wrapped around the helmet, as most MX goggles are. Instead, its meant to be worn around the head itself.
But somehow, I love these bubble goggles. I'm not going off-road or MX. So they dun need high-impact resistance. Rather, just keep out the sand, tiny pebbles, dust and other minor inconveniences on the road.

Hmmmm....

Gauging the Ghost...

I love gauges.
And I mean those automotive gauges that local ricer-boys love to install on their dashboards. But to me, the guages installed has to be meaningful to the type of car, or motorbike for that matter.
I mean, a boost gauge on a normal sedan car without a supercharger installed will look out of place.

For the Ghost, I was thinking vacuum gauges. 4 of them.....


You must be thinking I'm mad, right?
But there is a use for it. You see, all the while on my TL1000R, 90% of the mods I do on it has to either help with the performance or help me monitor what's up with the bike. I rigged a Dealer Mode switch to the Suzuki EFI system to troubleshoot EFI code and had the switch permanently installed on the dashboard so I don't have to stop the bike and take off the rear seat (Gixxer & TL riders will know what I'm talking about). I learnt, by myself on the Internet, to solder and assemble small IC boards and LED setups so that I could install an LED warning system to my modified spark plug wiring.
So, its been my philosophy that mods should have at least 40% usefulness in addition to the aesthetic factor.

Back to the gauges. The Ghost works with 4 intake channels, as with most in-line fours. Whether is EFI or carb technology, the premise is always that the 4 intakes need to be balanced, or in sync. Imbalance intakes mean poor performance in terms of power, acceleration or even problems like funny or dying idling. Bike need constant balancing of the carbs, something I used to DIY with my own built oil manometer (another DIY success story).
To cut short, with 4 vacuum gauges installed and attached to the intakes, I'll be easier to monitor the Ghost's intake performance and will help out a lot when balancing needs to be done. On the aesthetic front, I just love the look of 4 gauges rising up and down everytime you accelerate hard or clutch in. Gives it the tricked out performance look.

Yes, I will admit it. It does make me look like a sad poser. But a poser with a correct purpose... :)