Its a glove-y day

Rode out early today to Kelana Jaya to visit the Eidaman shop, Kelana Jaya. I wanted to get a better pair of gloves, but at 10am, it wasn't open yet. On the way out of KJ, I saw an interesting motorcycle shop and bought a pair of ori Alpinestar S-MX Air Carbon gloves. En. Nizam, who rides naked Ducati was very friendly and explained that the new shop, called K&J Bikers Fashion, opened on 16th September. They are the sole distributor of iXS Motorcycle Fashion (from Switzerland).

Looks and feels nice, but almost 10 times the price of my fake Alpinestar gloves.

Its ALIVE!

Collected my bike today. Paid a sum of RM 2,200 to get it fixed, inclusive of:
- original FZ rims (RM5++)
- Duro tyres 90/80 front and 100/80 back (RM280)
- Racing Boy disc brake (RM200)
- ori Givi visor & bracket (RM185)
- small parts attached to the rims












Although all the parts are original (from Hong Leong), I can't help the feeling of being slaughtered with this kinda pricing.

*sigh*

The Recovery Period

Its been 1 week and 2 days since the accident at Midvalley. I've completed the antibiotics dose and the injuries are recovering well. The bleeding on my right hand has stopped a few days ago and the pain is going away. The hand is almost back to its full strength.




Went to check on my bike at the workshop. The damage in terms of RM is huge. Its gonna cost me almost 2k to get it back on the road. I highly suspect the PJ Wong Motor workshop is charging too high, but I don't have another workshop contact. This may be the last time I visit them.

I'm taking the opportunity to upgrade the front disc brakes, get wider Duro tyres and a Givi visor. I'm also gonna get myself another pair of gloves with more protection. Will also be shopping for a new MHR helmet clear visor, as the current one is scratched up already :(

The First Cut is the Deepest...

KL rush hour has been badly affected over the last week due to road closures at Merdeka Square. Last Monday (12 Sept), some colleagues were 2 hours late to office. Good thing I rode my bike to office the entire week...

Riding to work on the fateful Thursday (15 Sept) morning, miscalculated a bend at Midvalley and was brought down to the ground at around 70km/h. Bike swerved into the grass/gravel and I feel chest down, without my usual protective gear. Sliding a couple of meters, I thought to myself, "so, this is how a bike accident feels like".

It all happened very fast. I got up, tried to stop the bleeding from my right hand, but could get my jacket off. A good Samaritan, who I only know as Sakhti, came to my rescue. He took out my tie, bound my wrist and took off my jacket to wrap around my hand. Rode me to a clinic in Bangsar where I was cleaned and stitched up. This is after the stitches:










My wife picked me up from the clinic and brought me home.

That same Thursday night, Eddy and I went on a mission to retrieve the bike, which was left on the roadside. When we arrived, we found the gear lever was bent 180 degrees and there was no way to put it right. I locked the bike's disc brake and we retreated.




Nothing happened on Friday as it was a holiday (Malaysia Day). On Saturday afternoon, Eddy helped me again, this time, to replace the gear lever. However, upon reaching the crash site:




The mirrors, rims and tyres were stolen :(

Drove back to the workshop, to get a pick-up truck to tow the bike back. Thanks and much kudos to Eddy for his help this weekend. This is the damage to the helmet:






Thank God that:
- there were no other vehicles involved
- I didn't fall on the tar road, but on the grass
- the full face helmet took the worst beating
- my wife, family & friends for their support
- Sakhti turned back to help

Although this is one of the most painful experiences I've had, I'm also very thankful to God, my family, friends and even a random stranger who stopped by to help. I will do the same in return.

Spray Painting

Just came back from Go Karting at Sepang. Exhausted.

Sprayed the suspension covers and cowling red. Looks like this:





Before and After pic:



Next step, to spray the rear hugger / mud guard. A project for next weekend.

Combi Pic

Highlighting the small visor:

Bike Tyres

Unlike cars, bikes only have 2 tyres. If one goes, the bike will also go down.

When do we need to change the bike tyres? Some tips I've heard, which are quite obvious:

1. Check the tyre threads. The thread is used to channel water when riding in wet conditions, ie. good traction. Check the tyre indicators. There is a triangle (arrow) which indicates the "wear mark". Inside the thread, there is a wear mark. Once the surface of the tyre reaches the same surface as the wear mark, its time to change it.

2. Check for cracks on the surface of the tyre. The tyres are too dry and can explode if there is a severe impact (eg. potholes).

3. Cupping is uneven wear of the tyre on the same area, caused by insufficient inflation of tyres. Ensure the tyres are properly inflated!