Funny how we learn lessons...

I never really thought of how much junk I fill up my boot with all these years. I can remember the very first car (an old Suzuki 800) that I drove and how that tiny little space that is the boot could hold so many things that I'd often have stuff get lost. I've had several different cars over the years, and with them, I've had the experience of boots of different shapes and sizes. Some are bigger, some are wider, others are deeper or narrower. Each one providing unselfish service to my need for storage.


Now I have recently got myself a motorcycle. Its a nice and simple Yamaha TW200. Here's how a new one from the dealer would look like. Of course, it differs quite a lot from a car. Hahaha! There are only two wheels and you steer with a handlebar instead of a steering wheel. There is also no windscreen, doors, bucket seats, seat belts and all the usual trappings of a car to speak of. And you would obviously notice by now that it also lacks something that we drivers take for granted...a boot. In fact, not only does it not have a boot, it doesn't even have a glove compartment...the Yamaha TW200 is so basic that it has ZERO storage space!


It wouldn't be a big problem if I only used the bike for short and fun rides. The lack of a boot doesn't really present a big problem. Furthermore, my riding jacket and pants have enough pocket space for parking coupons and other such items. However, it became crystal clear to me that my pockets wasn't going to hold that six-pack, the lunch box, nor the other simple things that I'd want to buy from the supermarket.


The solution...saddlebags! I chanced upon a set of saddlebags that might just work on my bike. Here's an example of one.


These bags are designed to sit under the rear seat of the bike with one bag on each side of the bike. That piece of textile in the middle is what holds the bags up when loaded up. The entire setup is held in place by the seat of the bike. If installed properly, it should give some storage capacity for a bike. And they should be easy to install...or so I thought.

I got my tools and set to work. Getting the seat off is a no-brainer. Getting the bags on was relatively easy too. Unfortunately, trying to get the seat back on with the bags in place was a huge problem. You see, that piece of textile is now sitting directly on top of the mounting bracket for the seat. So some textile manipulation technique is required here. After much fiddling around (it took 30mins of creative cutting and folding) I managed to attach the seat and screw it in place. A simple test ride shows that everything looks good...or so I thought...deja vu!


Seems I've not slotted the seat back properly and now I have a huge gap between the front of the seat and my bike frame. So off comes the seat again, reposition, reslot...and now I can't get the screws to get back into the bracket. You know, it took me an hour of fiddling, plus really messing up my fingers...and getting my thumb scratched...to realize that I've inadvertantly left a piece of that textile (yes...that same one) between the bracket and the seat, causing the seat to be out of place by one millimeter! Geez! Sigh. What I initially thought would take all of 20 minutes ended up taking a good 90 minutes! All because little old me left out some simple loose ends.



I've heard (as I'm sure you have) many times the saying that patience is a virtue. That excellence is in the details...yadda yadda...but somehow my impatience likes to get in the way of things. Its funny how we learn lessons. In this case...it took all of that to learn (and re-learn) this simple lesson. I suppose I'll have many more opportunities to learn this again...then again...maybe the more important lesson here is to get a bike which comes with bags in the first place :-)

I got it! Finally got it!

Don't ask me what the deal is with man-made transportation machines...but they do fascinate me so! I remember countless hours in my youth dreaming about piloting an airplane, driving a fast car, going for a spin on a powerboat. I remember pestering everyone I knew with a car for a sneak drive. My parent's friendly office worker, my uncle...even my mom! Haha! I remember waiting agonizingly for my 18th birthday so I could register at a driving centre and get my drivers license. I remember my attempts to get hold of a car...ANY car...just so I could drive! Then its the boat. I remember taking up a power boating course. Turning up early for all the lessons. Enjoying every single minute on the practical lessons. And finally getting my own license! Strangely though, I never had a desire to ride a motorcycle...until now.

Call it a mid-life crisis (that would be my seventh one), call it boredom, call it a repressed childhood dream that never surfaced, call it anything you want. The fact is that I, very suddenly, wanted to ride...so I went for classes...and eventually got my license July 2009...at the tender age of 41. Sure...all my fellow students are in their teens or early twenties...and I looked a little out of place waiting for classes...but with age comes valuable road experience...tempered with patience and a relentless pursuit of smoothness rather than speed. This allowed me to move much quicker than my young peers...what fun!

What I want to tell you about though is really that I got myself a bike. I had my eyes set on this bike since the first week of June...paid a deposit on it but could not get it until I passed my test. Well...I got it now!!! And while my young peers mostly wanted to get nifty, manga-looking, ear-shattering and back-breaking sports bikes with teeny-weeny rear wheels (because the only sports bikes you can get with a class 2b license are things like NSR150SPs, KRR150s, TZMs etc), I opted for a more versatile, trail-crunching, heart-stopping and easy-handling trail bike (kinda like a scrambler) with a rear wheel that looked like a fat donut, popularized by the Japanese drama "Beautiful Life". This is the bike that many people will customize...and boy...there are some wild customized ones out there for sure!

Before you go thinking that I am going nuts...let me tell you a little bit more about my bike. I decided to get a used one rather than a new one (saving S$5000+ with that decision) and spent A LOT of time viewing bikes. I've seen bikes that looked good but sounded horrible, sounded good but looked horrible, looked and sounded good but the engine dies mysteriously after a few minutes; bikes that had oil leaks, rusty exhaust pipes, broken speedometers, faulty electrics; bikes that haven't been washed since they were bought; bikes which took ages to start...you name it...i've seen it. Eventually, I came across this one that was clean, started immediately, un-modified, minimal wear and tear, sounded good, friendly and honest seller. To cut a long story short...I bought it...without a test ride!

But there is one problem to this bike...and that is that I cannot post pictures of it today...because the colour scheme is...well...let's just say its so bad it makes this look good...I'm only talking about colour here. So you'll just have to imagine it until I can bear to post some pictures of it here. To help you with your imaging, here's how I'd describe it. It has cream coloured headlight covers, cream coloured front fender, cream coloured petrol tank and cream coloured rear fender. It has bright yellow fork boots (those vacuum cleaner tube looking things that cover the shaft holding the front wheels in place). It has a light tan seat. A silver engine with a black engine cover on one side. Black exhaust and muffler. Silver swing arm (that piece that holds the rear wheel in place) AND a BLUE frame - those pieces of solid steel bars that form the basic chassis for the bike. So there you have it...my bike...and now you know why I cannot post pictures...yet!

All is not lost though. Cos it is a lot cheaper and less nerve racking to repaint a bike than it is to repair a bike...or so everyone seem to tell me. So one day, my bike can look as cool as this one!

But until then I'll simply enjoy the riding and revel in the fact that I finally got my bike...and just forget about trying to look cool.

Safety first...hmmm...

There was a time not too long ago where excitement and fun was more important than anything else in the world. Every activity was pursued with passion and enthusiasm with little care for safety. In my early thirties, I started scubadiving. It was FUN! Super fun! But I found myself also concerned with safety. I paid extra attention to all the gear and procedures. I was very attentive when on the boat, not just to my own stuff but also to the others around. During dives, I was particularly concerned that everyone stayed as a group. I was, very often (especially when someone else was leading), at the back of the group ensuring that nobody was left wandering around. I took up a rescue course which included first aid and oxygen administration. Well, I went beyond what most leisure divers would go.

I must be getting old then because now in my early forties I am starting to get concerned with safety on the roads! Maybe it has something to do with me taking up motorcycle lessons. But I suspect age has a lot to do with it as well. I am starting to notice how people are driving. Most with very little regard to the safety of other road users...and many with no regard to their own! Changing lanes abruptly in a car presents an opportunity for accidents to happen. Changing lanes abruptly in a motorcycle is just plain dumb. Still so many do it that I am beginning to wonder if these people think their skin is tougher than metal! And on that bombshell (I just love the way Jeremy Clarkson says this), I decided that I will ride ATTGAT (All The Gear All The Time), adopting the attitude of gearing up for the fall rather than the ride.

So I did a mountain of research and found so many options it was mind-boggling! There were so many things to consider: material options, impact protection options, stitching methods, rain options, wind options, temperature options, suits, two piece, waist cut, full 3/4 length, colour options and style options. The possibilities were endless!

Leather is considered by many as the best material for abrasion protection and it is used by many racers. However, the weather in Singapore renders leather impractical as I will probably end up dying from dehydration and heat exhaustion!

Nylon was the best alternative and many manufacturers offered a "mesh" material allowing lots of ventilation to keep the rider cool. Unfortunately, many use a nylon weave that is too thin (500+ denier) which tears too easily when rubbed on the roads. Furthermore, almost all manufacturers coat their stuff with PolyUrethane on the inside and this coating will melt in a slide due to the high temperatures and will stick to the skin...road rash and all.

Then there was the problem with fit. Most jackets were either too tight or the sleeves were too long. And pants had similar fit issues. The armour is either in the wrong place or were swimming around inside which rendered them useless. I tried some jackets with innovative air bags but they were too heavy (and i had a lot of reservations about the distributor in question too). Either the manufacturers are using people with strange body proportions or I have a fat tummy with short hands and legs. Whichever the case, the only real option would be a tailor-fit suit/pants combo.

I was beginning to think that my quest to ride ATTGATT was going to go up in smoke. And since I wasn't prepared to compromise safety (yeah, it must be an age thing), my motorcycle riding ambitions was almost doomed until I found a rather obscure little company from California called Motoport. They made products from a material that is stronger than leather AND provided better ventilation than jeans! To top it off, this material is uncoated AND is approved for racing. And the other thing is...they tailor-fit it to your size!! The only problems were that they did not have a presence in Asia and their products cost is rather high. I read many testimonials from customers who survived some terrible crashes though, and eventually, I decided that spending money on gear is better than spending money (and time) in a hospital!
So am I getting old? You decide. The most interesting factor towards your answer might be this: I spent more on protection gear than on the motorcycle. Hahahaha!