Ducati M600 (1996) @ RM26k vs Kawasaki ER6N (2009) @ RM29k

"salam bro.sy nak let go moto ducati kesayangan sy.jika sesiapa minat nak main corner mmg best pakai jentera ni.boleh bengkak lutot la bro.moto masih standard dan engine tip top.tayar 90% masih baru.serius sila call.terima kasih mudah."

"Spec Motor ni. (@ modification yang telah dibuat.)

- Custom Head Lamp(Design Rare). (RM600++)Original head lamp set masih ader + windshield GIVI (RM 300++)
- Radiator Cover (Kawasaki ER6-n RM150++)
- Rear Fender mudguard masih ader stok ori lagi
- Exhaust Slip On Yoshimura From USA Siap modified with O2 sensor... (RM2200++)Exhaust Ori Masih Ader...
- Sprocket dan Rantai Baru X-Ring (penggunaan Less then 2K...
-Tayar Depan PR2 and Blakang PR3 Baru (Penggunaan Less Than 2k)

Anda beli motor ni kira Cash & Carry. Rasanya tak payah lagi nak modified and beli barang2 lain.. Semua da lengkap, kalau anda pakai saya gerenti semua mata akan pandang. ;-)"

Seems to be a fair bit of Dear Andy type of e-mail these days, but here goes :


A reader, Syam sent in an e-mail for some advices on his impending bike purchase. He stays in Kajang and travels to KL daily for work. He laments that the traffic jam has been really trying and he is considering getting a touring bike to ride to work; which should shave at least one-third of his traveling time. And so began his daily checking on Mudah.


He came across this Kawasakier6 blog through recommendations from his friend from Ferno, a forum for ER6 owners. He likes the Kawasaki ER6 naked and has more or less narrowed down his search, but also found that the Ducati Monster prices have been decreasing a fair bit since when he was surveying these 2 years back.


His dilemma was, between the both examples that he shortlisted above, which would be a better pick.

Well, Syam, I would have to be truthful to you in that I am a great Italian lover. I love Italian products with all their passion and style in-built into the essense and soul of their products- and some of my previous marques were Alfa Romeo and Fiat, and I particularly remember my Fiat Coupe from the younger days, but I am digressing.


I can't speak for the Ducati; but when I was having the Fiat Coupe, I remember that the bella demanded a fair bit of TLC. Funnily as it sounds now (but less funny back then), was the fact that I used to say a prayer before I started her up so that it would be an uneventful start-up. But on the days that she was driven to her full potential, I always exit with a smile on my face and did a double-take while walking away from her. Thus was the love-hate relationship that I shared with the Fiat Coupe.

I switched on to other more reliable rides as I age, including Honda Civic, Toyota Camry and Toyota Harrier. And starting these Japanese rides were a simple affair of turning the igntion keys, minus the suspense as experienced with the Fiat Coupe.


In fact, when I sold off my Fiat Coupe, I informed potential buyers that they'd best be enthusiasts of such rides or they were going to regret the purchase. A young man told me that he was the one, and he bought my coupe. Oh, did I mention that he has rich parents to support his car hobby? I remember myself smiling when I heard that line.


A Ducati is a fine marque and the Monster is a beautiful ride. The machine above may be from the mid-nineties; but place it side-by-side to the newer ER6N and the Monster wouldn't looked like an ancient relic still. Ah, the Italians have a way with their designs, I dare say.


In fact, many of the naked bike designers must have looked, really hard, at the Ducati Monster while putting their thoughts to paper while designing their newer rides.


As you can see from my words thus far, I have a great love for the Ducati Monster.


But if I was to choose between both the rides above, I would fork out my cold, hard cash for the Kawasaki ER6N. Why so then?


- It's newer (2009 vs 1996).
- It has more advanced technology (fuel injection vs carburetor).
- It has been tastefully-modified (although taste is subjective, the ER6N looked like it was the love-child between the KTM Duke and Ducati Monster- and with both these machines as "parents", you know it ain't gonna be bad).

- Did I mention that it's newer (so you can concentrate on the riding and just the riding)?


I know for a fact that my Hondas and Toyotas always start beautifully when I turn on the ignition. Ditto my Kawasaki ER-6f when I press the push-start button.


Let's all ride safe!

Pre-Owned Kawasaki ER-6F (2010) @ RM30k

A reader gave me a link to the above advert and asked for my opinion if this was a good deal as he was in the market for a ER-6F 2G (2nd generation). The current 2012 model is known as 3G (3rd generation).

If we are to comment just based on the advert, there are a few pointers as per the following :

1) Mileage is very low at below 5,000 km- this essentially means that the bike is very new and nicely broken-in so that the new owner could just concentrate on the riding;

2) Bike looks stock;

3) Price of RM30k is very reasonable if the bike is CBU Japan (as these were selling at RM45k in 2010; meaning a steep 33% depreciation over just 2 years). But if it is a CKD model that was selling at RM36k in 2010, then it would seem somewhat reflective- the premium could be due to the low mileage. But then again, most of the CKD ER6 2010 seems to be hovering around RM28k at mileage of between 15,000 - 30,000 km, so if I was to choose between those and this low mileage example, I would still go for this one.

The most important matter is still for the reader to test the bike first before committing. Good luck there!

Pre-Owned Accessories : Akrapovic Exhaust (3-month old) @ RM550

A reader updated me that of late, there seems to be a no. of pre-owned after-market exhausts such as Akrapovic, Yoshimura, GPR and AHM for sale on online trading portals. The exhausts were said to be originals and most were less than a year old.

He queried, " What would be the likely reason that so many pre-owned after-market exhausts were on sale at relatively the same time?"

Some of the good deals that he had seen in the last month or so, included the following :

1) Akrapovic exhaust used for 3 months, listed at RM550, seller wants to sell fast (no doubt after I post this advert on this blog, it should be gone in a jiffy at that price - note that this is the newer hexagonal system instead of the more common pipe outlet model);

2) GPR exhaust used for a month (with receipt of purchase), listed at RM1,200, seller offered RM900 when negotiated over phone;


3) AHM exhaust (this is a local brand) used on previous bike, seller wants to sell at RM500;


4) Yoshimura exhaust used for more than a year, listed at RM1,300, seller offered RM800 when negotiated over phone.

Well, my thoughts are that it was actually good news to current owners of the 2009 - 2011 ER6 owners that there were relatively many pre-owned after-market exhausts going for a song these days. These could be due to owners upgrading to bigger rides such as the Ducati Monster 795 (CBU Thailand price is attractive, no doubt) and Kawasaki Versys 1000 that just entered the market.

Also, the new 2012 ER6 no longer uses slip-on exhausts similar to the 2009 - 2011 ER6; so you can see that even prices of new slip-on exhausts for the 2009 - 2011 ER6 has been decreasing steadily due to the shrinking market of ER6 with stock exhausts.

Further, with the current roadblocks, many owners are switching back to their stock exhausts to avoid any unnecessary hassle with the authorities. This may be a motivation towards the sales of their after-market exhausts too.

One chap told me that he was offered the Yoshimura CB slip-on, brand new, at just over RM1,500 under shop stock clearance. That is a pretty good price given that the same exhaust system was selling at RM2,300 back in 2009.

Well, ultimately, it is up to yourself if you would like to change to a thump-thump-thump exhaust system. The prices are getting lower by the day, but the roadblocks are also mushrooming everywhere.

Let's all ride safe!

Saturday is Bubble Bath Day!

Woke up early this morning and sneaked a peek at wife and kid. Both still sleeping soundly like babies, no pun intended. So I got myself ready and went down to the car park block.

First, went to get the Harrier aka Black Bison and have it parked nicely at the car wash area. Then, went to the Ninja 650R aka Green Hornet and have it parked next to the Black Bison.

It's a Saturday so there were lots of kids and their mummies at the outdoor playground near the car wash area, And guess which ride got the most hoo-haa from the kids?

Yup, it was when I rode the Green Hornet over! One little boy with big spirits told his mum that when he grew up, he wanted a bike just like mine! You can imagine the smile on my face, and the horror on her face.

It was a striking contrast having the 2 rides side-by-side. The Candy Lime Green couldn't be more different than the Muscular Black; and the touring bike couldn't be more different than the luxurious SUV. But both seemed to complement each other- as they were parked there gleaming in the sun after the wash and polish.

As my kid would say, "Nice!"

Motorbike Lane

It's a Friday, so naturally traffic after working hours was a tad packed with everyone scurrying for their night of fun in downtime KL. So that translated to jam, jam and more jam on the roads of KL.

So there I was, grinning from ear to ear as I enjoyed a relatively smooth ride on the bike lane/emergency lane. Further front, bikes thereabouts had their brake lights lit.

"Uh huh, another roadblock right smack in the peak hour?", I wondered.

Well, not really. There was this gleaming Beemer 1-series in a fabulous shade of silver colour no less, driving oh-so-slowly on the bike lane. Perhaps, it has malfunctioned and needed to park on the emergency lane?

Well, again, not really. There was this chap seated smugly (or so I imagined) in there, fiddling with perhaps his smartphone or radio or whatever, driving slowly on the bike lane as it wasn't congested. The car lanes were all very much blocked.

The other bikes try to overtake from the left side, into the car lane. With my pannier boxes, it would be harder for me to cut into the jammed car lane; so I gave him a courtesy "excuse me" horn.

The insulation in his Beemer must have been real good, as he didn't hear me. I horned again, louder this time. Nothing. And again, this time in all my BM horn's glory. The driver adjacent to me in the car lane looked quizically over, thinking that I have horned him for no apparent reasons. But our Beemer chap continued pottering along.

Then came 2 big bikes behind me, and one came to my left hand side and waved me to go behind their bikes. I quickly obliged.

They then came behind this Beemer, whom suddenly had newfound respect for bikers and their lanes; and quickly try to cut into the very jam car lane.

The 2 riders got down from their rides further front and beckoned the Beemer to park behind their bike.

Oh well, I hope the Beemer chap had a good chat with his biker friends.

Single-Seater!

Mohd Ali wrote in to say that he really wanted to get a Kawasaki ER-6f, but that he normally prefer race replica bikes- and in that, he specified that he meant single-seater bikes. Well, to each is his own; but I reckon that he's best be single or his spouse may just throw a rolling pin at him for obvious reasons!

Well, if you are willing to part with around RM500 onwards, you can get a fabricator to fabricate and graft a single-seater tail fairing on the ER-6f's rear; and voila, you would have a single-seater that looks like it has always been a part of your bike from the word, "Go!"

Or you could re-upholster your seat so that the rear bit looks like the body colour, and this should set you back a mere RM50 or so.

Now that you have explored the costs at both ends of the spectrum, let's examine a more common method that would costs around the region of RM200 - RM300. The answer is to install a single-seat cowl- it is a fast DIY and you can easily remove it if you have a pillion rider. There are many creative cowls in the market for the ER-6f and these can be painted to body colour for an additional RM30 normally.

Kawasaki ZX-770R Concept

If KTM could pull it off with the X-BOW, then why couldn't any other motorcycle maker take the leap and venture into the automotive business with a special lightweight sports car? Though it is a simple question, (obviously) the answer is far more complex than it seems at a first glance. 

But in the fantasy land of designers, there are no restrictions or limits, only a desire to create. And for Dutch designer Sabino Leerentveld, who we came to know through his Aston Martin V12 and BMW Nazca Homage prototypes, the answer to the previous question is the Kawasaki ZX-770R Concept. 

Inspired by the KTM X-BOW, Leerentveld dreamed up a similar project for the Japanese motorcycle company Kawasaki. However, the ZX-770R is larger sports car measuring 4,427mm long, 1,017mm tall and 2,073mm wide with a wheelbase of 2,710mm. 

Leerentveld says the sports car would tip the scales at (a rather overly optimistic) 500kg or 1,102 pounds, while power would be provided by a twin-turbocharged V6 producing about 770-horsepower. 

Types of Windscreen : Stock, Double Bubble and Sports Touring

A reader asked why would be the rationale to change the stock windscreen (from my Windscreen for Sale advert @ Click Me).

Well, the stock windscreen is good for normal usage; but depending on your type of riding, you may want to sample other types of windscreen.

1) Town-riding - Stock windscreen is good enough;
2) Circuit-riding - The sportier Double Bubble windscreen would be a better fit; and
3) Highway-riding - The taller Sports Touring windscreen would deflect the strong wind better.

Of course, there are some owners whom would change the windscreen just for the colour though.

Standard Modified : Roadblock Continuation

Of late, there has been quite a no. of traffic police roadblocks, probably aimed at weeding out errant drivers. This morning, there was one set up at the Sungai Besi motorbike lane; and by the time I got there, many bikes were already parked at the side. All bikes had to slow down to be checked.

The traffic policemen were courteous and professional though. They gave the bike a look-over, asked if there were any modifications and I offered that the important parts were all stock. One of the most important for the checking was the exhaust (thank goodness I didn't install the GPR Grand Prix Evolution). So I was given the go-ahead to proceed.

Looks like standard modified is still the better way to go. Had I changed the exhaust system, I would be shaking like a mice at every roadblock instead of being confident but polite.

Let's see what are the after-market items on my Green Hornet at the moment :

1) Givi V46 and V35 panniers (app RM5,000) - legally-acceptable;
2) MRA Germany windscreen (app RM550) - legally-acceptable;
3) Fairing sliders (app RM500) - legally-acceptable;
4) BM horn (app RM80) - legally-acceptable;
5) Tire rims reflective stickers (app RM20) - legally-acceptable).

A total of app RM6,600 spent on the accessories thus far. So there you have it, folks- keep your bikes well-maintained and in standard modified form! Ride safe!

Windscreen from Kawasaki ER-6f for Sale

Advert @ Friends Amongst ER6 Owners Malaysia

As per above, I have an original Kawasaki ER6-f windscreen taken off from my bike. This would be a direct fit for the Kawasaki ER-6f / Ninja 650R, whether CKD Malaysia or CBU Japan. Windscreen practically new as replaced with MRA Germany Sports Touring windscreen (RM550).

Letting go of the original windscreen at just RM150. First come first served. E-mail me to reserve the item. Thanks!

GPR GPE Slip-on : To install or not to install, that is the question.

 
I have been eyeing the Yoshimura carbon fibre slip-on exhaust since I got more familiarised with my Green Hornet; and from the online reviews, it's one of the better after-market exhaust made for the Kawasaki parallel twin engine. Increase in torque and high speed with a rumbling muscular note thrown in as a bonus- sounds like a great idea.

Yoshi CB was selling at around RM2,100 but the prices has reduced to RM1,800 now, as the 2012 ER6/Versys uses the complete exhaust system rather than a slip-on, so it has been made redundant somewhat.

The catch is that Yoshi does not have an O2 sensor, so one has to either drill the hole or get O2 eliminator plugs to mitigate this issue. And there are issues that the engine may run a bit lean and also back-firing when the throttle is reduced. Hmmm...

I have always loved Italian rides, so I then opted for the GPR Grand Prix Evolution exhaust from Milan, Italy. This would be a smaller outfit compared to the bigger boys of the aftermarket exhaust industry, but GPR's exhausts are hand-made and you know how passionate Italians are, so I gathered that it should be a good product. The GPE retails at RM1,800 locally but you can get them at a much better price (think RM1,000?) when purchased through bigger online outfits. Since the exhaust has ready O2 sensor so it should reduce the possibility of the engine management problem.

Or so one would think.

There is still a problem, albeit a practical one, of using an after-market exhaust system. The bassy rumble attracts attention like fly to honey; and authorities keep a keen eye on such pieces. I have been riding to work given the good weather of late; and noticed that there were some roadblocks for bikes of late. A casual chat with the friendly men in blue (or white, actually) during the roadblock revealed that such aftermarket exhausts were a no-no too. Thank goodness my Green Hornet was using a stock exhaust that was as quiet as mice, hence I wasn't stopped like the other superbikes.

So now, I am back to square one. The online purchases has a refund policy. The question now is, to install or not to install.

Hmmm...