Wallpaper : Goodbye, Green Hornet... You Would Be Missed.

All too soon, it was time to bid goodbye to Green Hornet. She would be missed for sure.

My mother-in-law knew that I loved Green Hornet to bits and volunteered to take a few pictures of me and the bike. I graciously accepted her offer.

As the new owner, Z was not well-versed with clutched bike, he asked if I could do him a favour ie to ride the bike over to his place that was some short distance from Kuala Lumpur. Rather than risked him having trouble with Green Hornet while on the first ride, I agreed to assist. It was to be my last time riding this marvellous bike, before she becomes part of another household. If you have a daughter about to be married off, you would know my feelings.

Funny thing was, I had previously sold off other bikes and cars before, and I hardly felt such a strong attachment, saved for my first car- an apple green Proton Iswara Aeroback.

My friend, W offered to accompany me in the journey to an unknown part of another town. He was to go in a Honda Insight and to carry Green Hornet's side panniers in the Insight's boots; as this would enable me and the bike to maneuver better in traffic.

It was fortunate that we did so- as there was tremendous traffic jam throughout the way from Kuala Lumpur. What was to be an hour-long journey turned much longer than expected. I wanted to deliver the bike with a full tank of petrol as a gesture of goodwill, and I had to pump just a bit more petrol in a nearby petrol station in order to still deliver the bike with a full tank of petrol.

"You're ready for the ride?"

We arrived safely, and Z invited us to have a mamak session nearby his house to catch up. The bike attracted some attention from a group of chaps seated near our bikes. I guess I would oogling at Green Hornet too if I chance upon her in future, when she's no longer my weekend ride.

Z was thrilled to bits with Green Hornet, and told us that it was the nicest ER6 that he had seen, and the engine and idling was just plain smooth compared to the rest. He really loved the growl of the Akrapovic can and all the modifications that had been tastefully-done to Green Hornet.

Well, it's up to him now to further improve on Green Hornet and to give her plenty of TLC. I wish both of them all the best and may man and bike have a great time together.

At the point of delivery, Green Hornet has the following :

1) MRA Germany windscreen (made in Germany) -RM550

2) Shogun sliders - RM500

3) Givi Italy side panniers colour-coded (made in Italy) - RM2,200

4) Givi Italy topbox colour-coded (made in Italy) - RM2,800

5) Akrapovic exhaust (made in Slovenia) - RM1,650 inc installation

6) Radiator protector - RM120

7) BMC Italy air filter (made in Italy) - RM400 inc installation

8 ) Acumen UK gear indicator (made in UK) - RM500 including installation

9) Caliper theft protector sets - RM180 including installation

10) Branded riding jacket and pants set, and matching leather gloves - RM1,000
11) BM horn - RM80
12) Sports rims reflective stickers - RM20

13) 1 new Yuasa YTX-12 battery - RM250 and 1 old YTX-12 battery 

14) Front touring pedal set - RM200

15) A full tank of RON97 petrol - RM48

As W's Insight pulled away from Green Hornet parked in the porch, I had to look away to secretly wipe off a tear.

Goodbye, Green Hornet... You would be missed.

Kawasaki Ninja 650R Holding Its Value Well

While looking at the year 2012 Kawasaki KSR110 @ RM4,900 advert earlier, I chanced upon a few 2009 - 2010 Kawasaki Ninja 650R adverts as per the following :

 

It would seem that the Kawasai Ninja 650R bikes were really holding their prices well, especially those with the prized Givi panniers. Looking at the above adverts, one could deduced that the Givi side panniers were the relatively sought-after aftermarket installations for these bikes. The prices seemed to be hovering from RM27k to a whopping RM39k!

I have always have a soft spot for the Ninja 650R with colour-coded Givi side panniers, as I found that it looks like the Kawasaki Z1000SX sports tourer.

Looking at the above pricing, I felt that the buyer of my Green Hornet ie Z, has really gotten a decent bargain for a Ninja 650R with so many accessories, but at RM30k only.

Given that I found that he's a really nice chap, I am glad that Green Hornet has found another nice owner, whom would take care of her tremendously, in him.

I'll be riding her over to him real soon- hope you have fun with Green Hornet, Z!

Wow, Kawasaki KSR110 @ RM4,900?!

A reader asked me if it was worth buying a pre-owned Kawasaki KSR110 that was currently being advertised on Mudah at RM4,900. I browsed the 1-day old advert and saw the following :

A year 2012 Kawasaki KSR110 with only mileage of 1,100 km at that price, was truly a steal of a price really. I called the seller to inquire if it was a typo and it seemed that it was the rightful nett selling price- only difference was that the mileage was app 1,600 km.

I then e-mailed the reader back that from the description of the advert, pending the actual test-ride, I would deemed the KSR110 as being a must-buy if he was indeed in the market for a mini sports bike. Heck, if he wasn't interested in that bike, I would confirm on the purchase immediately- it would be a nice ride around the housing garden sometimes, although long-distance would be somewhat of a challenge to the old bones.

At this price, I wouldn't be surprised if someone plonks down the deposit without even seeing the bike. I know- as I am tempted eventhough I was not in the market for a mini sports bike.

Z Provides a Good Home for Green Hornet

I met up with Green Hornet's new master ie Z, at Mont Kiara on 18/2/2013. I haven't rode Green Hornet for 3 weeks now, and I had added 3 km to the pre-stated 13,166 km mileage during my ride from Sri Hartamas to Mont Kiara.

Z was really enthusiastic about Green Hornet and he knew what he was looking out for. He checked carefully on the external conditions of the fairings, radiator, pipings, tires, etc. I showed him all the installed modifications on the bike, sans the BMC Italy air filter as that involved taking off the fuel tank. He started the bike a few times, he revved the engine and enjoyed the growl of the Akrapovic can, and he was very impressed with the beautiful idling of Green Hornet and the lack of vibrations compared to the other ER6 bikes that he had previously seen. A copy of the vehicle grant was given to him for his perusal and checking.

In his own words, "I don't even need to test-ride this bike and I already can see that it's a very good  bike!".

Indeed, as my motto goes, "A well-maintained secondhand bike could be better than a new bike- as the seasoned bike would have its parts well-runned in and any niggles attended to, so the new owner could just concentrate on the riding and enjoying the wind-in-the-face experience".

I would have no qualms going for a well-maintained pre-owned bike. The trick to it is to ensure that the bike was well-maintained and the previous owner was one who loved the bike. That way, you could be ensured that the bike would most probably have been treated with the highest TLC.

I would be very reluctant to let her go actually. This has been a really nice-temperant and reliable ride that started each time without a fuss for my riding enjoyment. Even my father, whom has never rode this bike as he was apprehensive about its weight and size, remarked that it would be a shame to let the bike go.

With this sale, I would be transferring my ownership rights of Green Hornet to Z in the very near future. To fellow readers, if you see the bike on the roads, do continue to give your friendly waves and chats during stop-look-go traffics as I have enjoyed during my journey with Green Hornet; and I am sure that Z would be as friendly as I have been.

To summarize, details of Green Hornet is as per the following :

Name and Model : Kawasaki ER6F/Ninja 650R
Colour : Kawasaki Lime Green
Mileage : circa 13,000 km
Status : Kenderaan Import Baru
No plate : Wilayah 3-digit tendered no plate
Accessories :

1) MRA Germany windscreen (made in Germany) -RM550

2) Shogun sliders - RM500

3) Givi Italy side panniers colour-coded (made in Italy) - RM2,200

4) Givi Italy topbox colour-coded (made in Italy) - RM2,800

5) Akrapovic exhaust (made in Slovenia) - RM1,65(0 inc installation

6) Radiator protector - RM120

7) BMC Italy air filter (made in Italy) - RM400 inc installation

8 ) Acumen UK gear indicator (made in UK) - RM500 including installation

9) Caliper theft protector sets - RM180 including installation

10) Branded riding jacket and pants set, and matching leather gloves - RM1,000
11) BM horn - RM80
12) Sports rims reflective stickers - RM20

13) 1 new Yuasa YTX-12 battery - RM250 and 1 old YTX-12 battery

Z informed me that he nearly got another pre-owned Ninja 650R as advertised in Mudah for RM30,000, but with only side-panniers and a Yoshi can as extras; but it was sold in a jiffy by the time he called. Indeed, Ninja 650R seems to be selling really fast in the secondary market and even before Z gets his hands on Green Hornet, there is another chap called Joshua whom has been making offers to take-over the bike at RM31,500. Lol, looks like this bike has quite a premium given its well-known publicity through this blog!

I would be taking a few photos of Green Hornet prior to its departure to its new home, so look out for the photos soon.

Bon voyage soon, Green Hornet! It has been a pleasurable time having your company!

3 Weeks Later

There has been a few e-mails asking about Green Hornet's updates and if I have since let go of Green Hornet, which therefore resulted in the inactivity in this blog for the last few weeks. There were also a few offers on the bike still.

Well, actually, I was unable to update on this blog as I was travelling overseas for my holidays over the last few weeks. I would have liked to update any information still but lo and behold, eventhough I have good Net access while travelling, I was unable to log into this site. Ditto a few other social media sites, thanks to the Great Firewall of China.

But it has been a good break for me, and I came back to Malaysia yesterday, fully-recharged and energised.

As for the purchase offers, thank you very much but Green Hornet has been reserved by an enthusiast and fellow blog reader; and is pending the finalisation of the full sale. The earlier potential buyer had difficulties securing a personal loan to conclude the deal eventhough he paid a deposit; and the subsequent enthusiast quickly stepped in and made a similar offer. A good bike like Green Hornet truly deserves a deserving owner whom would continue to take the greatest care of this marvellous bike.

I came back last evening and after settling down, went to take a look at my cars and bike that had been left parked at their respective parking spots for a few weeks now. Given my enthusiast for my rides, the guards informed me that they have been helping me to lookout for my rides during their patrols. I sometimes give the guards treats during festive seasons or the occasional teh tarik in recognition of their hard work, and I haven't expected them to go out of their way to help; but I am glad that they did anyhow.

I had replaced a new Yuasa battery into Green Hornet before my trip; and didn't really took the bike out for a run as I had promised not to incur higher riding mileages as requested by the potential buyer. So I wasn't really sure if the new battery would be holding its charge.

I inserted the key into ignition, let the computer box checked the bike's status successfully and then pressed the starter buttion. Green Hornet fired up immediately and it was good to hear its deep, bassy rumbling through the Akrapovic exhaust. The battery had held its charge despite being not ridden on, which meant that it was a healthy battery and the new owner should have good peace of mind for another year or more.

A quick but careful soaping and wipe later, Green Hornet had the 3-week dust cleaned off from its beautiful fairings. If Green Hornet could smile, it would be beaming from face to face.

Ain't she a beauty? I am sure that the new owner would have lots of riding fun on this truly fine specimen of a bike.

For the new owner's easy point of reference, do note that the next-scheduled engine oil change is at 16,500 km. And if you are a weekend rider like myself, it would take you a rather long time to reach those numbers up there, mate :)