C-segment Superbike : 2-wheelers for us Average Joes: 14/7/2013 : Sunday Run

It has been a week since I started Silver and took her out for a ride; and seeing that the day is so beautiful after yesterday's rain and not a nary of haze in the air this afternoon, I decided to go for a quick run. It was just to be 2 laps vide Penchala Link from Sri Hartamas to Damansara Perdana and back, which was a route that I often took at nights during those hectic time when I needed to clear some stress and yet did not have the luxury of time to do the KL-KLIA route.

For those of you whom thought that only Ulu Yam serves as the route to ride, you must try the Penchala Link. The roar of your bike whilst you were gunning through the tunnels was simply addictive, and there were a few corners after the long straights when you could lean pretty low to test your tires.

As per her norm, Silver started without a fuss and I waited for her engine to warm up to an optimal temperature before making my way to the highway. As I entered Penchala Link, I decided to stop by Petronas to pump full the tank- during which, another biker whom was on a yellow ER6n stopped by and gave me a thumbs up (can't see his face behind the fullface helmet, but I deduced there was a smile to go with the sign) before riding off.

And some twenty-plus bucks' worth of fuel later, Silver was roaring happily away.

The gear changes were beautiful- and I was especially keeping my eyes on the RPM. A friend whom came from the same car forum as me, had rode Silver last Sunday and told me about a "jerkiness" that he felt. I knew that it was due to the change in RPM atypical of 2-strokers, but I wanted to advice him on how to play with the gears at ease so I had my eyes glued on the RPM meter.

Sure enough, the limitation, or commonly known as "flat spot", was spotted around 6,000-7,000 RPM. If your RS125 CDI unit had not been de-restricted, then that's the maximum strength that your bike would be giving you. On the other hand, had your Rotax engine undergone de-restriction works, then your RPM ought to work through the slight hesitation at 7,000 RPM to open up fully at 8,000 RPM, which would then push your bike as though on turbo into the redlines and a nice tune from the exhaust to boot. This was the part that never fails to bring a smile to my face. Very nice and addictive!

(A detailed account of de-restriction works as documented from RS125 enthusiast sites would be provided in a subsequent entry.)

During one of the laps, our men-in-blue flashed me from behind and I stopped by at the bikes' rain shelter. It turned that they were avid bikers too and the moment of tension soon passed, and the only questions that I received were on the performance of the bike. Given that you don't get to see this same model in Malaysia often and further with the decals at the rear, they thought that it was a litre bike with the fat tires and all that. Their eyes nearly popped out when I told them the actual cc of the race-derived Rotax engine.

After their car went away, I decided to take a few shots since Silver was stationary at the shelter anyway. This is definitely a bike that draws attention everywhere she goes.

After getting my adrenaline pumping after a couple of laps, I rode to my condo's car wash area to give Silver a good hose-down. However, there were many cars on queue there, so I ended up opening up Silver's tank and seat to gauge at the innards.

Silver was a genuine Italian thoroughbred and it showed from her Aprilia bins part. "Made in Italy" was evidently printed into the many parts of her body. And from a factory inspection sticker, I could gathered that her year of manufacture was actually 2004 and that she was a UK-spec bike; hence the CDI restrictor provided on the bike.

While Silver's CDI has previously been worked on so that power delivery after 8,000 RPM was there for use when necessary, I could also purchase non-restricted CDI from eBay and a used unit would sell for £29.99 ono. This was a plug-and play piece; and installing the non-restricted CDI would essentially remove the flat spot altogether so that power delivery was smooth at all RPM levels just as GP bikes were supposed to be.

I also tested the whole mode cycles ie Temperature/Clock, Voltmeter/Clock, Clock only, and Lap Timers; and they all worked as per evidenced by the photos below. Now this was a feat truly for an Italian bike; and kudos to the specialist whom re-do the wiring on Silver to have everything functioning fully.