Which Motorcycle for Touring?

Going on a motorcycle tour is a daunting task in this region.

The rider to are keen to get on the bike and go on a long ride but understand the risk involved and learn how to manage these risks. Riding a motorcycle is a high risk activity. However, of course the upside of riding a motorcycle is the joy you experience throughout the whole journey, for those who understand how to manage these risks would definately know what I am talking about.

Riding cross country requires the rider to plan the route, whether it is on road or off road. Off road requires you to know whether your bike is able to get on the off road terrain and survive the journey. Not all bikes are built the same.

The BMW GS series of bikes are great for all terain, on road and even off road and it is known to be the ultimate touring machine.

Touring also requires the rider to have luggage space on the bike and good touring gears to go with the rider. Some touring bikes like the Kawasaki GTR even comes with side panniers for your touring needs. The panniers are even large enough to store a helmet at your convenience.

If these huge bikes are not your cup of tea, the Kawasaki Versys may be a more practival and economic option.

The paralel twin Versys is a dual purpose bike that is design both for day to day commuting in the city or take it to the country side for some off road action, the bike has proven itself as one of the most popular choice for the biking community. Its easy handling, fuel economy, luggage options and riding position enables it to be a great bike when it comes to touring cross country.

So what is left for the rest of the bikers who rides a sports or even a super sports bike? Can you take a naked sports bike for a 5 days cross country journey? or a super sports on a bike holiday? What kind of gear to get yourself ready? More importantly, what should you pack?

Leave your comments below and let us know what you think.

How to upgrade to B license

I am going to share with you the cost and process of getting a B (or commonly known as B full license) in Malaysia.

I was holding my B2 license for close to 15 years and recently upgraded my license to B full. To upgrade this license to a B full, basically you would need to get a L (learner's) license for B full, then take the test at your local driving school.

The whole process for me to get the B license was about 2-3 weeks, in case you want to know. First thing that you need to do, is to get the L license. You can get it over the counter at any of the JPJ office, by filling up a form and attach it together with headshot photo. The cost of getting the license is about RM 30 for 3 months if I am not mistaken. You could, go straight to the driving schoold and get it done from there but they will charge you for the service.

Soon after you get the L license, you can now register at the driving school. The local term for upgrading your B2 license to a B full is "Tambah Class", essentially means upgrading of licensing class.

I paid a total of RM 450 to get mine done, which includes 2 sessions of practise (number of sessions differs from rider to rider) before the actual test. The initial payment was RM 350 as a registration and then RM 100 when I complete the test. The school mentioned that if I fail the test, the retake will cost me another RM 150 for arrangement of another test.

As soon as you have registered, you will be arrange to take the first practise at the learning course. The route of the course will be slightly different from the B2 test. I was given the Kawasaki ER6n for practising and also for the test.

There will be 2 parts of the test, part 2 (bahagian 2) which I call it the skill test and part 3 (bahagian 3) which I call it the road test. Let me break it down, for part 2, you will be tested on riding on a ramp of about 10 meters long where you need to take at least 7 seconds on the ramp, zig zagging cones, emergency braking, riding circles and cornering.

Part 2 will not require you to use your riding signals and general ethics as it is a skill test.

Part 3 will require you to check your safety gear and motorcycle before you start riding, and checking your driving etiquette on the road. You would need to use your blinkers, stop at traffic lights, wave and stop at the correct places to pass part 3.

I had my first practise and my trainer said that I am ready for the test and then he arranged for me to take the test in the next upcoming wednesday. I had my second practise just one day before the test.

Once you pass the test, after 3 days you may go to the JPJ office and collect your new B license.

First post!!!

Biking was always one of the thing I enjoy doing. I used to have a cruiser which I rode from KL to southern Thailand and I really had a lot of fun on that bike.

As I get more experienced as a rider, I felt that I need a little but more horsepower than my old 250cc Hyosung GV250. After owning her for about a year and clocked about 10,000 km on the odometer, I decided to upgrade my B2 (250 cc and below) license to a B (also commonly known as the B Full) license here in Malaysia and get a slightly bigger bike.

This was how my old faithfull look like at the beach of Ao Nang, southern Thailand. The picture was taken back in November 2012 when my buddy and I went on a 5 days ride from KL to Surat Thani. It was fun to travel long distances on a cruiser. But I guess I just wanted to try something a little different.

I have given a lot of thought about which bike to get as there are many factor to be considered when buying a new bike, i.e. budget, availability of spare parts and accessories (important if you crash it), second hand value, riding position, panniner and luggage availability, engine configuration, etc. In Malaysia where prices of motorcycles are higher, we would need to consider the factors above as they would make a big difference in costs.

I have made the choice of a naked motorcycle which was assembled in neighbouring Thailand with lower excise duty, making this one of the most popular motorcycle here in its class. So this is my new ride since 2 weeks ago and she is not even broken in yet! Hopefully with my wife's blessing (lol) I will be able to clock more miles in my new ride.

 
Please follow this blog to see more updates about me and my adventure. Thanks for reading.