Yamaha XJ-6 (Front Sprocket Torque Nut Missing)

Hello! It's been awhile since I write my blog, a lot more to catch up before 2018 ends. So I got a phone call from a friend that one of the convoy bikes broke down somewhere 17KM after Bintulu airport. So they have the towed the bike back to Bintulu for 20KM.

17 KM after Bintulu Airport they searched for the problem 

They have to towed the bike for 20 KM from Bintulu Airport until town, old school way.

Unfortunately it was Sunday and the parts that are missing need to be ordered. After decision making, two bikes will stay at Bintulu and both rider flew that evening back to Kuching.

Problem found! Torque nut missing from the front sprocket.

2 weeks waiting and no more! 2 weeks this bike stranded at my house, we found out the torque nut for the front sprocket was missing. I placed the order directly to Tiong Lee Kiong. Last Friday, he rang me up and give me the good news!

Good news from Tiong!

As I dismantle few parts of the XJ6, I called Awang Herni Awang Hamid up. I know he would like to join me and get our hands dirty. "It's my first time doing big bikes, a good change away from vespa" he said. The compressor arrived and the gun is at Awang's hand. We work the magic out.

  

       

Exactly 2040Hrs, I delivered the good news to Faiz in Kuching. They flew off to Bintulu first flight in the morning, I pick them up and bring them for breakfast. I could see Faiz face, and how much he missed his ride. They are off to Kuching from Bintulu. Safe ride!

Ready for Pick Up, I only managed to ride it at night just to run it awhile.

My question remains : How did the high torque nut for the front sprocket when missing? The front sprocket is protected with a plastic cover. If the nut loose it would stuck somewhere in the protected cover.

Any Yamaha XJ-6 owners or riders care to share your experience or thoughts on how this could happen. Feel free to drop your comments. Thank You 

Personal Review Yamaha MT07 2017

Yamaha MT-07 2017

The Yamaha MT-07 2016, by looking at it for the first time, it's smaller than it look. ER-6 series from Kawasaki and CB's from Honda is one of the most famous middle-weight bikes. And Yamaha presented this 07 in 2016, and it does caught my attention. The Yamaha MT “Master of Torque” 689 cc parallel -twin engine does have that sensitive throttle and it definitely deliver the torque. Weighing at 179 kg and 14 litre tank, it's a good light bike.

Pulling the clutch and shifting the 07 into first gear, and the torque kicks in. The Yamaha weren’t kidding. When it comes to corners on the 07 I didn’t feel that confidence inspiring. Coming into a corners, showed that the MT-07 didn’t like being pushed to the limit, it does not respond well, it feels heavy and it keep push the bike up. But with the right speed, right momentum and RPM it does respond well enough. Breaking is superb! It doesn't come with ABS and TCS, but it does delivered a good breaking power.

The dash is controlled by two buttons built into it – bar-mounted controls would be good, but all you can do is scroll through the odo, trips and fuel consumption figures, so I won’t be fiddling much. There’s a gear position indicator, revs and a clock on the liquid crystal display, as well as a fuel gauge. Resetting the data isn’t particularly intuitive, but it’s not as if you need a large owner’s manual to work it out. Which is fortunate, as there’s very little space under the seat; a metal plate lifts out once the pillion seat’s unlocked to reveal a shallow tray that holds a typically lightweight tool set. The tail light is LED, but the indicators are standard bulbs, the front of which have been moved from the headlight surround to the sides of the engine for a much better look.

The LCD panel takes center stage. I personally liked the 07’s instrument panel. A gear position indicator is included, as is an “Eco” indicator for when the bike is in optimum fuel saving mode. The only ugly side of this bike is the tank, there's a cheap plastic cover right in middle of the tank. For sure, you could always replace it with chrome or carbonized item. But yeah that is my opinion. Riding position is great, so this 07 is a great daily commuter bike, or maybe long-distance naked tourer. I guess it could be both. Yamaha is not my favourite brand, but as I rode this MT 07, I started to like this bike. 

The crossplane engine system is brilliant! To be honest the MT series from Yamaha is a pretty good production. The price is affordable for a middle-weight bikes. And I do not put the MT’s as a street bike. As the MT’s does have a powerful torque. A dragster is a suitable category for the MT's.  So what’s next? Yes! Coming soon, I will be reviewing another MT from Yamaha. 

Engine

689cc 2-cylinder, 4-stroke, liquid-cooled, DOHC, 4-valves

Transmission      

6-speed, chain final drive

Frame  

Steel diamond

Front suspension             

41mm KYB telescopic forks, no adjustment, 130mm travel

Rear suspension

KYB shock with linkage, adjustable for preload and rebound damping, 130mm travel

Front brake        

2x 282mm discs, four-piston semi-monobloc calipers

Rear brake          

Single 245mm disc, single piston caliper

Front tyre           

Michelin 120/70 PR3 (Tubeless)

Rear tyre             

Michelin 180/55 PR3 (Tubeless)

Seat height         

805 mm

Wheel base        

1,400 mm

Minimum ground clearance        

140 mm

Wet weight (including full oil and fuel tank)         

182 kg

Fuel tank capacity            

14 litre

Fuel consumption            

65.7mpg (claimed), 43mpg (tested)

Similajau National Park

Similajau located about only 30KM from Bintulu town itself, a national park it is. 

Riding in this empty road with beautiful sight of nature, hearing nothing but only the sound of the motorbike engine, the crickets and birds whistling. A peace sight and silence place indeed, I will be back here for hiking and more pictures of the beach.

Pantai Telekom (TM Building)

we even found this place, so I check it out. Its belong to Telekom Malaysia (TM). I watch too much movie so I guess this is a secret hide out for the server room. Check the video out. 

One last photo before proceed my way to Miri. Yes after that we rode back to Miri. 

Personal Review : Kawasaki ZX 636 R 2016

The 2016 Kawasaki ZX-6R (636) it's a great sport bike. I mean you obviously can’t go out riding long on them, and in the city the roads are too crammed for the ZXR to unleash their full potential. So we took it out to remoted area in samalaju industrial zone.

The Kawasaki ZX-6R 2016 (ZX 636 R)  

The seat and the rear frame offer good contact with the bike for enhanced rider feedback. Personally I feels bit annoying while riding normal (I'm 180 cm tall) and I'm used with touring seating position. But after awhile with the 6R my body start to get used with the racing style of position, it is design that way. The bike looked small when I'm on it. 

The suspension however better than what you get on most other sports bikes. Whenever I rode over some obstacle, I realized the impact wasn’t nearly as severe as I thought it would be, with a selectable full and low engine power modes, three-mode of traction control and the Intelligent ABS.   

I got a taste of the 6R enormous power as I started on the fast bending lane. The 6R gave out a loud roar before plunging ahead into the zone. At the weight around 192 kg it's so easy to corner and doing a perfect sharp u-turn.

With the assist and slipper functions, it offer light clutch pull to minimise wheel chatter caused by aggressive downshifting. I finally able to unleash the power at 237KM/h (which can go more) on the empty straight stretch in samalaju road, even in sixth gear, and feels powerful through the entire rpm range. It does vibrate a bit above the 8000 rpm, but pulls really strong up into the peak. Hitting 0 to 100kph in just 3 seconds, on the 3km stretch, the 6R could hit its top speed of 270kph, and I was actually able to keep up at that speed, but my suits are not suitable for it.

The Green and black colour is very striking! 

Everything is great about this bike, but with 17 litre fuel tank, it doesn't come with fuel indicator which I have to calculate/estimate or open the tank to see the gas, but it worked out.

Engine type -

Liquid-cooled, 4-stroke In-Line Four, DOHC, 16 valves

Front Tyre -

120/70ZR17M/C (58W)

Rear Tyre -

180/55ZR17M/C (73W)

101 kW {137 PS} / 13,500 rpm

Transmission -

6-speed, return, cassette

Final Drive –

Sealed chain

Clutch –

Wet multi-disc, manual

Front Brakes –

Dual radial-mount, monobloc, opposed 4-piston, Nissin.

Rear Brakes –

Single 220 mm (x t5 mm) petal disc. Caliper: Single-bore pin-slide, aluminium piston, Nissin.

Front Suspension –

41 mm inverted fork with top-out springs. Compression damping: Stepless. Rebound damping: Stepless. Spring preload: Fully adjustable.

Rear Suspension

Bottom-Link Uni-Trak with gas-charged shock. Compression damping: Stepless. Rebound damping: 25-way. Spring preload: Fully adjustable.

Fuel capacity –

17 litres

Dry Wet –

192 kg /194 kg (ABS)

Credit Bike and Photos : Skipper Noor Iskandar (the.lefthanded)

Journey from Bintulu to Samalaju Industrial Zone

Samalaju located about 75 KM off from Bintulu town itself, Samalaju is well known as an Industrial zone here in Borneo. Nothing much to see around here but only the factories and more gravel stone and sand on the road.

Bintulu to Samalaju Port Via Coastal road.

We hit the road somewhere to "no public access zone" to Kampung Nyalau "New route", the road is not in the map, but if you notice from the google map, you can check from Press Metal industrial and follow the long straight road more than 15 KM long it will pop out to the original route to the village.

A photo not far from the Samalaju Resort 

I’m here for the first time, so stopping was not in my list. There’s nothing here for me to stop to take photos unless I’m riding up the the village area. So I just enjoy the long straight boring roads, and watch out for small gravel stone and pot -holes not to forget tankers, truckers, and dust from the factories. 

That long straight boring road. I guess I could bring my sport-bike friends to test their speed here.

So I guess this will be my shortest article to be publish. So my next destination from this road will be the Kampung Nyalau. I might be asking few local bikers about the route there using this new road. Stay tune!  

Personal Review : Kawasaki Z 750 (CBU) 2012

The Z 750 is ready for me to test ride

This is the 2012 Kawasaki Z750, and this is the CBU (Complete Build Up) Unit. Took it out for a spin, this Zed does have a sensitive throttle control, at the weight of around 200 kg, I can easily push the bike while on it without hurting my balls.

Pushing the bike while on it, it's so easy to do so compared to my bike

This sport naked bike surprisingly easy to ride especially in town. With the handle bar easily reach, and my body position with the bike is just nice. It does make it easier to manoeuvre in traffic. With the top speed about 250km/h, I bet the wind impact and buffeting is the only problem I have to face. It does start felt that way at the speed of 120km/h.

A new cast-aluminium engine sub-frame allows the front engine mounts to be repositioned closer to the centre of gravity, behind the cylinder head rather than in front, while a combination of rigid and rubber mounts reduces engine vibration, particularly through the handlebars. The frame is narrowed below the nose of the saddle, and the fuel tank is smaller size look and the foot-peg hangers have been moved slightly inboard to create a slimmer riding position, maybe it design for enabling shorter riders to reach the ground comfortably with both feet. 

Zul Bintangor the owner for this 2012 Z750

That my friend, is a huge Durian

A beautiful corners to play with. Especially when you owned a great bike.

The bike has new, upside-down rebound and pre-load front forks, with smooth initial action giving way to firmer damping as the forks compress; the nitrogen-charged rear shock absorber also has longer travel. The new ignition mapping improves power delivery where it's most needed in the mid-range. Calls "true street performance" with its bigger brother, the Z1000 but with a different design approach: the Z1000 kicks out serious power but the 750 is more subtle.

No doubt the Z750 look a like with the Z1000, which is came from the same factory, and the same Zed Family. The Kawasaki still give a good stylish look and the power is always there to deliver. The only problem to me is long distance ride, because I might have to carry my bags or strap the luggage on the bike if I wish to travel for days or months on the road, without the windshield I might have to endure the wind impact and the bugs.

Small and compact dashboard, which is pretty cute.

One selfie before take off

I'm riding a sport tourer, but when I'm on the Zed, I do feel lighter. It's a great bike, but unfortunately the Kawasaki pull the Z750 out from the market and introduced the new Z800 in 2015. And guess what bike that replaced Z800 in 2017?

The Kawasaki Z750, great bike indeed

Engine -                              

Four stroke, transverse four cylinder, DOHC, 4 valve per cylinder.

Capacity -

748 cc / 45.6 cu-in

Cooling System -   

Liquid cooled

Clutch -                              

Multiple wet plate manual

Transmission -                   

6 Speed

Final Drive -                        

Chain

Front Suspension -          

41mm telescopic forks

Rear Suspension -            

Bottom link, Uni-Trak, 4-way rebound adjustment, 7-way preload

Front Brakes -                   

2x 300mm discs 2 piston caliper

Rear Brakes -                     

Single 200mm disc 1 piston caliper

Dry Weight -                       

207.0 kg

Fuel Capacity -                   

18.5 Litres

Credit Bike and Photos : Zul (7-five-O) Bintangor.

Journey from Miri To Mukah

Ready to go. Petronas Bintulu 0702hrs  

It was drizzling that morning, it's 0515hrs but that doesn’t stop me from riding. I will be covering 337 KM from Miri to Mukah. Estimated another 200 KM to Bintulu then about 90 KM to Balingian. I have rode from Sibu - Balingian - K.Balingian - K.Tatau - Bintulu early this year. So I have to pass the same road again to Mukah. Mukah, is a small town, where it is famous with the local Melanau Umai, and fresh fish from the sea. Mukah is about 58 KM from Balingian, so I rode up here to Mukah for the first time, the road was not that bad compared to Selangau – Sibu, which indeed 110KM/h is an ideal speed for the road.

Miri - Bintulu - Balingian - Mukah

Stop here just to stretch my body 

With Zul Bintangor at Simpang
Balingian - Mukah

Beautiful place indeed, met Zul a rider from Bintangor and he brought be to meet Tuan Nahari. We are in the same motorcycle group, so we end up having a great cup of coffee with Tuan Haji (He is a District Officer for Mukah division) in small market next to the dock, where I can see the fisherman carrying fresh fishes from their boat to the market.

Not long after that I was been invited to attend a local wedding ceremony at Melanau village not far from the town.

The only small aircraft that can land in Mukah Airport 

Took a selfie at the small Ship Dock next to the Mukah wet market 

Cassie the bike would love to have a photo next to Mr "Soon Hai Fung" registration number "QSB 1812 K"

I’m honoured to be invited to this humble couple wedding, looking at kids playing around, having fun singing, taking photos with my bike, the only reason I say yes is because of the food. I was starving from Miri, so it’s great also that this couple join us for lunch too.

Tuan Nahari on his Versys, and Zul Bintangor on Z750

With this two sweet lovely Couple and the S1000rr BMW bike.

With among all the guest, they join us for lunch, Congratulation Mr.Mus and partner, and thank you for the invitation. 

As we said goodbye and congratulation to the couple, Tuan Nahari brought me and Zul to Oya square, Oya is located about 26KM from Mukah itself, he showed me the “Pasar Sabtu Oya” is a wet market where local people sell and buy fresh vegetables and any wet item. 

Mukah - Oya took about 20 minutes ride and only 26 KM from Mukah

Zul took a selfie with me and Tuan Nahari at Oya Square

Neeh, won't fit in my box anyway