Singapore Biker's Blog

How to choose a bike

2009-06-30T07:52:00.000-07:00

Some very useful and general tips.

Buying A Bicycle: Bicycling Basics

Buying A Bicycle: How To Choose A Bicycle

Cycling Route

2009-06-25T09:21:00.000-07:00

Here's the route that I'm taking currently...

View Larger Map

It's a good 50km.

Hoping to cover about 100km / week by the end of the year

Bike's weight...

2009-06-13T01:28:00.000-07:00

Juz changed the seat post and the wheelset and now, the weight is...

13.2kg.

Wow...

Seat post - Thompson Elite Setback 350mm

Wheelset - Mavic 717 + DT Swiss Comp + Shimano XT hubs.

*All second hand stuff k.
:)

Malacca Trip... Church Camp

2009-06-03T08:13:00.000-07:00

Family Church camp was in Malacca this year and the Pastor was Ps Christine.

My Goodness... can she preach...
One of the guys even called her a Chilli Padi, small in size... but spicy like hell. (well you know what I mean)

Anyway, this blog isn't exactly about Church is it... but this trip WAS abt Church camp...

Anyways....

I decided to ride up to Malacca... the trip itself almost did not materialise due to certain reason I rather not talk about...

But along the way to Air Keroh...

I saw a Hoppie @ almost every stop I made.

I did not need to... but juz wanted to try my luck to see if I would see anyone I know.

I was averaging around 160km/h... Which honestly... was rather comfortable believe it or not.

But the initial trip up after Geylang Patah to Kulai was a damn nightmare.
It started to rain... then it began to pour.
Then it poured so heavily, vision was less then 20% and less then 50m.
I was damn lucky as I came accross a group of HOGs and I "convoyed" with them.
*I saw them @ Air Keroh too.
:)
**I saw them there cos I guessed they did not make any stops / only 1... I made a total of 4 stops which included 1 lunch break.
:D

Anyway, I left home @ 9am and reached there before 1.30pm.
Juz in time for another round of Chicken rice near Renaissance Hotel.

Dunno why... the ride really was refreshing...

I really needed that ride... badly.

Thanx Dear.

For allowing it to happen.

Even more upgrades

2009-05-21T08:58:00.000-07:00

Most recent purchase...

*All upgrades are second hands... except the bike chain.

These Fizik Gobi saddles used to be retailed @ about SGD 170-200

The stock WTB V saddle vs The Fizik Gobi saddle.

WTB is about 1-1.5" wider

But will the Gobi be suited for long distance?

Let's see this weekend's trip.

:)

Watch out Galvin and Richard.

My bike was prob 15kg and above stock.

Currently, it's 13.7kg!

I wonder how low it'll go after changing the
1. Frame
2. Fork
3, Crank.............

10kg?

:)

More upgrades

2009-05-21T08:45:00.001-07:00

Changed the gear sets,

From entry level
*Mixed from Shimano nameless SIS gears and entry level Deore 8 speed.

to slightly more decent set.

Shimano Deore XT
XT Front and Rear derailleurs
XT 9 speed cassette
XT Rapid fire Shifters
Gold colored KMC X9 Chains with Titanium Nitride coating

*Damn... I need a crank!
XT 48T 175mm or 180mm Crank!
XT Front derailleurs

XT Rapid fire 9 speed shifters

XT Rear derailleurs and XT 9 speed cassette

Zefal full carbon bottle cage

Upgrades on Bicycles

2009-05-21T08:44:00.000-07:00

Front and rear derailleur

New tyres

Bikes and Bikes

2009-05-21T08:36:00.000-07:00

Well, recently, I've started cycling again...
Used to cycle road bikes... aka Racers / Racing Bikes.
But of course... mine was never this bling... Could not afford it then... couldn't afford it now still...
A bike like this will easily cost close to SGD 15k.

But now, I'm more into MTBs... Mountain bikes.

Now... this is the exact one I have... But it sorta doesn't look like this....

Done some cosmetics...
:)

More picts later.

Project P.U.M.A.

2009-04-10T08:10:00.000-07:00

So... is this a car... or is this a bike??

Why we should ride a bike the way it's designed to be ridden....

2009-04-05T08:15:00.000-07:00

LTA PWNED? You decide

2009-02-25T17:02:00.000-08:00

It's quite normal to see post of cars parked on bike lots in Stomp.
www.stomp.com.sg

But this... I think has got to be the first.

http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/singaporeseen/viewContent.jsp?id=59162#comment

STOMPer Jason saw this LTA road marshall car parked in several lots meant for motorcycles at the multi-storey carpark of Block 655A Jalan Tenaga.

He says:

"On Feb 24, at 2300hrs, I saw this Subaru marked police vehicle parked in the multi-storey carpark of Block 655A Jalan Tenaga.

"The vehicle was parked over several motorcycle lots which refrain other motorists from using the lots inside.

"I had difficulty getting my bike out of the lot because the police car was blocking it.

"Is this car protected from being summoned?"

"As a resident of this estate, very often I see auxillary police bikes or cars parked at this MSCP for a couple of hours.

"Just wondering where the officers go to...home?"

Are these guys above authority?

I'd really like to see what is the response to this incident.....

*Evil laughter*

Signs that you may be driving alittle too fast....

2009-01-22T07:04:00.001-08:00

When your passenger acts like this...

ST title - Fined over fatal accident... what's wrong here?

2009-01-19T00:05:00.000-08:00

Like the title says...

What's wrong with the title??

Fined over fatal accident.

IMHO, it gives me the impression...

What's the big deal? So someone died... Juz slap him / her a fine.

What's worse is.......

---------
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_328093.html

Fined over fatal accident
By Elena Chong

A VAN driver who caused the death of a pedestrian and injured two of his family members was fined $8,000 and banned from driving for three years on Monday.

Zulkafian Yusoff, 32, pleaded guilty to causing the death of Mr Chan Tong Ming through his negligence along the slip road of Lorong 1 into Lorong 6 Toa Payoh on June 29 last year.

He was driving along the slip road of Lorong 1 into Lorong 6 Toa Payoh when he failed to have proper control of the van, causing it to swerve to the right, mount a kerb and hit the 49-year-old logistics assistant who was waiting at the signalised pedestrian crossing on the right of the slip road.

A New Paper report said he used his body to shield his 10-year-old daughter from the impact while the trio were waiting at the traffic light crossing.

Mr Chan suffered serious facial and right foot injuries.

He was taken to hospital where he died of multiple injuries about three hours later.

A second charge of causing hurt to Mr Chan's wife, Madam Chan Kah Noi, 41, and daughter was taken into consideration during sentencing.

Zulkafian has previous convictions for drug-taking, impersonation, promoting gaming and unlawful possession of an identity card.

Pleading for leniency, he said he wished to apologise to the family of Mr Chan for what had happened.

He could have been jailed for up to two years and/or fined for causing death by doing any rash or negligent act.
---------

8k???

Is that all the guy's life was worth?

Was that suffice to ensure that he has learn his lesson?

Is that enough to deter speed demons who will prob think...
"8k, well... Juz have to make do with 1 less mod to the car..."

Sometime, I do hope authorities would do more to "remind" errant and reckless drivers to be more careful while they drive.

Honda ST1100 Manoeuvrability

2009-01-11T05:49:00.000-08:00

Never knew you could do this with an ST1100.

Impressive Cornering.

ST1100 Burnout

Whoever mentioned that the ST1100 was to heavy to manoeuver has only his / her own lack of skill to blame.
Check out this clip.
ST1100 vs Hayabusa vs another Racing bike. (Near the end.)
Mock Dog Fight.

and what the hell is this????

Bike down bike down!!

2009-01-02T00:23:00.000-08:00

My bike was knocked down when it was parked @ Jadyn's school...

Sigh...

Anyway, not sure how... but this lady who parked her car head in reversed her car to get out... some how did not see my BeaST and knocked it down.

The car knocked the left side and the bike landed on the right...

If it was a flat ground, prob the damage would be minimal... but the bike basically "landed" onto a curb...

Here's some picts.

Some dents on the side

Damaged box... I was told that this box cost about 1k....

I'm not even sure how this got there...

Cracked and scratched wind shield...

Leaked petrol... and bit and pieces of here and there...

I replaced this not too long ago... sad....

Somehow the edge of the curb got this black part too... a crack there...

The Mazda (whom hit BeaST) was parked where the Merc was... and this was the driver who was willing to be my witness. Thank God!

The side... smashed....

There she lay...

Bleeding.....

I was glad that
1. The school was a "church" and there were many Christians there.
Coz many of them offered to be my witness.
(One of which was the principal who came to look for me personally)

2. The lady whom I called did not deny the fact that she knocked the bike down.
(I mean, she could right?)

3. Sorry to say this but I recorded the tele-conversation... juz in case.

Best of all, when I called the lady... she mentioned that I should not have parked there...
Trying to keep my composure... I menti0ned... "But did that give her the right to knock my bike over then?"

She went "................"

But I am not taking this as a denial of responsibility but an attempt to clarify some "doubts".
:)

What are you looking out??

2008-12-16T06:44:00.001-08:00

New Helmet - Update

2008-12-09T07:47:00.000-08:00

Posted this review somewhere just now...

And update to my review on the Caberg Justissimo Helmet
http://sgbikerblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/new-helmet.html

http://sgbikerblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/new-helmet-part-2.html

-------
The first thing that I loved about the helmet was the weight, as compared to my prev Nolan N100, this was alot lighter.

All the reviews that I found in the net were generally true.

But here's my 2 cent as compared to my N100.

It was alot lighter as mentioned, but I was pretty comfortable with a Nolan XL but the Justissimo gave me a slight headache (On the top left and right side of my head) if I were to wear it for more than an hour.
*Prob cos I have quite a round head.

Next thing that I don't like about this helmet was...
The wind noise!
Note, the road noise was fine... but the wind noise was a killer!
*I do not have a habit of wearing ear plugs.

The N100 was easy on the wind noise but the road noise was quite bad.
*But I have grown accustomed to listening to my ST1100's purr.

But this helmet scored high on the cool factor as compared to the Rhyno, (Where the lever for the visor was on top of the helmet)
*It just did not look as cool as "flipping" it from the side of the visor like the Justissimo.

Was more cooling than the N100.

But the specs mentioned that the visor was fog resistant... I beg to differ... It never failed to fog up the first couple of mins when I flip the visor down.

Price - Great
Coolness - Superb
Wind & Road Noise - Could be better
Visor - Fail

Also, Why can't they made those caberg logo sitckers so we can choose to peel them off if we didn't like them........

Bike Lots issues posted in STOMP

2008-12-06T07:41:00.000-08:00

See the numerous posts about how bikers in SGP are treated...

So sad.

"I paid for season parking, but I have no choice but to park illegally"

Motoring Goondus at Sitex: One parks in motorbike lots, the other, on road

Car occupies entire motorcycle lot

Why is this car parked in a motorcycle lot?

Sad....

Are bikers really second / third class road users??

Motorcycle Face Mask

2008-12-06T07:32:00.000-08:00

Wondering what's gonna happen if I were to wear this out for a ride?

Day time
Night Time

New JB checkpoint replaces old one

2008-12-01T16:57:00.000-08:00

http://news.asiaone.com/News/the%2BStraits%2BTimes/Story/A1Story20081202-104809.html
Tue, Dec 02, 2008
The Straits Times

MALAYSIA officially opened a massive RM$1.3 billion (S$550 million) border checkpoint in Johor Baru yesterday in an effort to ease congestion across the Causeway.

The complex, which has 76 lanes for cars and 100 for motorcycles, replaces an ageing crossing that was subject to frequent complaints from travellers.

The new checkpoint, called the Sultan Iskandar Complex, is bigger and better than the current Johor customs, immigration and quarantine complex, officials said.

-----------

Good news???

I've got some questions...

Out of these 176 lanes (100 bikes, 76 cars), how many will be operating @ 1 time?

IMHO, it's not the Msia's end that is causing the jam... (Well... not in Tuas.)
*I've given up on trying Woodlands.

It's... well... Who do you think is the bottle neck?

Personally, in terms of processing speed (@ the customs), Msia is still faster.

Kulai

2008-11-02T07:38:00.000-08:00

I cannot remember when was the last time I eat @ Kulai.

For that matter, I cannot remember when was the last time I rode to Msia on my ST1100.

Anyway, last friday, some bikers I just got to know "Jio" me for supper @ Kulai.

And man, some of these guys were experts @ marshalling.

Yellow vests with reflectors, Armoured riding jackets, reflective stickers on the bikes etc etc.

Anyway, that aside, these guys were fast too.
Averaging @ 140 - 150km.

*Needless to say... my bike needed that "carbon" to be "blown" out too.
It was FUN!

If you think the "Ramli's Burger" in SG was good.... You should try this.

@ 2.40RM I think.
Nasi Lemak. Beats the Punggol Nasi Lemak in terms of Price & Quality.

The Teh Tarik was super too.

The trip back...

Well... It's been years since I went fast on my previous ST1100 (WHich I bought 1st Hand).
& my current ST1100 was a second hand bike which I wasn't very "confident" of...
*Cos I wasn't sure how did the previous owner/s "maintained the bike".

And well... did not know when I was gonna ride there again...

So...

:)

I topped @ 180km/h

Did some serious carbon blow out!

I am not promoting speeding here but....

Well there's no excuse but it was quite fun living / riding @ those speeds again.

Motorcyclist dies in SLE crash

2008-10-09T20:36:00.000-07:00

Weren't car driver instructed and tested to ebrake without swerving to the left or right just for this reason?

He should be put in jailed and banned from driving for negligence and reckless driving that caused another road user's death!

Sorry this may sound harsh but why does bikers always have to be on the "receiving" end of careless drives like this?

Motorcyclist dies in SLE crash

A MOTORCYCLIST died after a van rammed into his bike along the Seletar Expressway on Wednesday evening.

The van driver said he was travelling in the extreme left lane when an unknown vehicle tried to enter his lane from the right.

He jammed on the brake to avoid the vehicle but his van ended up skidding to the right, where it crashed into a motorcycle.

M'sian bike theft syndicate smashed

2008-10-09T19:47:00.000-07:00

Honestly...

Personally....

With the amounts of Bikes being stolen in Msia... I have a hunch that there are more involved other than these few "kids".

--------
M'sian bike th eft syndicate smashed

TEMERLOH, Malaysia: Temerloh police smashed a motorcycle theft syndicate in the district with the arrest of three men, aged between 20 to 23, and 13 students, after a three-week investigation last month.

OCPD Assistant Commisioner of Police Ahmad Fadzillah Mohamed said one of them, a 23-year-old drug addict believed to be the mastermind, was arrested on Sept 18 in his house in Felda Jengka 19, after a public tip-off.

ACP Ahmad Fadzillah said police later detained the other 15 and recovered 34 stolen motorcycles comprising six new motorcycles, four engines and 24 frames of machines.

"The stolen motorcycles were found in various places including in the river, in the lake and in the suspects' houses, all in Felda Jengka areas," ACP Ahmad Fadzillah told reporters in a press conference here on Wednesday.

He said the syndicate started operations early this year.

"We received numerous reports of stolen motorcycles from January. We have been investigating since then," ACP Ahmad Fadzillah said adding that the syndicate was also active in Maran district.

He said police was still looking for another two known only as "Bulit" and "Kojek".

He said the 13 students detained were released on police bail while all the three youths would be charged on Thursday under the Section 379A of the Penal Code.

ACP Ahmad Fadzillah advised the public to avoid buying low-priced stolen items as it was an offence.

52 bikes razed

2008-10-08T00:27:00.001-07:00

Juz saw this new in the papers...

Sad to see these things done to bikes.

But my question is...

What happened to the so called fire extinguishing system??
*The pipes that is seen in this pict dangling from the ceiling?

Were they ineffective?

Why have it in the first place?

People whom park their bikes / cars here... pays for parking, shouldn't the "authorities" / people whom they, the people who provide the service ensure certain levels of "safety" precautions put in place / enforced?

Shouldn't they be partly responsible too?

Imagine those bikers whose bikes are not covered for fire?
And some of these bikes are not cheap too.
*See report below.

Link

AN EARLY morning blaze on Tuesday engulfed 52 motorcycles in a multi-storey carpark in Gangsa Road.

The fire wrecked almost all the motorcycles parked in deck D which is above a 24-hour coffee shop.

Undergraduate Kim Lee, 24, who was up late studying for her exams in her flat, said she heard loud popping noises coming from the carpark opposite.

'At first I thought there was an army training going on at a camp nearby but I looked out of my window and saw a huge fire coming out from the deck where the bikes were,' she recalled.

Ms Lee quickly woke her boyfriend, David Tan, 25, and called the fire brigade. They both own a motorcycle parked there.

They then rushed to the carpark, and with the help of about 10 others, tried to tame the fire with the hoses situated there but were overwhelmed by the huge flames.

'It was all ablaze like an enormous barbecue. There was just too much smoke and too much fire and we really tried our best to save our vehicles,' said Ms Lee.

Ms Lee and Mr Tan lost a class two race motorcycle that cost up to $18,000 with insurance. It was Mr Tan's main mode of transport.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that they received a call at about 2.30am and dispatched a fire engine, a red rhino and a support vehicle.

The fire was under control 15 minutes after SCDF arrived at the scene.

The cause of fire is being investigated.

Facebook Wall post

2008-08-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

Normally, I'll just ignore the posts that I get from my "wall"....

Got somehow, I thought of sharing this one.

It's worth a read.

---------
I was walking around in a Target store, when I saw a Cashier hand this little boy some money back.

The boy couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old.

The Cashier said, 'I'm sorry, but you don't have enough money to buy this doll.'

Then the little boy turned to the old woman next to him: ''Granny,

are you sure I don't have enough money?''

The old lady replied: ''You know that you don't have enough money to buy this doll, my dear.''

Then she asked him to stay there for just 5 minutes while she went to look a round. She left quickly.

The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand.

Finally, I walked toward him and I asked him who he wished to give this doll to.

'It's the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much for Christmas

She was sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her.'

I replied to him that maybe Santa Claus would bring it to her after all, and not to worry.

But he replied to me sadly. 'No, Santa Claus can't bring it to her where she is now. I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there.'

His eyes were so sad while saying this. 'My Sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister.''

My heart nearly stopped.

The little boy looked up at me and said: 'I told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet I need her to wait until I come back from the mall.'

Then he showed me a very nice photo of him where he was laughing. He then told me 'I want mommy to take my picture with her so she won't forget me.'

'I love my mommy and I wish she doesn't have to leave me, but daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister.'

Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly.

I quickly reached for my wallet and said to the boy. 'Suppose we check again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll?''

'OK' he said, 'I hope I do have enough.' I added some of my money to his with out him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some spare money.

The little boy said: 'Thank you God for giving me enough money!'

Then he looked at me and added, 'I asked last night before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that mommy could give It to my sister. He heard me!''
'I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn't dare to ask God for too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose.''

'My mommy loves white roses.'

A few minutes later, the old lady returned and I left with my basket.

I finished my shopping in a totally different state from when I started.

I couldn't get the little boy out of my mind.

Then I remembered a local news paper article two days ago, which mentioned a drunk man in a truck, who hit a car occupied by a young woman and a little girl.

The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-sustaining machine, because the young woman would not be able to recover from the coma.

Was this the family of the little boy?

Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the news paper that the young woman had passed away.

I couldn't stop myself as I bought a bunch of white roses and I went to the funeral home where the body of the young woman was exposed for people to see and make last wishes before her burial.

She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest.

I left the place, teary-eyed, feeling that my life had been changed for ever.. The love that the little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to this day, hard to imagine.

And in a fraction of a second, a drunk driver had taken all this away from him.

Will you think again before you drink drive??????

Amoured Jacket

2008-08-20T19:37:00.000-07:00

After a close encounter last week with a cab who slammed his brakes cos I honked him for blocking the road, I've decided to get some protection.
*Story coming up soon.

Anyway, went to Ah Boy's place and was deciding between these 2.
R Jays

and

Alpine Star
*This is not the exact model but it's close.

Anyway, the AlpineStar one costs about 70% more and felt alittle "hotter"

As these were supposed to be summer jackets.

Anyway, the RJays looked way cooler.

Sounds kinda vain ya?

Anyway, after wearing it for about 3-4 days... conclusion...

The RJ was indeed cooler... but there was one little flaw... the position of the amour was not fixed. It was sort of like in another pocket in the jacket. So giving the amour some room to more. Making my shoulders droopy / dislocated sometimes.

:)

Unlike the AlpineStar, they had Velcro to "hold" the amour in place.

The "make" of the AlpineStar was also better. The stitches looked finer and more sturdy.

But I'm not too sure how long I'll wear this, so I've decided to get the cheaper one and the one that looked alittle cooler.

:D

Car Park Bullies now??

2008-08-08T02:37:00.000-07:00

Damn those driver who thinks they own the road, now they want their own lots too?

Via Link

---------
Bully leaves note to claim stake on lot

A Choa Chu Kang resident had parked her car in multi-storey carpark at Block 203A.

Upon her return to her vehicle the morning of August 7, 2008, she was shocked to find this handwritten note placed on her car windscreen.

She told STOMP: "There seems to be a carpark bully who thinks he owns Lot 9 of Block 203A multi-storey carpark in Choa Chu Kang."

"We saw the empty lot at around 9:10pm on the night before and just parked there, but it seems like the lot is privately owned by one of the residents there," she added.

The resident has since filed a police report.

Expressing her discontent she said,"Such carpark bullies should be educated that what they are doing is wrong."

----------

IMHO, these guys must be heavily fined or even put in jail for intimidation.

Near accident

2008-07-31T08:20:00.000-07:00

2 Close encounters in 1 day... sigh... what's becoming of SG's road??

1st... a moronic driver of a Lexus 250 SBC9009 almost him me as he was exiting somewhere near Tai Seng road into Paya Lebar Road...

Coz he was using a mobile phone while driving.

I honked @ him but he ignored me...
Or was it cos the car was much too quiet??

I was letting Doris alight @ Paya Lebar one morning @ the drop off bay.

Guess what...

As she was getting off my bike, @ the side of my eye, I saw this vehicle coming towards me on my left... fast...
*As the drop off bay was on the right hand side of the road.

I tried to warn Doris but she was getting off.

The Van was so close, that Doris was just inches away from hitting the van.

"What did that moron need to come so close to me" I thought.... and the drive stopped right in front of me.

Quickly, I asked Doris to move away to the pavement on the right.

Then the driver started to reverse.

This time, he was centimetres away from me.

Damn, was I pisses this time.

Why did he reverse? Coz he wanted to park behind me.

I walked over and asked him, "Did you need to drive this close to me?"

He yelled back. "So??"

Fine.

Then I took @ picture of his vehicle. He too took a picture of my bike.
*Lame*

Anyway, I did not report this to the traffic police anyway, they wouldn't do anyting about it anyway... Coz the last time I called on something like this... They asked... "was anyone injured? No... Sorry, nothing could be done about it."

Sigh... It's not easy riding in SGP.

Anyway, here's the picture of the moronic van driver.

Anyway, he had the cheek to shout @ me... "I also never hit you what.."

Ya right... I'm on a stationary bike... you hit me...

What???

So you can say sorry??

There should be a database of records of complaints of such inconsiderate drivers be kept... And when accidents do happen, these letters then can be reviewed again to decide the severity of their punishment.

As IMHO, such jerks who have no respect of other road users deserves to have their lisence revoked before anyone gets injured.

Awareness Test

2008-07-31T08:17:00.000-07:00

Honestly, we only see what we look out for...

But what was she looking out for??

http://www.asiaone.com/Motoring/News/Story/A1Story20080731-79904.html

Traffic improvement... Can there be any?? I believe so.

2008-07-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

Recently, the bus companies installed cameras on buses to "catch" those who drive on the bus lanes during bus lanes timings.

Sometime, I wonder... if these bus captains are paid any bonus for any successful "summons" issued and paid like those parking aunty?

But I have also noticed a trend / style of driving these bus drivers are starting to have...

They are driving slower....!!!

Why?? Beats me!

Are they trying to "Find" more chances to take a pict of those car flouting the rule for commission?

Also, Bus Stops usually have "Bays" for them to stop their buses... this is so that buses that does not have passenger who is alighting @ that bus stop are able to drive past the bus that have stopped. But recently, many of these buses "Stop" 1/2 of their buses in these designated bays.

Why?? Dunno? To prevent the bus behind from going in front of them so that they can "catch" more cars??

Also, most if not all of the roads (Other than express ways) have bus lanes... they even have those 24 x 7 bus lanes now... and other vehicles are penalised if they were "caught" in these bus lanes during the designated timings.... But what about buses driving out of these bus lanes?? Honestly... These buses are a nuisance!!! They are so huge and slow... they'll just creep into the other lanes and drive as if it's their right / lane as well....

Should these buses be issued summons as well??

I mean, they are causing a bottle neck here.

Also, if you noticed, there is usually a bus stop just before a major turn.
So what you may ask...
Well, these bus stops are less than 50m, away from the traffic light and these bus captains have to make a turn (which blocks the main traffic).

Where you may ask are these bus stops...??

Well... here's one.
Most if not all the buses goes straight after this bus stop... but most of the cars here wants to turn left into the expressway...
*There's one of the bus lanes which are red... meaning, operational 24 x 7.

View Larger Map

Here's another

View Larger Map

And a couple of bus stops here...

View Larger Map

Sigh... need I say more??

Honestly.... Who is causing the bottle neck?

Other than putting ERP gantries everywhere... Is there something else that can be done??

Sometime I do wonder... should KPIs be $$$ measured??

Are we really happy??

See it for yourself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Planet_Index

Govt is promoting the people to have kids.... But some of my other friends are saying... why have kids?? Let them suffer?? Let me suffer??

:)

Food for thought.

Cuss-O-Meter

2008-07-16T09:02:00.000-07:00

OnePlusYou Quizzes and Widgets

Biggest cause of death in an accident

2008-07-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

Did you get it right?

More bad news... This one is not a joke... I think...

2008-07-15T07:53:00.000-07:00

LTA has contracted six traffic wardens from a private company at $34,000 a year to take down the licence plate number, make and colour of vehicles that intrude into bus lanes at peak hours.(They are incognito with camera in hands......so don't expect to see a TP, etc)

Note you can get fined $130 for dropping someone off at or near the bus stop.

LTA has intensified their operations at the following
1) Eunos Link
2) Hougang Ave 3
3) Jurong Town Hall Rd
4) Lorong Chuan
5) Orchard Rd
6) Upper Serangoon Rd
7) Upper Thomson Rd
8) Yishun Ave 2

Additional spots where speed traps were seen:
1) PIE towards airport near Toa Payoh exit, tripod mounted speed camera at the pedestrain overhead bridge. 90km/h
2) PIE towards jurong near Adam road exit, tripod mounted speed camera over atAdam Road flyover. 90km/h
3) Braddell Road after Bishan Junction towards CTE, tripod mounted speed camera at the pedestrain overhead bridge. 60/kmh
4) Queensway towards Bukit Merah, tripod mounted speed camera under tree before Ridout McDonalds. 60km/h
5) Spot along Upper Bukit Timah Rd towards Woodlands Rd , tripod mounted speed camera under tree after a curve turn - 60km/h.

Fine imposed is $170 and 8 demerit points.

---------

Here's some that I have seen myself.
Speed Traps
1. Bridge along Nicole Highway
2. One of the bridges along Houguang Ave 3 (Near St 22)

Bus Lanes
Bus stops along Upper Paya Lebar Road (Between Paya Lebar Walk & Jln Usaha)

Believe it or not, once I even saw these wardens shouting & hurling insults @ cars who were driving on the bus lanes... Then taking a pict of their cars... Sometime I find they act more like a road bully than the car drivers!

The future of ERP

2008-07-15T07:48:00.000-07:00

The only way to reduce traffice congestion in Singapore is to have more ERP gates and someone has projected the
number of gates in .......

SINGAPORE ERP SYSTEM IN YEAR 2010

SINGAPORE ERP SYSTEM IN YEAR 2015

Think this is funny?? But what's stopping it from happening?

Don't be too happy, this will be next.

And next

ERPs, they are everywhere!

2008-07-13T02:23:00.000-07:00

Long long time ago... someone came out with the idea of limiting the number of cars on the road with the COE system.

The Certificate of Entitlement (COE), instituted by the government of Singapore, is a program designed to limit car ownership, and hence, the number of vehicles on the country's roads. This system, in effect, requires residents of Singapore to bid for the right to buy a motor vehicle, with the number of certificates deliberately restricted.

But now... ERP System

The Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) (Malay: Sistem Kadar Jalan Elektronik; Chinese: 电子道路收费系统) scheme is an electronic toll collection scheme adopted in Singapore to manage traffic by road pricing, and as a usage-based taxation mechanism to complement the purchase-based Certificate of Entitlement system. The ERP was implemented by the Land Transport Authority in September 1998 ^[1] to replace the Singapore Area Licensing Scheme ^[2] after successfully stress-testing the system with speeding Lamborghinis, Porsches and Ferraris. Singapore was the first city in the world to implement an electronic road toll collection system for purposes of congestion pricing.^[3]

Somehow, I cannot help but to feel that neither of the systems is really working and somehow... I find that it's starting to become a tool for generating income than to solve traffic problems.

See the number of ERPs!
http://www.oneshift.com/maps/

A simple equation.
If traffic speed gets below certain levels... = ERP Gantry.

Since there is an ERP Gantry there... people will start using other roads... causing that road to be jammed / slow down... So... to speed the traffic up... ERP Gantry.

Sigh...

With the sky rocketing prices of fuel.......

To drive or not to drive??

Is driving soon going to become something that only the rich can afford??

Easy Rider??? More like Crazy Rider!!!

2008-07-12T08:43:00.000-07:00

This is just insane!

If he gets into an accident... it's all him.

Email : Our Resurfaced North-South Expressway is SLIPPERY! Very Dangerous !!

2008-07-11T07:47:00.000-07:00

I received this email recently & got me alittle worried...

Coz I ride pretty fast there myself.

Any comments??

--------

Subject: Fwd: Our Resurfaced North-South Expressway is SLIPPERY! Very Dangerous !!

> > ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> > From: Jensen Yeoh < jensen.yeoh@... >
> > Date: Wed, Jun 25, 2008 at 1:25 AM
> > Subject: Save Lives
> > To: feedback@... , enquiries@... , the star < editor@... >
> >
> >
> > Dear TV3 and The Star,
> >
> > I am a frequent user of our North-South Expressway and I have this IMPORTANT experience to highlight and share:-
> >
> > I was driving back to Penang yesterday afternoon (24 June 08) when I saw the unfortunate accident in the opposite direction involving the passenger bus that skidded and overturned at Tanjung Malim. I didn't know that the skidded bus was from hometown Penang untill I watched TV3 news later in the evening and was shocked to learn that the accident took two lives.
> >
> > Now, this is what I need to share:-
> >
> > I am a building contractor with over twenty years of experience and I have been driving my 5 series BMW (latest generation and a dammed solid road holding car) each time
> > I travelled to KL. Lately, the new extended 3 lanes highway had been opened up for use and since then, I have also been using it quite oftenly.
> >
> > HOWEVER, when I used it each time it is WET, I can really 'feel' that the new road surface is extremely SLIPPERY! To share with some of you, my car comes with a built-in traction control mechanism (skidding prevention mechanism) and you can feel it each time it is activated. Previously, I don't come across this kind of slippery feel except when I drive over a paddle of water at certain speed.
> >
> > From my observation as a building contractor, the 'wearing course' of the new road surface could be TOO FINE OR TOO SMOOTH and TOTALLY UNSUITABLE for highway use!
> > The wearing course (top premix layer) mix design for highways should be of minimum 20mm coarse aggregate mix that will give us the required bond between the surface and our tyres. Fine wearing course (14mm coarse aggregate size and below) is only suitable for normal road. (A proper test need to be carried out to determine the mix design of the wearing course).
> >
> > Since the opening of the three lanes highway, I had seen cars skidding in front me or in the opposite direction and approximately 2 weeks ago, one of my friends who is also a frequent user of our NSE, came to share with me about his slippery feeling as well as the many skidded cars he had seen lately.
> >
> > I am highlighting this to TV3 and The Star with the hope that a thourough investigation could be carried out immediately to find out how or what causes the bus to skid. A proper and independent test need to be carried out urgently to determine the design mix of the wearing course. THIS CAN SAVE LIVES.
> >
> > FOR THOSE BCC RECIPIENTS, PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH ALL YOUR FRIENDS.
> > IF YOU ARE USING THE NEW LANES AND IF IT IS WET, MAKE SURE YOU DRIVE SLOWLY!!!!
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Jensen Yeoh
> > 012-4826163
> > Penang.

Bikers' for Christ

2008-07-05T09:04:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, a bro from Church asked me about Bikers' for Christ...

And I came across this in the internet.

http://bikersforchrist.org/

and this

http://www.singaporebikes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=189058

Is this a "sign"??

:)

9:1 Scaled Model Bike

2008-06-22T06:42:00.000-07:00

This is so so cool.

Do let me know if you find one... Better if it's of an ST1100...

HONDA RC211V - Hand Made Model Kit Scale 9:1. - Watch more funny videos here

Anyway, did you know... there isn't any scaled model of the ST1100?

Near accident with SHC731*

2008-06-12T17:53:00.000-07:00

Nearly collided with a City Cab this morning SHC731 coz he switched lanes suddenly @ a turn @ Cross St.
*Cross St is a nightmare to drive in... uded to be about 4-5 lanes which became only 2 lanes.

Anyway...

After the close incident, I asked him "What do you think you were trying to do??"

He winded down the window and just acted as if nothing has happened!!!
Not even an apology!

Honestly, this is what many / not all bikes go through day in and day out...

Sigh...

Anyway, right after that, I called LTA and lodged a complaint.
1800-Call-LTA

They mentioned that they will notify the TP on this matter and... well... let's see...

Interesting posts in the papers.

2008-05-30T09:01:00.001-07:00

Do you have any idea how hard it is to flip one of these??

Again??

How fast were they traveling?

Somehow I feel that the authorities should be doing more to "educate" heavy vehicle drivers to be more careful...

But they too... have to be good examples.

These DJ does say some funny stuff about them...
:D

Yes they should...
I simply do not understand... if they can afford a 50k - "God knows how much it really cost car" why can't they afford a bluetooth handsfree?

IMHO, if it gets into the news... it's gotta pretty bad.
Sometime, rather than giving figures... shouldn't the authorities try it out themselves?
I mean... once during off peak hours... it too me 2 hrs to get home... via Public Transport!

Guess why I still ride to work?

With other passengers like this...
PLEASE....

New Helmet Part 2

2008-05-26T08:00:00.001-07:00

The Rhyno Helmet was alittle too small, so I went back to see if I could change the size...

@ the same time... the model...

The Caberg Justissimo GT, It was too beautiful and tempting.

Here's what happened.

I gave in to temptation....

It scored a 8-9 on the looks and coolness factor...
But...

The wind noise was quite a killer!

The Rhyno was more quiet than this one.

IMHO, kinda regretted this cos... for the difference of it... I could have gotten this.......

New Helmet!

2008-05-17T08:48:00.000-07:00

Finally...

I had to say good bye to my faithful Nolan N100 Helmet.

It's been a good 8 years.
It was love @ first sight @ LAB.
Sigh...

Initially I wanted to get another Nolan, N103.

But I was advised that somehow the standard of the make / quality has somewhat.... errmmmm.... disappointing.

If you can see... Design wise... nothing much has changed.

Many people complained about the hinges, wind noises and exp weight @ slightly over 1kg... one of the heaviest in the market.

The I saw this

Caberg Helmets

And I was in love again.

But the price made me choose the latter.

The Review of the Rhyno was rather impressive I must say.

The wind noise, the feel, the comfort was much better than even the N100 I must say.

Side profile.

Open Sesame...
See the cool sun visor?

Love it.

Think those car drivers will get scared when I ask (nicely & politely) to stop using their mobile phones?

Parking Inconsiderate & ... aarrggggggggg

2008-05-03T09:06:00.000-07:00

Copied and Paste from my original Blog

See anything unusual with this pict??

SJB1538E

Yes, parking on 2 lots? Yes!!

But usually, such posts are posted in my other blog, the biker blog, on Parking Inconsiderates.
But I am making an exception on this particular case due to the "nature" of this "story.

Well, here's what happened.

I was sending Jed to his usual swimming lesson today and funny thing was, there were lots of cars there... I mean, today was a sunny day, wonderful chance for a swim.

But driving on, I finally found a place to park, but I also noticed this car in front of me.

1. It was taking up 2 lots

2. There was a lady changing this little girl right there and then.

Seeing the "P" plate, I though that she had made a boo boo and did not know that she was parking this way.

So, walking towards the pool, I casually "notified" her "Excuse me, I think you are parking on 2 lots"

She looked quite sternly and annoyed @ me and replied "Yes I know, I need the space to change 2 of my girls"

I did not really understand her "reason" as her 2 girls looked like they were swimming earlier and if my memory served me correctly, the pool had changing and shower facilities.

Feeling kinda puzzled, so I asked "Does the pool have toilets for that?"

She responded "Yes I know, but my girls are uncomfortable changing in there"

I was like......... !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What??? (In thought)
I was thinking "So you are taking up 2 lots in the public car park, so that you can change your 2 girls who is uncomfortable changing in the toilet but is ok with changing in a public car park??

I was like... "errmmm... ok..."
Thinking "you're the parent, you know best"

But then she added sounding rather annoyed..." I am surprised that you asked me that question, you as a parent yourself should know and understand"

I said "sorry?", and she repeated what she just said.

When she said that, I admit, it hit a nerve.

I tried to respond as "gently" as I could without making a scene and said "Parenting is one thing, being inconsiderate is another"

With that I walked off without wanting to get into more senseless banter.

I think the story is quite self explanatory... I mean, what's going on??
I am so lost for words...
Sigh...

1st Qn... how fast was he going and why was the vehicle like this?

2008-04-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

I have never saw a worse Jam in my life of driving!!!

I was on my way to Jurong and we got stuck somewhere near Toa Payoh road.

Judging from the "speed" of the traffic... I knew something was really wrong.

I exited out from Steven's road and took the smaller roads to cut through Bukit Timah.

When I hear that there was an accident that involved a lorry, I had no idea it was that bad.

Looking @ the picture... all I can think of is...

1. Why did he "swerve" to the extreme right?
- Was he avoiding something?
- Was he over taking? Why should he be over taking? Is he allowed to over take?
- Did he lose control? If he was within speed limits, would the accident be this bad?

2. Why did the trailer flip?
- See above... how fast was he going? He was carrying 5 slabs of concrete... Just the weight alone... he's heavier than a tank... how did he flip??

IMHO, the companies should be responsible for their drivers and be made to pay for the inconvenience caused to the public.
*Like the MRT incident recently when 2 of their service trains collided.

Heavy vehicles these days are getting to aggressive and arrogant with the way that they drive which I have witnessed that could have caused serious accidents.

I have tried to complain to the authorities before... but the impression that they have given was... Since there are no "accidents" or "injuries"... no actions will be taken. Their numbers will not even be stored for recording purposes.

I guess perhaps that's why the public is so tired of giving "feedback" to the authorities. As they have a tendency to brush it off as another "complaint".

Sad.

IMHO, I believe that such a Database would "wake" those reckless driver up and let them know that they are being watched, not only by the authorities, but also by the public.

You give bikers a bad name

2008-04-25T10:35:00.000-07:00

IMHO, these bikers give SG bikers a bad name...

But I can feel their pain.

Unlike cars, these ERP readers are exposed.

and the cash cards need to be taken out everytime if it's not in use.
(Else, it may get stolen)

Mine got stoles afew times when I forgot to take out mine.

For those people who say that these can be locked up... think again... Would you lock it on the bike if it was yours? Have you seen the flimsy plastic which is "supposed" to be the "ring"
for the lock?

IMHO, the designer was surely not a biker himself / herself.

Oh yes, this includes the recent implementation of the RFID parking thingie...

Who in the world would want to expose that RFID Tag when replacing that thing cost money?

Did they even think about the bikes when they designed that / those thing / things?
Sad....

When they implement the GPS thingie for the usage of "your" vehicle, I wonder how is it going to be designed for bikes.

Reckless Car drivers

2008-04-25T10:31:00.001-07:00

Some car drivers are so.... in a rush... sometimes it's not really surprising to "see" such accidents.

But sometime I think the authorities should do something about it though.

Example?

1. Check these drivers' mobile to see if they have been using the mobile when the accident happened.

2. Check their records for past speeding offenses

3. Have a database to hold records of complaints from member of the public of reckless drivers to enforce point 2.

Just to name afew.

:)

Did she deserve it?? Parking Inconsiderate

2008-04-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

I do not condone to vandalism but this article really made me laugh!

*IMHO, I'd laugh harder if I knew who the owner was.

Who is right? Who is wrong?

The car owner parked her car without thinking of other road users and got this...

Did she deserve it?

:)

All I can say is... Car owner... There is a chinese saying... Walk too much @ night, one day will meet ghost!

:)

Creating more demand??

2008-04-25T10:22:00.000-07:00

It's a well known fact that SG has little space for cars to park.

But creating lesser parking lots?

When supply goes down, what goes up?
You have the answer to that.

And with this article... it sounded really contradicting.

Can't stand Parking Inconsiderates!!!

2008-04-25T10:02:00.000-07:00

Dun understand why...

Such inconsiderate people.

I saw this lorry driver and told him that he was blocking me but he said "no le... can still come out" and he walked off...

Does this look alittle "cramp" to you??

In front of that Matrix was these cars.

What happened was, soon after I took these picts, the car owners came back...

But what was surprising was... they still refused to move.

Fine... I called the magic number.
1800-2721409 - Car Park Reinforcement.

When they saw me do that, they came to me and heard me say their car plate numbers to the officer over the phone.

Guess what, rather than moving off, they came to confront me.

Shouting, "who do you think you are? What gives you the right to do this?"

Isn't it surprising how some people who is @ fault acting like they are right?

I just said, "you are blocking my bike."

And they could still repeat, "who do you think you are? What gives you the right to do this?"

Obviously, they were not listening... so I quit explaining and continued my call.

Soon his family came and join in the yelling too... "Who do you think you are?" "What gives you the right to do this?"

I was so tempted to tell them, "I am a member of the public who cannot move his bike due to inconsiderate people like you!" But I took it all in...

By then the lorry owner came back and I told him... "see, so do you think you are blocking my bike??"

He kept apologizing but it was too late, I had given his number plate to the authorities.

One of the car shown here... actually drove off... but I guess he was still pissed coz I ignored him... turned around with him family in the car this time. I think he wanted to take a picture of my bike... for what?? I do not know... But what I can say is that when he was my bike... He did not take a pict... but reversed and drove off.

I guess it pays to ride a big bike.
:)

Accidents Montage

2008-04-11T07:05:00.000-07:00

A "nice" montage of accidents.

The stunts were ok....

But the accidents that happened in Public Roads were... Silly.

I mean, for most of the stunts... the roads were blocked from the public to ensure safety.
But the ones where the stunts were done on public road... well... IMHO, they asked for it.

Biker Chicks you've heard... Biker Dogs?

2008-03-31T08:01:00.000-07:00

Man killed by runaway car in bizarre accident

2008-03-24T05:16:00.000-07:00

http://arbroath.blogspot.com/2008/03/man-killed-by-runaway-car-in-bizarre.html

La voiture d'un octogénaire devient folle
by Eagle1

One person has been killed and eight others injured in a bizarre traffic accident in Argentina which was captured on amateur video.

Oscar Perona, 81, drove through the pedestrians in central Buenos Aires.

An elderly man who was pulled underneath the car, died shortly before being taken to hospital.

Mr Perona, was immediately arrested, but police released him the following day saying the incident was caused by a mechanical fault.

Mr Perona claimed the automatic gears of his car failed.

He also said it had been the first driving accident in his life.

There's a longer news video with commentary and an interview with Mr Perona at the link above.

-----------

Ya right...

Mechanical fault.

81 year old vs car mechanics...

The car managed to stop after reversing. Why did it speed away forward again?

I feel that when a persons reaches a certain age, they should be checked more consistently to review their ability to drive and to handle "situations".
Situations e.g.
1. E brake response time?
2. Swerving to avoid road obstacles? e.g. fallen branch, box, chicken crossing the road?
3. The ability to gauge the length of their car.

Sometime with all the road works that going on in the SG roads... I do wonder... whose fault is it anyway if one of these old fogies were to claim that they could not see the road markers...

Sigh...

Singapore driver now a days...

2008-03-17T08:52:00.000-07:00

Over the recent weeks, there have been more and more reports of reckless drivers.

What is being done about them?

IMHO, sometime I do find that the system is not strict enough to these drivers to send out the correct signal to the public.

e.g. What is this driver doing @ such a high speed in such a narrow road?

Or this?
Can you even imagine the amount of force that is needed to topple this bus??

Or even this?
WRX, 3 in the morning, Clear road?
Will they release the report?
Dun think so.
But looking @ the damage, I don't think that cop was driving within speed limits...

Standards of Singapore's road

2008-03-17T08:43:00.000-07:00

Seems like the condition of SG's roads are getting from bad to worse.

Whenever there were some road works done in the past, there used to be a notice that says the completion date... But I hardly find them now a days.

I wonder why?

A lax in the way things are done?

Anyway, I went to this car park which was alittle big bikes unfriendly. I almost fell there. *While my son was with me.

There was a "gap" in the middle... which was a small "step" down and was surrounded with tiny pebble like sand. Was this necessary?

Even for roads around Paya Lebar, some of the steel bars there are starting to rust rather badly and the road conditions have not improved over the last couple of months, or should I say years? Sometime I really wonder who should be responsible for such inconveniences? Or even who should answer if someone was to get into an accident due to bad road conditions?

Sigh...

Same condition @ may other locations... but shouldn't construction of these have priority over the IR?

The need for speed

2008-03-04T17:53:00.000-08:00

Everybody gets these "need for speed" urges.
And so do I.

Years ago... A Linkin Park song would "spark off" that urge just like that... riding to the beat of the drums, angry words and screaming vocals.

Most class 2 bikes (400cc & above) can go from 0 - 100km/h or 0 - 60miles/h in 5 sec or less.
And most of these bikes can easily hit 130km/h or more.

As for my ST1100, 0 - 100km/h was in about 4 sec flat. Top speed was 220km/h.
*Dun ask me how I know.

In the past (before I had Jed or Jadyn), I had no issues squeezing between traffic @ high speeds on the highway. I had no problems riding @ high speeds around SG & MY.

But last night... I went for a ride and this time... for a "slow" ride since the weather was so cooling and the night was so clear. Perfect!

I decided to ride to Changi via ECP. I went though cargo road and cruised down the road feeling the breeze. It was a wonderful experience. I missed it... quite badly in fact.

I had to go through Changi Village and pass the commando camp towards TPE to go home.

As I passed by the commando camp, a WRX over took me as I was traveling @ about 80km/h from my left.

Being a "man" I gave chase... He picked up as well.... then before I know... I was going pretty fast. Then I decided to slow down when I over took a car that seemed like it was stationary.

But when I came to the junction turning into the TPE, there was the car again. To avoid him, I went to the front. Who knew, there was another WRX there. OMG...

Right after the filter lane, the WRX revved the car. And boy was it loud.

What the hell I thought... We went for a quick round.

Anyway, somehow by the time we reached tampines, something came over me. What was gonna happen to MY KIDS if I were to get into an accident? Strange, this was never a worry in the past. Worse case scenario was that me getting killed, Doris would get another BF (That was before we were married), my parents still had 2 kids... But now... I have Jed and Jadyn.

I slowed down and took it easy.

Speed was never an issue, but the effects of an accident that came with it was.

My family means too much, and my responsibility to my family also made me realize that too.

Bikers say wrong night for a robbery

2008-03-02T23:13:00.000-08:00

From Bikers say wrong night for a robbery

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Two armed thieves picked the wrong night to rob a Sydney club, disturbing a meeting of 50 motorcycle bikers, who tackled and hog-tied one of the thieves until police arrived.

The Southern Cross Cruiser Club was staging its monthly meeting on Wednesday night in the club in Sydney's west when two men armed with machetes entered the club and ordered patrons to lie on the ground and surrender their money.

But the balaclava-wearing bandits did not realize there were 50 bikers in the next room.

"I was in the middle of giving my meeting and someone ran in and said, "the place is being robbed'," biker club president Jester told local radio on Thursday.

"So we ran around the roller door out the front and as this guy opened the roller door, we crash tackled him in the doorway," Jester said.

The thief managed to escape the biker's tackle, but was caught again by the bikers.

"We caught him at the fence and crash-tackled him and hog-tied him to the ground and waited for the police to get there," said Jester.

"Yeah, he picked the wrong night I think," he said.

The other thief jumped over a balcony and ran into a nearby park, but was later caught by police.

"If they'd only looked, right when they walked in the main door, they would have seen 40 or 50 of us sitting there. Obviously they couldn't see out of the balaclavas, because they didn't even look," said Jester.

See, bikers are not all that bad!

But what a pair of nit wits.

I wonder if car drivers would do anything like this if it was a.... e.g. Japanese Car Group having a meeting there.
:D

But I do know of many SG bikers who will stop along the North South Highway to help another biker (Whom they do not know) to ask if they need assistance.

Dog on a bike.

2008-02-27T07:52:00.000-08:00

I wonder, if that is legal in SG?

But Doris & I did put our dog Jr in a bag which was strapped between us on a bike.
:)

Speeding drivers told off by school children

2008-02-27T07:44:00.000-08:00

Maybe the SG Traffic Police may wanna consider this?
:)

http://arbroath.blogspot.com/2008/02/speeding-drivers-told-off-by-school.html

-------------

Speeding drivers told off by school children

Speeding motorists in Norfolk are being shamed into slowing down - by getting a ticking off from the young children their action could endanger.

Norfolk police unveiled the unusual weapon aimed at making motorists cut their speed, at the top of Barrett Street in Norwich on Monday.

The road, which has recently changed from 40mph to 30mph, is near Tuckswood Primary School, and children and staff there have become so fed up with motorists not taking notice of the speed limit signs, they decided to join police on a mission to stop speeding motorists in their tracks.

Anyone caught speeding was then given a choice - to face a maximum penalty £60 fine and three points off their licence or have a dressing down from local schoolchildren.

And while the majority took what they thought would be the easier option, being told off by the schoolchildren, many were left red-faced and embarrassed after the children pleaded with them to curb their speed.

Speaking about the scheme, Pc Leo Blyth said: “Having the children tell the motorists off actually has more of an impact than if it was a police officer. A lot of the motorists have said how ashamed they felt afterwards and the message has really hit home to them.”

Red parking lots

2008-02-26T06:30:00.000-08:00

Why didn't they do this earlier? and why did they have to start from my area?

Reserved for Season Ticket Holders Only
7am to 7pm (Including Sunday & Public Holidays)

What about Sat?

*This does not apply to bike lots.

Why ah? Why ah??

Mits or Merc?

2008-02-24T07:28:00.000-08:00

You decide...

Funnies

2008-02-24T07:15:00.001-08:00

A lighter side of biking

Why didn't Top Gear do an episode on this?
Wonder if Jadyn will fit into my....

Ya right....

Outch!!!

Gives the term, Knight in Shiny Amour an whole new meaning.

You juz gotta take care of your RIDE man.

How they managed, I'll never know.
eerrmmmm........
Talk about full utilization

Kermit's evil twin was located...........

I dun think the H.O.Gs (Harley Owners Group) will like this pict very much.

This is so cool...

.....

.....

hahaha... this is the best way to explain Computers to a biker.

..... He might have been better off walking.

Family outing??
May I can try that... I have more BHP than him...

I think they were late for class

Guard cat??
That's not me............
This is so so wrong in so many ways..................

.............

Parking inconsiderates.

2008-02-24T07:11:00.000-08:00

Again...

Sad what some people will do for alittle more convenience.

There were more lots on the upper deck.

GW 9083 Y... Congrats, you made it into my blog!
:)

How old should one stop driving?

2008-02-24T06:56:00.000-08:00

Like the title, how old should one stop driving?

In the report, it just sayz that they need to take a fitness check...
Check what?? If they can still turn the steering wheel? They have power steering now.
To see if they can activate the windshield wipers? They have sensors to detect rain for that now.

Or were these tests like what we did when we applied for a driving lesson?
e.g.
Color blind tests.
Eye Sight Test?
What about older folks who may be alittle slower on the reaction to the fast lanes / cars?
etc?

But really, when should they stop driving?

Is taking these test/s every 3 years going to be enough?

Sorry if I may have dissed anyone but IMHO, a car is nothing less than a dangerous weapon when it's belittled.

There have been too many cases of bike "accidents" which may have been prevented if car drivers were alittle more careful. If they had checked the blind spots more often. If they had more respect for life.
http://sgbikerblog.blogspot.com/2008/02/bikers-lose-out-in-end.html

He rammed into the guy intentionally, kills the man and he publicly announces that he is only 70% regretful. What is wrong with the society that we are living in now?

If this was the case, what is going to stop a car drive from driving off after "nudging" a moving biker into an accident which may kill him?

If the car drivers were more like this driver in Taiwan, things may have been alittle more different.

Biker dies after being thrown off motorcycle in accident

2008-02-13T00:34:00.000-08:00

Extracted from Asia1
----------
http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20080211-49147.html

Mon, Feb 11, 2008
The Straits Times

A BIKER died after he lost control of his motorcycle about 10.30am on Sunday.

Mr Ranjit Kumar, 28, was travelling along Woodlands Avenue 7 towards Woodlands Avenue 2 when his motorcycle hit a central divider and next, the railing.

Both the biker and his 18-year-old pillion, believed to be a colleague, were thrown off the motorcycle. They were both rushed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

Mr Ranjit was pronounced dead at 10.40am in the hospital.

The pillion rider suffered fractures and multiple abrasions.

----------

Sometimes I do wonder if the authorities perform further investigate such accidents rather than just classifying these as normal accidents.

I mean, 10.30am... I don't think he's sleepy / drunk right?
Was this biker "nudged" off the road?

What really happened?

But take a careful look @ the news report...
The accident happened @ 10.30am in Woodlands but he was pronounced dead in the hospital @ 10.40am in TTS.

I really gotta give it to the guyz / galz driving the ambulance for being there so quickly @ sending him to the hospital so quickly as well!
10 mins!!!
It's gotta be a record!

SG Ambulances Rocks!

Bikers lose out in the end...

2008-02-03T08:22:00.000-08:00

What else can I say except to share this article?

Worse of all, with drivers like this... and getting off so lightly, IMHO, this is sending the wrong signal to arrogant driver around.

He intentionally knocked a man down which caused the young man to die.

Is a life so worthless these days?
Is the line between accident and murder so grey now?

Road bumps??

2008-02-03T08:17:00.001-08:00

Recently there were more of these around my housing area.

Road Bumps.

These were not Humps which makes vehicles go slower... these were supposed to be "dividers"!

But looking @ the condition of these things... I think some poor blokes needed new rims too.

I cannot imagine if bikers were to hit these things while turning / overtaking...

Who can they pursue this matter with?

Who is responsible?

Are these things doing more good or damage?

IMHO... they seem to have created more business for the tyres and rims companies.

Parking Inconsiderates.

2008-02-03T08:14:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, I wonder how do they sleep??

There were only 2 lanes... they had to park there to congest the road to
1. Save a parking coupon?
2. To save walking afew more steps?

What??

Biker's Wish

2008-01-29T07:08:00.000-08:00

A biker was riding along a California beach when suddenly the sky clouded above his head and, in a booming voice, the Lord said, "Because you have TRIED to be faithful to me in all ways, I will grant you one wish."

The biker pulled over and said, "Build a bridge to Hawaii so I can ride over anytime I want."

The Lord said, "Your request is materialistic. Think of the enormous challenges for that kind of undertaking. The supports required to reach the bottom of the Pacific! The concrete and steel it would take! It will nearly exhaust several natural resources. I can do it, but it is hard for me to justify your desire for worldly things. Take a little more time and think of something that would honour and glorify me."

The biker thought about it for a long time. Finally he said, "Lord, I wish that I could understand my wife. I want to know how she feels inside, what she's thinking when she gives me the silent treatment, why she cries, what
she means when she says nothing's wrong, and how I can make a woman truly happy."

The Lord replied, "Do You want two lanes or four on that bridge?"

Parking Inconsiderates

2007-12-25T07:46:00.000-08:00

Let the picts do the speaking.

GY 2841L, I wonder how are the bike gonna come out w/o scratching your van?

Too bad I cannot see the number for this truck, but do you see the things bikers have to live with?

See anything wrong with this?

How about from this angle?
What were you thinking?
SCU7152C??

Your convenience, other's problem??

New Posts from hereinforth

2007-12-15T08:32:00.000-08:00

:)

Previous posts before this were from Friendster

New posts from here on.

Parking Inconsiderates

2007-12-15T08:31:00.001-08:00

What can I say??

I always seems to meet these people.

SFX 8091

SGP 9352 H

I've got a story about this one, the owner of this car was a lady. When I saw her parking the car and getting out, I nicely notified her that she was on a bike lot... She just said. "I KNOW". And she walked off.

ok...

Fine... I called the parking enforcement line to notify them of this incident.

SFT 2453L
Then when I decided to take out my HP to take a shot of these cars, this car driver actually looked @ me as I too a pict of her car.

Smile, you're caught on my camera.

*I do not get any commission for notifying the authorities.
:D

Parking Inconsiderates

2007-12-15T08:30:00.000-08:00

I did remind this gent that he was parking on a bike lot but all he answered was
"SO?"

SFM2718K

Parking Inconsiderates

2007-12-15T08:29:00.002-08:00

I was going to buy breakfast and... sigh...
Well... @ least one of them moved off after I told him that he was parking on a bike lot... But he proceeded to park in a disabled lot... *shake head

Here are the guyz who parked and... went for breakfast.

SFL5200Y & SFJ2645C.

Thanx for being so considerate.

Smile... You're on my Blog!

* Wondering what's gonna happen if I were to park my ST1100 on lot 18.
:)

Funnies

2007-12-15T08:29:00.001-08:00

DK aka Drift King's Dream Sign...

I hope he's just kidding... 8 Motorbikes??

Who said that the Goldwing was the ultimate bike??

Raw Power!!!

Rider's weight was never taken into consideration to the power to "weight" ratio...

All I can say is... God be with him / her / it.....

Need I say more??

In the recent months... Some people in Jurong thinks they see some "divine" beings appearing on "trees". Basically, tree barks forming shapes that has a slight resemblance to.... errmmmm... certain gods...

Anyway, who does this tree look like to you??

Parking Inconsiderates

2007-12-15T08:28:00.001-08:00

There seems to be one or 2 of them there everytime I go there...

Sigh...
SFJ 1638 E (Nice plate... How much did you pay for it??)

GV 7698 S (Nice going, 6 bike lots @ 1 go)

SBT 1426 U (Better Still, hich bike can park there now??)

Lesser of the 2 other evil?? only 2 lots?.

Dangerous vehicles sighted on the road

2007-12-15T08:27:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, I saw this lorry on the road and took a quick pict of it.

Honestly, with the kind of damage that the "container" has suffered, should this still be considered road worthy?

look @ the holes in the back, what if one of the steel rod were to fall through?

If it were to hit the car, the car will prob only need cosmetic repairs @ least but if it smashes through the car's windscreen...

What if it was to hit a biker??

Should a heavy fine be imposed to such irresponsible company / owners / drivers of these lorries?

She authorities also "inspect" containers that goes on the road as well?

The other funny thing is that the TP HQ is only a couple of KM from where this pict was taken. Who is the authority for such an issue?
LTA? TP? Who??

Should we be proactive about safety or reactive about it?

Proactive - Paranoid?
Reactive - Must someone die before action is taken?

Where should the line be drawn?

A real good reason why you should ride safe

2007-12-15T08:26:00.000-08:00

http://www.dps.state.mn.us/mmsc/latest/MMSCHome.asp?cid=1

Here's one for the Car Drivers.

The best way to get a car driver's attention on a bike.

2007-12-15T08:25:00.002-08:00

Parking Inconsiderates

2007-12-15T08:25:00.001-08:00

What else can I say??

See the picts.

Anyway, for those who may have the same problem, you may call this 24 hr number and report this.

Car Park Enforcement
1800-2721409

See the Mit Galant above, there were other lots that was available but he / she just had to park on the bike lots.

Parking Inconsiderates

2007-12-15T08:24:00.001-08:00

The driver came not long after I took this pict and I reminded that this was a motorcycle lot and he said, sorry... no lots... ya right... he was driving a van, he was moving good, further on the left of this pict was actually a loading & unloading lot...

Duh......

Parking Inconsiderates

2007-12-15T08:23:00.000-08:00

I rest my case.

If he had parked further right, the bikers would have more place to move to the parking lot.

Shopping Center Parking

2007-12-15T08:22:00.002-08:00

Some parking places are a real nightmare...

These are some picts taken @ Orchard Plaza's car park.

*The slop down this car park is "quite" steep.
Imagine me @ the gentry with my 300kg bike stuck coz they don't allow bikes.
How am I supposed to "push" my bike out?

Also note how far the barrier reaches to the wall?

What would you do??

Mobile Phone & Driving

2007-12-15T08:22:00.001-08:00

It's supposed to be illegal in Singapore but so many people is still doing it.

Juzt now, @ a junction of Upper Paya Lebar & Serangoon road.
Saw this 4489...
Well, see it for yourself.
It was @ a red light on my direction when I took this...
*Luckily, the 810's start up is quite fast.
:)

Parking Inconsiderates

2007-12-15T08:21:00.000-08:00

What can I say??

The pict speaks for itself.

For their convenience, other people's inconvenience.

SDX133B.

Cheers.

Parking Inconsiderates

2007-12-15T08:20:00.000-08:00

Need I say more??

GW8870Z

SFJ1638E

But this time... one of the car got away as I got there...

Anyway, this time, I've decided to be a good citizen / biker and send these picts to the town council & HDB for them to whatever action that is required to let these drivers understand that those little lots are for bikes, not shrunken cars lots.

Parking Inconsiderates

2007-12-15T08:18:00.000-08:00

Parking Inconsiderates part 2

More inconsiderate people.

This was taken @ the Lorong Ah Soo market MSCP

SGM2059S

GY6879C

Today, @ a coffee shop near Jurong's Parc Oasis Condo.
This guy parked his car on the bike's lot not coz there wasn't any other lots, but cos it's nearer to the coffee shop.

Sad.

Shame on you SGD922K.

Parking Inconsiderates

2007-12-15T08:16:00.000-08:00

Parking Inconsiderates

Seems like parkingidiots.blogspot seems to have stopped their updates... here's a little of mine.

Juz some picts of some drivers I met this morning...

Does he even know that bikes need space to move out of their lots??

Does he know that it's a bike lot??

Nothing much about this car but I just don't understand why he / she needed so much space on the passenger's side.

Some Picts...

2007-12-15T08:14:00.000-08:00

Not too long ago, I ranted about bike lots being too small... Can you see the size of this lot???

Anyway, in anohter of my postings, this is the lot that was changed from white to red while my bike was still parked there.... Sigh...

Look @ the size of the lot... sometimes... squeezing into the lot is 1 problem (Sometime... the lot is so small, tilting the bike @ an angle first is not an uncommon sight... and after parking another problem... how to come off the bike????
hahaha....

Maybe the authorities should standardize the size of bike parking lots.

here's another example, can you imagine if these 3 side by side??
Note that the one on the left if not in the center and mine (On the right) skipped one lot... If I did not do that... how to park??

Here's more picts

For car owners who is reading this...
You may not understand this but imagine this, if car lots forced cars to park this close to one another.

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1297/2404/1600/497-SGF7790S-NUS-2006_09_20.jpg
But of course, this pict was "borrowed" from parking idiots.com. But bikes are "forced" to park this close to one another... Sigh...

IMHO, this is how a decent lot should be like.

Comments??

Vigilante or friendly reminder??

2007-12-15T08:13:00.000-08:00

It against the law to use the Handphone / mobile phone while driving in SG.

*To drivers... That's why they invented Bluetooth handsfree & wired handsfree...

IMHO, I have no problem with the people who is on a call... But what they try to do... other than talking that I find alittle dangerous... e.g. SMSing, Using another hand to write down a note (Who is holding the steering wheel??)

There are many other things that are in that scope as well.... e.g. Putting on make up... eating / drinking.... smoking....

But currently... driving is banned by SG law cos someone got killed...

If I remember correctly... some joker was using his mobile whole driving... lost control of his car and slammed into a bus stop...

Sometimes I'd wished the authorties to look into the problem other than that 1 matter... Put a ban on all these things that will distract the driver... is using the mobile the only thing that does that?? I've seens the strangest things that people do while driving... trust me... bikes have a much higher profile... we can see things...

Anyway.... the ban did not really take effect / did not have much effect till recently... Anyway am not sure why as well.... Dun think anyone died... :( mean as it may sound but in SG sometimes the authorties does wait till then beofre doing something about anything...

Anyway... Whenever I see someone driving and using the mobile phone without his handsfree... I'll just give him this signal...

Many a times... I get ignored... But when I honk... (I am using hella air horns)

That'll get their attention and more... prob the cars around... then I will show him the sign again....

That'll get them to stop...

So....

Vigilante or friendly reminder??
Some of my friends calls me a Vigilante....

Check & Check again

2007-12-15T08:10:00.000-08:00

Second post

2007-12-15T08:08:00.000-08:00

These are un-edited from the friendster blog site.

What to write? What to write?

The topic of my blog from here on will be on the way SG bikers are treated in our own home town.

I will try not to make it a complaint thingie... Not very edifying... :) But maybe just share alittle of what can help make SG a better place for bikers.

Well prob many people here thinks that bikers here are treated the same... well... ~~THINK AGAIN...!!~~ That's is not really the case...

Well for starters...
An intro to morotcycle licence...
- Class 2B - 200cc bikes and below
- Class 2A - 400cc bikes and below
- Class 2 - 400cc bikes and above
And they are different licences...

In the past, you'd need to be 16 to get a class 2B but now, i think they raised the bar to 18.
For this, I am all for the decision for obvious reasons... ~~I mean the death rates of those around that age....~~

After anyone gets their class 2B, there is a 1 year "waiting" period before they can advance to the next class, which is class 2A, then another year to class 2.

That means... if one starts to take their class for 2B on their birthday... it would be somewhere about 18.5 yrs old... then another year for class 2A... (if they don't serve their NS first) making them almost 20.5 - 21 years old...
Then 22 when they get their class 2B... and then be about 23-24 when they get their class 2.

I do understand why this is done this way...

But I do not understand why this is not the case for cars?????
Imagine this, if the reason for raising the age bar is to "protect" the population then what about cars????

Shouldn't there be a
Class 3B - 1.5L and below
Class 3A - 2L and bleow
Class 3 - 2L and above etc??

The next comment if for both Cars and Bikes.....
Actually I wanted to save this for the next post but..... sigh.....

If there is a age limit to learn... shouldn't there be a age limit to STOP driving????

I mean, how many times have you seen a car going half the speed limit on the road cos the driver cannot see the road sign or cannot remember where they should turn???

Dun get me wrong that I am saying that they should stop driving, but shouldn't there be a test for a certain age to "ensure" that they are "fit" to drive??

I mean for those who have taken their driving lessons... There is an eye test... whatz that for??? Just to make sure that you can see now?? TBC....

Now that you'll tell me if I crossed the line... Be honest... It's a really fine line tryin to be a good Christian vs a Biker...

Intro

2007-12-15T08:04:00.000-08:00

Been posting it in Friendster but... the site has quite a number of limitations that is quite.... errmmm... let's say, lesser media can be used.

Anyway, here's the link.
http://bikers_b.blogs.friendster.com/a_bikers_life/

First post.
------------

First Postings

Never thought that I'd do this but here goes nothing...

Sometimes I do wonder...
Can a biker be a good Christian?

Dun be mistaken that I am speaking for everyone... I am speaking for here... myself....
This is my blog rite?
:)

Sometimes I try to be the best that I can without stumbling anyone...
:p

Not sure even if I will post another post after this...

Anyway... here goes nothing...

I've got my licence for close to 15 yrs liow... my God... so old liow...
Done most of my riding just before I was married... When I owned my first 1100cc bike...
The ST1100.

A short intro.
The bike was into it's 10-11th year of production.
It's did not change much since the first day it was rolled out of it's factory.
Carbs... Shaft... 99 BHP... 0-100 in 4-4.5Secs...
It's was prob is not the most reliable bike that Honda ever produced.

Riding in the North South Highway was such a joy.

I remember the day, it was some time in Early Sept 2000 when I took my first ST for a spin.
Actually, I booked the bike even before I passed my class 2.
* But I did nto ride it till I got my licence. :)

It was lovely.

The purr of the engine...
Hydrollics clutch and brakes...
Wide seats...
Wind Screen...
Riding posture...

Anyway... will post more if anyone reads it....
:)