A trip that was talked about 8 years ago in 2000 had been planned, executed and completed. This trip is a personal achievement for the both of us and we are glad that it had been fulfilled.
Now let's see the summary of this awesome trip:
Post-trip maintenance
As with all long distance trips, the main workhorse had to be serviced after a gruelling endless run on the road. For my Yamaha 2008 FZ1, the following components had been serviced:
- Tire: Changed to Pilot Power 2CT instead of the intended Dunlop Qualifier due to lack of fresh stock for the Dunlops
- Coolant: Flushed and recharged with a new bottle of Maxima Cool-aide coolant
- Engine Oil: Threw out the old black shit and poured in a new dose of Maxima Extra Fully Synthetic Oil
Equipment Used
- Forma Riding Boots: A budget riding boots with sliders. Kept my foot from flying debris and rocks. However, not water-resistant enough to stop water from flooding the internals during our ride up to Hai Yat on the first day.
- Gearsack Soft Panniers: This panniers had been with me for more than 8 years and still performing well in terms of waterproofing. Kept the stuffs in there dry and cosy. However, this pannier don't pair very well with my FZ1 as the unconventional grab rail design on the bike could not allow the panniers to secure properly. And the bottom of the panniers had been worned off by the rear tire due to abrasions during bumpy rides.
- Oxford Sports Humpback Tank Bag: AKG and I bought this for this trip as both our old tankbags are no longer waterproof. Have no problem stuffing my EeePC, electronics equipments, water bladder, maps together in this bag as its space size can be expanded. Due to the strong magnets, the tank bag secured very well on the tank and I don't see it wobbling during high speed rides. Good piece of gear
- Komine Touring Gloves: My almost decade-old gloves. Leather became hard as hell and caused a big blister on my palm. During the trip the velcro patch had torn off and I had to use the sewing kit from the hotel to temporarily secure it for the rest of the trip. Guess its time is due. TRASHED.
- Komine Back Protector: An essential gear for long trips. This gear had helped me prevent any potential backaches that may arise from the long hours of riding.
- Komine Spazzio Touring Jacket: After almost a decade of use, the jacket still performed surprisingly well and the waterproofing is still there. No complaints about it :)
- Held Touring Pants: Got this about 7-8 years back. Provided good protection on my knees but the waterproofing properties are totally screwed. Inner liner had also torn beyond repair. TRASHED.
- Power Commander 3: Thanks to the good tuning skills of Norman from Racewerkz, the bike's fuel efficiency had improved quite significantly and not to mention that overall throttle response had been smoother. The bike managed a maximum FC of 18.12km/L (highway runs) which not possible otherwise. It is also thanks to PC3 that the bike managed to survive thru Highway 105 (way southwards from Mae Hon Son) for more than 230km without a refuel.- Nokia Maps 2: Running on my N95 8GB, this appplication enabled us to find nearby hotels and helped us pinpoint on our current location to reference with the map. However, at certain times it didn't point us to right route or direct us a longer route instead of a more straightforward one.
- Nokia Sports Tracker: I had been using this application since day one of the trip to keep track of the routes we have actually taken. After uploading to the website, we are able to see the overall routes taken throughout the trip. Alas, the phone crashed during the route from Krabi to Hat Yai and that part of the route is only partially tracked. A great piece of software nevertheless.
- Brembo Master Cylinder 19x20 + Venhill Brakelines: This combo is a life-saver. We ran into situations where we needed hard braking and it gives me total control on the braking pressure and stopped in time without mishaps. Definitely a good investment.
- Maxima Chain Wax: As I don't use Scotoiler for this bike, I relied on this product to lubricate the chain every 500km to maintain the chain performance. After 6000km, the chain was not even stretched a single bit.
- Lonely Planet's Thai Phrase Book: Oh yeah, had to borrow from AKG for the communication in Thailand. While I had learnt a couple of Thai words from there, I still have difficulties applying them on normal conversations LOL.
My Thoughts on This Trip
Well, this trip served a couple of purposes for me:
1) To go for the longest trip ever attempted by me
2) To see and experience the culture of another country
3) To use this chance to straighten out some personal thoughts
4) To experience an ironbutt rider's life
I would say that all the purposes had been served thru this trip. I had learnt a great deal about people, culture, biking, and many other things. I generally felt welcomed by the Thais' friendliness, their smiles, their generosity, their food and their lifestyle.
Will I go back again? You bet I will. It is definitely a good getaway from the hectic lifestyle in Singapore. That being said.... realised that tomorrow will be my first day of work in 3 weeks haha.
Videos
Now, for the videos I didn't managed to upload during the trip. Enjoy.
Loading up the Busa
Lighting up the Fire Balloon in Chiang Mai
Lighting up the fireworks
The fireworks and Fire balloons in the night sky of Chiang Mai
At the Mae Sai Boundary Post (North Thailand/Myanmar border)
Riding without helmets.....
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