Motorcycle Road Tax Renewal complications

Although I have done a few rounds for my car, it is still rather exciting since this is the first for my motorcycle. The 3 things that I would need to fulfill are:
1) Get my motorcycle inspected.
2) Ensure my insurance is fully covered (going to be a bummer, I will explain below)
3) Ensure (1) and (2) is done, renew my road tax. (double bummer, it relates to (2) above).

(1) Inspection
Based on Singapore Laws and Regulations as of today, any motorcycle that is more than 3 years old will need to be inspected annually.

I went to the inspection centre on a Saturday morning about 8am and was the 2nd bike in queue. I could have done this earlier but I lost my LTA letter. Freaked out as this had never happened to me, I flipped my entire messy house trying to find it but still could not find anything. So I read the VICOM website which said to just explained over the payment counter that I misplaced it. Haha! The lady asked "vehicle number?" and after a moment, she said $18.15 (incl GST) !

http://www.vicom.com.sg/faq.htm#12 

What documents do I need to bring for the vehicle inspection?

You have to bring the inspection notice mailed out by LTA. If you have misplaced your notice, you can just inform our inspectors of your situation and we will carry out the necessary procedures to ensure your car is due for inspection.
* Notification is sent via the post to the registered owner of the vehicle when it is due for inspection

After I paid for the inspection, she handed me a printed payment which I subsequently handed over to the inspector at the motorcycle inspection bay. They did check here and there like cars but much faster since its smaller than cars! It was over in barely 10 minutes and I received the Test Certificate (valid for 3 months only). 

(2) Insurance

I didn't renew my insurance and went straight to LTA. 

(3) Renew Extended my road tax

The 3 key dates were not synchronised on the same date and I thought it would pose a problem in the future. 

COE date: 4 June

Road tax date: 21 Oct

Insurance date: 10 Dec (date I had purchased the motorcycle)

My hunch was as long as the road tax date and insurance date didn't coincide with COE date, it may look suspicious. I wrote in LTA and a friendly officer called me back in 24 hours (I'm impressed with the turn around time! I was expecting the traditional 3 days for national agency to call me back). She explained to me the most common arrangements were to coincide both road tax and insurance dates, because once the vehicle is transferred to another person, the insurance date will be different with the road tax date. There is no problem with 3 dates not on the same day, which really did happened to me and there was no problem at all actually. Ha!

I decided to visit LTA for revising my road tax to coincide with my insurance date. The lady consultant explained to me that I am only allowed to change the road tax date once. After much discussion, I discovered that my COE date would coincide with my road tax date and insurance in early Dec! (Off by a few days from my insurance). So I paid $8 for my new road tax!

Going forward, I would only need to finalise this when I renew my road tax in December, with only 1 minor problem, find an insurance company to cover my insurance which is a less than 6 months insurance. 

Joo Chiat Place. Guan Hoe Soon Restaurant. Peranankan food.

Sometimes, we like to visit a peranankan restaurant to taste the strong spices of our regional food. There are many restaurants in Singapore that may boast about authentic peranankan food, but not many have the history of the restaurant we visited today.

Guan Hoe Soon restaurant has been around since 1953 and is always around the Joo Chiat area, so for those of you who go there with private transport, its extremely difficult to find a parking lot near any restaurant for both motorcycles and cars!

When we stepped into the restaurant, it has this down to earth kinda feeling. The decorations on the wall had ceramic art plates with peranankan designs. They also had those old school wooden chairs which were common in the old kopitiams, comfy ergonomic design for me. 

We were quickly ushered to an empty table by the anxious staff who seemed stressed and overwhelmed by the dinner orders.

After a quick glance at the menu (they had menus on the windows as well, so you could see them before entering), we ordered the following:

As usual, the restaurants in Singapore will "forcefully" give customers a plate of "pickles" without informing them this dish is chargeable. We are ok with this "appetiser" dish at $4, but we like the koreans better where they shove us multiple appetising dishes without additional charges (except Auntie Kim's @ Thomsom!). Its time the local restaurants learn from other asians. Anyway, this is a spicy cucumber dish. I find the spicy slightly overwhelming and probably unnecessary. 

Otak Otak @ $16. This otah is really sedap and it has many fish bits in there as well. I don't find the spiciness overwhelming at all and its pretty juicy. I would rate this 4/5.

Sotong Ayam Goreng @ $12. This was done up pretty well because the squids were springy and the sauce was balanced well. This was not spicy at all and is suitable for those who eat seafood. This should be a 4/5.

Ayam Buah Keluak @ $20. One of the favourite all time peranankan dish? You can find this in ANY peranankan restaurant around the region. Of all the ayam (chicken) dishes I've tasted, this is actually pretty good. And of all the Ayam Buah Keluak dishes I've tried, this is among the best. This $20 dish can feed the 4 of us there among the dishes we had, and still have some more left. Some peranankan restaurant portion is actually pathetic because of the quality spice and herbs used I think.

The ayam is tender and juicy. The spiciness for me is acceptable with all the herbs and spices used, can taste spice a bit, sweet a bit, sour little bit, salty little bit, and the buah keluak (see below pic).  

I would give this a 4/5. 

There. This is inside the buah keluak. I should have increase the exposure +1 or +2 to lighten it up. I hope you can see it from the angle on your device. How does it taste? Hmm... urm... its not yucky if you asked me. It has this faint herb taste, hence it doesn't overwhelm yet compliment the dish very well in the overall. I guessed that's the reason why there are seemingly a fair bit of buah keluak in the dish.

Sambal Terung (Egg Plant) @ $14

I like egg plants and I find it quite difficult to cook them myself. The plant itself is juicy but bland when cooked. So to bring out the taste, ingredients of strong taste must be used. This restaurant had whipped up this dish pretty well I must say. However, for those of you who don't like overwhelming spiciness, I would say you might like to skip this one as well. I had a few pieces and could feel the heat. 

The small shrimps and fragrant oil used in this dish perhaps made it a well liked dish. I would say a 3/5 from me. 

Babi Pangang @ $12

This one is off the charts but my mobile phone picture wasn't taken nicely though. A bit of light would be better. Lets talk about taste. Babi is pork, and pangang is roast, hence Roast Pork. Thank you for attending the lesson, that'll be $5 please. 

This dish isn't in the menu and we were told the chef was trying this out. So, we were guinea pigs literally, and willing ones! The texture of this meat is tender and not chewy, where it could be easily consumed. Its not like those salty roast pork we usually have at those roast meat stalls. It actually taste pretty much like char siew. So I have a wonderful time with this dish, seemingly its 1 meat but has more than 1 interpretation.

This is a 4.5/5.

Sago Gula Melaka @ $3.80

The gula (sugar) used here has very good coconut taste. Well, simple dessert! Not too sweet. Just nice. 

Chen Dool @ $3.80

Chen Dool is an all time favourite dessert you can find in almost any part of South East Asia. You can have the spelling from Chendol, Chendul, or in this restaurant Chen Dool. For my Caucasian friends, its pronounced as Chen Dough. 

I don't like the artificial green jelly that Guan Hoe Soon has here. There are more authentic green jelly made in Malaysia. This dessert here generally is good. So for this I will give it a 3/5.  

Bo Bo Cha Cha @ $3.80

I ordered this dessert because I want to have a warm dessert. Guan Hoe Soon serves this either cold or hot. So thats good for the customer. Overall, this dessert is EXTREMELY sweet! I think my south asian friends from India will love it. 

Bo Bo Cha Cha is a sweet coconut dessert with yams and sweet potatoes usually. The reddish thing you see there is a red ruby! No its not rock, and yes its a treasure not to be found in most Bo Bo Cha Cha! Red ruby is a handmade chestnut ingredient found in several South East Asia dessert, including the famous thai red ruby dessert.

The texture of this dessert is very smooth and creamy. The yams and potatoes are soft as well which can be consumed by anyone in the family. 

I would give this a 3.5/5 because its too sweet for me!!!!!!!!!!

Jalan Malu Malu. Kampung Malu Restaurant

Its a really random thing that we decided to have a go at this place. Its impossible to reach there by public transport so easily, so its either taxi or your own wheels. Unless... let me come to that later.

Its a really ulu place that I cannot imagine how it survived, but its really crowded most of the time. I heard you have to make reservation on weekends or you have to get your food to go.

While its my first time here, and we had the unsatisfying dinner at Geylang, so we came by and have a go at the highly recommended Pork Knuckles from our friend.

This is off Jalan Sendudok if you are coming from Sembawang Road. Its at the junction of Jalan Sendudok and Jalan Malu-malu.

The place is totally old school without air-conditioning. So I'll try to avoid that place if its a really warm day. There are about 20 tables with some fairly large tables that have more than 10 seats. I did see those taken up by large group of people including families!

Here's the pork knuckles!

The meat is rather dry to me without the fat.

The dish is $18 today (if you're reading this in the future, it might change, obviously isn't it?). The skin is really crackling crispy, and if you have a stab of it with the meat and the fats, its really awesome. I mean, its really awesome, and I have said that earlier. Awesome. However, if you happened to be nice at the table and just ate a bit of the meat, its kinda dry to me. I have tried many places with pork knuckles, I think the Brauhaus Restaurant & Pub at B1 of United Square serves one of the best pork knuckles. 

 For some nostalgia feel of the olden days, this place serves pretty decent food I have to say. No wonder it still draws a huge crowd despite its not really cooling. Oh by the way, if you dislike smoking, some of the staff there smoke in there where you eat. They don't walk around and smoke, they confined it to the central island counter but the smell travels, so you might want to sit away from there, even though its at the center.

Having said all the above, its Awesome! and I'm going back there again and again. 

Geylang Lor 9. Frog Leg Porridge and Beef Hor Fun

Its been a while and I think I like to warm up myself in this blog again, before I embark on my 2A journey. For the fellow riders and learners reading this, I can't emphasize enough, please ride safely and watch out for stupid motorists (including stupid selfish riders).

My mates and I met up at Geylang Lor 9 to visit the famous food there, frog leg porridge and beef hor fun. To our dismay, the taste we were familiar with previously few years ago were gone!

Frog legs with spring onions

Gong bao spring onions (Not spicy at all, just a bit)

Of course, the porridge!

Beef hor fun

Well, Sgt LC said "Frog porridge and beef hor fun sux. Never going back there again. The food is so bad that it is totally not worth making the trip there. Last time the hor fun got the wok hei taste, now totally gone." I gotta say I totally agree what he said.

Anyway, I find its still edible. I'm seriously not a fan of chilli and hot spices, sometimes I could eat good dishes with hot spices. The gong bao frog leg was actually tasty for me, probably I was hungry after work. The frog leg with spring onions was actually below average, I don't know what the chef was thinking! I didn't get the Wow factor from it at all. 

I didn't find the beef hor fun familiar at all. Last time I ate it, the kway teow had that burnt taste with a bit of msg or salt. This time its so bland and mediocre I won't advise anyone to visit it. 

So, we went off unsatisfied with our dinner, and hope to have something better next time. Then someone suggested to go Malu Malu. See my next post coming up!

Waterproof camera for motorcycle

Recorded video is the best evidence, and so we've seen it so much of it on the internet and TV. No matter how much we try to explain, the recorded video will awe many people and to the extend make people drop their jaws uttering OMG.

At the moment, the following caught my eye:
1) GoPro Hero3+
2) Drift HD Ghost S (Late 2013 model)
3) Sony Action Cam

4) SJ4000 (Somewhat a cam that looks identical to GoPro) but a lot cheaper.

There are many others out there. Check out SingaporeBikes forum discussion.

I like Juvena Huang's review and her vlog (see below), almost made my choice even firmer.

I liked the design between Drift HD Ghost-S and Sony Action Cam. So I had to find out how they are fitted to the helmets for most riders around the world. After much viewing of images done, I think Drift HD Ghost-S is the best camera for me.
1) It doesn't require a housing and is waterproof (up to 3m for 30 minutes)
2) Doesn't require an arm to be stick-onto the helmet for holding the camera. There's a adhesive mount that could allow you to attach the cam next to the helmet.
3) The lens of the cam can be rotated to adjust the view of the recording for the helmet.
Here, view this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTp0YzzL_mY for some reason, I couldn't put that video in this blog. Thanks to Juv and DSN, I decided to buy it.

Anyway, Juv mentioned in her blog that Motoworld sells it. So I gave them a called and discovered they want to bring in Ghost-S and the shipment will arrive in April 2014. After they said it will cost $750 and required me to put a deposit of $150 if I like to "Pre-order", I hesitated. They added I would be given freebies for this "Pre-order". I think I could get it cheaper elsewhere, which I did eventually, good to have friends in different parts of the world. Obviously I won't get the "local warranty", but I think it should be fine.

I'm now shopping for accessories and hope to have it install somewhere else also, like my car, bicycle helmet, etc.

Great stuff! Thanks Juv and DSN and the team at Drift Innovation.

Size does matter for your helmet

Ever since I started my lessons on motorcycle, I bought a helmet out of impulse because I didn't want to use the school's helmet. Well, I knew I need a good and COMFORTABLE fit, but I didn't know what is meant by getting a good fit.

So, after such a long while, I've decided to get another helmet, one with chin-guard, and while going through some articles on the internet, I realised I've been using a wrong helmet all along!

I find this website SHARP has a good database on helmets, and even a good animated guide on understanding the helmet fitting. 

Wrong helmet from the start

I didn't measure the size of my head, or I didn't think it was necessary because I didn't do that when I was buying a cap or hat!!! Who would've done that when buying a fashionable cap or hat anyway!!! Hahahahaha!!!! Well, back in the Singapore Armed Forces days, I would be wearing around 7 1/4 or 7 1/2 sizes comfortably, but I didn't note that as well.

While I was at HelmetBoyz, the kind person at the store assisted me to try several sizes. Thinking back now, he has a very keen eye for sizes straight away. He did gave me the correct size though, but since I was impulsive and wanted comfort, the good fit was rather uncomfortable to me. It was an alien feeling of compression, like something pressing too close to my head that I just need space in between. So, I got a size larger and was very comfortable with it.

Almost a year later now, I put this helmet on, when I do the left right up down shakes, it frightens me now because its very loose. I thanked the lucky stars shining on me so far.

Having measured my head again (using the animated guide), I'm always a 59cm or 7 1/2 size head.

Knowing what I want (Improved safety from open face helmet)

There are different types of helmets we know. For a helmet with chin-guard on my concern for improved safety, I have quite a few choices too:
1) Full face helmets (safe helmet, chin guard and helmet is the same mould)
2) Full face off road helmets (another safe helmet, exactly the same like (1) and with additional top sunshade)
3) Flip up helmets (Chin guard and helmet are not the same mould. Chin guard can be flip up to enable rider an open face helmet experience)
4) Modular helmets (Chin guard can be detached and attached with 2 options that I've seen. Either it becomes a flip-up helmet alike, or its fixed like a full face helmet)
Well, I could be wrong or in-comprehensive for the choices, but I'm no expert in this anyway. I would either go for option 1 Full face helmet or option 3 Flip-up helmet.

Knowing what I want (Keeping me awake from zoning off)
I found that riding without music is a bit dull for me. I hope to have some music to my ears rather than hear myself humming and sing songs and ranting. If it comes with a communicator and reasonable microphone, it would be good.

So, at this point of time, communications set are:
1) UClear
2) Scala
3) Nolan N-COM
And of course there are more, but the forum posts I've read from SingaporeBikes are hovering around these few (at leasts those few posts I've read). UClear had very good local reviews and can be fitted to any helmets, no boom-microphones, and bluetooth will automatically switched off once disconnected. Nolan N-COM is another choice because its designed to fit very nicely to the helmets, although it has a boom-microphone but owners here hadn't complained that much. Hmm, nothing heard much about Scala... 

PSB approval

This little sticker can be annoying for some, but its the sticker to get your insurance claims most of the time... I think. Read the forums for ranting of this little sticker, I find it amusing for some of the threads. This is rather individual opinions, but I would go for it for insurance purpose. 

Others

Safety, safety, safety. The angel on my right seems to be nagging at me too much on this. Once I have zoomed in to a few choices of the likes, I've also paid attention for other global / regional safety standards such as:
1) DOT
2) SNELL
3) ECE
Personally, I also reference the SHARP website.

Brands, costs and reviews
This is the most daunting part of choosing helmets, we have many brands in Singapore!
1) SHOEI
2) ARAI
3) OGK
4) SHARK
5) NOLAN
6) AGV
7) HJC
and so many others. For a helmet with chin guards, I heard some can be less than $200, and can go up to $700!!! Of course, I often read some said "It depends on how much you think your head is worth". Oh c'mon, I think my pocket is burning also.

Conclusion for me
NOLAN was the choice for me. I didn't spent time to go jalan jalan see see look look. It was pretty straight forward for me. NOLAN has communication sets and they had designed to fit it nicely into their own helmets. Others said it was pricey, but hey, they did made it specifically and its proprietary. Gotta give it to them... but then again, this is my choice. :-)

The model N86 Full Face was my first choice. However, I learned that N86 was not PSB approved, only the N104 is. I liked the inner sunshade visor that helped lessen the glare of the morning sun. I would be getting the N-COM B4+ to compliment my helmet and hope this would last for sometime!

Here's an final note on safety helmets in Singapore.

Defensive riding is key

I have never take heed in the advices of my instructors in the driving schools (SSDC) until I started riding.

As an experienced driver, I have never understand the term "defensive riding".

Even with the videos and lessons given in the classes, I could not decipher what is so important.

With an expensive equipment in SSDC on riding simulation, I didn't feel the need of defensive riding.

UNTIL I started riding... I realised it is very important. 

I asked some of my friends and colleagues who stopped riding. Many said even they have been riding many years, it is still dangerous to them. 

No matter how slow or safe we ride, there are still erroneous road users out there... sometimes including me. 

Motorcycle Accident in Singapore @ 080912

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUdN0kBGs1k

1st Feb 2013 Accident in Singapore

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaE7a8uwQL0

Bike skid on KPE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLlXUS2t3mk

A motorcycle skidded at the KPE entrance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O_b-FAz8FY

There are a plenty of videos out there. 

• Riders must always stay visible during day and night. 
• Don't "hide" in the blind spot of the other road users, including behind big vehicles.
• Take care of your motorcycle by servicing it regularly, replacing the parts where necessary, don't save the money because it will save your life. Money can still be earned back, otherwise don't buy a motorcycle if it eats your budget. Remember, get something that is comfortable to your budget. 

Since I am still a "P" plate rider, the more I should exercise defensive riding and cautious. I will ride at a moderate speed and keep to an appropriate lane. It will be advantageous to ALWAYS keep a look out for all vehicles around you, especially those road users whom doesn't practise signal early. I have a habit to make sure my lights are bright, so I could observe objects on the roads that doesn't send me flying in the air.  

Being paranoid is one thing, enjoy riding is another. Safe riding to whoever is reading this. 

Servicing and understanding your bike

There should be plenty of advices out there. I went to Jia Jie's favourite general servicing at Autopoint in Ang Mo Kio.

The old uncle whom serviced my bike seemed knowledgable, that's why Jia Jie trusted him. Since I ride my bike occasionally, the uncle recommended to put semi-synthetic oil rather than fully-synthetic oil. Although it isn't really good, but it should fit my style of riding. If I decide to ride more than 60% a week, I should change it back to fully-synthetic oil.

After weeks of riding, I realised my SYM GTS 200 jerks when riding off 10-20 KM/Hr around 3-4K rpm in the morning after starting up. Having check the singaporebikes forum, a few experienced riders recommended to change the clutch. I went to Tai Hin to get it changed, the man whom seemed like the owner or manager said SYM original seemed to "jump" after fitting it in, he recommended to use KYMCO's clutch. Well... Anything he says, I'm just riding it for experience.

I still feel I need to clean my carburettor, the old uncle say to do that, he will need to dismantle a few parts, quite big job he said. Maybe next time then I do lar... zzz