As you can see I’m busy riding than blogging it’s the season and I had one which I squeeze into this short clip which of course doesn’t give the ride any justice!
Tag: motorbike
The small things
The Vimoto V6 Bluetooth intercom system came from China. 
I’ve tried it out and it’s not bad.
Unboxing the device I noticed the speakers were strong and good built, it came with different accessories for mounting on your helmet. two microphones, one for the open helmet and the other for the closed head helmet.
On Monday I’ve tested the device while commuting to work. The feel of the ride was different than what I’m accustomed to!
Especially with earplugs in your ears (this was used to prevent my ears from being damaged of sudden high pitch volume from the system) as it turns out you can decrease the volume of your music, your calls but not the system. Ex: (call ended, turning on, turning off, etc…) this can be surprising on a motorcycle which luckily for me, doesn’t happen too often. Having your hearing senses muffled changes the way you ride. This really showed when I took off at a turning green traffic light! I couldn’t hear the Rev of the bike and ended up doing an unintentional wheelie for a burst fraction of a second. I thought this wasn’t possible on this bike 😅. Surprised yes, but it was a rush 🏍️.
Another issue is after awhile using the earplugs with the plastic stud does annoy you as it hits the speaker and your ear. until I buy one with no wire or plastic in them I’ve ended up just using small pieces of tissues instead. 🙉
Another thing my colleague help me figure was the clutch handle being loose after my long trip to Springfield station (will be discussed later in this blog). good thing it was a simple fix by tightening up the screw.
Gratitude ♥️
I’m one of the few lucky guys who was fortunate to have the support of my significant other (best friend) and the mother of my children to do my motor riding. We had our 8th anniversary back in August. It’s been 20 years since we first met in Al-Ain city located in the United Arab Emirates (the country that owns Emirates airlines) back then Dubai was just starting to market its city as one of the must see destination.
With skyscraper competing for the sky and the economy booming at the time. My time with Shaymaa was effortless and we just clicked as conversation flow between us seamlessly. After meeting for a short time we stayed in touch by becoming pen-pals (it use to be a thing of the E-mail age). We became good friends that we almost knew what the other might be thinking before even saying it. Of long distance relationship is not as simple as you may think! The time difference the delay in response and the neglecting of face to face talks can be a big challenge. With lots of patience and understanding, this soon became something special that after all these years I won’t be surprised when I said to her Hun I’m going to buy a bike and she immediately replied why not. If I didn’t know her better I’ll say she would claim my life insurance sooner than later 🤔.
Motorcycle Training
I know it’s been awhile since my last blog, but believe me, I have spent my time riding last week close to the coast with astonishing views that demanded some nice pictures.
NEW BRIGHTON BEACH
I’ve also started my week with a motorcycle training (bronze course). this course aims to improve your skills and road awareness and increase your confidence on the bike. as I never rode a motorcycle before I was lucky to start my training with Dan Ornsby when I was a novice. I had never owned a motorcycle and never even rode one, not even a dirt bike, hell if you’ve read my previous blogs I barely knew they exist!! 😨. Dan showed me the basics and taught me the fundamentals which were crucial for not practising some bad habits. I could easily compare it with swimming as I used to compete at university long time ago. (he was the coach who would teach you how to breathe under water and float and if this becomes second nature then you could learn any swimming technique you would like). another thing is; he would focus on safety skills as a number one skill. You could see that from his quote: “My father strongly impressed on me at an early age, the dangers associated with riding a motorcycle on a public road. Never assume you have been seen and never expect that anyone will do anything they should. In his words “Treat everyone as an idiot”.
The Second person I was also privileged to meet was Pete an Ex-officer who really knows some tricks of handling a bike like a pro. you can easily chat with him and learn at the same time.
The Third person was Hank. Hank would let you experiment with your bike and have some fun. At the end of the day, it’s up to you, to make the right call, and ride the right way you feel confident to do so. No one can tell you which way to ride best.
All three instructor’s I’ve met and thought under had a way of teaching. Dan will help you feel and look at your bike in an artistic way he will make a big deal about your head position and where are you looking due to his racing background. While Pete can help you use some techniques that make’s life easier and manoeuvre your bike effortlessly. And old Hank will let you feel young again 🤣.
Going back to my group which is quite special. 4 people including myself from different countries. Two recently came to NZ. We had a Sydney fella on a Ducati-
monster (pipes only soo loud and noisy, which made staying in a neighbourhood out of the question. it was so loud that when passing through Lyttleton under mountain tunnel you needed to stay 500m away from it due to the amplification of the noise). a British Lady on Suzuki GN250 who use to be a pallium for her partner who loves bikes, and a kiwi lady who just got her learners 2 weeks ago and is getting a new bike tomorrow, she enjoys riding horses and bikes. finally myself with Hank as the instructor.
A British Lady on Suzuki GN250 who use to be a pillion for her partner and loves bikes. A Kiwi lady who just got her learners 2 weeks ago and is getting a new bike the second day. She enjoys riding horses and bikes. finally myself with Hank as the instructor.
I led the group three times during my group ride, my confidence was high which was great when attacking corners in the mountains. I had a lot of fun (a blast) and managed to actually get some lead and pull away from the group, I’m sure it wasn’t the power of my bike, as I had the smallest bike of the bunch. but the little Suzuki sure can turn tight. As instructed by Hank to enter wide and finish tight on a corner. the only thing I regret was not catching it on camera :S/. especially when half the group got lost but we managed to re-group and I’m confident enough to do my restricted license if I wanted to. First I’ll take the silver course as I’m near the end of my 3 months registration! Can’t believe it’s only been 3 months since I’ve started!! amazing how much fun and places you can go on a bike..
Living the dream
Take away nice houses and having a car. New-Zealanders are lucky enough to have a wonderful backyard of breathtaking scenery. beach bays and mountains with fresh water lakes and rivers pouring into the ocean. during the holidays, I was giving a book about kiwis bikers and their story with their bikes. from old to young; male to female, you name it, this book has different people all over the place. From famous and not so famous, from rising stars to just your normal Bob.
You Even get a policeman and believe me they go thru high intense training before hitting the road.
If you’re in Newzealand you will already know about the Bomb-low weather (Weather Bomb) that we had last week. This weather hit the far north of the south island with floods and winds up to 140 km/hr. Speaking of Winds my last ride did put some toll on my bottom back. which made me do some research on how to ride in the wind. most tricks were to lean the bike to the direction of the wind and to keep the elbow loss with loosening grip on the handlebar. as long you maintain a constant throttle you should be ok. if you are getting hit hard from one side, it might help opening your knee to the outside in the direction of the wind. this helps in destroying the wind pressure off the bike. positioning yourself a bit forward to the tank helps distribute your weight to both of your wheels. of course the lower you are on the road the better grip you will have like most cruiser bikes.
Bikerider magazine latest edition. Yes, I’m buying magazines Oh dear!!
Anyway, kids are screaming here so here are some short rides as it will be some time before I do another long one. Enjoy!!
My First Blog on a motorcycle
Introduction
t all started out of nowhere! one day I was just watching YouTube before going to bed when I saw a video clip for a Victory Judge!! and that’s it; the rest was history.
started researching to see what will it take to ride a beast like that. Being in New Zealand, it turns out there is quite a process to go through that was meant for your safety on the road and the safety of others from you :D. During this time, I’ll be sharing my experience on this blog.
PS: I’ve also had a blog on google blog but the app sucks. so moving here now so you might notice the dates to be a bit off.
Kiwi Motorcycle 