15 December 2010



I got my driving license on the day i turned 17.That means i've been driving for 22 years now.
With that in mind , my wife wanted to attend the BMW advanced driving course held at the Sepang International Circuit (she just got a new Audi ). So of course i had to go along la...
The event was done in a very professional manner and participants were taught a lot of advanced driving techniques which i wish i had learnt when i first started driving.
After a great lunch it was out for more driving and the day ended with a lap around the track.
You  can always learn something new and the course was extremely worth it.


White team or Black team? 


During registration we could hear cars revving.Turns out there was a track day for supercars. 

Nice 


Very nice. 


SWMBO happy.

Pick one. We picked no. 8 

High speed lane changing. 

Understeer control.The road has oil and soap...  ; ) 

Fun. 

In every single exercise no brake is used.Only throttle and steering.  

Break for lunch. 

Not too shabby. 

Catered buffet. 

Mmmmmmmmmmm  fooood.... .  There is 4 different types of meat there  ; )

After lunch it was back to the excerises.Here its oversteer control.
The shots are in sequence. 

Look at the smoke from the burning rubber under the car. 

Want more ???

Got out of the oversteer nicely... 

Assesing the white team. 

They are smoking also   

Here its the high speed slalom. 

And finally a blast around the track. 


Before leaving ,  a group pic. 

You CAN  teach an old dog new tricks.
A very worthwhile experience.
Cheers. 

30 November 2010

A couple of years ago when i was riding my Ninja650R i joined a  Kawasaki ER6 group and we have an online forum which is a great place to share ideas and organise rides etc.
Eventhough i now have changed my ride the friends you make are still the same.Keeping that in mind a couple of riders arranged a closed trackday at our very own Sepang International Circuit for current and past riders of the ER6s. An open track day is like riding the freeway at 200kmph and a closed track day will be so much better as there are limited participants and at times you would have the whole track for yourself.The day was bright and sunny and it was great to see old friends and make new ones.Most of the bikes were the ER6s but there was a Duc 990, Suzi K6, a ZX6R  and of course my road train. 

After a safety briefing we rode a slow(ish) lap to warm up our tyres and then it was every man for himself.
I had a great time ,  bringing up the rear  ; )  .........as the bike is still newish ...........and i know my limits.
Even then it still was a blast esp when you are alone on the whole track.
Towards the end of the session it started to drizzle and on the way back i had to ride 70+km in a full blown tropical thunder storm where even the cars were doing ~ 50-70kmph.
Good times... 


Banner commemorating the clubs 1st track day.

Riders arriving. 

We took up 3 full sized paddocks. 

Empty  for now. 

Nice and sunny.........again , for now. 

Gearing up. 

Note- the next few shots are courtesy of the Ferno photographers.
Thanks guys.

Getting onto the track.

Trying to hustle this big black baby.

Grainy... 

Closer..

This shot is not of me but to show you why we ride here.   look at that track..... 

Hard on the brakes .......

Look left , go left 

Starting to get darkish

lining up my approach 

Down the front straights...220+ kmph at times

Towards the end of the session you could see dark clouds ahead.


Before  -  Chicken dish ...not chicken strip.   ; ) 


After  -  A bit  less  but still a ways to go.No hurry though.


After the track session we had a few group shots and said our good byes to each other.
It was a very nice day and riding home 70+ km from the track to my house in a full fledged tropical thunder storm in my non water proof leathers ,and where cars were moving at only 50 - 70 kmph due to the visibility and water on the roads i still had a grin on my face all the way.
Thanks FERNO.
Cheers.

07 November 2010

I had planned to take a ride to Songkla lake in Thailand during the recent Deepavalli holidays as i got a few days off. Unfortunately northern Malaysia and southern Thailand suffered one of the worst storms of the last 10 years and the whole region was under water.For example Hat Yai was under upto 3 Meters of water.
So i put my plans on hold but i had to ride yesterday as there was only one day of vacation left.
The weather was gloomy and a mild drizzle persisted throughout the 2 days but the touring outfit i purchased in Switzerland really lived up to its billing.The state of Kedah was really flooded and part of the highway had to be diverted. Reached Songkla lake by 2pm and spent some time exploring.
Then i learnt that while the other parts were flooded the beachside had to deal with cyclone like weather,with large trees lying everywhere


Early morning  on the Malaysian freeway.

                                                                      Shiny for now.
                                  
Flags of the countries i've explored so far.

                                                                          Only time the sun was out.
                                 Rest stop in Ipoh. A lot of riders were out .

Winding roads up the hills.

Finally reached the border.

Quick stop for local road tax and insurance.

Streets of Dannok.

Finally reached Samila beach and found a room here.Nice garden and parking.

Room was not too bad either.

View from my balcony.

After a hot shower........a cold beer  ; )

Nice decor.

Now to survey and explore the surroundings.
Fallen trees were every where.

This fishing vessel had been blown ashore. 

These are not small trees.

Nice beach though.

The famous Samila beach mermaid.

Nice.

And the equally famous Naga.

Its quite big.


Trying to be artistic  ; )

Nice boulevard.

Bike had a long day.

Fallen trees all over  the forest.

Lots of them.

The next day i took a slow ride home as the roads were wet.

Overall a really nice ride. Saw a new place and got to explore.

Now the planing for the next destination starts
Thats half the fun.  ; )
Cheers.