Affy NoX - Solo Rider

Ordered a mini DV a week ago, and just arrived today. Its a small cam, not HD but WVGA 640 x 480 I think. Anyway its cheap, to the point that I won't disclose the price. Its a small camera about 4 inches in length, build in battery and used micro SD card which is not included. I wonder what they mean by " Share with him the exciting moment ! " Front of the camera, with plastic protective lens to make it slightly water resistant. I don't think its water proof, splashproof maybe. Rear cover once unscrewed revealed a mini USB, ON/OFF switch, Micro SD Slot and the warranty sticker. Close up of same. There is a hole on the rear cap, so that's so much for waterproofiness. Maybe I can plug it with silastic. Record button, indicator light and could it be a reset hole in front of the play/pause button, these I need to explore more to find out. It need charging, a micro SD and I need to read the manual. Additional note : That small hole is the mic These are the goodies that...

SMOGers Ride To Krabi Thailand.  Thanks For Watching

After thinking it over about mounting the Lumix LX5 while riding, it just not worth the risk of damaging the camera. Even through it can take good 1080p video, mounting it on the bike will subject it to lots of vibration that could damage the internal mechanism. Not willing to take the risk I decided to get myself a simpler and cheaper camera that can do the job as required. So Kodak Playsport ZX3 fit the bill nicely, however I wish the ZX5 already available here, but no its cannot be found. This simple camcorder is waterproof to 3m (perfect for my upcoming trip to Krabi, Thailand where its rains cat and dogs)take 1080p @ 30 fps, 720p @ 60 fps, 720p @ 30 fps and WVGA @ 30 fps. It does still image at 5mp, but nothing to shout about. The video is good. It also has a build in screen which makes positioning camera easy as compare to bullet cams or the GoPro that does not have it. Below a sample, I am still not familiar with its operation, and this recording is at 720p @ 30 fps with cloudy...

Belt are replaced about every 12000 km, before that periodic inspection is necessary around every 6000km or less. Inspection may sound simple but it could be hardest thing to do. What do you look for ? Its a straight forward question, if you never seen a damaged belt how do you judge a belt is good. Sometime these where experience count and ability to judge a good belt or anything for that matter is crucial. It is not 100% fool proof, but I will look for : Condition - Check the belt for cracking, sign of ageing, fraying, any loose or flaking belt. Security - Belt is not loose on the pulley, pulley itself secured and no sign of nut adrift or loose. Operation - Check the belt visually with engine running, see that it freely move and no abnormality with it. It is very difficult to judge unless you have been involved with similar inspections before. Luckily, in my profession I am constantly been involved with inspection and judging a plane is fit to fly or not for the last 25 years.. so it...

I am going on a trip to Krabi, Thailand over this next few days, so one of the job I need to do on my bike is to replace its spark plug. Here are the steps required and at the end a video presentation of same.  I use this NGK G Power spark plug  Tool required is a spark plug spanner from the tool kit  Remove the LH side panel as above, no tools required for this simple job.   Once remove you can get access to the spark plug as below.  Remove the spark plug high tension electrical socket as below.  And use the provided tool mentioned above to unscrew the plug.  Installation is the reverse of removal, and don't over tighten it. A fresh crush washer is recommended if you were to reinstall the same plug after inspection. A better tool is this spark plug socket that I normally use for superbike above, but the manufacturer provided tool will do just as nice.

Scooter just like any bike, to ensure we have a strong foot hold on the road will require good tyres. Having good tyres not the only reason of having good grip on road surface. During rainy season, we must make sure thread remaining is sufficient for our journey. Maxxis Pro is a standard fit for SYM VTS 200 ex factory, its not a high end tyre but generally okay for normal non extreme usage. Above tyre have few thousand good mileage to go, knowing how much thread left is important so that we could judge whether we will need a replacement or not. There are thread wear indicators on this tyre, the indicator is not on the side wall but on the groove itself. Above photo shows a close up on this tyre thread indicator, it is advisable to replace tyre once this indicator is flush with tyre surface. Some tyre have different way of showing wear, it could be on the side wall like car tyres marked as "TWI" or some just "WI" Its important to check and see what kind of indicator ...

Another test for video shot this time in Programme Mode, OIS OFF ISO 100. Its drizzling and heavily overcast sky. Camera set up as below, wind noise is minimum due to the windscreen. Video below. Its still better to use a dedicated Bullet Cam for riding, this camera is more suitable for normal shooting and video graphing.

Testing video shot using Lumix LX5 on SYM VTS 200 with RAM mount fitted to handle bar as below photo. The video here, its ride to nowhere. Due to SYM windshield, wind noise is very much reduced. The still shots follows below. Will test using Canon Ixus V3 next. Video for the Ixus V3

I did some work on the handle bar which requires both the brake hose to be detached from reservoir. After attaching the hose there will be trap air inside the lines and some fluid need to be top up. Here are few simple procedure to do this. SYM specified brake fluid DOT 3 or DOT 4, I recommend DOT 4 since this one have higher boiling point that the earlier. Make sure you have cloth covering the bike panel on the side that you want to work, slightly damp the cloth to make it absorb better. Remove the 2 Philip screw and gently lift the cap. Ensure reservoir is level and slowly add fluid, note you don't normally add fluid to brake reservoir unless there is leakage or work done on the bike. Fluid level drop is normal as it take up space for worn brake pad and after replacing with new pad the level will return to it initial point. With new brake shoe, this is the level that you should have, since I had disturb the hose and some fluid loss occur I need to top up to slightly lower than th...

These are some possible hook up for the new handle bar. Bottle Holder Nice and secure Even dangerous goods. Hand Phone More Hand Phone More Water Bottle Neck Hook Up And of course the GPS ball mount.