Lenovo Leeco C8 | Audio Test On Nav

Pairing C8 Spec kepada talipon navigation baling anjing Okitel WP20, menggunakan Givi open face helmet.

New Edition | Honda Adv 160 2024 | Silver

Akhirnya terjebak juga dengan Adv 160, ingat hendak ambil Forza 250 dan lupuskan semua motor yang lebih besar. Tapi pikio punya pikior.. elok ambil skuter yang kecil dan maintain motor yang besar juga.

Jadi kena kansel lah.. nama untuk menunggu Forza 250.

Skuter ini saya beli dari Honda Impian X, Di Subang 2, Shah Alam kedai berhampiran dengan KFC 500 di kawasan Subang.

Ni video awalan, bukan lah review tetapi cuma sebagai intro sahaja kepada moto skuter ini, tengah pikir apa nama nak bagi.

Ok lah semua, terima kasih kerana melawati laman blog saya.

Lenovo Lecoo C8 | Rider Test

R1200GS Adventure a Short Rider Owner Review after 16 Months.

This is my review of the BMW R1200GS Adventure after 16 months of riding.

Thanks for watching

Huawei Honor 8 and P9 Plus Limited Edition

Surprising good phones, coming from Galaxy and the Sony Z lines all I can say these phones is excellent.

Honor 8 on left and P9+ Limited both phones comes with 4GB Ram and 64 GB internal memory expendable to the max of 128GB

The Honor has dual rear cam, same as P9 except without the Leica tag.

Honor is cheaper by almost RM500 but pack the same punch.

These phones will use the external memory for storage unlike Samsung that has made it almost impossible.

Owner's Review of the BMW C600 Sport after 3 years

This is my short review of the BMW C600 Sport scooter after 3 years of ownership.

Thanks for watching

Behringer C1 Studio Condenser Microphone Coin Test

Got myself this C1 Mic and checking its audio quality by recording the simple coin test.

Nice low cost mic for home recording, Behringer has made it affordable for everyone to make their home recording studio

BMW C600 Sport Owner Review - Long Distance

Today 27th December 2012 my scooter clocked 2525 km total after slightly more than a month usage. I pick it up on 23rd November : Here

Use if for commuting occasionally alternating with my SYM VS 150 and done few ride with friend taking twisties at Genting Sempah and Kuala Klawang corners and over longer distance to Penang, Malaysia. 

Scooter handling is different from that of a bike, firstly it being a CVT Automatic it doesn't have that engine braking or the "Drop Gear" function as normal bike do. Instead we has to rely on brakes for corner entry and that takes some time to adjust if you don't ride scooter  that often

In Kuala Klawang and Genting Sempah, these are stretches where most twisties are. Klawang being the back road which is more dangerous, has many more obstacles short corners as compared to Genting Sempah where it more hilly and longer cornering sweep. Both places this scooter did handle well, with Pirelli Diablo Scooter tyres hugging the road and never once loose grip. I was a bit hesitant initially, being new to this scooter. But after few corners regain my confidence and able to take the turn with feeling of safety and in control.

Its important to feel safe and in control while riding, not overly confident.. but just there otherwise we may ride with a bit of hesitation that could pose danger to oneself. The bike actually can do more that what we can trow at it without problem.

After my Kuala Klawang  and Genting Sempah ride its due for the first service. What a whoopa the bill came.

I am expecting somewhere around RM 400 ~ RM 450, nope it turn out to be almost RM 660.00 looking at the bill its actually the engine oil is expensive at RM 422.52 for 4 liter and the Running in Checks at RM 156.00 its a few hours job. Oh well a premium scooter cost a premium to service.

This scooter has 2 years unlimited mileage warranty, so while its still under warranty I had to send it to  the authorise service center. Luckily this bike service interval is every 10,000 km so roughly once a year. After which I will do it myself and will cost around RM 200.00 the most.

Next I did a longer ride to Penang with few of my colleague from the Airlines for an overnight stay there. This takes me via the North - South Expressway which I am able to test out some high speed handling. The bike handle superb at high speed, no wobble or shake even at speed until the needle stop on the speedo it still handle well.

On return trip from Penang , I decided to do it solo. This I did via the North - South Expressway till Ipoh then I used the coastal road from Ipoh - Teluk Intan - Sabak Bernam - Tanjung Karang - Kuala Selangor route.

Massive traffic jam at each junction or traffic light this scooter handle it beautifully. Being low C of G due to the low engine location the heaviness of this scooter is not felt and I am able to comfortably ride it at slow speed in between traffic both in Urban environment and outskirt.

Emergency braking done few times, due to some stupid drivers changing lanes without brains. It handles superbly, the rear ABS will trigger early since it will be lighter on the rear during braking, the rear wheel will tend to skid first. ABS action can be felt at the rear brake lever. The front ABS only trigger few times during my ride, mostly in the wet or on sandy stretch. I give the ABS a thumb up, major improvement from my previous Beemer.

This Pirelli Diablo Scooter tyre is superb both in the wet and dry. Once up to temperature I can feel its tackiness to the touch. Never lost control on it and stable at high speed or during cornering. The front screen is good, I adjusted it to middle position and I just left it at that. Able to take the full speed of this scooter without problem

I had made a warranty claim against BMW on this scooter, its the screw holding the screen. Two of those four screw that clamping it, the two top screw it cannot be unscrew or tighten. No problem with the bottom two. The insert is rotating on its mount, suspected over tightening during installation. Apparently this is not the first case, and BMW agreed to replace the entire assembly.

Not a big problem but, I can't remove the screen for some work I need to do like mounting my GPS to this bike.  Well it has to wait, since the item need to be ordered.

There are scratches due to stone chips and road debris on the bottom panel, this I need to probably wrap with composite sticker to protect.

Verdict.

I did twisties, riding in the rain, long fast stretch, back roads and hilly stretch on this scooter. How do I feel ? One word - GREAT.

On the twisties its agile enough to compete with sports bike. Not a problem with hills and steep gradient it has enough power to pull through. Riding in the rain the tyre did a good job and the ABS works.

Straight stretch, its a scooter .. cruise comfortable around 140 ~ 160 km/h and able to do 180 km/h without the feeling of fear that it may explode. The engine can take it.

The engine is a twin and it does sound rough, probably a manly growl not like some sweet Japanese Girls kinda sound.. its manly and hunky loud.

I had issue with some screws and BMW agreed to replace the entire parts involved.

The service is a bit on the expensive side, but its only once a year service. Later on I will do it myself so it will be much cheaper. Then again other service center like Welly Sg Buluh, Wunderlich, Chear Motorrad  and AH Hoi can do this bike if you are not technically inclined.

On spares, well with Internets spare is no longer an issue, we could get anything from overseas supplier.

This bike is about RM 66+ k on the road with Honda Intergra NC700 at about the same, The Yamaha TMax 2012 at 67+k and the Aprilia SRV at 72k OTR prices.

All in all, most of these big Maxis are priced same and you choose which one is best for you. Look at the specification overall and don't forget to check on warranty and after sales.

Cheers.

HD Bullet Cam Bigger Brother to EL Chepo Mini DV

Just arrived yesterday and excited to see how it perform. Nice packaging with glossy photos thrown in.

This what's in the box a bullet camera, manual and some accessories came with it.

Head strap, arm strap, bike holder, pouch, lanyard and charger. I opt not to take the car kit. Without the car kit the price is just a bit cheaper.

A small camera, slightly thicker than the elcheapo cam as previous post.

Only one button to operate with waterproof screw cap on the back.

Unscrew it and there's a micro SD slot, a reset button and mini USB connector.

It has an O ring for waterproof this back screw cap.

Screw cap lens on front hide the actual pinhole camera and its a Perspex lens.

Again there's an O ring on the front cap to ensure no water can get in. Its rated to IP65 so its water resistance not waterproof after all not like my Kodak Zx3

That's the pin hole camera with lens removed. That tiny hole forward of that big black button is the mic.

You could see the circuit board mount for that camera, this probably Hand phone cameras re use for other purpose.

Camera switches ON you will have these 2 light illuminate, in front is the record/on/off switch. Press it for few second it will switches OFF and again another few second it will switches ON with the 2 lights illuminate.

Momentary pressing it will start/stop recording, recording indicated by blinking Blue light.

Red light above will blink if it charging and turn steady once fully charged. Below a bracket made from bicycle reflector clamp for holding this camera to my scooter.

Its easily mounted and I could use better clamp to make it look good, well maybe later.

Same mounting as seen from above, wind noise is too much and vibration make it watery at this location. I may try to mount is behind the scooter screen.

Sample video will follow, waiting for youtube.

Nuts on Photog

An SLR is a good camera to have, and they make beautiful photos however I been missing a lot of shots lately due their bulky size makes it cumbersome to carry during rides or travelling abroad.


Enough said, I can't afford to missed more shots. I love taking photos, this I do from the very early age. My first camera is a 35mm format plastic toy like camera with many light leaks that I bought for under RM 5.00 in the early seventies. It works but don't expect sharp and pretty photos, at that time it was Black & White a crappy black & white more like it.


As times goes, and with scholarship I bought myself a Yashica FX-3 ... wooowwww.. my first SLR this was back in 81. This sample of FX-3 Super was a later addition that I am collecting.

Its not as easy as today, with digital age where you can see what exactly you are shooting and read the Exif files to see and correct with software. Its a "Dog Eat Dog" world of photography where taking shot means your are going into that "Black Hole" of uncertainties, or at least that where my skill of photography was then.


So back to missing a lot of shots I decide to get a compact a camera for "Jalan Jalan". Not any compact will do, after few months of evaluating I decide on the Lumix DMC-LX5 with that LEICA DC VARIO-SUMMICRON lens at a bright aperture of 2.0 and a 3.8x magnification as photo below.

Why not go for micro 4/3 like the Lumix GH3, not necessary this LX5 sensor is good enough for me and I don't need interchangeable lens since I already have an SLR with a few lenses. Furthermore if you do street photography a smaller good camera is ideal, its less intrusive than a big bad bulky camera.

Why don't get those Lumix TZ20 with mega zoom and GPS, well mega zoom means mega shake, to get mega zoom on a compact the sensor need to be small this will cause bad low light performance. GPS I already have it on my SLR so not that important, I could geotag photos with my portable tagger so its do able in other ways.


The one feature I find lacking on this LX5 is the absent of a view finder, takes time to adapt. I am very used to view finder, all camera I had will have it. Like the canon Ixus V3 that occasionally died on me while taking a shot. Electronics View Finder or EVF is an optional accessories for this camera, but its just not worth the money to pay for it.

How irony, the Ixus V3 with 3.2 mp is more expensive that this one at 10.1 mp and that at 2001 rate which is more that todays. How time change.

The video quality of this camera as they said .. its the MC Hammer Camera for video .. "You can't touch it"

SYM VTS 200 Rectifier/Regulator

Ever since Nicholas Tesla discovered the Alternating Current (AC) it was a fierce battle between him and Edison who "discovered" Direct Current. On scooter both exist harmoniously complementing each other.


Scooter like any motor vehicle needs electrical power to make it work, at least to the ignition coil igniting the combustible mix or engine cranking during start.


Basic electrical power supplied by battery, however this accumulator need recharging and if its left running an engine without very soon everything will come to a stop. To do this charging there is a Generator on board that runs by the engine to produces electric current. Big problem these are Alternators which produces AC and they run at a wild frequency of the engines speed, further to the problem its varies in output current and voltage by this engine speed too.


Enter the world of Rectifier/Regulator, on most bike inclusive scooters this is the unit that will convert the AC to DC and at the same time regulate a steady voltage output of about 13.5 ~ 15.5 VDC which are use to charge the battery and powering the rest of the electrical components on the scooter.


Below is the SYM VTS 200 Rectifier/Regulator its on the right side of the body, this photo shows it with body panel removed.

Replacement of this Rectifier/Regulator don't need the body panel to be removed. An experience mechanic can easily get it from the right side of the bike and with some fiddling the unit can be remove. This unit get hot while in operation, that is why this is the best location for it.

Its held with two 10mm screws and you need a socket wrench for the job. Once dismounted, you will need to undo the weather shield to get to the two connectors.

Exposing the 2 connector with 3 wires each. The yellow wires are from the Alternator, Green to Earth, Red to Battery and Black to Indicator. However its best to get the exact diagram to be sure.

Above is a very simplified diagram and below for few type of SYM Motors.

Below with one of the connector exposed.

Close up of the regulator.

The part number on the back.

These Rectifier Regulator are tested with the engine running at 2000 RPM, it should produce about 15V and charging the battery at about 1.2A with High Beam "ON"


There are other type of regulators around, generally its either a Single Phase input or like this a 3 Phase input. All 3 phase input Regulator/Rectifier work the same and to the extend they can be made to work on any bike, but to do this you may need to know Tesla.

SYM VTS 200 CDI

Capacitive Discharge Ignition Units (CDI), these device store charge and let go at a "bang" , modern bikes and cars uses these to get better combustion and cleaner exhaust. It need more that CDI to do these anyway.

Above SYM VTS 200 CDI, apart from having those Capacitive circuits it also have rev limiting built in, these to safe guard the engine from abuse and operates at a safer range to prolong engine life. This Standard CDI is about RM 140.00 a piece at the spare shop.

There are after market replacement which sell for less, something like RM 50.00 on ebay. These work just as good.

Or for the more adventurous and need the rev limiter removed, they could opt for the racing version averaging in price from RM 75.00 on ebay like below.

Point to note before ordering these, make sure its suitable for your bike and the connector is the same.


Below typical circuit diagram for a scooter, exact for the VTS 200 is similar however the colour coding of wire may be different.

The racing CDI selling at Maju Motor or even Sentul is about RM 250.00 each. I don't think it worth that much, considering its "Plug & Play" and its not really that great in performance improvement on a scooter. As they said.. you wanna go fast.. get a Superbike.. a scooter is for leisure and relax commuting.

BTW you might as well change the ignition coil to racing spec, while you are at it.

This standard coil price about RM 50.00 each.


Below is a good video, to check what type of CDI installed on yg scooter.

SYM VTS 200 Coming on Vacuum

When few of my friends told me that they are interested on a vacuum device that is installed on the SYM 250i eVo and not the VTS 200 to make it runs better, its struct my mind what the heck is that contraption. We did few mods on cars on the vacuum lines to the fuel pressure regulator delaying fuel pressure reduction after slamming the throttle, but that on EFI cars, on  normally aspirated bike.. hemmm lets see.


Comparing the VTS 200 and the 250i Parts Catalogue I could not find anything that look like a device that could improve performance on the bike. Interesting, where do they get the idea that it would improve performance.


So today, armed with my faithful Samsung Camera phone I decide to do a snoop on an installation in progress.


Okay what they meant by "vacuum" is this "Breather Chamber Assembly" Part Number : 1738A-HMB-00 as photo below.

It is actually a device that installed to those SYM to meet euro emission 4 standard, on the VTS 200 this device is not installed. What it does is to recycle vapour from cylinder head area back into the carburettor for combustion. If its not installed,as on VTS 200 those vapour from this area is simply vented out to ambient, and that not meeting the euro spec. BTW being  non EFI is already don't meet Euro Spec 4 for these SYM VTS 200.

Above photo of this "vacuum" unit and where the connection goes to. These device is there all the time on cars and bike that needed to pass the European Regulation. How does it make your bike run smoother or increase power ? More about that later... :)


Below shown "Vacuum" installed on 250i, the VTS 200 is similar with slight difference on the Cylinder head tapping point.

Cylinder Head tapping point as shown below for the VTS 200.

Below overly simplified schematic of the installation, point to note is that SYM VTS 200 Engine Case vent already fitted with similar unit which is bigger and its feeding the carburettor intake to burn off excess vapour from engine case as shown in next photo..

Engine Crank Case venting breather

After installing this "vacuum" the mechanic need to readjust the fuel air mix at the carburettor to compensate for additional air flowing into the carburettor by fiddling the screw in diagram below.

Q1. What does this "vacuum" do to the bike ?
A1. What it does is only to make the bike run "Greener" for the Euro Emission Specification.


Q2. Will it increase POWER ?
A2. Answer : Yes (Psychologically)


Q3. Will it make the bike run smoother ?
A3. Answer : See A2


Conclusion : Unless you want to go green, then its no point of installing this item.