tootall

DCT is for people who do not like/do not know how to shift gears/have issues with their left hand and/or arm and/or left foot or leg due to disability/injury and needs the machine to do it for them. NON-DCT is for people who love to ride their bikes the traditional way; shifting up/down whenever they have to/need to/want to. With the DCT you will not have a clutch lever or gear lever on the left side of the bike. They will be missing. You will have buttons on the left switch block to allow you to shift up or down the gears if you so wish to do so OR leave it in auto-mode whereby the bike will upshift/downshift on its own. You will need not have to bother about which gear you are in; just twist & go (like a scooter). Which system you prefer would depend entirely on your riding style/your type of riding and is very subjective. Either one will give you much joy & pleasure on two wheels. Happy shopping!

I have been riding since 1992. My first bike was an old Kawa KMX 125 dirt(y) bike and my last bike was a Honda Varadero back at the tail end of 2004. Have been riding scooters ever since. As I have mentioned earlier, they make perfect sense here in our congested city. They are cheap to run & keep but they will never keep up with a 'proper' bike on the highway or the twisties. Well, we do not have many highways here, much less twisties (unlike Msia). Finding TDC on my scoot was easy. I merely nudged the kick-start lever at the side, but I had to make sure I did not "over-nudged" it or else it would rotate past TDC and I had to do it all over again cos the lever only turns the crank over one-way. The timing marks were fairly easy to spot & align on the cam wheels up top. And it only has 2 valves and screw-type adjusters so its kinda easy-peasy. It may be a little more scary if U had multivalves with multiple cylinders with bucket-&-shim type adjusters. Screw tat one up and U can definitely be assured of a f**ked up running engine....probably worse than if U had not attempted to adjust it. So like U said, its probably a better idea to have the shop do it the first time round and U see how difficult(or easy) it is, before attempting to do it yourself. I have so far done it twice on my scooter. I hope not to do it again,even though it isn't difficult. The last time round I had actually given the exhaust valve abit more 'gap' than was recommended in the hope tat I will not need to open it up to do it again (Ha-Ha! Lazy me). So far so good, except for a slight rattle noise after initial start-up which could be due to that bigger-than-necessary exhaust valve gap, or a leaky exhaust pipe muffler, or whatever... But it goes away once its warmed up so it should be OK I guess... I do my oil change at office cos I have a way of disposing the old oil 'responsibly', so that's not an issue for me. In fact oil changes are what I do best and most often cos I think its one of the easiest jobs for the novice mech.(like myself). I shun other jobs cos they are considered difficult for me. For example, replacing my headlamp bulbs took me more than 2 hours cos I had to remove the front apron of my scooter. Putting it back properly was a minor nightmare. I will not want to attempt it again thank U very much. There's a canto-chinese saying "You More You Thor", meaning "the more you meddle/tinker with something the more problems you gonna face". So I have learnt to leave well enough alone... Like you, I have not had much time or opportunity to go riding as often as I'd like to. But after my last "epic" ride to Cameron, I have had second thoughts about it all. I have decided that riding a thousand kilometres, 2 up, on a 125cc scoot is torturous, especially when U are trying not to be late for your hotel check-in time and trying not to keep yr other riding buddies (who were on bigger bikes) waiting. Also, trying to stay out of the way of speeding coaches (that were doing 120-140kmh easy) wasn't fun. I was often "bullied" onto the shoulder of the highway by these behemoths. No fun there. So I have decided that if I ever attempt a long distance ride again, beyond Johor Bahru, I would do it on a big(gish) bike...... or just take the bus. I think I will PM you my number and we could carry on this conversation off-line. I do wonder what happened to the creator of this post. AWOL or MIA?

Yeah, it may seem abit "porky" at 145kg "wet" I presume...but it probably helps stability (or 'road holding') at higher speeds. My Taiwaneese scooter weighs approx.115kg. Its pretty light for pushing around the carpark & also carving up traffic but its got a pretty vague front end. U push it into a corner too quickly and U do not know if U are going to make it out of the corner upright or horizontally cos U can't really feel anything from the handlebars. Its worse when the roads are wet. Could be due to a rear-bias weight distribution (30:70 my guess). So its 'unsafe' as compared to a proper bike with regular sized wheels and equal weight distribution. But I do not push it hard much these days because I would like to preserve my skin. Not knowing what the front end is up to kinda puts U off performing any heroics on the roads. I have fallen off it several times (mostly low-sides, out of my own stupidity,not the scooter's fault),enough to know that its no sports scooter. Merely a commuter scoot that happens to look sporty. My owner's manual recommends an oil change every 2000km but I do it at around 1200-1500km using "synthetic" oil I got from NTUC Megamart. It takes only 0.9L of oil so it ain't gonna burn tat big a hole in my pocket even if I replaced it every 1000km, which I used to do. It doesn't even have a proper oil filter, just a round little metal gauze beneath the oil sump U take it off to air-blow it and put it back on. Ditto for the air-filter.Easy-Peasy job. Even the valve-clearance check is an easy one + half hour affair if U got the right tools and a little know-how. Can't say the same for multivalve engines. They can be a real pain to check and will probably cost a small fortune if the shop does it for U. In most cases they will probably tell U it "isn't necessary"(HaHa!) to save them the trouble. The engine oil is the life blood of the engine. Methinks its wise not to skimp on it. Keep it fresh and your bike will love U for it:slurp: So how often do U tour? Do U do it with yr riding buddies? How far have U taken yr baby? Should arrange for a meet-up one of these days for a cuppa coffee & more chatter.

Nice! Probably one of the nicest small bikes out there. Weird that it needs 3 spark plugs to run a single cylinder though. Its a single cylinder I presume? Makes not much sense. Well, anything that can cruise all day at 120kmh qualifies as a tourer (in my books), regardless of engine size or bike size. Whether U are comfortable after U reach yr destination on said bike is another issue. My scooter did about 1100km round trip to Cameron Highlands last year, 2 up, and I told myself I won't want to do it again, given a choice. It does about 25km per litre,its fuel tank is about 5 litres small and its top speed is merely 100kmh max. Its got CVT seamless transmission for easy twist-n-go riding. Certainly not tourer material but like I said, its do-able. Next time out, we'll take the bus:P. Told myself I'll only go as far as Kota Tinggi or Desaru on it...next time. But I'm an fickle-minded old fart, so who knows. Small Class 2B bikes and scooters make the most sense in our small city. They are light, nimble, easy to handle, frugal on fuel & other consumables, with just enough power to surge ahead most other 4-wheeled vehicles from the lights. An ST1300 or GS1200 makes little sense on our clogged roads. Does yr Pulsar have a main stand? What are the service intervals like? How often do U need to perform a valve-clearance check? Is it specified in the owner's manual?

Yes, and its got the looks to match. Pretty Sharp! Bajaj Pulsar I presume? How's the bike generally? Is it cheap to run and maintain so far? Reliability? Am asking cos I am thinking of a suitable replacement for my 7 yr old Taiwaneeese scooter, if budget permits:smile:

U can tour on anything Bro, as long as U got endurance and lots of patience. I rode my 125cc Taiwaneese scooter up to Cameron Highlands with wifey last June. Aside from a pretty sore bum, its do-able. BTW I am taller than U.

U haven't included the PCX 125/150 in your list. What about Kymcos? There are the Xciting and Downtown models which should be great for longer distance rides in comfort for 2 people plus luggage...... also there is a new Honda Forza 125 tats been launched in Europe but dunno if its here already....tat one looks like a great little luxury mini-tourer scooter tat can do 120kmh and has good fuel range....but it will be expensive no doubt (with current incredible COE prices...). It all boils down to your personal preferences and budget. I think all the abovementioned scoots are great in their own special way. If 2nd hand purchase U gotta be very careful not to end up with a lemon cos U never know how previous owners treat their bikes.... I personally ride a taiwanese scooter (Kymco Super 8 125cc) and have been happy with it thus far cos it serves its purpose of bringing me to and from work without much problems. Its certainly not the best but its the best I can afford for now....sure I yearn to have a Tmax or SilverWing but......gotta be realistic (living in relative poverty...LOL).

Halo Trempest, thanks for the info. Have seen similar looking lights sold by Banggood. I haven't found a suitable place to mount these lamps on my scooter tat's why I have not bought them. The front fork area seems the best place but will need to get/fabricate suitable mounting brackets.....also the wiring may be a problem cos my scooter is prone to blowing fuses.The fuse box is rather vulnerable to getting wet so when I wash the scooter or leave it in heavy rain, it'll get soaked.......a real pain. I have managed to "hide" the fuse box, away from direct contact with water. So far so good but it is only a temporary fix. As I have mentioned earlier, I would not want to spend any more than is necessary to keep it running cos it mostly only serves as transport to and from my workplace (20km round trip) and the VERY occasional "tour" up north. Would prefer saving up for a proper bike tat I can use for longer road trips with the wife but it will only happen in the distant future....So right now I am loving my scooter cos for Spore use, its hard to beat! Anyways, cheers to U Bro. Will contact U for some chit-chat in the near future:smile:

Thanks for info TanArthur, sounds like a good idea, the seat re-wrap.... Also, my headlamps are damn weak for nite riding on the dark NS highway. May need to install some extra LED lights at the front. Wah, need to spend money again....wife will nag at me for sure. Gotta start saving for another bike liao so spend less on this one. 4 more years to go:)

Guess U are right. Just needs more practice, to harden the butt LOL! In any case, cannot afford to buy bigger bike now so gotta enjoy (and endure) on this one till 2019 when its time to scrap it. Hope I would have saved enough by then to get a bigger scooter so tat I can keep up with Scarab

Phew! Lucky for us did not need any tow rope or recovery services. My Kymco Super 8 125cc managed to go up and down with 2 persons and luggage. Gotta thank Bro Scarab and his group for their patience (had to stop at every R & R/petrol station cos of my tiny tank-5 litres can go about 120km max.). Well, I guess this will be the 1st and last time I riding this scooter up, cos although it is possible to ride to very faraway places on it, it is not comfortable. My wife and I had very sore bodies after returning from the trip(maybe we are just not used to it...). I don't know how Bro Scarab managed it without looking tired.....maybe he really has an Iron Butt....LOL! Anyway, it was a good experience for us. We will try to limit our scooter rides to JB only, to preserve our old and frail bodies:smile:

Oh ya, forgotten about masks.....need to go home to find.....or else use handkerchiefs oso can I guess.... Now come to think about it, abit scared liao, dunno my 125cc taiwanese scooter with 2 adults and luggage will make it up there or not.... hope Scarab got bring some tow rope, just in case:cheeky:

U are lucky your wife lets U buy the FZ1. Mine insists tat I ride my 125cc Taiwanese scooter till 2019.....and then trade it in for an electric scooter.... Anyway, enjoy your ride!

The big fuel tank is great for long-distance riding. You can do top-ups across the border and $ave. The old FZ1 did have a sizeable tank too (21 litres) plus it was not too greedy on fuel. The biggest pain I felt was maintaining the chain, even though it had a main stand. Its a dirty job that left your hands filthy unless you wore gloves. Install the ScottOiler and half your chores are taken care of (you'd still need to clean the chain though...). I think the ST11 will be very comfortable with rider and pillion for road trips (it should beat the FZ1 here) BUT it will be very heavy to manoeuvre in town/congested roads and it is wide so U cannot lane-split as often as U'd like. Also,parking/pushing it around in a carpark will be a sweaty affair I'm sure. If money no object, buy both bikes! (FZ1 for commuting & ST11 for weekend touring)

Howdee Mr LuckyThirteen, I owned an FZ1 way back in 2001 (carbureted version) from new and if my memory serves me well, it was a really lovely bike during its time (good power, can get approx.22km/litre, quite comfy though I would have preferred a taller screen cos I'm TooTall, easy to pick up after a fall cos its not too heavy). It had a main stand so cleaning and lubing the chain was easier and it could take a big top box. It ran well and good and I would have gone touring on it if I hadn't T-boned a car and wrote it off in 2002:cry:. I have no past experience with ST1100 so cannot comment much but from what I can see, its big, its heavy(if U drop it,"chia lat"!), its shaft-drive so almost maintenance free. Believe it will make a great long distance tourer but if U commute more than U tour, guess you'd be better off on an FZ1 (or scooter...). Cheers!