After months of waiting, the wife's DRZ finally arrived on the 5th of Sep. I had initially wanted to wait for the latest COE results on the 3rd of Sep but the wife's getting impatient and so I called up the bike shop on the 1st and told them that I want my bike asap. To collect the bike as soon as possible, it would mean that I would have to buy the existing COE currently held by them, at a sum of $1310. The fees for the transfer of COE is $170 so in total, I spent $1480 on a worthless piece of paper certifying that I am entitled to buy a motorcycle. WTF! However, that also means that in the Vehicle Log Card, I am recognized as the 2nd owner... not really very crucial since I dun think I would be letting go of the bike anytime soon.
The black stallion
The good thing that came out of all this was that, when the latest COE results was revealed on the 3rd, COE for motorcycles have risen to $1452! For getting the bike a few days earlier, and for being the 'second owner', I had paid only $28 more than the latest COE results. Quite worth it considering I saved myself from getting grumbled at! lol.
See her happy smile?
The bike in stock standard form...except for the wing mirrors, those were changed almost immediately after getting the bike
But first, I have to get the broken in first, and I subscribed to what the good people at mototuneusa
suggested. To go against the owner's manual and perform a hard run in.
Riding a new bike hard and on the roads is risky at best, stupid at worst. The brakes are new, the handling, sitting position needs getting used to, the tyres are still coated with a layer of protective wax. And according to the website, I gotta redline the bike in all the gears!
For stupid stunts like these, I would need the help of someone equally crazy/ stupid...
Enter Xgrind Stage Left.
He shall be the extra pair of eyes I need and also the person who would mostly likely stop to help in case anything were to happen. And so it was him that accompanied me the 60plus klicks back home. Yes, I took the 'scenic' route back from Eastern Singapore to the western part where I lived. Instead of taking the easiest and shortest route, the PIE, I went for a big round, utilising the TPE, SLE, BKE, KJE and then PIE again. We even rode to one of the most famous (among cyclists, boy racers and army guys) stretch of road, Lim Chu Kang Road.
First person thoughts of the bike? Well, it was nowhere near the power and performance of the last dirtbike I had, the DRZ400E. The bike feels, restricted and breathless. The lack of a rev counter did nohing to hide the fact that the bike reaches red line very soon. And the sad part is that the stock engine power is just not there. And the original exhaust is just stupendously ugly.
Well, its a minor problem that could easily be fixed. The full system exhaust is on its way and I have already bought a jetting kit to fix it on at the same time as the exhaust system. With a better air filter, I believed the bike would perform better.
Handling wise, I have no complaints. The Zee just loves to carve up the road and the bike's relatively light weight makes flicking it into the corner a joy. With the short wheelbase, Stoppies and wheelies were never a problem.
Brakes were working fine so far. Guess I can put off changing the original brake hose until much later. But there are still things that I feel must be done in order to beautify it. The original white axle sliders have just gotta go since it has been documented that the bloody thing is just a waste of time. Riders have fallen and the stock sliders did jack shit to protect the bike.
A pair of rear Motovation sliders plus another pair to the front gave me a sense of security. I have also bought engine case guards and a radiator brace from San Francisco which went onto the bike before I even took it out of the shop. As mentioned earlier, a new pair of wing mirrors have replaced the original butt ugly squarish mirrors.
I have also changed the original rear mud guard/ brake/ signal lights to after market ones. Took us both quite a bit of time as the wiring was just too short compared to the original ones. Luckily, due to my work nature, I have no problems lengthening the wires by splicing and joining two wires together.
Notice the extremely long 'mud guard' and ugly looking light assembly
This one looks much better, ain't it?
But my wife is still not satisfied and she has already begun to execute her plan to to 'pink-a-lise'. More girly stickers are on the way and pretty soon, this Zee would be one of the most feminine one around!
Check out the bright LUMINOUS pink rim stickers
She also customised a set of decals of our nicknames in PINK to stick on the front of the bike.
And come this weekend, if her OTHER customised stickers are ready for collection, the 'pink-a-lised' DRZ would be almost complete! But before that, she just must get something to mark her turf.
Reference: http://angkuguay.blogspot.com/2008/09/2008-suzuki-drz-400-sm.html
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