Kawasaki KLX150s Engine Oil Change

It is always better to use what is the recommended engine oil for Kawasaki KLX150s which is a liter of 10W-40 fully synthetic. And it is better for you to change the oil regularly if you know that you are going off roads most of the weeks in a month. A friend of mine which is a mechanic told me that if we are going for a long distance ride on road, we should be using thicker engine oil for example 20W-40 synthetic so that when the engine got hotter than the way it shouldn’t be, thicker oil won’t get dried very quick which can damage your engine especially the piston and the engine block. I saw it happened in front of my very eyes how dry engine oil cause terrible damage to KLX150s engine during me and my friends 5000 kilometres go and return expedition from Kuching, Sarawak to Kudat in Sabah.

Kawasaki genuine oil filter for KLX150s

One more thing, make sure that you are using the original oil filter made especially for Kawasaki KLX150s and not other filter that looks the same from the outside but totally different from the inside which is meant for other motorcycles. If you fail to use the right filter, the engine oil might not fully reach through and lubricate some of the crucial components in the engine itself for example the piston related parts which can cause bad damages to the piston for example scratches that will reduce the performance of your machine and at the end will cause you a lot of money for repairing.

We See You in Bintulu!

At Bintulu during our way to Kudat we met Bintulu riders that ride mostly supermoto and scrambler which was known as the 9DX riders. It was really nice of them to gather just to meet us and share whatever that we got in common. Thanks to Jebat Junior (FB alias) or Mr. Hafiz for his noble effort to call out everyone in that Bintulu area range just to come, to greet, to welcome and especially to wish us the best for our great journey.

it's all about us, nothing else matters

Before I get to know Hafiz in person, we only managed to chat in Facebook messenger and to my surprise I met him before during my ride with Pak Din to Miri a year before which is in 2012. That was my trial ride to Miri riding my Kawasaki KLX 150s with Pak din before we decided to take the next ride up a notch and that is how the Kuching- Kudat idea comes to our head especially my head. Hafiz is such a nice guy, not to mention the rest of 9DX riders that welcome us. Thank you for your hospitality as we spent our beautiful and meaningful night in Bintulu. Till we meet again my brothers and I am truly sorry for not knowing all of your names because the meeting was too short for us to get to know better.

their rides.

Hafiz (black shirt) & other friend that came that night. Thanks man!

the Brotherhood

Pak Din, Aki & Jodon

The Tip of BORNEO, Simpang Mengayau (I was there! We were there! Our BIKES were there!)

I am speechless...

Kuching to Kudat (Tip of Borneo, Simpang Mengayau) DAY 4

We went out riding quite early to our primary destination which is KUDAT, the time showed around 7 in the morning. Pak Din set his GPS and it tells KUDAT is another 150 kilometres away. Well if you have made 2+++ kilometres so far, a 150 kilometres is not that far anymore. Nothing stopping us now, KUDAT here we come!

on the way to KUDAT

Once we are out of KOTA KINABALU, the traffic was quite smooth especially when we started to cruise along rural roads to KUDAT. The scenery was fantastic, I can see the view of MOUNT KINABALU clearly from the nearby rural route that we took and we actually can see the top of that legendary mountain in the morning as the cloud is not covering the full view yet.

We were getting nearer and nearer and I couldn’t help myself. Just another 20 kilometres away to go I pulled my throttle almost to the maximum speed as I was getting very excited. The tip of BORNEO, the SIMPANG MENGAYAU is actually situated on the left side on our way to KUDAT. But first we got to look for place to stay and we found KUDAT REST HOUSE just in the middle of KUDAT I supposed so. For only RM60 we got ourselves a nice and very comfortable space to stay in that night.

 

At the rest house we were destined to meet our offroad blood in blood out brothers. They were bro Ahmit for Sri Aman, bro Hazwan from Kelantan and bro Rohairi also from Peninsular (these 3 are police officers in KUDAT) and the true Sabahan bro Rin (works for ministry of youth & sports in KUDAT). They are the one that took us for a ride to THE TIP OF BORNEO, SIMPANG MENGAYAU and also to one of their offroad training base somewhere not so far from the rest house. We only managed to get to know them for a very short period but it was like we were best friends for years before and ahead. I guess when we are sharing the same patience, we will also share the same emotion and especially the spirit of the riders brotherhood.

standing from left: Rohairi, Hazwan & Ahmit

crouching tigers from left: Pak Din, Jodon & me of course

from left: Rohairi, Hazwan & Ahmit

Kuching to Kudat (Tip of Borneo, Simpang Mengayau) DAY 3

at SIPITANG, SABAH

From LIMBANG we headed to SIPITANG in SABAH passing BRUNEI borders and LAWAS which is still in SARAWAK. And as I mentioned earlier, we passed the borders without any unwanted difficulties. And from SIPITANG we rode to KOTA KINABALU in the 12 hours hard cold ride because it was raining heavily from SIPITANG to KOTA KINABALU.

We reached KOTA KINABALU at night at around 8 p.m. I just couldn’t believe myself that we are actually in KOTA KINABALU, just one step away to be at KUDAT and reach out for SIMPANG MENGAYAU, THE TIP OF BORNEO. The cold just disappear when I knew deep in my heart and mind that on the very next day, I am going to set my foot and bike at KUDAT and also THE TIP OF BORNEO, SIMPANG MENGAYAU.

It’s very funny when I saw the poster of SIMPANG MENGAYAU at the lodge that we stayed in that wonderful night at KOTA KINABALU and said to myself “I am gonna be there by the end of tomorrow!” which I did and it was the most wonderful feeling that I cannot put into words, it is simply my personal achievement and satisfaction as a scram rider.

Kuching to Kudat (Tip of Borneo, Simpang Mengayau) DAY 2

The journey continues on day 2. We left MASTAMA inn and headed to MIRI, plan of the day is to ride as far as possible and the plan is for damn sure to enter and leave BRUNEI in that very day in a shot, I mean a ride.

 

Adrian the MIRI nice rider

Adrian & Pak Din (this was the 2nd time we are meeting after me & Pak Din riding to Miri a year back)

the shortcut guideline that save us time

When we are at MIRI we decided to do some major services to our machines especially by changing the engine oil and other minor things like checking the brake, lubricating the chain and also checking the tyres air pressure. Another matter would be to meet MIRI rider, Adrian to ask about the shortcut that we can take when travelling in BRUNEI to reach LIMBANG. Adrian is such a nice rider, earlier he texted me telling that he wanted to see us before we head off to SABAH as he can give us the shortcut route in the map that he has drawn onto a piece of paper.

Personally, I think our journey or ride or expedition or whatever people might want to call it actually started in MIRI when we arrived at the SUNGAI TUJUH MALAYSIA- BRUNEI DARUSSALAM BORDER. We were ready with our bike documents and especially our international passport to get through and make the debut come true. First I was really worried if it took us too much time at the borders especially when dealing with the borders officers in charge for both countries. They might get too strict especially when dealing with our bikes but thank god the process was smooth and according to plans. We managed to get in and out without any complications.

Immediately when I saw the signboard showing TO LAWAS, SABAH, LIMBANG I was freaking excited. I was smiling wide and if someone could see me smiling they would have thought that I might be crazy or something or somewhere between the line of sane and insane. I believe “This was it. This is what we have been aiming for, SABAH here we come! I am coming to you KUDAT! The tip of Borneo is mine!”

view of LIMBANG from our hotel corridor

 When we reached LIMBANG it was raining cats and dogs. We are blessed by the rain that wants us to take a rest that night at LIMBANG. To be honest, I have never been in LIMBANG my whole life! And my life is telling me that this is a great achievement. At LIMBANG we met Pak Din’s brother in law that took us around and treat us a wonderful dinner and also paid for the expenses of the place we stayed in that night.

Kuching to Kudat (Tip of Borneo, Simpang Mengayau) Ride 18 November 2013 DAY 1

The t-shirt especially made for this journey!

On the first day, we rode from Kuching to Bintulu and spend a night there. We start riding at 6 a.m and ended up in Bintulu at around 7 p.m the same day. We stopped at Serian for fuel and then somewhere passing Betong for another fuel filling and then at Selangau for another fueling and the final fuel station would be at Petronas Tatau before spending the night at Bintulu.

Mastama Inn was the name of the place that we stayed that night before continuing our ride from Bintulu to Limbang passing Brunei Darussalam.

MASTAMA Inn

Mastama Inn, room for 3 persons with 3 separate single beds  should only cost about RM65 or somewhere around USD20. On our way back to Kuching from Sipitang, Sabah we also stayed in the same inn when we stop at Bintulu.

excessive oil spill, what a waste!

On our way to Bintulu, Pak Din is having minor problem with his Kawasaki KLX150. His bike is having problem to start once we took a break at an R & R near Saratok. We have to waste about an hour just to get the bike fixed and the problem was engine oil overload. According to Pak Din, he was using a high end engine oil as suggested by a seller that he met somewhere in Kuching city. Well, accidentally Pak Din poured more that the suggested capacity for the KLX150 and thanks God this does not stop our journey. 

The lesson learn was to check your engine oil capacity before pouring any oil even though it is the best oil in the world. Even though you are going for a really long journey, pouring more than the engine can take will never help in making your engine last longer, just stick to the numbers given and that's it. And if you need to change your engine oil, just change the whole oil, not just simply by adding on the one in the bottle that you carry for safety measures.

That was day 1 and there will NO turning back!