Ride First, Worry Later!!: Sabah Ride May - June 2018 with Appen, Boyja & Cikgu Erwan

The official Sabah Ride started on the 26th May 2018 after a long careful planning led by me. This is my fourth wonderful & amazing ride to Sabah.

We ride on the 3rd day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri, something that I have never done before. We made the plan for the whole year since early 2017 but I think the plan was way before that. So I drive my kid & wife to Sarikei a few days before Hari Raya & went back to Kuching to take my bike & left the car at home in Kuching. Once the ride ia over I'll just go straight to Kuching, leave the bike & take the car to fetch my wife and kid, well that was the plan but it doesn't work like that because once I'm at Sarikei the bike broke down (can't be started). The regulator is not charging the battery making the battery get drained very fast. At first I thought it was the battery but once I changed the battery to a new one the same problem occurred,. meaning it's not the battery problem at all.

First day route! I was at Sarikei already when the rest of the pack started riding from Kuching, I just can't recall exactly at what time Boyja & Wan started their journey from Kuching, maybe at 6 or 7 a.m like that. Appen at that time already started his riding from Sarikei as he was staying at my in laws house the day before, he arrived early just to stay at my place & doing some visiting to friends house (well it's Raya)! Me & Appen the night before went to Bintangor to visit his friends also working for JPAM (Jabatan Pertahanan Awam Malaysia) at Bintangor branch. I on the other hand need to hitch the ride with Wan as my Kawasaki DTracker X 250 has serious problem. Wan ride his BMW GS850 & he reserves me one of his side box/storage for me to keep all my belongings. I reminded him earlier that night before.

Second day route!

This is the pass that you need to have (compulsory) because you are going to pass Brunei a few times before reaching another part of Sarawak & of course Sabah. First part of Sabah will be Sindumin near Lawas.

Hypergear dry bag, one of the best bag I ever used for this kind of riding! Extremely worth for money! Bought this for around RM70-80 & been using it for years including as my go to day bag! The capacity is 15 liters, just perfect for daily items like my raincoat, work related items.

On the left the new one, non branded but cheap, same capacity. On the right is the Hypergear that I've been using for years.

Time to get the Hypergear rest!

Fresh & new! Can't wait for the ride & see what can I stack inside!

The decals of course! My design my rules!

Up close and personal!

GIVI helmet I'm using for that year! You can't hide the year stated on that decal.

Front fork leaked on the left side after our ride to Telok Melano (before the Pan Borneo road is completed)

I can't ride like this can I?

One leak will lead to another, to be on the safe ground I will change both seals & oil plus the necessary services.

I bought the seal myself at a local seal shop.

Servicing at John cost me around RM300

Ready to go!

Appen Demak DTM 150 preparation

This is at Sarikei after my bike has problem starting or maintaining the battery power. So I sent my bike to this local workshop & he suggested me to change to a new battery & I did, but the same problem appear. Me and my father in law went to Sibu to get the right battery but apparently that's nit the issue here.

This is Appen trying to figure out what's wrong with my bike, checking & testing here & there

Appen trying to bypass the battery/power source but still the same.

At the workshop, the same workshop in Sarikei. The mechanic trying to find out the problem.

At my in laws house.

First try to recharge the battery (the old one I had on the bike)

Appen fixing his own bike. The exhaust got loose he's trying to put it back together & firmly.

Appen stayed at my in laws house the day before our ride.

Finally we detected the problem, it was the regulator that can't recharge the battery.

Time to get a new one but of course it can't be used since we got a few hours before the ride, there's not enough time. Postage will take days to weeks.

This is at Bintulu somewhere near the hospital or the UPM (Universiti Putra Malaysia) Bintulu branch. Stopping by to take some rest & checking the bike.