Belting Problem

I was quite surprised by a number of broken drive belt lately. It's very unusual for an Elegan to break it's drive belt.

One friend got his drive belt broken just after we came back from a ride to Temerloh. After replacing with an original belt, it broke again just a few weeks after that. Another friend broke his drive belt on his way to Penang.

I was servicing the belting when I asked the mechanic why it's happened. He said, one of the reason was because the moving part of the drive system was not properly serviced.

The auto clutch have got a moving part which function is to change the ratio of the final drive. This part must be taken off, clean and re-greased regularly. If not, I will not move in and out, thus causing the belt to be canstantly under stress during acceleration and hard riding.

Unexperience mechanics may not want to open this part because it was quite tedious. But, it has got to be done to minimised chances of broken belt.

Piston Ring

It has been 4,000km since I changed the piston to an overbore of 61mm. It has been a very enjoying time. Good pickup all around. Very responsive even with pillion riders.

Not much improvement to top speed. I still get around 120-125km/h on the highway. A lot of temperature. Easily rise to 2 bar during crusing and sometime 3 bar in a traffic jam.

Higher fuel consumption. Full tank, I lost about 40km. Used to get around 220km per tank. Now I could only do about 180km on average.

But even worst, now the piston ring has started clicking. A little clicking which I figure a sound of the piston ring started to loose.

At this rate of deterioration, I will probably get another 4,000km before I will have to replace it with a new piston.

New Tire

I change my Elegan's rear tire. Brand, Kingstone and size 130/70-13. Made in Malaysia.

The tire looks small but seems higher that a 70 series. It has a very rounded profile.

So, the performance? Well, for a RM76 per piece, installed, I say it a reasonable tire. At 120km/h on the highway, it still quite stable on dry highway. I have tried taking a few sharp corners and it feels good.

But, of course, for a more serious rider, I think you should evaluate it carefully before diving into sharp corners and high speed. For me, it is more than enough. But I still have not try it on wet road, I mean really wet, like a monsoon down pour.

Solution to the high temperature!

I read about Red Line Water Wetter just now. It is a product / additive for the coolant. Add it to the radiator and it is said to be able to reduce operating temperature by 30 degree celcious.

I am going to try it soon. But it is rather difficult to get. I'll have to buy it from online store or from a accessories shop in Seremban.

I hope it could help with the high temperature of my Elegan.

More info

http://www.redlineoil.com.my

Need New Tire

Rear tire already worn out. I will need to replace it end of the month.

I have a lot of choices now. 130/70-12 is a very popular scooter's tires. So, no problem. But I will probably change it with a moderate quality, suitable only for cruising. No knee sliding or fast wet ride.

Duro, HRC, Maxxis, Kenda................

Constant High Temperature

It was time for an oil change. I choosed the Castrol 4t. Bought it for RM16 at the Giant Hypermarket.

But now I am having a high temperature problem. At 100km/h on the highway, the temperature will be at 2 bars. I am quite worried because the normal cruising temperature is at 1 bar.

The performance is still the same. No lost of power or other issues. I can still get 120km/h easily at any roads.

I will keep on observing this issue. I hope it will just be temporary.

Elegan Update

It's been quite sometime since I last updated this blog. Been quite busy with daily routine.

I still ride the Elegan but now I have got it upgraded. I have installed a big bore unit. Now my Elegan is at 172cc.

I still haven't completed the running-in. But to be frank, it is wonderfull. The acceleration is just overwhelming.

At first, I thought I may regret spending so much on the upgrade, but now, I am really glad. I am looking forward to cruising all over the country soon..... of course with my Elegan.

Our Ride To Kuantan

06/01/2007 – I was on the road again. We decided to ride east toward the capital of Pahang, Kuantan. Our original plan was to continue riding to Kemaman. It was a rainy season but we did it anyway but until Kuantan only. The sky was dark and it was rather late after a long chat with a friend from Kuantan. We decided to just turn back in the afternoon.

We started at 7.20am in the morning. It was a very nice ride due to a very moderate weather. A cloudy day hide us from the hot Saturday sun.

There were only 2 scooters and a motorbikes. I am on a silver Modenas Elegan, my brother on a Yamaha Virago 535 and a friend on another Modenas Elegan, red in color.

We got into a rain during our ride back, but most of them were not that bad. Riding the Elegan was a blessing in these type of weather. When we stopped for dinner, my boots were still dry.

We reached home at about 12.00 midnight. We ride for a distance of about 520km. What a wonderful ride! At the Elegan..... perfect, no problem at all.

We are going further!

There will be ride to Kemaman on the 06/01/2007. It will be hard riding. But I am sure it will be very enjoyable.

A few riders already confirmed their involvement. There will be 3 riders on the Elegan 150. The rest will be on a bigger cruiser and a few will be on a smaller moped/kapcai.

We are looking forward to a good ride!

600km Trip to Lumut

I rode 600km last weekend. On my Elegan, of course!

I have planed it for about a month before the trip. I made the journey and it was very interesting. The destination was Lumut.

We started early in the morning. Out of the 14 motorbikes, 2 of them were Elegan, a Virago 535, Virago 750 and a CBR600RR . The rest were 125cc and 135cc moped@kapcai.
During the first quarter of the ride, it was raining. I have to slow down because the small tires worried me a little bit.

Once we were out of the rainy section, I kept up nicely with the others. The rest of the journey was excellent.

The coolant temperature of my Elegan rose during high speed (normal at 1 bar indicator). But when I slow down it went back to normal.

Overall, our cruising speed was around 90-110km/h. We stopped at an interval of about 120km for fuel. The moped@kapcai had a shorter traveling range at every full tank of fuel.

It was a very nice ride!

Riding In the Rain!

Riding In the Rain!

On the west coast of the Peninsular of Malaysia, December may not be a monsoon season but there is a lot of rain during this month. This is due to the accumulation of water vapor through out the very hot morning.

To most people riding in a rain is not very enjoyable. But with my Elegan, it becomes a little easier. The construction of the scooter helps to minimize rain drop from hitting you directly. As a result you only get wet once the get is really heavy.

You will have to be extra careful though. The small tires of the scooter make it more dangerous to ride in wet weather.

In the tropic, you do not have to worry much about the temperature. You can still rides with your “birthday suite” if you want too…. Do not very, you will not get frozen.

Why Scooter?

Why scooter?

I was very skeptic about using a scooter a few months ago. To me, it was rather odd to ride a small vehicle with two small tires. I kept on wondering of its safety features and durability.

But, I was impressed with the fact that it is so easy to ride. I do not have to change gears. Just pull the throttle and hit the breaks when there are obstructions.

After two month, I really regret to have ridden this beautiful machine so late. If I knew, I could have bought it years ago.

Have you heard about Elegan?

Welcome to myelegan blog.

Elegan is my scooter. I am going to tell you everything about this scooter. I hope you will enjoy it.