Category: moto diaries

And so … I own a car now.

Ehm. I should be thrilled, but I’m not jumping up and down at my first car. It’s quite crappy, really 

Up till some years ago, I never imagined that I’d be driving, much less be owning a car. I’m more of a two wheeler person and I was saving up for a new scooter. But I kept falling sick since I started commuting, that I’d rather spend some money than going  through all the “coughing my lungs out” again.

It’s not exactly my dream car, and while it’s not that expensive, being a second hand car, it did took practically all of my savings since I started working.

I feel so poor now!

To save money, I don’t think I want to be eating out for a while. To the point that I asked my friend Claire that we should only be shopping at bancarelle and packing our own lunch when we go out on our weekly meets

As it’s a second hand car, it’s not in perfect condition. There are quite a fair bit of work to be done for the inside and some parts to be changed and fixed. But the plan was to get a car with dings and scratches anyway, so that I wouldn’t feel too bad if I accidentally damage it as I gain driving experience.

But it runs well and I’m slowly getting used to driving it on the road. (with Cart as my wing man) And eventually, I could use it as a trade in for a brand new car after about a year and a half. Hopefully, I’d have earned a little bit more by then *crosses fingers*

My car is an old model Ford Ka by the way. Claire was suggesting names that we could call it. And to keep in the spirit of having the brand as the last name (like how it was for Sam Kymco) …

I’m thinking … Ash Ford. Cos it wasn’t very clean when we first got it. We could of course call it Harrison, but it’s too glamorous for my little crappy car. 

Even though I’ve already passed my driving licence and am starting to appreciate cars a lot, I’m still more of a two wheeler person. Owning a scooter or a motorcycle just makes more sense – it’s easier to find parking especially in a traffic congested place like Rome, the petrol intake is so much lower, and not to mention the cheaper upkeep costs.

Currently, I own a Kymco People 125. At first I didn’t like him so much. But he does have some advantages, such as its small size. It’s easy to manoeuvre it in between heavy traffic and I’ve appreciated him a lot for that. Problem is, he’s just not adequate enough for me to ride on the highway as European highways legally require for a two wheeler to be at least 150cc.

Since I’ve always loved riding my Vespa GT200 while I was in Singapore, I was seriously considering to upgrade to a Vespa LX 150 . Not another GT as I was used to, as I prefer it to be small enough to fly in the traffic. Moreover, it’s cheaper.

I was all set to head to the showroom when I stumbled upon a website where it compared the LX 150 with another scooter, the Kymco Like 200i and at first glance I was stunned to see how similar it looked. Even the font in front and on the sides look about the same!

Picture via Scooter Community

There are differences though, such as the bag hook below the seat of the LX150 while on the Like200 it’s on under the handlebars. But looks wise aside, the more I read about the comparisons, the more I got interested in purchasing the alternative.

By the way the Like200i is actually 163cc. Strange naming, I know

Firstly on account of how much cheaper it was. If I were to get the LX 150ie, it would cost me 3.6k euro while the Like 200i costs 2.2k, which is a good 1.5k cheaper and it already comes included with a box.

And it looks substantial enough for me to put my stuff and whatnots

Since using my current scooter for the past year and a half, and despite the fact that it is almost approaching 10 years old, incredibly, I’ve yet to have any issues or replace any parts which makes me trust this brand a lot. As much as I loved my Vespa, the upkeep costs were crazy. It didn’t bother me that much at the time as I had a regular job. But now that I’m mostly freelancing and money doesn’t flow regularly, I have to be frugal.

Thus it makes so much sense for me to get the Kymco Like 200i. I still love Vespa. But sometimes you can’t get a certain brand because of its high costs or because of it’s unavailability in your country, so you get a dupe which is just as good, instead.

Cart and I were at a nearest Kymco showroom and despite what a couple of reviews have mentioned, the Like 200i is not a small scooter. I am 1.61 m and when I sat on it, I only managed to tiptoe, very much like how I was on the GT200.

Even though in person, the body looks plasticy, I get the impression that the scooter is very solid and steady on the road. One thing that I didn’t really liked though, was that you needed to open the glove compartment and the underseat separately, as opposed to the GT 200 which opens with a push of a button. But this was a minor inconvenience.

Picture by Motorcycle.com

Nevertheless, there were small details which I was pleasantly surprised about, such as the plastic straps on the glove compartment which helps prevent items from spilling out.

And also that the pillion foot rest springs open when you press the button next to it. But I loved it more that it was positioned further away back – something that bothered me a lot when I was on the GT 200 – it hurt my legs a lot as I’d inadvertently scrape my feet on it each time I had a pillion. Bad design!

Nevertheless, the true test will be to ride it on the road of course. But I’m liking the specs that I’ve read so far. I’d like to order it, and hopefully, be riding it ASAP!

By the way, if you’re interested to read a more professional review, check this site out or read the spec comparisons.

Check out what I just got yesterday …

I passed my driving exam! And now I can legally drive (and also ride of any class motorcycle) anywhere in Europe! Woohoo!

I have to say though, that I was feeling rather nervous. Seeing how the two candidates before me were crying and looking sad when they were done didn’t give me much positive feelings. Nevertheless, I trudged ahead and tried to do the best I could.

How the driving exam goes is that your driving instructor will be sitting next to you, and the esaminatore (invigilator) will be sitting behind to observe how you drive. The entire session lasts for about 10 minutes and you’ll be judged accordingly on 4 main tasks.

1. How you drive

The fluidity of how you drive and change gears, looking out for incoming traffic. Slowing down when turning and respecting traffic signs. There are chances that the invigilator tries to trick you and tell you things like turning to the opposite direction on a one-way road (which is an instant failure) Thank goodness I didn’t had a jerk of an invigilator.

2. Repartenza in salita

You’ll be lead to a slope and then stopped. While on the slope, signal left, blind spot check and depart without falling back.

3. Inversione in 3 tempi

Manoeuvre and reverse the car in 3 moves to get to the opposite direction.

4. Parcheggio

And finally parallel parking. The invigilator asked me to park two times in different areas just to see if I’m fine for both. I used to have issues with this because sometimes I’d have the car jut out about halfway. But it’s a matter of practice.

The good thing about learning to drive in Italy is that as long as you have a foglio rosa, a P sign and a suitable car (as well as a person who has 10 years driving experience accompanying you) you can practice driving in the neighbourhood, and spend less at the driving school.

And that’s about it.

I thought that I failed for sure when departing from the slope, I forgot to signal to the left. And my instructor starting complaining loudly, “PERCHÉ! PERCHÉ! Tre volte ti ho detto a lezione!”

And by that time, I’ve lost my mood already and just carried on like I’d normally do during regular lessons. Heck care it all. So at the end of the exam, when my instructor said, “Grazie eh!” I was very surprised. Why is he thanking me? Being sarcastic or what? I looked behind me to the invigilator who was fiddling with the patente and I knew that I passed and I gave out a yelp and ran all the way to Cart’s office to tell him the good news in person.

Finally I’ve got a driving license. And now that I’m done with that, I can just move forward. One step closer to getting my dream car!

So I can do this!

Sexeh!

Did anybody see Jennifer Lopez in the latest Fiat 500 commercial?

It was also featured in her “Papi” music video which I’m not all that crazy about (sorry Jerrick!) It was much too much, trying to be all Love Potion No. 9.  I didn’t like the flatness of the song, I didn’t like the destructive elements – cars crashing, windows smashing. I didn’t like the overly product placements …

Nevertheless, coming back to the ad, the Fiat 500 is totally my favourite car! It’s love at first sight for me, pretty much like it was for the Vespa GT200. Come on, it’s totally sexeh! Just look at the shapely body.

And everyone driving one instantly becomes sexeh themselves too!

I have to say that I’m extremely jealous. I would really love one! But realistically speaking, as someone who’s just started to work (and just freelancing at that) it’s not something within my price range at the moment. It costs at least 11k euro, not including insurance and various taxes.

I wish I had a proper job here, at least something like what I was doing while I was back in Singapore. Sometimes I feel like my skills are becoming dormant and I have so much to contribute but I couldn’t. Because getting a job is quite tough here … Nevertheless, it’s still nice to dream.

But coming back to the ad, there was something which bothered me a little. I was staring at the gear stick and wondering, why it looked so odd …

It’s an automatic! I didn’t know that there are automatic 500? There are only three gear! Reverse, Neutral and Park. I was momentarily stunned. Not to sound all snotty and all, but after learning how to drive a manual car, with all the blood and sweat and tears … it all seems like lazy driving to me.

Ehm, but I shouldn’t speak too confidently. I’m taking my driving practical exam at the end of the month. Hopefully karma doesn’t bite me in the ass

Update : I just found out that JLO never stepped her foot in the Bronx during the entire commercial shoot. She was in LA the whole time while a body double was used for the scenes in the Bronx. That’s so wrong!

I’ve been taking driving lessons for a while. It’s been an eyeopening experience for me so far, especially during the very first practical where I had to drive straight on the road after a 10 minutes introduction

The interesting thing about learning to drive in Italy is that you could drive your own vehicle before getting your license. Learners are given a foglia rosa (like in the picture below) from the driving school which allows you to practice your driving for six months.

Lately, I’ve been looking around for a second hand car for my own practice session. A small 4-seater which is affordable but still look relatively decent.

Doing a bit of research online, it seems that the Ford Ka seems to be a good option as it fits all the categories. The mind-boggling thing about it is though, Ford is American. Why is an imported car cheaper than an Italian car?

Anyway I found this car online. Do you think we should get it?

Cute yes? This is a 2002 Ford Ka 1.3

Cart and I viewed it in person this evening. It has some bits of chips and dents but its not overt so I could live with that. In fact, it’s even preferable that way so I don’t feel too much heartache if I damage it.

The important thing is that the most important part of the car, the engine has been serviced by the previous owner and that it runs well.

My dilemma is that while the car isn’t expensive, it still is an expenditure – the car, the obligatory insurance and other expenses … this makes me nervous.

In the end, the car will be used for travelling during work. Nevertheless, I prefer to have some constant income flow before deciding such a big decision. Not sure what to do 

During our stay in Singapore this time round, I didn’t want be stuck in town especially during the holiday seasons. With a million vehicles around, its a tad fastidious especially having a pillion behind, adding to the stress.

Thus, we had to rely more on public transportation like the urban train, SMRT.

First things first though, was to get a ezlink pass! With these, we could tap and go! ™ Tap to boardat the entry and tap again when leaving to deduct the correct fare inside the card.

Our old ones were so old (it was purchased 2 years ago) that we couldn’t even replace them for these new ones! Ah well. In a couple of years it’ll become a collector’s item. Looks sturdier these new cards. It even survived an accidental washing machine cycle.

Anyway entering the train, I was extremely confused for at least a full 5 minutes when looking at direction because for the longest time, I thought that Boon Lay was the final stop. Joo Koon? What on earth is Joo Koon? Where did Boon Lay go to?

I didn’t realise that Boon Lay wasn’t the final stop anymore! Haha! But that was not the only change that I saw, as what used to be three lines – red, green and purple, now had an additional yellow line.

With 4 lines, tis still pretty understandable at the moment, not yet to the Japanese train of about 20 lines!

Anyway, one thing that I quite liked was that each train exits, there are signs like these :

For every destination that it is at, there are light flashes at the current stop as well as the stops that it has passed. There are also lights letting you know which exit to go to.  Very useful really, because prior to this, I’d always had to crane my neck outside of the window to peer at the black signs to see which stop I was currently at.

But what’s this?

I’ve never seen these borders before. I suppose its been erected due to the increasing amount of suicides, yes? What a way to go.  The odd thing is that not every station had them. <morbid>I suppose people in Boon Lay have a better state of well being since the station has no borders compared to Lakeside and Chinese Garden </morbid>

Nevertheless, our journeys with the train are pretty uneventful more or less. While there have been nice upgrades, it’ll be nice to be able to have a seat every now and then. The trains always seem so full like 9/10 times we were there.

The only sad thing is that Cart and I arrived too late to be able to see the Dimsum dollies sing the MRT song. Was it so annoying? Oh well. MRT song is gone ….  TV Mobile is gone … What else

Updated : Scooter sold. Thank you for your interest

Hi everyone!

Cart and I are back in Rome now after an energizing 3 weeks in Singapore. I’ll try to update it in the following days bit by bit but first and foremost, I’d like to inform everyone that I’m selling away my baby, Vespa GT200.

It’s kind of sad to be honest because we’ve had so many memories together. It was love at first sight for me when I first saw it online and I still remember the feeling I had when I bought her for my birthday in 2006. The excitement, the happiness, the thrill. You could probably see from my wide grin here.

But anyway, living in Rome means that I’m not able to pay much attention to her, hence it would make much sense to give her away to another owner.

Anyway, here are a couple of stats :

• Vespa GT200
• 198cc
• Original colour grey, spray painted pearl white
• COE Expiry April 2015
• Condition : Full check up done in October 2010. Dashboard issues only.

Asking for 2.2k, originally bought at about 4.5k SGD. Interested parties may call up Tong Aik Motors from 10am – 6pm.

Updated : Scooter sold. Thank you for your interest

Am back from my riding exam, check out what I’ve got!

Okay, I look like an alien in this pic, but who cares! Hehehehe! Class A3 babeh! Now I can officially ride a moto of any class here in Italy. Even a 1000cc moto and more! Like this Ducati that I’ve seen at the Big Bike Fest in Singapore.

Now that that’s over, I can focus on the rest of my 2011 goals.

I have to say though, the exam wasn’t as difficult as I anticipated. Before my training strarted, I was worried because I’d be practising with a Transalp (their smallest model is 500cc) which is more powerful than any motorcycle that I’ve ever used. Moreover, I’ve been using an automatic scooter for a long while. But after a couple of rides, its like a power trip, I guess. Anything less feels kind of puny now. Gosh, I’m really turning into a biker chick

This is me getting scolded by my instructor. “Yew musta go near da birillo! Understand!”

But apart from getting used to a heavier and more powerful machine, the exam was quite a breeze. It could partly be because compared to the riding test in Singapore, there are less challenges, and also it could partly be because I’m an experienced rider, so it wasn’t anything new.

Check it out, there are only 4 inner challenges to do – The slalom, the figure 8, parallel cones at 2nd gear and finally breaking at the lines. And yes, my drawing skills are rudimentary, but I try

Although, admittedly, I was quite worried mainly because of the street route. When I asked my riding instructor, he said that only the invigilator knew. So Cart and I called up the theory school and we were informed to call back to talk to the invigilator on Friday. When Friday arrived, they said they did not hear from her. Called back on Saturday, and nothing. Even on my exam day itself, nothing was heard from here till close to lunch time!

Not knowing made me feel jittery. Probably because I’m very accustomed to the Singaporean systematic ways – everything was already laid out to you in advance. Every plan, every syllabus, where points will be allocated, where points will be demerited. At the very least I wanted to know at least which route we would be going to, and what exactly they will be checking.

The only thing we knew was that the street route would be around the riding school, so the day before, I took out my stepson, Sam Kymco, and looked out for every street sign, every markings till we were very familiar with the area.

By the way, something interesting about Italy is that you could drive/ride even without a license. This is a foglio rosa. Literally translated as pink paper, this is given to you by the driving theory school. And this allows you to train and practise with your vehicle in your neighbourhood.

Its only valid for 6 months though, and you should try to get your patente in this duration.

Anyway, after we heard word of when the examiner would arrive, I got ready. I showed her all my documents such as the Carta D’Identita, Permesso Di Soggiorno as well as the Foglio Rosa. Just the same as when taking the driving theory test.

There was another candidate with me. She checked all the documentations, and then all of a sudden, she asks us to start. “Go through the challenge, don’t put your feet down,” she instructed. Uh? Didn’t we get a practise try first?! I was starting to bum out. Even my trainer started to add in, “Don woori! Is juz likeda evariday”

Ok lor. Luckily I didn’t fall or hit any cones or put my feet on the ground.

And then it was time to go through the street route. I was still confused. Fortunately for me, we went together as a group, so I more or less followed the other candidate, obeying street rules, using the correct signals when it was time to turn, going at a safe speed of about 50km/hr. (Felt so slow to me!) The examiner was behind us all the while, in a car.

The feeling was a lot different compared to back in Singapore, for some reason it was more festive because there would be about 15 of us at a time with about 100 candidates in total. Maybe it’s just me

After following us halfway, suddenly the examiner went past us, waving her hands around. I guess it was a sign for us to take over? So we signalled left, took over, and signalled right when re-entering the lane. It was so wierd. She should have briefed to us what she wanted before we started. Its a good thing that I’ve experience in riding before, because the entire situation was so confusing. I’ve no idea what she wanted.

And when we arrived back into the riding school, I was still confused and wondered about my future. But luckily after scribbling down in her notes, she was satisfied enough and gave me and the other candidate our patente!

And here I am, sharing this good news to you and I’ve been calling up as many people as I know!

Car next. And then helicopter!

When I first saw him, I thought that he’d bring me joy into my life.

At first sight, he didn’t look too bad, but I was still a little doubtful. “He’s got character!” Cart said, and eventually, I thought, a bit of a spruce and polish would nurture him back to a semblance of normality again.

And after a week of deciding, Cart and I decided to adopt him.

The adoption process was such a hassle. First we had to head to the adoption center where he was, and then to another agency for a handing over transaction, and then to another agency for insurance! And then finally I brought him home.

This is my new stepson, Kymco.

He is a People 125 model which originated from Taiwan. He’s a used scooter that I bought for cheap from my driving school. He looks all battered up, probably from being mishandled from other riding students.

The brake clutch is broken and all mangled up. Urgh! And I cannot adjust the mirror, so I cant see what’s going on behind me.

The speedometer keeps being at 0km/hr regardless of what speed I go. And the fuel guage is forever showing 1/2 full regardless even if the tank is completely full.

I’m pixelling the number of the school because I don’t want to give them additional publicity! There is a huge-ass hole near the right side foot rest. I don’t understand how it could humanly be possible to do that?! Did a riding student took a hammer and beat it up?! And the cover for the power box has been ripped off.

Initially I thought that for 350 euro, the scooter was good enough. I saved enough money from what Cart gives me monthly. I’ll just close one eye at how ghastly he looks. But when added with transfer fee of 190 euro, and a year of insurance of 633 euro. I feel like crying!

I am beautiful! And I deserve better than this unglamorous thing! Look at how happy I was when I got my first scooter back in 2006!

But what to do? I’m stuck because that’s the best that I can get at this point of time till I get a regular job. And as crappy as it is, Kymco runs well. And now that I’ve a scooter, I’m on the right track to my 2011 goal. Also, another advantage is, seeing how battered he is, I’m sure no one would want to steal him.

But for sure, my inner minah-moto is telling me that I need to spruce up Kymco a little. Most importantly the brake clutch and then the mirrors. And we’ll see what we can do next. And in time slowly, maybe I’ll begin to love my stepson.

P.S : If you’re wondering why I’m calling him my stepson, its because the term stepchild has this unfortunate connotation to mean someone that you’ve inherited unwillingly. Its a bad stigma in real life though, and I’m probably perpetuating a bad image by using this term, but I really don’t have any love for him!

Sidenote :

Check out this nice scooter I saw near the fake colosseum