Lost in Laos - Day 2

19 Dec 2009 0500hrs

Not wanting to wake anyone up at this ungodly hour, I texted Raymond (Fellow Kruzer stationed in KL. Raymond had been texting me about the weather conditions in the KL region just before we set off, so we knew we had someone who is just as excited as us going for the trip) and Rosli (my one and only mechanic) about the predicament and waited, hoping they needed to pee in the wee hours and somehow see my sms.

heart sank when the bike wouldn't start at Rawang Petrol Station - the starter sounded really weak so we figured the battery wasn't charging. Changed to my spare rectifier

lights dimmed, signal lights can barely be seen and the bike choked to a halt

19 Dec 2009 0630hrs

A cold hour of waiting IN the drain but we were just glad it wasn’t any longer. By now, the emergency response team had arrived. We were on the verge of deciding whether to tow the bike to KL (where spare parts for big bikes can at least be sourced more easily) or the next nearest town up north (Tapah), where we could try to diagnose the problem while hoping it's a minor problem. I still suspect that it is the rectifier as the battery could not be charged at all and my magnetic charging coil was brand new! The problem is: rectifiers for such big bikes cannot be found in the small towns along the way.

Fortunately, Rosli called at the most appropriate time when we almost called for a tow truck. After some checks, we changed to the old rectifier and headed to the nearest motorcycle shop, which should be at Tapah town some 50km away.

Getting there was not easy as the bike died once more, but when we did reach, there was some sort of relief for me. My fear of a failed trip which is less than a day old, is strong and it was through my supportive riding companions and pillions which encouraged. Never did Larry, Tricia or Racheal utter a single discouraging word and the positive vibes, despite the setbacks, drove me on.

With the mechanic at Tapah checking the battery, rectifier and charging coil, I was crossing my fingers, hoping that the fault can be found out easily. Should there be a need for spares, I'll need to decide whether to head to Penang to KL. The feeling that we'll be set back by one day just sickens my mind.

same shop Rosli came to in 2008 when his tire valve disintegrated

the mechanic trying to mdify a rectifier for me..but none of them are big enough

After all the checks, the mechanic was pretty sure the rectifier and battery are fine but I was in doubt. The only hope is in Penang, some 200km away, where we could at least try to get more sophisticated tools for more tests. So, we did the next best thing we could to charge the battery as much as we can to prevent the bike from dying on he roads again. 200km does seem like a long way, more so when your bike couldn’t catch its breath in barely 5km. By now, we are already sure we’ll be a day late in catching the train in Thailand and would either stay in either Hatyai or Penang.

Charging for the next 2 hours

As the day unfolds, offers to help came steadily from Raymond and even Nick, who happened to be staying at his sister’s place in Penang. I decided to take Rosli’s lead as he had a contact there and should the bike have any other problems, he could at least communicate with their mechanics on a more personal basis. Relationships have never been more useful especially in times like these.

19 Dec 2009 1300hrs Penang

The shop in Butterworth, Penang was easy enough to find. I never knew a local Singapore shop had branches in Penang, Bangkok and Mae Sot but Patrick, managing director from Dexing Motors in Singapore, was most helpful in getting the items we need, namely a battery and rectifier. He comes over to Penang in the weekends or when he feels like it and tells me about the cut throat business in Singapore as he drove me in his Mercedes to Mega-Fortune (MF) in Penang that specialises in repairing big bikes and stocking their parts. With a new battery and rectifier in hand, we headed back and I was hopeful that we could make it to Hatyai before the border closes. But as the items were installed and the voltmeter tested the charging system, the news couldn’t be more devastating. The battery was still not charging.

Brightwill - of Dexing Singapore

With desperation, we took the bike out to MF for their mechanics to test and their checks showed that the magnetic coil wasn’t doing its job. What’s worse, there are no coils in the whole state of Penang and will need to be brought up from KL or Singapore. All options for a quick escape out of Malaysia seemed dead.

The feeling of disappointment was especially strong when I heard this diagnosis. 2 months before the ride, the bike went through a total overhaul and the internal parts of the engine were replaced. “That was no way that the charging coil was the culprit” I insisted, as it would take much more for a coil to be screw up.

I confronted my good friend, Rosli, on the phone and he, matter-of-factly, told me that it wasn’t changed as he tested the coil and it was still doing well. I was flabbergasted. It took me quite a while to cool down before I gathered my mind again.

Rosli was the only hope left and has helped me out of countless situations in the past. It is in his nature to make sure that one does not spend unnecessarily on bike repairs and I knew exactly where he came from when he re-used the coil. He is the only mechanic I trust.

By now, I figured that there could only be good news and was right when Rosli managed to get somebody to bring up the charging coil. That part was to arrive in Penang at 8am the next day on a bus. All I needed was to collect the part and send it to Patrick’s shop to have it fixed. With fingers crossed, we headed into Penang Island, determined to seize whatever opportunities we were given, planned or unplanned.

19 Dec 2009 1800hrs Penang Island

We were dead beat. Found a very decent hotel in Pulau Pinang as the ones at Butterworth were full. A bath never felt so good. It was 18 hours since we left and even more since we slept. But we needed dinner and we called Nick to meet up at Gurney for their famous hawker fare. Rosli had called again by now with even more good news. William Tan will be riding up to Penang to bring up the coil. Another person I could trust and I was shocked that he's going to travel over 700km to get me the charging coil. RESPECT. Truth be told, with the spate of bad news, I was preparing for a contingency should that bus driver forget about passing me that coil.

Food at Gurney was fantastic. My dad was from Penang and I remember Gurney fondly as that was where I got my favorite Simpson cassette tape when I was in secondary school and where the food is truly as authentic as it could get. Gurney in 2009, though, seems much more sanitised. No more stalls lining the beach (or rather, the rock strewn sea) and loud garish music blaring out of the speakers of vans. Still, the food was good and Nick had come along to bring us out for a drink. We really felt blessed that we have such friends around us to make us feel that much better.

Food at Gurney!

bikes in the hotel

Tomorrow's the crunch time. I sure hope William's safe and sound..he's only got a few hours notice.....but in the meantime, rest is essential, especially if we can make it past the border tmr...