By now, you probably can I am a chopper/cruiser rider. My last 2 bike being Shadow 400 and Marauder 125.

The Shadow VLX 600 is my latest ride. Compare to the Shadow 400, this Shadow VLX looks more like the Steed with minimal front and back wheel fender. Also the handlebar is higher and not as wide compared to the 400.

Overall it is a rather economical class 2 cruiser. Fuel consumption averaging about 150km to 10 l petrol. If I remember correct (that was 6 years ago) this is about similar to the 400.

The only gripe is the 4 speeds transmission. At top gear it gives a feeling that there is still another gear to shift up. Above 100kmh, the engine vibration is rather noticeable. Not sure if it is because this is an old 2nd hand bike. Other reviews online also mentioned about the vibration.

It is not a speed demon bike but as for me it has more than enough power and acceleration to pull away from a tailgating car in a swift.

The Shadow was brought used from the same shop that I brought the Marauder. I basically traded in the Marauder and got the Shadow.

Having ride 2 smaller motorcycles, the Shadow gave me a taste of what power “pull” is like. Of course compared to motorcycles of similar capacity, the Shadow is really heavy and slow.

I remembered my first time on the Shadow, the handle bar was so wide and low and it to ok a while to get use.

Nice and stable, I had no accident with it except once I slipped while waiting at the red light. Boy, was it heavy to right the Shadow. I learnt never to ride with a flat soled business shoe.

As with the first bike, there were many things to learn. The most important thing was run in.

What is “run in”? At that time I did not have any idea and the shop just gave me a vague clue. The idea is that a brand new motorcycle had to be “eased” into usage. The shop told me it meant no full throttle riding for the first 500-800km.

If you know how small Singapore is, you will realise that doing 500km is not an easy feat. A friend to me what he did was to ride his bike to Kuala Lumpur. That’s up the Malaysia North-South highway, a distance of about 700km. At that time I still do not have the courage to ride outside the tame traffic that is Singapore. (It was destined for the next bike)

Anyway, it was an excuse for me to take the Marauder out for a spin, riding aimlessly on the expressways from west to east, south to north.

The sound of a new engine was music to the ears. As the throttle turns, the engine purred to life like a concerted piece.

The shiny chrome parts were candies to the eyes. After looking at the rusty RXS for so many years, riding the shiny Marauder is such an uplifting experience. Just imagine floating along the road.

The Yamaha RXS 115 was my first bike.

Excited after receiving my motorcycle license, I went around looking for a cheap motorcycle.

My class C license only permit motorcycles below 200cc. New to buying motorcycle, I wasn’t sure where to look and how to buy. Searching around the classsified ads I eventually settled on the RXS115 because it was really affordable and was one of the few class C motorcycles available.

Each step in the process was a new learning experience. Beside the bike itself there are many other issues to learn around owning a bike. Things like buying insurance, pumping petro, getting a parking permit.

Of course maintenance is something that was never thought in riding school.

How often do you change engine oil? What about oil filter? Do you know that this is a 2 stroke engine and 2T is required? What the heck is a 2T anyway?
It was an interesting start. That was 8 years ago.