2007 Suzuki Bandit 650S

After finding out my Ninja was a write-off, I started looking at Craigslist and other places for a replacement. I wasn't really looking for anything in particular, and was actually considering buying a standard cruiser like a Harley Sportster or a Triumph Bonneville. However, I saw the ad for this Bandit, and I was intrigued. After asking the selling the history and condition of the bike, and settling on a very reasonable price, I couldn't pass it up.

It's a GSF650SAK7, better known as a 2007 Suzuki Bandit 650S ABS. The Suzuki Bandit is a long running series from Suzuki, and is quite a popular bike in most places in the world. The interesting thing about this bike is that the 2007 model was the first year of the new liquid-cooled, fuel-injected 650cc motor. However, it was also the final year the 600-class Bandit was sold in North America. In fact, the U.S. never got this model. And after a one year hiatus, Suzuki brought the GSX650F to North America. The new bike is in fact just a full fairing version of the Bandit I have now. So basically, I got the same thing as the new bike, but without the pretentious super-sport looks.

This bike is heavy. about 100 lbs or so heavier than most of its competitors in its class. It's because it has a full primeter frame, and it was also build to support a 1250cc motor. In fact this bike has more load capacity than a Honda Goldwing.

The ABS is a good option for me to have on this bike, considering it might have helped when I slipped on gravel on my last bike. With the kid now, I won't have as much time riding, but I hope I do get a chance to enjoy this bike a bit. In fact, the Wee Bandit can make a very good light Sport Touring bike, which is what I originally wanted to get into when I started riding. I'm considering putting some hard cases on it and hopefully go for a long ride sometime.
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2005 Toyota Sienna LE

That's right! I bought a minivan!!!

We found out in May 2010, before we left for our trip that my wife is expecting. Since I was considering looking for a second car anyways, now the minivan became a consideration.

I know, I don't NEED a minivan for one kid. But the thing is, no matter how much stuff you can throw into the Fit, it is still is a sub-compact. With a child seat in the back, there's really only room for one more adult back there. Now say we want to take the kid out with the in-laws, with whom we are very close. With the Fit, we'd either have to pick only one in-law to take with us, or they'd have to drive a 2nd vehicle.

There are other advantages to a minivan, such as the ability for my wife to stop the car, hop to the rear 3rd row inside the tinted windows, and breastfeed the baby whenever it needs to be fed. Or having enough room inside to easily change a diaper.

Anyways, since I'm expecting to keep the minivan for a while, I was basically looking for a lower KM, late model Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna. I came across this 2005 Sienna LE and went to check it out. The van had light to heavy scratches on every panel, and the rear cargo area was well used. However, it was indeed low KMs (just over 50,000km), and well priced, and came with hitch, bike rack, and a set of spare winter tires. I was happy enough with the condition considering the price, so I picked it up.

So far I really like it. It cruises at a much lower rpm on the highway than the Fit, is very comfortable inside (I still have a few small issues with the Fit's driving position), and the 3.3L V6 and 5-speed auto is nice.

Of course I can't leave any vehicle alone. I've already added a GROM USB interface that allows MP3 playback from a USB flashdrive via the stock radio's CD changer interface. I'm also debating parking sensors or rear view camera. and maybe another set of wheels for the van as well. It will probably be something similar to the Fit, with an OEM+ style upgrade (i.e. wheels from another Toyota/Lexus vehicle). We'll see. ... read more

2007 Honda Fit LX

My Mazda had stopped running. It was a simple matter of too much dielectric grease in the rebuilt distributor's ignition module. But it was something that took months to finally track down. In the meantime, I needed a replacement as the Mazda was the only car. We decided to go for something a bit more worry-free. So the search began.

I wanted a small hatchback for sure, as my wife and I need to carry odd size cargo often as space/furniture designers. We considered most of the smaller 4 door hatchbacks; Mazda3 was a little too pricy at this point, Yaris is way too small. The Nissan Versa's rear seats didn't fold flat, Matrix is likely going to be replaced soon. the Kia Rio5 was a pleasant surprise, but resale vale would not be nearly as good. The Aveo/Kalos/Swift+ just felt too cheap, and Suzuki just doesn't sound good in Taiwanese, so no SX4. In the end, we paid MSRP for the high demand Honda Fit, but was able to skip the long wait list thanks to my good friend at the dealership. It looks like a mini-minivan, but it's extremely practical, and we've amazed many furniture warehouse workers and clients with the amount of stuff we can fit in this car.

Even though this is suppose to be just the practical people/cargo transporter for us, the available parts for this car is tempting me to play with this car. I've resisted the urge so far, and have only added useful items. But we'll see how long it lasts. My tight financial situation right now certainly helps control the urges though.

A little over 5 years go by, and I had finally made the decision to sell the Fit. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it. In fact, during the entire ownership, I didn't have a single issue with this car. Oil and filter changes, brake pads, and tires were all that was required. Oh, and a new battery at the end since I had left it parked for so long.

Basically, since the baby arrived, I had almost been exclusively driving the Sienna. When the insurance on the van was up for renewal, I just ended up transferring the Fit's insurance over to the minivan, and putting the Fit into storage policy. Another a bit over half a year of basically not driving the Fit, I decided there was no point keeping it parked. It's a great little car. Someone might as well enjoy it if it's not going to be me.

I wanted to find a nice new home for the Fit. It was the least I can do. So I posted it on my Facebook page to offer it exclusively to my friends first. Sure enough, a great friend who I've known since highschool needed a new car. So we worked out a good deal and off the Fit went to its new home. I'm just glad it stayed "in the family" so to speak. I can also go and see the little Fit whenever I want. And who knows, maybe she'll let me drive it once in a while.

As far as mods go, by the time I sold it, this little car which was not gonna see any mods, had Honda EM1 Civic wheels, JDM mirrored passenger side sun visor, JDM window visors, JDM style smoked LED taillamps, and Bi-Xenon HID headlights installed. I kept a blog for this car. It's called Having A Fit documenting my ownership experience, maintenance log, and modifications. Feel free to check it out. ... read more

2005 Kawasaki Ninja 500R

For Christmas 2006, my friends and family pooled their gift money together towards enrolling me into a motorcycle riding course. I took the course at the end of summer in 2007 and successfully passed my Class 6 road test.

Originally I simply wanted to learn how to ride so that I'd have the knowledge of operating motorcycles as well as cars. This way anywhere I go, I can pick the best option since some places are better explored on two wheels. However, after taking the course and going on a few road rides, I was hooked. I loved the feeling of riding a motorcycle. After I got my full motorcycle license, I started reading up and learning more about bikes, and started looking at classified ads for motorcycles almost every week.

Fast forward a year and a bit, it is now September 2008. It's the end of another riding season, and me still without a motorcycle. An ad came up for a Blue 2005 Kawasaki Ninja 500R (a.k.a. EX500/GPZ500S), and I find out it's within 10 minutes of my place. I was originally looking for a fuel injected Ninja 650R, since it would be easier to start and less for the rider to work on. Plus when I asked about the 500R after finishing my riding course, my instructor said based on what he's seen, I'd outgrow the 500 within a year. However, I've been off a bike for over a year (except a test ride on a 2008 BMW F650GS once), the 500 doesn't sound too bad. Plus has been very hard to find a used 650R for a good price.

The bike looked good, with a fairing crack that's been epoxied as the only real flaw. (garage drop while the dad was trying to move the bike not realizing the bars were locked) So I bought the bike. Yes, I'm finally a bike owner. However, being the beginning of October, the riding season was effectively over. So I parked the bike, and went to the insurance company and put the bike into storage policy until next March.

I was a bit apprehensive once the season started again because I've not been on a bike for so long. But one ride and it all came back, and I remember why I wanted to buy a bike in the first place. I took lots of short rides on weekends when I had some alone time while the wife is at work. Took a few slightly longer rides to get used to being in the saddle for longer durations. Near the end of my first season, even worked up the courage to take the wife out a few times on my bike. I love it.

The bike was solid, and I got a chance to work on my own vehicle again. I did oil and filter changes at the end of every season, winterized it, adjusted and lubed the chain periodically, patched a puncture, cleaned the air filter, which required removing the tank on this bike.

Unfortunately, On April 30, 2011, after I had just cleaned the air filter and put the bike back together. I slipped on some gravel on the off ramp literally 1 minute from my house. They been doing construction near that offramp and there was gravel on the road. By the time I saw it, it was too late. I was already engaged in the turn. And even though I dropped the brake and tried to upright the bike as much as I could, if I had actually gone straight at that point, it would mean a head-on collision with the giant exit sign. Looking back, had this not been at the beginning of the season, and if I had more KMs under my belt, I probably would have been able to save it.

The damage wasn't significant, all cosmetic. Bent right clipon, bent rear brake lever, broken front fairing are the major damages. scratches to some other parts like rear fairing and muffler, front brake lever, etc. Frame/forks perfect. However, because of the low value of the bike, insurance decided it was a total loss, and write it off.

Now I'm without a bike. But I'm looking. I want to try something different this time. Been looking at either a new Triumph Bonneville, or a Harley Sportster. Hmm... ... read more

1987 Mazda 626 LX Turbo Hatchback

This is a really deceptively fun vehicle. Although it's 20 years old, it was the top trim for the top of line Mazda at the time and came with every bell and whistle Mazda had to throw at it. Quite a little techno-car really. tilt-and-slide sunroof, headlight washers, intermittent wipers front and rear (all of which my new 2007 Honda Fit doesn't have). There are also 'basics' such as power door locks, windows, and mirrors, alloy wheels, plus fun gadgets such as a graphic EQ, motorized paning center vents, fan-equipped side vents, and Auto-Adjusting Suspension. It even had a digital display dash the S2000 tried to emulate years later.

The story I was told on the car, is that it was left by the owner at a Mazda dealership after the engine had gone bad at around 160,000kms. One of the Mazda mechanics there bought it from the dealership and went about rebuilding the engine and fixing up the car hoping the finish product will yield more money than what he spent. He then had the turbo replaced approximately 6 months prior to my purchase at 183,000kms. So basically I bought a car with a fresh 20,000km rebuilt engine, good body, and I believe no major accidents. While looking under the hood, I noticed that both fenders still had the original Mazda factory stickers with the VIN number of the car on it.

Unfortunately, the Mazda suddenly stopped turning over. This prompted me to get another car. I was thinking of getting something cheap again since it's all I can afford right now, but my mom was visiting at this time, and told me she'd rather lend me some money and get a new car. But because the Mazda still would not turn over after the distributor and igniter replacement, I couldn't trade the car in when I bought the new Honda Fit. Well, they said they'd take it for $150. So I said no.

After a long mystery, finally figured out that there was too much dielectric grease at the igniter pins in the new distributor. Once that was fixed, the car ran perfect again. But before I had a chance to sell it, the brake master cylinder went south. It took a while for my mechanic to track down the needed part, and finally it was fixed, and the vehicle sold. Let's just say, it was more than $150 even after the repair costs.
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1988 Ford Mustang LX 4-cyl

My relationship with this 1988 Mustang LX was very tempermental and short lived. It was a red/salmon coloured car, depending on whether that panel had been repaired or replaced due to an accident with the previous owner. It was powered by a 2.4L inline-4 providing approximately 90hp, mated to a 4-speed automatic transmission. 2 weeks after I bought the car, the timing belt broke and I needed to replace it (thank goodness for non-interference head on this engine). 2 days after the timing belt was replaced, I finally discovered where the smell of fuel was coming from. I had a severe leak in the rusted out gas tank which needed to be replaced immediately.

The car did its job for a while, even if it was slow to turn over at times. However, at the two month point, the car mysteriously died. It was again towed into my mechanic's garage for a check. However, when they got their hands on it the next morning, it fired right up, and they couldn't find anything that would indicate a problem. After a day of searching, my mechanic finally decided to take it on one more test drive before handing the keys back to me.

Not 5 minutes later, the other mechanic in the shop received a cell phone call from the test drive. I naively asked if the engine had died. It was much worse. While everyone involved was ok, the car had just been in an collision. Apparently some crazy person decided to make a U-turn from the merge lane from an off-ramp right in front of my poor mechanic. It was too late for him to avoid the other vehicle and he slammed my mustang into the rear driver side wheel of the offending vehicle. The Mustang was a total loss.

The bad thing is that I had finally finished my car search and bought this car. Although troublesome at times, it got me most times from point A to point B. Now I have to start that search all over again, due to no fault of my own. However, good did come out of this in the end. Because I paid so little for this car, my insurance payout was actually higher than what I paid for the Mustang. And the timing was also perfect that the Mazda (my next car) was for sale by an acquaintance of my sister. So almost as soon as I was out of my rental vehicle, I was driving in the Mazda, which I was able to afford due to the insurance payout. ... read more

2000 Volkswagen Jetta GLS 2.0

This car was purchased to replace the Audi show car because I had decided at the time to go down to Texas to pursue my masters degree in business. I had contacted students who have already gone there from Vancouver and they said a car is a necessity there, but I was not willing to make the trip with my show Audi. Nor was I willing to keep the Audi down there for the duration of my studies not knowing what type of neighborhood I was to live in, or if there would be secured parking.

The timing couldn't have been better. A very good friend of mine was about to head east for schooling as well, and would not be taking the car with him. I had known the entire history of this Jetta since I went to the dealership with him when he purchased it new. So almost as soon as I had sold the Audi, I bought the Jetta from him.

And the roadtrip car began its journey with my wife (girlfriend at the time) and I. Soon after I purchased the car, I had installed a new Blaupunkt deck with auxulary input which matched the factory indigo/red dash lighting perfectly, and an DC to AC inverter in the car. The above were used to power the laptop in the car during our roadtrips, and listen to the MP3 collection we had on the hard-drive through the car's stereo. Even before going down to Texas, it had already made a warmup trip to the Okanagans. And aside from the roadtrip to and from Texas, which included trips to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Grand Canynon, and more, it also made many trips between Victoria, Houston, and Dallas. The Jetta even made an appearance during the 2002 spring break in New Orleans, Louisiana.

I had purchased the Jetta with such low mileage that by the time I returned from my studies in Texas, the car only had a somewhat normal mileage for a car its age. And because my friend sold it to me for a very good price, I was able to sell this car before heading off to Asia for work with very little depreciation considering the usage I got out of it. So Thanks buddy! You know who you are! ... read more

1998 Audi A4 1.8t quattro

This Audi became my firs project car. It's a car I will never forget as it really got me involved in the scene. I met a lot of people because of this car, many of whom I still call friends. It was fun taking this car to shows, races, or just a cruise with the gang.

The car was definitely one-of-a-kind. I had almost everything planned out before I even took possession of this special order. After getting the car, it was all about sourcing these hard to get parts. From the first set of dual round headlamp conversion in North America paired with Euro S4 crystal clear corner lamps, to Euro-spec taillamps that lit-up amber through a red-looking rear lense that my sister personally brought back for me on her trip. Painted gauge surrounds, custom two-tone leather interior, and so many other parts to make this car unique.

Of course, the standard mods also applied to this car. Full custom 3" cat-back exhaust, lowering springs and upgrades shocks, custom designed cold-air intake, large 18" wheels, ECU reprogramming, and a turbo upgrade. It was a 3400lb VIP-style Euro saloon before VIP became a style. But one that can run low 15 second 1/4 mile times with AWD and a slush-box powered by a fuel sipping 1.8L inline 4.
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1989 Volvo 740 GLE 16-valve

This car was purchased new in Huntington, NY on Long Island about a year before the family moved to the west coast of Canada. The car made its trip inside a Mayflower trailer along with our furnitures, and was used mainly for in-town commutes. Therefore, the mileage was extremely low even when we sold the vehicle finally in 2002.

The Volvo was passed from my mother to me, then to my sister. I had ownership between 1994 and 1998. It was silver with graphite colour interior in Alcantara. It had every factory option from the sunroof to the fog lights to the high torque 16-valve engine (other 740 engines at the time, including the turbo, were 8-valve). This was a fantastic, ultra-reliable car to drive. But was it safe?

"Of course it was safe! It's a Volvo isn't it?"

Well, yes and no. The torquey optional engine combined with the probably one of the worst handling RWD chassis Volvo ever made means that this car is very tail happy, especially when the roads are a bit slippery. Even before I took title to this car, when I was just borrowing it from my mom after I got my license, I had a fairly major collision in this car. I had lost control on a patch of black ice and slammed into a parked Saab, snapping its left front axle and writing-off the Saab with my left front, then spun around on the ice after the impact and hit the next parked car with my right rear, causing fender damage to that car. I was perfectly fine after the collision, as was my passenger. The Volvo's fender and hood crumpled as designed. But even after I had totaled the Saab, after insurance information was exchanged, the Volvo started right up and I was able to drive away.

So from a protection stand-point, there is no question, this Volvo was SAFE. My sister was also involved in an accident after my ownership with this car. With the way the small tree impacted into the door, the car held up extremely well. You couldn't even really tell from the inside how much damage was done to the door and side step. But the door was still free to open after the impact. And again, my sister was perfectly fine.

From a preventative perspective however, this car was far from safe. The rear of the car swung out so easily that I had many close calls with this car in the rain and snow. However, I think because of this, the Volvo helped my develop my driving and reactionary control skills significantly. You always learn the fastest not when you want to, but when you have to. So in that respect, I am really glad this was the car I learned to drive in.

Before I was done with this car, I had put in a mesh grill on the lower valance vents, wired up a fog light override switch to operate it independently, had installed a TME third-brakelight overlay, and wired the parking lights to run the brighter 21w contact on the 1157 bulbs. I guess you have to start somewhere.
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