To add to David's post, last weekend I made a trip to KL to take a look at a few bike shops. Here's what I saw.
First visit was to
KCM SuperBike (No. 17, Jalan Sri Permaisuri 8, Bandar Sri Permaisuri, 56000 Cheras, KL Tel 03 9173 9435). From the airport this was easy (here’s the .pdf 2015
Klang Valley Rail Transit Map). Take the No 7 KLIA Transit to Bandar Tasik Selatan (light blue on the map, not the purple No 6 KLIA Express). Change to the No 4 LRT to Sentul Timur (brown on the map. You have to go out of the KLIA station and follow the walkway to the LRT station nearby). For KCM, get out at Salak Selatan station two stops down the line. From there take a taxi or find the opposite (south) entrance to the station. KCM is approx. a five minute walk.
KCM SuperBike, Kuala Lumpur
On arrival at KCM, I found a range of new and used motorcycles both for sale and under the spanner. Smaller bikes included 200-400cc Kawasaki, Honda, and KTM’s (love the 390cc KTM’s) and some large capacity bikes including a Kawasaki
Versys 1000 and an
MV Agusta Brutale 800. In the workshop at the back of the store was a variety of bikes both big and small and a rather damaged sportsbike which appeared to have low-sided on a wet corner. Outside the shop was a range of small bikes for sale.
What’s striking about motorcycle shops in KL is they sell everything from 125cc to 1000cc whereas in Thailand motorcycle shops sell either 100cc-135cc Honda/Yamaha/Suzuki or “big bikes” of 250cc and up.
Venturing upstairs to the clothing and accessories floor there was a collection of generic “Japanese” lightweight mesh jackets, some pants and boots, and an assortment of accessories. I would say more accessories, such as lights and grips to sprockets and fuelling modules, than clothes. Some small projector headlights suitable for a motorcycle caught my eye.
KTN S 125 in Kuala Lumpur
After leaving KCM Superbike I turned right and walked down the street to where some shops were selling small bikes and accessories. Honda, Yamaha, Vespa, that sort of thing. As I walked by a retro cafe racer styled 125cc caught my eye. Made by
KTN. That’s right,
KTN not the Austrian manufacturer
KTM. Got to love the stickers, “GP125″ and the Union Jack. Actually, it’s
Made in Malaysia.
It was time to find some more bike shops. I had read there were a few within 2-3km of the LRT station at Sentul. This is on the north side of Kuala Lumpur so to avoid the traffic it’s quickest to take the train.
From KCM turn right out of the shop, proceed to the end of the row of shops approx. 50m. Turn right and walk due north(ish!). You should be able to see Salak Selatan station roof. Pass through the small bus terminal to the station to re-embark on the No 4 line towards Sentual Timur. I got out at Sentual (Bandar Baru Sentul).
It was after arriving at the station that I was lucky. Turned down by one taxi driver, the next was one of those 1 in 100 taxi drivers, the ever helpful Mr Jasbir Singh Gill (019 6629 566). After some gentle enquiries he took me on a tour of the local motorcycle shops. He waited for me while I visited the stores. And he called his son in law to email a list of motorcycle shops in KL. Outstanding.
First, we went to
Sunny Cycle (37, Jalan Pahang (Titiwangsa), Setapak 53000, tel 03 4021 1161 / 6611), recommended by David in the post above. This was the second bike shop on my list after KCM. It was Saturday afternoon and Sunny Cycle was busy. I entered via the workshop, mainly to see the range of bikes that was being worked on. BMW’s, both sport and touring, Ducati, and Kawasaki were in evidence. Road bikes and race bikes. It looked good.
The Sunny Cycle workshop on a busy Saturday afternoon
A door to the left took me inside the shop proper where there was an impressive collection of motorcycle clothing including garments from Held and Clover in Europe. While Held are famous for their leather motorcycle gloves, Clover isn’t well known outside of Italy. From the point of view of a garment designer, I admire their product since they are one of the few companies to design to the European standard for “Personal Protective Equipment for Professional Motorcycle Riders” EN 13595. If you want
verifiable top quality, this is the standard to look for.
Sunny Cycle showroom, Kuala Lumpur
After Sunny Cycles, Jasbir suggested we visit
CBK Motorsport. They are Malaysia’s “
Kawasaki MX World One Stop Center” housed in a four storey building on the corner of a street junction (No. 373, Batu 2, 3/4 Jalan Ipoh, 51200 Kuala Lumpur). You can’t miss the building; it’s painted Kawasaki green.
CBK Motosport Kawasaki MX Center Kuala Lumpur
Inside the store CBK offer a large range of MX bikes, clothing, and accessories. If you are looking for motocross gear this is the place to come.
After CBK it was a short journey to Jalan Sentul where there is a large number of motorcycle accessory shops. First, I wanted to visit
Kedai Motosikal, part of
AH Hong Motor.
Kedai Motosikal, Jl Sentul, Kuala Lumpur
The observant reader will immediately notice a white No 27 “classic” bike on the pavement. It is another classic style KTN.
Kedai Motosikal stock a wide range that on my visit included BMW GS adventure bikes, a Honda Fireblade SP, 390cc KTM’s, some Kawasaki’s, and lots of small Honda, Yamaha, and Vespa bikes.
BMW GS at Kedai Motosikal
The workshop was divided into two; a shop unit for servicing small bikes, and a large area in the main shop for servicing big bikes.
Kedai Motosikal Big Bike Service Area
Judging by the illustrated service posters on the walls they are a major Yamaha service center. As you can see below, they are a friendly lot.
Kedai Motosikal, Sentual, Small Bike service area
Before heading back to the taxi I wanted to visit the long row of motorcycle accessory shops that run down Sentul Road after the Police Station. If you can’t find what you need here, its not available in Malaysia.
Motorcycle Shops in Jalan Sendul, Kuala Lumpur
NHS Sport Bikers, UMA Racing, Racing Boy, and Kedai Motosikal / MotoZone were just the beginning as the motorcycle shops stretched over a couple of blocks. It was here that you can find every manner of spare parts for old and new bikes as well as some bikes themselves.
Original Carburettors Sentul Road Kuala Lumpur
The range of parts was impressive. This photo of new carburetors was just part of a much larger display. I’m not sure if RM280 is good value for a Honda Wave 125 carb but it might be quite handy to know that you can buy new carbs here if you have a pre-fuel injection bike.
I dodged in and out of a few shops to see what they had. There wasn’t much in the way of clothing though one shop had a good range of helmets (Shark, HJC, etc). Cheap rear shocks, HID light systems, tyres, and all manner of hardware predominated.
Petronas Race Bike
The last bike in the last bike shop I saw was this Petronas racebike. Was it one of seventy-five legendary FP1 three cylinder 899cc bikes destined to obscurity after the FIM rule change to 1000cc in 2003? Or was it a Yamaha R1 in drag? Next time I go back, I’ll have to investigate. It seemed like a fitting end to a day full of motorbikes both small and large.
My thanks to Mr Jasbir Gill for getting me to more motorcycle shops in one day than I thought possible.
Contacts:
Mr Jasbir Singh Gill (019 6629 566). Taxi service, day booking, city tour, airport booking. Highly recommended.
CBK Motorsport No. 373, Batu 2, 3/4 Jalan Ipoh, 51200 Kuala Lumpur.
KCM SuperBike, No. 17, Jalan Sri Permaisuri 8, Bandar Sri Permaisuri, 56000 Cheras, KL. Tel 03 9173 9435. Sherlyn Lee.
Sunny Cycle, 37, Jalan Pahang (Titiwangsa), Setapak 53000, KL. Tel 03 4021 1161 / 6611. Jeremy Oh.
(There is a longer version of this post with a little extra local color on the
Assero Gear blog.)
