27 April 2011

An inordinate fondness for kapcai


I got my first motor-kapcai after completing my SPM in 1985. It was not because I wanted to join the indigenous mat rempit and terorizing the folk along Jalan Pasir Panjang by 'rempiting' all the way to Bandar KT but simply because I got bored waiting for the offer letter from our local 'menara gading' and have nothing productive to do in order to fill in the void. Those time the word 'rempit' was hardly heard of and biking was still considered a healthy and safe activity because the road was less congested, the lipat kijang skill was well mastered and for some freak reasons it seemed that most kaki motor possessed a 9-cat-life.

The motor-kapcai was a Yamaha Y80 of which I bought (partly subsidized by my father) from my cousin, who upgraded to RXZ 135 which had just hit the market. Instantly the kapcai became the joy of my life. Pantai Batu Burok became my regular lepak place almost every afternoon with my other motor kaki. Occasionally I cruised along the beach alone just to feel the salty breeze slap gently on my face before settling down to stare at the the seafarers passing by in the horizon while enjoying the heavenly keropok lekor. The original keropok lekor and not the one so elastic and jawbreakingly hard which tasted and smelled like a selipar Jepun.

It didn't take that long before my curiosity got the best of me and the kapcai underwent some major cosmetic adjustment and minor body surgery. Under the srong influence of my younger brother and Eddie Lawson's achievement as the world champion in motorcycle Grand Prix, a new 'exzos potong' was fitted to to give the kapcai some distinctive sound identity, a new and bigger piston was dumped into the bored-engine and different size of sprockets were experimented to transform this timid machine into a super-kapcai. The best modification in my opinion that made this super-kapcai looked a Grand Prix worthy was the excessive addition of Nolan stickers onto the body parts.

Despite all the illegal modifications by my father's standard, I'd only involved with only a few minor accidents. One that I clearly remember was that fateful Saturday morning, I sped off with my super-kapcai for my weekly town tour and in such hurriedness and rocket-speed I forgot that the previous day the main road that lead into my kampung was loosely tarred. For a while I think I could easily become a stuntman. The other unforgettable accident involved a cat that had clearly no civic-minded who jaywalked and crossed the road without looking left and right. Luckily both the victims survived with only minor scratches.

My intimate relationship with my super-kapcai continued and flourished further to the ivory tower in Bangi. That was the time when 'Fansasia bulan madu' was the no. 1 hit in my local pop chart and soup ekor and daging merah became a food of envy to any students who didn't have any mode of transportation to reach makeshift kedai tomyam at Bandar Baru Bangi (BBB fasa 1). The distinctive supersonic sound from my exzos potong that echoed nicely in between the hill and Pejabat Pentadbiran UKM had in many occasion caused some dispute among the varsity's Pak guards. Not until they banned the motorbikes from entering the campus which almost caused another student riot that put the end to any sound pollution in the campus.

At the end of my campus year, I was very proud to say that my super-kapcai was still a virgin. During the first 4 semesters not a single awek was shuttled here and there around the campus on my super-kapcai simply because having an awek on a 80cc kapcai (even though a super-kapcai) didn't look cool at all. It was a misfit and considered a taboo and unacceptable by my kaki motor.

My allegiance with my campus kaki motor however was tested to its limit and about to be broken when I entered my third year and some unexpected turn of events happened along the way. I was totally taken off-guard and it happened all of a sudden. Suddenly my teropong iman was activated and I smelled flowers all around me.

But that was another long and interesting story to tell.


47 comments:

Tie said...

Zaman dulu budak2 ni ada lagi rasa hormat dan takut, tak lah rempit2.

Wah... bila jumpa aweks terus hilang minat bermotor ya... haha..

Sally said...

Aiseymeng...that last para realy evoked my curiousity!!! An n3 sequel please...!

DrSam said...

Tie,
Bermotor dengan penuh berhemat dan sopan santun adalah amalan kaki motor masa tu. Teropong iman susah nak guna bila naik motor :)

Sally,
Sabor...sabor :)

Pn Kartini said...

assalamualaikum:)

zaman motor kapcai..!
tu pun dah dikira hebat dahh dulu2..:)
...yg ptg tak dek lee yang rempit2 sakan cam sekarang!aduhai..

mirachantek said...

never am i fond to the idea of riding bikes.

i feel...exposed.


heh. maybe it's just not my environment.....

Abd Razak said...

Assalamualaikum sahabat..

Sebenarnya mudah naik motor ni, tak payah fikirkan nak bayar parking dan sebagainya, cuma bila hujan basah kuyuplah jika tidak berbekalkan baju hujan

Memorable trails... said...

Interesting post as usual Doc.Smiling all d way while reading this..zaman muda belia ya...

Afida Anuar said...

jeng jeng jeng....

smelled flowers? falled in love Dr Sam? because of kapchai? he he

DrSam said...

Pn Kartini,
Waalaikumussalam. Motornya tak seberapa kuasanya tapi bunyinya aje yang lebih. tu je yang mampu beli masa tu. Habis pecah tabung ayam :)

W. Hidney,
Cinta kasih sayang lah katakan :)

mirachantek,
exposed to the polluted atmosphere in the Klang valley is something undesirable but having a cool breeze touching your face along the serene coastal area for example...blissful!

DrSam said...

Abd Razak,
Waalaikumussalam ustaz. mudah memang mudah, tapi sekarang naik seram sejuk pula kalau naik motor dicelah-celah kenderaan besar. Seriau... :)

Memorable trails,
You smile, I smile. I wish everybody smile too especially whoever that shares similar experience.

Afida Anuar,
jangan saspen...jangan saspen...cerita ni ala cerita hisdustan juga. Baru tengok lima minit dah boleh teka jalan cerita :)

LiFe Is BeAuTifUl LyRiC said...

LIBL pon bawak kapcai dulu..zaman belajar kat u!..

Sally said...

Trauma heh naik motor..pernah layan korner bersama EnWey sampai sedor2 dah terduduk atas jln motor ntah ke mana..hihihi dah le motor pinjam!
:))

DrSam said...

LIBL,
U yang champion ada banyak moto zaman saya ialah U yang kat Serdang tu. Memang meriah.

Sally,
Takkan naik moto dengan Sally pun EnWey lipat kijang juga kot? Ni masa zaman kat Penang tu ke?

Afida Anuar said...

Aduhh dari mana pulak la saya belajar 'falled' tu... ha ha...

Afida Anuar

Faisal Admar said...

stylo bro skinny jeans tu! sekarang ni dah jadi trend!

yohteh said...

...seconded that there were no rempit but raûng-raûng, no wheely or congék but konar lépér... no awék but mokwe... suitably sounded in those old era... sharpen up your memory throughout those mid-eighties, petang-petang hadn't you stumble upon the red yamaha RX100 with the registration plate of TD 8**4, éjuh ddepér rode by a gent and spouse with two small kids seated alternately in between, at pantai batu burok?
...ah, forget it... the most awaited part must be your next episode... cer citer... cer citer...

besi said...

dr sam...wah expert gak pasal moto ni...tak sangka..ekzos potong pun leh tau...mmg cool dr

DrSam said...

Faisal Admar,
Really! I better search my old stack of cloths then...if they still can fit lah...

yohteh,
aisemang...why didn't you tell me earlier. If my memory serves me right, I remember one mysterious RX100 "ejuh ddeper" that could really put the shame on all the rempit-wannabe because this mysterious machine really breath fire. It was you then! I was told, Usof Wilcha was there too and somebody "ccokek" him thus 'kita bakoorrr je' become his trademark ever since.

...mmmm...the rain outside really inspires me and ignites my nostalgic mode to revisit that romantic path again ...

besi,
tu le bila dah gatal tangan dan takde aktiviti berfaedah lain nak buat. tu le jadinya :)

Mulan said...

sambongan cerita....??? cepat.. cepat..

MaizaC'Joe said...

Motor kapcai menggamit nostalgia doc.. "fall in love" ;) hehe... zaman dulu menurut kata ayah Maiza.. sapa yg bawa motor di kira anak orang berada :)

nahmy said...

wow doc! we're basically in the same era la...i know bcause i also use to have that jeans 'kaki kecik'...hehe

CAHAYA said...

nais outfit there drsam. hehe. macam one of the gang of kumpulan gagak hitam (or gagak putih). hehe.

takde yang lama, mana nak dpt yang baru. :)

DrSam said...

MULAN,
cerita telenovela alaf baru "cinta monyet Menara gading" kena buat banyak siri...panjang bagai 1001 malam, shahdu bak laila & majnum :)

MaizaC'Joe,
super-kapcai hanya kecil aje tu jika dibandingkan dengan motosikal berkuasa besar lain. lagipun itu moto separuh subsidi :)

nahmy,
Please share some of your classic photos with us sir! I am glad to know that we have the same taste in fashion - trendy :)

CAHAYA,
FYI sis, that outfit is considered as part of the kapcai accessories :) Your mentioned about Gagak hitam/putih really gave me the goosebumps. Notoriously synonym with 'geng motor' at that time (but of course me not included :)

@xiM said...

dulu masa duk kat Uitm dapat Motor kriss Modenas ayah bagi hadiah Besday..selalu sangat accident..huhu

3yearshousewife said...

Dr,
Before Eddie Lawson there was a Freddie Spencer whom I love to watch racing on tv.
Another super kapcai just like yours can be found next to a rumah dusun in Eden Project, Cornwall.

Aishah said...

Assalamualaikum, this is the first I have heard of the word kapcai. If you had not explained it I would have thought it was something to do with being cincai.

The motorbikes were a practical solution in campus but still most of the girls walked. I have always wondered why.

Small Hiker said...

I never owned a motorcycle but it didn't stop me from riding one. And I had my share of getting involved in accidents, etc! I think you heard it, people said 'tak sah bawak motor kalau tak accident'? Sometimes, I feel that getting involved in an accident, a minor one of course, is good as it reminds us to be more careful. We all learn from experience!

DrSam said...

axim,
kena khatam ilmu lipat kijang tu axim...

3yearshousewife,
Yes... the Fast Freddie, another pin-up superbike champion. It was a common sight to see those big posters in a bedroom of any superbike-wannabe those days.

Did you say a super-kapcai at Eden-project? Any Nolan sticker on it...?

DrSam said...

Aishah,
Waalaikumussalam Aishah. Glad to know you learned something new today. FYI, those days a small cc motorbike was called 'cup' like Yamaha cup, Honda cup, suzuki cup thus the word kapcai came about.

In my Uni days, UPM has the most kapcai roaming the campus and surprisingly, I noticed lady riders made the most of their rempit group...unlike UKM and other universities.

smallhiker,
Agree with you. Kalau tak jatuh atau accident, tak sah. More scars more cool.

Admin said...

Dolu-dolu kalau Mat motor kapcai nak mengurat kirim salammmm..

Aisyah,
so...most of the girls in campus rather walks...(jual mahal kunun...)

DrSam said...

Lailihamid,
Kesian mat moto....salam tak kesampaian.

Faisal Admar said...

Hahaha if it can't, just donate them to me! Hahaha

Afzainizam said...

,=====,o00o Ponn..Ponn.Ponn..
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_(o)_)__(o)_)--o-)_)___
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
" Antara kau dan aku
Blog ini sebagai pengantara”
http://firestartingautomobil.blogspot.com/
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Maaf lama tak ziarah kamu semua….
Jom Terjah entry terbaru ??
abu nak Tanya kenapa cermin sebelh kiri

wahhhh TH tu..... merah menyala.... motor tu mmg nostalgia.... zaman dulu abah selalu hantar aku gi sekolah naik motor ni.... dulu abah tak ade kereta.... walau pun camtu tak ramai yang dapat pakai motor kat kampung aku pada masa tu orang dulu2 lagi senang naik basikal jaguar....

terima kasih mengingat kan aku akan nostalgia ini

sahromnasrudin said...

assalamualaikum doc..

moto pertama sy adalah yamaha y80 juge..sangat klasik moto tue..tak tau sape yg pakai la nie coz dah jual..platnya masih saya ingat BDL 5802 huhuhhh

DrSam said...

Faisal Admar,
I think most had already long gone to Kemboja or Southern Thailand to the most needy. Masuk bundle hantar projek amal.

Afzainizam,
banyak kenangan pahit manis dengan moto tu sebab lama juga dia berjasa.

sahromnasrudin,
waalaikumussalam. moto super-kapcai nostalgik tu saya tahu nasib dia. Dah terbarai...

Puan Ninie said...

1985 ninie baru setahun doc..:)
hehhe..tp sampai skang mmg suke naeik motor..

12 years old baru pandai bw moto..hehehe

DrSam said...

mEiZ SHA,
kalau umur setahun biasa ayah-ayah letak dalam bakul motorsikal bawa satu kampung ambil angin tu.

PerantauSepi1306 said...

ehehehe nostalgia eh dr :)
cayalah pose ngan moto misti gambo ni kasik kat mata air dedulu nie :P

Zue said...

dulu2...bukan semua student yg ada motor. Ramai juga yg guna besikal. Tapi memang gayalah pose u kat moto tu

DrSam said...

PerantauSepi1306,
ha...ha...memang betul tu. pose spesyel untuk mata air...


zue,
Lama tak bersua di alam maya ni zue....zaman saya dah kurang student bawa basikal. geng kapcai ni paling ramai.

Dr. Bentara said...

kapchai rules!

kapchai alumni member ;)

DrSam said...

Dr. Ben,
boleh buat sesi mengeteh ahli-ahli alumni Dr.Ben ;)

Unknown said...

I believe the majority of received already gone to be able to Kemboja or maybe The southern area of Thailand towards the majority of desperate. Masuk bundle hantar projek amal.The seo good site Samir Barai

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