Motorcycle news, Motorcycle reviews from Malaysia, Asia and the world

Target Fixation Kills – How to Fix It?

Motorcycle accidents can happen due to the combination of several factors: Road condition, mistakes committed by other drivers, weather, etc. But accidents also happen due to the rider’s own abilities, or lack of, such as target fixation.

Target fixation may not be the main cause of motorcycle accidents but it is the main reason why we cannot avoid accidents.

Good news is, advanced riding schools and teachers have narrowed down the causes of mishaps creating by the rider. You see, we humans have several built-in defence systems called “survival instincts.” There is no doubt that these instincts have kept our forefathers alive until now, but they can be a hindrance to our survival on motorcycles that go up to 300 km/h or more. Ironic.

And yes, one of these survival instincts is “target fixation,” and there are countless videos that show how those accidents could have been easily avoided if not because of target fixation.

What is target fixation?

The instinct originates in our brains telling us to keep an eye on a dangerous situation or hazard. While it worked well against predators, it unfortunately becomes a bane when we ride motorcycles that travel at much faster speeds. And, the strength of the instinct increases as you increase speed.

Have you entered a corner a little faster only to find your vision locked onto the outside of the corner instead through it? Or a car pulled out of the junction right in front of you and could only stare at it, wishing that it went away? Or you saw a pothole in the middle of the road and still proceeded to hit it although the hole is only 0.5 metre wide, while the road is 8 metres wide?

Or, just the like in the video below. The motorcycle rider had the entire lane, plus the adjacent lane to himself, yet he ran into those hapless cyclists.

All those issues were caused by your brain telling you to fixate (lock) your vision on the danger, hence, target fixation.

So, how do we fix it?

Like many bad habits, we can train our brain to overcome them, target fixation included. We only need to practice: You do not need to mount those expensive tyres, suspension, etc.

Keep these points in mind:

The motorcycle goes where we look.
Ride with a wide field of view – do not let your vision tunnel down.
A wide field of view lets you open up the road in front of you, thereby creating more space.
With that wide view, look to the sides of the hazard when you spot one.
Steer the motorcycle away from the hazard.

Practice

Find an open road with no traffic. Better yet, a large parking spot.
Start with 40 km/h. Look up and look wide.
Imagine a pothole or any hazard ahead of you (how far ahead depends on your speed).
Look to the either side i.e. left or right of it.
Then steer to either the side. Keep practicing until it becomes a habit, and your muscles will follow suit (muscle memory).
Add 10 km/h at a time and keep practicing.

DO NOT Mix Petrol with Engine Oil to Flush!

We once came across a comment from a motorcycle owner/mechanic who to have mixed gasoline in his motorcycle engine to flush the old engine oil.

More surprisingly, there were readers who followed in his footsteps.

What will happen if we did that?

It is true that engine oil will thin out when mixed with petrol, making it easier to remove. BUT, mixing gasoline in the engine is something that should NOT be done at all.

This is because there will be residual engine oil already mixed with petrol left in the engine, especially in the cylinder head and valve train areas, as well as anywhere there are small recesses, even after we drained the old oil. Therefore, the new oil will be mixed with the remaining oil that was mixed with petrol. As a result, the new engine oil is as good as being adulterated.

Apart from that, there is a film of oil that covers the moving parts. Petrol will remove this film, causing in friction between the metal surfaces before the new oil reaches these components. This is especially important between piston rings and cylinders, between gears, piston pins, rocker arm rollers, cam lobes, connecting rod bearings , camshafts, and more. All these parts are oiled when assembled, and this shows how important the oil film is.

In addition, petrol is not environmentally friendly, nor is it friendly to rubber and gaskets. Sooner or later, the gaskets will break and the oil will leak.

Some say, “I’ve done it before but it’s ok.” Yes, we may not feel any damage initially, but believe us, problems will arise later on. You will know the pain when you need to overhaul the engine.

Therefore, DO NOT mix petrol with the engine oil. Instead, use specialised flushing products for the task. For example: Use a screwdriver to drive the screw in, not a hammer.

Another note: You do not need to flush your vehicle’s engine if there is no trace of sludge. However, if do you want to clean the engine’s internal components, regardless, you would be better off by disassembling and overhauling the engine.

2024 Italjet Dragster 700 Twin Fully Revealed

The 2024 Italjet Dragster 700 Twin was teased a couple of times previously, and has finally been revealed in its entirety.

It is easy to see that it will be aimed at the Yamaha TMAX 560 and Honda Forza 750 in terms of performance, but the Dragster 700 is a stripped down and purely sport model without the frills of run-of-the-mill scooters. In fact, the Italjet’s chief said that he does not want to call it a “scooter.” Hence there is no forward and underseat storage spaces, footboards, and large windscreen.

The 68hp, parallel-twin, liquid-cooled, DOHC, 4-valve per cyclinder engine is sourced from Benelli and mated to a manual six-speed transmission, as standard. It is way more powerful than the TMAX’s 47 hp and the Forza’s 58 hp.

As we mentioned earlier, the higher spec Factory Edition includes Öhlins suspension, Brembro brake calipers, Akrapovič exhaust, and a black/gold livery. Common components for both standard and Factory Edition versions are underseat exhaust, Marzocchi USD forks, adjustable rear shock, 15-inch wheels, twin front disc brakes, Öhlins steering damper.

Italjet had opened the bookings for the Factory Edition since 12 July and will last until the last day of the EICMA 2024 show, or if all 700 limited units had been soon prior to that.

And finally, the price. the standard 2024 Italjet Dragster 700 Twin version will cost around €12,900 (RM 65,688.64), while the Factory Edition costs €14,900 (RM 75,872.50). These prices will of course be jacked up so much higher due to taxes and duties if the bike makes it to Malaysia.

Ducati Berliner 1260 Apollo – The First Ducati V4

While we revel at the current Ducati’s V4 lineup consisting of the Panigale V4, Streetfighter V4, Multistrada V4, and most recently the Diavel V4, Ducati had actually made a V4 engine even prior to producing their first V-Twin engine. Instead, perhaps ironically, it was the V-Twin that went on to bring the Ducati name to the masses, before they went back to the V4 to dominate the world’s racing circuits. The answer has to do with the machine the engine was fitted to: The Ducati Berliner 1260 Apollo which debuted in 1964.

How it began

Ducati’s United States distributor, the brothers Joe and Mike Berliner of Berliner Motor Corporation were convinced they could sell motorcycles to the American police departments. But they had to compete with Harley-Davidson who had a free run in that segment.

So, Joe Berliner approached Ducati in 1959 with a proposal to build that bike. Ducati was owned by the Italian government at the time and produced only the 20occ Elite. And, they were also in a bad state as with all other Italian motorcycle manufacturers who had to contend with the Fiat 500’s popularity.

However, official US police department specifications were increasingly standardised across the country, and naturally favoured their national product i.e. Harley. They required an engine capacity of at least 1200cc, a minimum 60-inch/1525mm wheelbase, and 5.00-inch x 16-inch tyres.

Mike Berliner shipped two Harley FL Duo Glides to Ducati for evaluation. After considering the design of the archaic 74 cubic inch (1212cc) Harley FL’s engine, Ducati’s chief Dr. Giuseppe Montano and chief engineer Dr. Fabio Taglioni agreed they could produce a more efficient and modern design. Taglioni eagerly accepted the commission as a technical challenge.

Unfortunately the bureaucrats in Rome showed much scepticism which resulted in dragged out negotiations until 1961 before Montana got the green light, and after Berliner promised to underwrite the project including development and production costs.

The name Apollo was chosen by the Berliner brothers in honour of the Apollo moon program which had just begun.

The engine and its performance

Taglioni was told to make the big bigger and faster and so, he designed a 1257cc, air-cooled, two-valved, 90° V4, with a 180 crankshaft. The bores and strokes were 84.5 mm and 56 mm, respectively, making it the most oversquare Ducati engine at the time. Valve actuation was handled by pushrods and rocker arms, rather than tower shafts and bevel gears. It made 100 hp at just 7,000 RPM.

Ducati gave it a 5-speed transmission to up the ante against their rivals who had 4-speed gearboxes. Taglioni even designed a provision to fit an automatic (CVT) in the future.

The engine was mounted in a heavy duty open cradle frame. There was a kick starter for the brave or with steel shins, but there was also an electric starter which looks similar to the Fiat TV1100’s. There was a massive 200w generator on the right side to cater for all the police electrical equipment. Ceriani developed the suspension, and front and rear single leading show drum brakes.

Weigh was finally tallied at 270 kg, dry. Although that is a lot even by today’s standards, it was actually lighter than the Harley’s 291 kg.

Ducati completed the bike’s styling with a peanut-style fuel tank, cowboy seat with a chrome cage grab rail, and forks and shocks that look similar to the FL’s.

Two fully working prototypes were built, one was painted gold for Berliner to demonstrate at shows, while another in black and silver. There were also two extra spare engines.

The test

So, off went Ducati’s test rider Franco Farne on the bike’s maiden test, only for him to return with the verdict: “It handles like a truck.” But the Ducati Berliner 1260 Apollo made up for it in straight-line performance, where it hit more than 200 km/h. It confirmed that it was most powerful the fastest European bike.

Unfortunately, that amazing performance was also its downfall, especially because it was fitted with those 16-inch automobile tyres. Another Ducati tester, and former GP mechanic Giancarlo Fuzzi‚ went out for a high speed test on the Milan-Bologna autostrada when the whitewall rear Pirelli ballooned, detached its tread, and came off the rim at around 160 km/h. Fuzzi called his survival “a miracle.”

The engine was subsequently detuned to 80 hp by lowering the compression ratio and fitting less aggressive cams, but it was still too much for any tyre at the time. Again it was detuned by lowering the compression even more to 65 hp and tyre wear became “acceptable.”

By comparison, the Moto Guzzi Grand Prix 500cc V8 had 20-inch wheels, but its 78 hp also shredded the bike’s tyres.

The end of the project

Berliner was of course happy with the performance and went ahead to print flyers to sell the bike. They planned to sell the detuned ‘normale‘ version to civilians as a touring model, while reserving the fully powered ‘Sport‘ version for law enforcement. In fact, 65 hp from the V4 was still more powerful than Harley’s 55 hp.

However, the detuned version had to contend with other European bikes such as BMW and British Twins.

Harley could also undercut the Apollo’s price of USD 1,500 by saying that they offer something close to that performance and a much cheaper price.

Then the Italian government decided that the limited market did not justify the tooling costs of production, and withdrew project funding. This was a severe blow to Berliner’s business plans.

What it could have been

The Ducati Berliner 1260 Apollo could have been the very first ‘superbike’ had tyre technology been up to the task; that and if it had used 18-inch tyres instead. Instead, the Honda CB750 appeared in 1969 to claim the honour. Even then, it had only 68 hp and a top speed of 201 km/h. Heck, even the “groundbreaking” Kawasaki Z1’s 903cc inline-four in 1972 produced only 81 hp and a top speed of 209 km/h.

Years later, Honda and Suzuki would copy the V4’s design for them to dominate GP racing.

It was indeed as missed opportunity.

However, the V4 engine’s design led Taglioni to design the engine that would bring about Ducati’s dominance in the superbike racing: The 90º V-Twin. But it could be seen that the 1257cc V4 had a place in his heart, which one of the spare engines sat in his office until his retirement in 1984.

Today, the black and silver prototype is owned by Hiroaki Iwashita, and resides in his museum at Yufuin on the island of Kyushu, Japan.

The fate of the gold coloured prototype is unkown.

Norton Motorcycles Celebrates a New Era

Norton Motorcycles began in 1898 and has gone through a tumultuous history of innovations, racing and sales successes, decline, takeovers, and revivals.

There were three episodes of revival, first under an North American investment company, followed by Stuart Garner, and finally presently by India-based TVS Motor Company in 2020.

TVS Motor has great plans for the legendary brand and is looking forward to expanding it globally.

Begin Press Release

Norton Motorcycles, part of the TVS Motor Company, announced its investment and growth plans to put the company in the ideal place for international expansion. At the Goodwood Festival of Speed, members of Norton’s senior leadership team – Sudarshan Venu, Dr Robert Hentschel and Richard Arnold – shared the vision of the brand and discussed how Norton is now perfectly placed to expand globally.

Sudarshan Venu, Managing Director, TVS Motor Company, said: “Our vision, commitment and investment into the Norton brand is entering an exciting phase. We look forward to sharing that with motorcyclists across the world.”

With TVS Motor’s backing and global capabilities, Norton is being reinvigorated as a global
brand, led by a strong and dynamic team.

TVS Motor has committed £200 million across the life of the investment in new product development, facilities, research and development and world class quality engineering. The new Norton motorcycles will follow the company’s philosophy of ‘Design, Dynamism, and Detail’. Exciting product launches are being planned starting next year, with six new models planned over the next three years. As part of this, Norton is preparing for international expansion with an initial focus on the USA, Germany, France, Italy and India.

Appointments include Richard Arnold, Norton Executive Director, former CEO of Manchester United Football Club and Dr. Robert Hentschel, Executive Director & CEO, of Norton Motorcycles. Bringing together the right people has put Norton in the best position to capitalise on its growth.

As a result of TVS’s investment and support, Norton’s revitalised research and development has been channelled into its product pipeline through its state-of-the-art facility in Solihull, UK. Testament to this is the One of One V4SV, inspired by Steve Hislop’s ‘White Charger’ that sped up the Goodwood Hillclimb every day of the festival.

Dr. Robert Hentschel, Executive Director & CEO, said: “The investment in research and development and leadership has us positioned to take six exciting products to countries across the world, with world class quality and scale, spelling another epoch of success in the Norton story. Our focus on design, drivability and details will maximise the exciting opportunity for Norton as well as for those new customers that choose one of our motorcycles.”

This year also marks the completion of Norton Motorcycles honouring Norton Motorcycles UK Ltd (NMUL) customers. After investing £2.3 million into the development, manufacturing and re-engineering of the Commando and V4 platforms, the fulfilment and delivery of orders for customers of the previous company signifies the closing of a significant chapter in which Norton can fully focus on the company’s future.

Richard Arnold, Executive Director, said: “Norton’s heritage is vast, and plays a key part in our development as a global brand. It’s important for us to prioritise our customers, both in the present and the future. Not only with new bikes but also with every touch point of the Norton experience. The products currently in testing and development are incredibly exciting. Bikers around the world will love to ride them and love to own them, I am looking forward to expanding their availability to local dealers in new territories and connecting with bikers to share the Norton journey.”

End Press Release

So, let us look forward to Norton reentering Malaysia’s market, shall we?

Evolution of the Ducati V-Twin Engine

Will we may see the end of the Ducati V-Twin superbike, with the announcement of the Ducati Panigale V2 Superquardro Final Edition? The factory will still utilise the 90° V-Twin engine in other models, of course, but it will be a sad day to see the absence of a two-cylinder Ducati superbike in the lineup, for it was the V-Twin (Ducati calls it the ‘L’-Twin) that cemented Ducati’s name in the halls of excellence.

So maybe it is a good time to retrace the evolution of the Ducati V-Twin superbike. (This article only covers Ducati’s sportbikes with the Panigale V2 Superquardro Final Edition as the main picture.)

When did the Ducati V-Twin begin?

As with almost all manufacturers, Ducati had started with building single-cylinder engines. The first one was in fact a 48cc unit made by SIATA which Ducati installed in the bicycle in 1950.

Ducati actually built their first V4 engined motorcycle called the Berliner 1260 Apollo in 1964. It was a beast that almost no one could ride and no rear tyre could withstand the engine’s torque and power. Well, why not: The 1257cc air-cooled 90° V-Four engine produced 100 hp at just 7,000 RPM. By comparison, the Harley V-Twin of the era did only 55 hp. (We shall write a story about this intriguing bike soon!)

One day, 20th March 1970, Dr. Fabio Taglioni began sketching on a 90° V-Twin engine. It was from here that an entire slew of models came about both in racing and its adoption to street models, including 500cc racebikes and 750cc road bikes. The Ducati 750 Imola Desmo went on to win the Imola race in 1972.

The camshafts were driven off a tower shaft and bevel gear system up to this point. Taglioni introduced the Pantah 500SL with belt-driven cams in 1980. This belt-driven system continued until the Superquardro V-Twin came to light on the Panigale 1199.

Two became four

Dr. Taglioni had experimented with the four-valved head but seemed to have made no headway. Instead, it was his understudy, Massimo Bordi who successfully designed and pushed it through.

The four-valve 90° V-Twin engine, now known as the Desmoquattro, began in the prototype 748IE Bol d’Or racer in 1986, before being adopted in the Ducati 851 in 1987. At the same time, it was also Ducati’s first liquid-cooled engine. Raymond Roche took the 851 to the first World Superbike crown for Ducati in 1990 hence starting Ducati’s domination in the championship.

The 851 became the 888, then came the iconic 916 that in turn became the 955 (ultra limited SP version only), and finally the 996.

Subcategories of the Desmoquattro

Testastretta

In 2001, Ducati brought out the 996R homologation model. It was essentially used the 998cc engine which featured the new Testastretta head or “narrow head.” The new Testastretta had the included valve angle reduced from 40 degrees to 25 degrees. As such, the bore could be made bigger to increase the rev limit, hence producing more top end power.

The 999, designed by Pierre Terblanche was a wholly redesigned bike, followed in 2003. However, the design was way too far of its time and was severely panned, despite the 999 being better in almost every department.

Testastretta Evoluzione

The 999 was in turn succeeded by the 1098 in 2007. It was the most powerful V-Twin of the era and was well-received, what with a styling that “evolved” from the 916. The 1098 became the 1198 in 2009.

Superquadro

The 1098/1998 lineup was subsequently replaced by the 1199 Panigale in 2012 hence began the Superquardro engine. It was the most powerful V-Twin at the time, punching out 195 hp and 133 Nm.

There were several changes, most obvious was the deletion of the belt-driven cams for a hybrid gear/chain drive. Ducati made four displacements for this engine, ranging from 898cc to 1285cc.

The smaller V-Twin sportbikes

We need to mention the smaller capacity Ducati sportbikes as they led to the Ducati Panigale V2 Superquardro Final Edition. Amidst the 916 was the smaller 748 which Ducati raced in the SuperSport categories vs. 600cc inline-four superbikes. The 748’s engine was of course, a 90° Desmo V-Twin with four-valves per cylinder, but displaced 748cc. So, to complete the timeline, the 748cc engine started getting bigger becoming the 749, 848, 899, and finally the present 955 with the Superquardro engine. The 955cc Panigale was rebranded as the Panigale V2 following the debut of the Panigale V4 in 2018.

Bikesrepublic

Latest News