Motosikal dan Enjin Nasional Sdn Bhd (MODENAS) has finally introduced the latest 2020 Modenas Pulsar NS200 ABS for the Malaysian market. After two years of successful sales here in the country, and an upgraded version was introduced with improved safety thanks to the addition of the front Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS). (more…)
It has been 70 years since Honda launched and built its first Dream D-Type way back in 1949. 70 years in the motorcycle industry is already something to shout about but going strong with over 400 million bikes produced worldwide? Now, that’s an achievement worth celebrating. (more…)
Following the presentation slide taken from Pierer Mobility AG regarding the future of KTM and their plans to expand into the 490 range, Husqvarna (who also happens to be under the same Pierer Mobility family) plans to expand their range even further with the introduction of new Husqvarna 501 models across different ranges. (more…)
Looking forward to having a new helmet for 2020? Good news, because the new New SHARK Evo-One 2, SHARK D-Skwal, SHARK Ridill in Stock at Power Store Kota Damansara.
A new batch with new exciting colours and graphics has just arrived. Let’s take a look at some of them.
The SHARK Ridill 1.2 is probably the best value-for-money full-face helmet in the market. That’s because the helmet is equipped with some of the features available on more expensive helmets, for example the scratch-resistant visor, built-in sun visor, large vents for optimum airflow, and an aerodynamic shell. Priced at only RM 450, it’s unbeatable.
New colours are DRIFT-R Actif, STRATOM Anthracite Black, STRATOM MAT Black Red White, STRATOM MAT Anthracite Mat, STRATOM White Blue Red.
The SHARK D-Skwal was developed from the Skwal without the LEDs. The D-Skwal features and aerodynamic shell, an internal built-in sunvisor, anti-scratch visor and Pinlock anti-fog insert. All these for only RM 600.
New colours are BLANK KMA Black Mat, MERCURIUM MAT KAO Black Anthracite, MERCURIM KWR Black White Red, DHARKOV Mat KGX Black Green Glit, HIWO KWK Black White Black, HIWO MAT KAK Black Anthracite.
The Evo-One 2 is a distinctive and radical modular helmet. Rather than just flipping the visor and chinbar up, the two flip all the way to the back for a clean-looking jet-style helmet. It’s ideal for both touring and urban riding. Priced at RM 2,060.
New colours are LITHIOM DUAL KUR Black Chrome Red, LITHIOM DUAL KUR Black Chrome PU, SKULD MAT KWR Black White Red, SLASHER WKS White Black Silver.
The Spartan is an aggressive-looking helmet without breaking the bank to own one. But the Carbon Skin pushes its street cred quotient to another level. Light, quiet and stylish, it’s one helmet that gets everyone’s attention. Priced from RM 1,700.
Yes, I’m writing this while the headlight bulbs of my 7-year-old Kawasaki ER-6f are a no brighter than an Ikea Sinnlig scented candle. I’m exaggerating, of course, but it’s really annoying when I couldn’t further down the road! Hence, am now considering upgrading to LED lighting.
It’s apparent that LED lighting is already the mainstream. Every new motorcycle from kapchais to large capacity dual-purpose bikes we tested in 2019 was fitted with LED lights.
This is because LED technology has progressed exponentially over the last 5 years. Whereas they were used for nothing more than for daytime running lights (DRL) or “position lighting,” they are now powerful enough to cater for headlights for both low and high beams.
In view of this, they’ve pretty much supplanted the that scourge of road users everywhere – the Xenon HID (high intensity discharge) bulb.
Let’s explore a little further.
Halogen bulbs have been around for a long time, ever since the use of iodine gas in incandescent lightbulbs was patented in 1933. General Electric (GE) finally patented a working iodine bulb in 1958 and launched the next year. The halogen bulb has been refined to as good as it gets today and still being used in 90% of all vehicles on the road.
The word “halogen” pertains to a group of five chemically related elements i.e. fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br), iodine (I), and astatine (At).
So, when someone says halogen, tungsten halogen, quartz-halogen, quartz iodine bulb, they are all the same.
It works by passing a current through a tungsten coil filament to heat it to the stage of being white hot, hence emitting light. The vessel of the bulb is filled with a small amount of halogen fas which allows for the evaporated tungsten to be deposited back onto the filament. This way, the filament’s lifespan and brightness can be increased.
But it’s this conversion to heat that makes halogen bulbs get so hot. In fact, the majority of the current channeled into it is converted to heat. As such, the luminous efficiency (ability to generate light versus current used) is only 2% to 4%.
The intense heat also results in a lower lifespan compared to other types of bulbs.
The amount of power it could draw is limited by legislature in different countries – usually between 50W to 60W. However, this caps the ability to create bulbs as bright as Xenon, HID or LED bulbs due to its inherent lower luminous efficiency.
In order to attain more light or whither light, a hotter filament is needed which again creates a lot more heat.
On the flip side is its simplicity and cost. You only to plug it in without electronics for it to shine. Not working? 99.9% is because the filament’s burnt out.
You can get a better-quality halogen bulb within RM 30. A pair of high-end bulbs could cost between RM 100 to RM 180. But we did see a OEM-spec bulb which costs RM 500!
LED stands for light-emitting diode and work differently than incandescent bulbs.
Current is passed through a semiconductor light source. Electrons in the semiconductor then recombine with electron holes and release photons (light).
As such, it’s much more efficient compared to the incandescent light bulb which involves heating. Consequently, in general at least, LEDs have cooler operating temperatures and longer lifespans than traditional bulbs i.e. 20,000 hours vs. 500 hours.
Higher temperature colours i.e. whiter (measured in K as in 5500K, 6000K, 6500K) is attained by changing the properties of the semi-conductor rather than putting in a hotter burning filament.
Another benefit of LEDs is that they operate at lower voltage, allowing them to be used with CAN-bus (controller area network) systems.
High-output LEDs (H-O LEDs) do produce heat although not as high as incandescent lamps. But as LEDs require lower working temperatures to work at optimum levels, they are usually fitted with heat sinks and fans (yes, fans!). They are therefore much bigger than the halogen bulbs they replace, thus retrofitting one into a headlamp assembly designed around the halogen bulb may be problematic. Plus, it’s better to separate the electronics from the bulb’s body for better cooling thereby adding an extra piece of hardware to consider.
Since LED lights require more sophistication to operate, they are much more expensive, although prices are dropping.
That’s it for this instalment. We’ll cover other aspects of lighting in the near future.
Pierer Mobility AG (formerly known as KTM Industries AG) has revealed a future mapping of upcoming new bikes which include five KTM 490 as well as 890 models in the form of Adventure, SMC, and Enduro R variants. A piece of that presentation (made for KTM’s investors) were snagged and posted up online. (more…)
