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Guy Martin Goes 436km/h for the Win

Speed freak and hard man Guy Martin smashed through 436km/h to win at Straightliners event.
He rode a turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa.
The bike is reputed to produce 830hp.

Speed freak and hard man Guy Martin smashed through 436km/h to win at Straightliners event.

Martin is well-known for his exploits at the Isle of Man TT and many other road course races. But he also has a penchant for breaking outright speed records. Breaking his back twice hasn’t slowed him down, evidently.

Martin already hold three Guiness World Records for fastest speeds on a gravity-powered snow sled, a soap box and on the wall of death. He also holds the British record for driving the fastest hovercraft.

This time, he rode a specially modified Suzuki Hayabusa. The turbocharged Holseshot Racing bike is said to make 830hp.

Posted on the Steve McDonal Photography Twitter account are pictures of Martin on the bike and a picture of the results. The bike blasted down the mile-long (1.6km) track in Elvington, England at a terminal speed of 270.965mph.

The rider and bike have been spotted undergoing speed trials earlier in May and June. It first appeared in the Road Racing Ireland Ballykelly North West Speed Trials in May. Then in June, he hit 413km/h.

There are mutterings Martin could’ve gone faster at the event if not high winds. He won’t disappoint next time.

Is the Honda CBR250RR Coming to Malaysia?

Many enthusiasts have been crying out for the Honda CBR250RR.
We had the opportunity to see one during an event yesterday.
The bike is chockful of high-end parts.

Many Honda fans and enthusiasts have been crying out, “Where’s the Honda CBR250RR?” However, it’s available only in Japan, Indonesia and Thailand.

Truth be told, we’ve only seen the bike in pictures thus far. But even then, we could deduce that the bike is full of great features for a 250cc sportbike, besides looking great, of course.

But thanks to Boon Siew Honda, we were able to get up close to one during the Idemitsu Boon Siew Honda Racing AP250 team rollout yesterday.

The CBR250RR definitely looks like the most advanced and high-quality 250cc sportbike out there, typical of Honda.

Check out the Showa upside-down forks; Nissin four-piston front caliper; ABS; those distinctive LED headlamps. That bodywork wouldn’t be out of place on a 1000cc sportbike, either.

Moving backwards, look at the quality of the front and rear footpeg brackets. Or that heatshield on the dual exhaust silencers. The seat unit looks like it came from the CBR1000RR Fireblade.

But take an even closer look and you’ll see that the aluminium alloy swingarm is cast in one piece, rather than welded together from different pieces of metal.

However, a Boon Siew Honda representative pointed our attention toward the various stickers in Bahasa Indonesia. This meant that the bike is for the Indonesian market. Besides that, the front signal lamps are integrated into the top part of the front fairing. This arrangement will not pass JPJ homologation unless Honda attach signals on the sides of the fairings or into the mirror nacelles.

Seeing its quality opened our eyes to the large expense it takes to build the bike. It’s said that the CBR250RR would cost in the regions of RM34,000 to RM38,000 should it be sold here.

Unfortunately, that’s why the bike will not enter our market where there’s an overriding sentiment of price vs. capacity. Buyers will be tempted to get a 600/650cc machine for that price.

But that doesn’t mean we’ve stopped hoping (and pestering) for it to enter the Malaysian market. At a competitive price, of course.

PHOTO GALLERY

2019 Yamaha 135 LC Special Edition (SE) Launched – Priced from RM7,118

Hong Leong Yamaha Motor (HLYM) launched the 2019 Yamaha 135 LC Special Edition (SE) today.
The SE has a special Knight Blu colour and graphics.
The 135 LC soldiers on despite being launched a number of years ago.

Hong Leong Yamaha Motor (HLYM) launched the 2019 Yamaha 135 LC Special Edition (SE) today.

The 135 LC continues to be a popular model, despite being launched some seven years ago. The reasons for its longevity are its evergreen styling, reliability, quality and affordable pricing. Many had thought that the model will be phased out or fade into obscurity with the introduction of the Y15ZR, but that clearly isn’t the case.

How many times have we received our orders from Grab Food and Food Panda riders on new 135 LCs (especially ones in gray with yellow rims)? Yamaha dealers are moving them relatively quickly too and there’s always stock for one.

The bike has gone through a number of small revisions but mostly in special MotoGP colours.

But now, the 2019 135 LC SE features Knight Blu colour and graphics. Additionally, there are 135 LC logo graphics on the cast wheels. It’s one way for a model refresher.

Each buyer will receive a Yamaha stainless steel disc lock. HLYM recommends the selling price from RM 7,118 (basic selling price without road tax, insurance and number plates). The bike will be available from 20^thSeptember 2019.

2019 Yamaha NVX Doxou Sports Fashion Edition Price Announced – From RM10,688

The 2019 Yamaha NVX Doxou Sports Fashion Edition was launched at the recent Hong Leong Yamaha Genblu Festival 2019.
Its graphics are specially designed to combine fresh “Sakura Copper” and a special matte blue.
It’s available from today onwards.

The 2019 Yamaha NVX Doxou Sports Fashion Edition was launched at the recent Hong Leong Yamaha Genblu Festival 2019.

It was launched side-by-side with the Y15ZR Doxou.

As the name suggests, the model expands Yamaha’s standing in the premium sports fashion lifestyle. Its graphics are specially designed to combine fresh “Sakura Copper” and a special matte blue.

But the Doxou range isn’t merely about bikes with different colours. The proud owners of the limited-edition model will receive specially-designed Doxou headphones and keychain. More importantly, purchase will include a certificate inscribed with the bike’s engine and chassis details (so no respraying a standard bike and selling it as a Doxou).

Hong Leong Yamaha Motors (HLYM) recommends the selling price from RM10,688 (basic selling price and not on-the-road).

The Yamaha Y15ZR meanwhile, has been priced from RM8,868 during the festival.

HLYM also informed us that the bike will be available from the publishing date of this article.

PHOTO GALLERY

Idemitsu Boon Siew Honda Racing Rolls Out AP250 Team Ahead of 2020 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship Season

Idemitsu Boon Siew Honda Racing rolled out their AP250 team for the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) today.
The team is slated to join the series full time next year.
The early entry will provide them with experience and data.

Idemitsu Boon Siew Honda Racing rolled out their AP250 team for the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) today.

The team is slated to join the Asia Production 250 (AP250) category fully next year. Therefore, the launch today is to “test the waters” in the series with a factory backed team and wildcard riders. The sixth round of the 2019 ARRC season is currently being held at the Sepang International Circuit.

Without a doubt, the experience and data gained this year will be priceless in their participation in 2020.

“The Asia Production 250cc class was added to the Asia Road Racing Championship roster in 2015. To date, the class had been dominated by Thai and Indonesian riders. However, we know that, given the calibre of Malaysian riders, they should be challenging for the title in every single season. After all, the Malaysian riders are dominant in every other category of the ARRC (ASB1000, SuperSports 600cc, and Underbone 150cc), except the 250cc class. By establishing our own factory outfit in the class, we take on the mission of changing the balance of power in this popular category,” said Mr. Keiichi Yasuda, MD and CEO of Boon Siew Honda Sdn. Bhd.

To achieve this, Idemitsu Boon Siew Honda Racing will field two wildcard riders. 18-year-old Muhammad Syarifuddin Azman and 15-year-old Muhammad Idlan Haqimi Raduan will ride the CBR250RR.

Muhammad Syarifuddin was the Yamaha PETRONAS Super Series champion in 2016, and also captured the 2018 Wira category title with Idemitsu Kozi Yam Honda Racing.

Muhammad Syarifuddin (left) and Muhammad Idlan (right)

Meanwhile, Muhammad Idlan was the 2018 Honda One Make Challenge champion.

Idemitsu and Boon Siew Honda also hopes that these riders will be developed into world-class riders of the future.

GIVI Bella Ride to Pangkor 2019 – 2nd GIVI Ladies Ride & Camp

The GIVI Bella group organized the GIVI Bella Ride to Pangkor.
The group consists of all lady bikers.
The event also saw the handover of the Women Riders World Relay to the group.

The GIVI Bella group organized the GIVI Bella Ride to Pangkor 2019 from 14^thto 16^thSeptember 2019. The event was the second GIVI Ladies Ride & Camp event and formed the next leg of the Women Riders World Relay.

GIVI Asia Sdn. Bhd. is now fully supportive of bikers of all ilk and gender. Take for example the GIVI Bella group, which consists of lady bikers only. The group has grown strength to strength with through many activities along with GIVI since their inception just a number of months ago.

This second edition of the Ladies Ride & Camp activity came hot on the heels (no pun intended) of the popular first edition, which proved popular among lady bikers.

The Women Riders World Relay, on the other hand, seeks to empower lady bikers around the globe. GIVI was represented by Brand Ambassador Anita Yusoff who received the Women Riders World Relay baton from the group “Bad Girls Throttle.”

The ride was flagged off from GIVI Asia’s headquarters and factory in Bukit Beruntung. A total of 22 participants joined the event.

The convoy took the ladies to the jetty at Lumut, where they transferred over to Pangkor Island for some fun on the beach. The campsite was right at the beach. The participants also set up some fun and games. They even had an aerobics class the next day.