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Kawasaki ZXR-750H1? No Wait, That’s a Kawasaki Z900RS

Spanish custom bike builder Japan Legends has a kit for the Kawasaki Z900RS.
It turns the bike into an old school half-naked superbike.
It definitely looks better than the stock Z900RS and Z900RS Café.

The Kawasaki Z900RS is the manufacturer’s modern-retro model; the successor of the legendary Z-1 but it may lack character to some folks.

Yes, the Z900-based inline-Four has a good kick and howling top-end but the bike is still styled in the UJM (universal Japanese motorcycle) format. The Honda CB1100R, (discontinued) CB400, the ol’ Kawasaki Zephyr 750 and 1100, among others have all used that same “template.” The Z900 RS Café looks better with the headlamp cowl but some scorned it as looking like the BMW R90S, instead.

So, why not let Spanish custom bike builder Japan Legends spice up your Z900RS with a special kit they are building? Now Z900RS owners can transform their bikes into a Japanes classic sportbike.

Visordownpublished the pictures of a kitted-out bike which looks like the ol’ school ZXR-750H1 superbike. Additionally, the bike is resplendent in the classic Candy Apple Green, white and blue paint scheme. The only things missing are the iconic washing machine (intake) hoses that lead from the upper fairing into the top of the fuel tank.

The kit is a half-naked type, which exposed large parts of the engine.

Now, that’s a Kawasaki Z900RS we’d drool over.

CFMoto to Manufacture KTM 790 Models and Engine?

CFMoto is rumored to manufacturer the KTM 790 range and their LC8c engines in the future.
They may also manufacture KTM’s big V-Twin models.
They’ve currently employed Kiska to design their bikes.

It’s now rumored that CFMoto will manufacture the KTM 790 range and their LC8c engine in the near future.

Years ago, this writer worked in a motorcycle shop and came across the 650cc CFMoto the first time when the brand entered the Malaysian market. While the bike looked good and had styling elements of the Kawasaki ER-6 (read: copy), there were issues. Scratch that – it had more problems than Miley Cyrus. Try leaking crankcase, jammed rear brake caliper, leaking rear brake caliper, frame welding that seemed to have been performed by Form 4 Industrial Art students, wonky fuel injection, among others.

But CFMoto has come a long, long way since then. While the brand is still here but flying under the radar in Malaysia, it’s been doing well in China, Europe and the United States. In fact, check out their latest models – the 650NK, 650MT, 650GT and 650TR. Additionally, they are currently building a new model based around a 700cc parallel-Twin engine.

CFMoto actually contracted Kiska, KTM’s styling house who may have a hand in designing the new 700cc bike.

The Chinese manufacturer also has a deal with KTM to assemble the latter’s bikes for the Chinese market. But CFMoto will eventually go on to manufacturing KTM bikes. Rumors say that manufacturing will include the KTM 790 range, which includes the 790 Duke, 790 Adventure and 790 Adventure R. The deal doesn’t stop there as they will also manufacture the 790’s LC8c parallel-Twin engine.

There seems to be some truth here, since CFMoto unveiled the V.02-NK concept bike in 2017 which had an LC8 big V-Twin engine. As such, they may also manufacture KTM’s large capacity V-Twins.

The transfer of technology and knowledge will enable the once-maligned manufacturer to compete in the open class category.

7 Bikers Dead After Being Hit by Pickup Truck

7 bikers died after a pickup truck rammed into their convoy.
The tragedy happened only 500 feet (152m) from their bed and breakfast.
3 more were injured and hospitalized.

While this tragedy happened half a world away in New Hampshire, USA, we as bikers ourselves could not escape the gravitas of the news of 7 bikers being killed by a pickup truck.

The riders had just left their bed and breakfast stay on their Harley-Davidsons. As they convoyed heading east, a Dodge 2500 pickup truck rammed into the group from the opposite direction. The convoy had gotten only as far as 500 feet (152 metres) from where they left.

Owner of the bed and breakfast, Jerry Hamanne said, “It was so devastating to see the bodies on the road. My God, I don’t want to see something like this again.”

The impact threw bikes, debris and the riders all over the road. One survivor said all she saw was grass and fire.

Passersby stopped to help the injured by administering first aid and calling the emergency services. Three persons survived the crash, two of them have since been released from hospital.

The police have not released the cause of the accident and no arrests were made, as of today. They issued a statement that the accident is still under investigation.

The riders were reported to be part of The Jarheads MC. “Jarheads” is the colloquial term for the United States Marines’ troopers.

GrabFood Rider Delivers on a Ducati Hypermotard

We’re used to accepting GrabFood delivery from riders on small bikes. But this rider uses a Ducati Hypermotard.
He’s not wrong to say he’s the fastest delivery rider!
Hopefully, we could get him to delivery before the fries become soggy.

We’re pretty used to using GrabFood delivery service by now. Similarly, we admire the dedication of the riders who brave Kuala Lumpur’s mad traffic, rain and shine to deliver hot food to us. But here’s a rider who delivers on Ducati Hypermotard.

We’re also used to seeing the guys (and gals) pull up on Yamaha 135 LC, Yamaha Y15ZR, Honda RS150 and so forth. This writer has personally encountered a small number of 200cc and 250cc bikes. But the Hypermotard is certainly different.

Customer nak lemang, aku beli kan lemang. Jgn takut klau order dgn aku2 buat penghantaran paling cepat dari orang lain ??‍♂️?? pic.twitter.com/xnyTWWpfZ2

— HerrySevani (@HerySevani) June 19, 2019

A GrabFood rider shared a video of himself delivering a few sticks of lemang to his customers recently on Twitter. @HerySevani had the trademark green “backpack” on the back of the Ducati.

He tweeted in Bahasa Malaysia, “The customer wanted lemang, so I bought leman. Don’t be afraid to place your orders with me for the fastest delivery.”

Well, of course he provides the fastest delivery, since the Hypermotard is made to slice and dice through the challenges thrown up by the city. His customers will have no problem hearing him arriving at their doorstep either, to the tune of a 90^oV-Twin. (Hope I can get him to deliver my order before the fries turn soggy.)

He also tweeted that he took the job as a part-timer to earn some petrol money for his bike.

Body of Missing Motojournalist Davey G. Johnson Recovered

The body of missing motojournalist Davey G. Johnson was recovered from the Mokelumne River.
He had gone missing two weeks ago while returning from test riding a motorcycle.
No explanation was provided about his demise.

On 5^thJune, motojournalist Davey G. Johnson was returning to his Sacramento, California home but failed to reach his destination.

Johnson was out testing the Honda CBR1000RR and was last heard from at 2am. Police found the motorcycle at rest stop at midnight the next day. However, Johnson, his backpack, laptop and phone were missing. Calaveras Country Sheriff’s Office (CCS) initiated a search and rescue mission which involved more than 75 people.

On 8^thJune, they found Johnson’s riding gear, laptop and cell phone near the Mokelumne River, but his wallet was missing. CCS kept up the search and found more clothing items on the river bank. Still, there was no sign of the missing person.

Unfortunately, CCS was force to call off the search on 17^thJune as they couldn’t locate any more traces of Johnson. The search party had swelled to 100 persons by now and they scoured the area between the Pardee Reservoir and hydro power plant.

Then, on last Thursday, his family received a call from the authorities that his body was recovered from the Mokelumne River. No details of his demise was provided.

While we’ve never met Johnson, it’s sad for our community to lose one of our own. May he rest in peace.

Rempit (Hooligan) Causes Scary Accident

A rempit botched a wheelie and crashed, which led to a serious accident involving other road users.
The dashcam video was recorded by one of the vehicles involved.
All parties were thankfully okay.

The rempit (hooligan) menace is nothing short of an epidemic on Malaysian roads. In this latest case near Gua Chempedak, one botched a wheelie and crashed, which led to a serious accident involving other road users.

In the video below, the Nissan Almera’s dashcam recorded a group of three bikes ridden in dangerous manner. One of them pulled a wheelie after the on-bridge.

Further down the road, while a woman in the car can be heard planning a potluck party, a white Mitsubishi Triton 4×4 swerved hard left. It ran over a crashed motorcycle on the road and went cartwheeling toward the vehicle that was recording the entire episode.

The Nissan swerved left to avoid the barreling Triton but was still hit on the rear right quarter, and sliced off the road.

The rempit was caught by passersby. All three vehicles involved i.e. motorcycle, Triton and Almera suffered major damage. All parties walked away from the accident, but we hate to imagine the outcome if there were infants or children in the vehicles.

As usual, the “onion army” was out in force in social media, criticizing the rempit who caused the accident. Some even went as far as questioning why didn’t the 4×4 driver just run over rider. Additionally, as commonly seen in accidents involving motorcycles, there were parties who criticized motorcyclists as a whole, as if we are collectively guilty.

Truth is, no responsible motorcyclist can stand even the sight of a rempit. These cretins serve no other purpose than putting the general public at danger and sully the good name of motorcyclists everywhere. And don’t get us started about those who turn into dogs who love to chase bikes bigger than theirs.

There has to be some concerted approach in ridding the streets of this menace. Criticizing on social media serves no discernible purpose.