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

Bikesrepublic

Latest News

Indian Motorcycle go VVT

Indian Motorcycle patented their variable valve timing (VVT) system.
It will equip a new Euro 5-compliant engine.
The technology is the best solution in delivering power with low fuel consumption and emission.

More and more manufacturers embrace variable valve timing technology as Euro 5 looms. Indian Motorcycle is next up.

As Euro 5 seeks to cut more emission, motorcycle manufacturers are forced into looking for other solutions. It was either that or downsizing the engine or reducing power production (god forbid!).

Right now, VVT offers the best answer. Variable valve timing and variable valve lift controls valve overlap at the correct engine loads and timing, yielding power while saving fuel and limiting emission at the same time. Please click the link below to learn more about variable valve timing/variable valve actuation.

2019 Ducati Diavel 1260 to Feature DVT

VVT usually finds place in motorcycles with “sportier” deposition such as the BMW S 1000 RR, Suzuki GSX-R1000, it’s made its way into other types of motorcycle engines. Ducati uses their proprietary Desmodromic Valve Timing (DVT) in the 1260cc V-Twins, while Yamaha employ the tech in their scooters. BMW has now equipped the new 1254cc Boxer (flat-twin) with their own “ShiftCam” technology.

Photo credit – United States Trademark and Patent Office, Motorcycle.com

A new Indian engine was spied months back, but patents revealed that the American manufacturer is pursing VVT technology as well.

Indian’s VVT looks different in because the engine employs overhead valves (OHV) and pushrods rather than overhead camshafts (OHC). Therefore, the VVT phaser is situated at the of the crankcase.

KTM 790 Adventure and KTM 790 Adventure R Prices Revealed

Prices for the KTM 790 Adventure and and KTM 790 Adventure were released by KTM Malaysia recently.
KTM intends to revolutionize the dual-sport market with the new bike.
The 790 Adventure is priced from RM 78,800 while the 790 Adventure R is priced from RM 84,800.

Prices for the KTM 790 Adventure and and KTM 790 Adventure R were released by KTM Malaysia recently

KTM had listened to the wishes of adventure and dual-sport riders around the world in creating the new bikes. Consequently, both variants are “different” when compared to dual-sport motorcycles in its middleweight and of capacities, as well.

But it wasn’t a case of just building an adventure bike with two variants. The Austrian manufacturer wanted to “revolutionize the dual-sport market.”

The engine is shared with the 790 Duke naked sportbike, but tuned for smoothness and tractability, especially in the rough. The new LC8c parallel-Twin allows KTM engineers to place it in the frame for optimal weight distribution, hence easier handling characteristics. Another benefit is the lower seat height.

Next, the fuel tank is moved downwards to the sides of crankcase. Doing so moved the bike’s centre of gravity downwards. There are two benefits to this: 1) It makes the bike more stable and not top-heavy; 2) It allows the rider to move around easier when standing up in the rough.

790 Adventure (left) and 790 Adventure R (right)

The 790 Adventure (without the “R”) is more road-biased and intended for riders who tour and include some light off-road in their itinerary. The 790 Adventure R, on the other hand, is more off-road biased.

As such, the 790 Adventure R includes a Rally mode where the rider could choose the level of traction control and throttle response on-the-fly.

You can read about our impressions in the link below:

KTM 790 Adventure and KTM 790 Adventure R Test & Review

The 2019 KTM 790 Adventure is priced from RM 78,800 while the 2019 KTM Adventure R is priced from RM 84,800. The prices are inclusive of SST but not on-the-road.

Please follow KTM Malaysia’s official Facebook page for more up-to-date information.

WorldSBK 2019: Jonathan Rea and Kawasaki Ends Bautista and Ducati’s Streak

Jonathan Rea and Kawasaki finally ended Alvaro Bautista and Ducati’s WorldSBK 2019 winning streak.
Rea won in Race 1 at the Imola circuit in Italy.
Bautista finished second after winning the first ten races of the year.

Four-time and reigning WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea and his Kawasaki team ended Alvaro Bautista and Ducati’s winning streak in Race 1 at Imola, Italy.

Bautista and Ducati have scored a perfect ten out of ten races in five rounds prior. However, Rea proved the spoiler when Bautista tried to adapt to the tricky Imola circuit. It was the latter’s first race there. Rea had been strong throughout the practice sessions only to be pipped by Bautista’s teammate Chaz Davies in Superpole for pole position.

Come race day, Rea took the lead as soon as the lights went out, but passed by Davies soon after. It looked like the pair was going to resume their hard battles and rivalry through the last few seasons. Unfortunately, Davies’s bike encountered a problem and forced the Welshman to retire. In so doing, he handed second place to Bautista.

A battle soon erupted behind them.

Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) sat in third, while Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) fought up to 4^thfrom 8^thon the grid. Van der Mark’s teammate Alex Lowes followed in 5^th, ahead of Rea’s teammate Leon Haslam. Independent rider Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Purcetti Racing) moved in 7^th.

At the front, Bautista had no answer to Rea’s pace. The Kawasaki man began to pull away at 0.7s per lap.

On a day of seeing front runners suffering bike problems, Tom Sykes’s BMW started to slow and eventually retired. At the same time, Lowes started to slip backwards.

With the final position suddenly available, van der Mark and Razgatlioglu battled tooth and nail. The pair swapped paint and traded blows on the penultimate lap to the stage of colliding twice. But it was the Turkish rider Razgatlioglu who presevered to cross the line in 3^rd.

There was no problem for Rea, conversely. It was his eighth win at the track and 72^ndin WorldSBK. It was Kawsaki’s 128^thwin in the series.

Race 2 continues today at 8pm Malaysian local time.

Final results after Race 1:

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing)
Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team)
Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK)

Ducati Sales up 5% in First Quarter 2019

Ducati posted a 5% increase in sales for the first quarter of 2019 vis-à-vis the same period in 2018.
The biggest selling segments were the Hypermotard/Multistrada and Scrambler.
The Supersport/Superbike category saw a large drop.

Ducati posted a 5% increase in sales for the first quarter of 2019 vis-à-vis the same period in 2018.

The number equals a total of 12,541 motorcycles compared to 11,949. That’s good news considering the global motorcycle sales slump.

However, the model which drove the sales was of a surprise. The Italian manufacturer had hoped the new Diavel 1260 will drive sales in 2019, but it was the new Hypermotard 950, instead. The Hyper’ contributed an 18.6% growth. Ducati grouped the Diavel and Monster in the same “naked” category which dropped by 1.13%. The Hypermotard is in the same category as the Multistrada, on the other hand.

The other contributor is the Scrambler line-up, which saw a 14.8% increase. Ducati shored up the yellow-bike family with a slew of new models for 2019.

As for the Supersport/Superbike category, it posted a 13.5% drop after the huge success of the Panigale V4’s success in 2018.

The manufacturer is yet to launch further 2019 models. We shall see how these will do by the first half of the year.

Segment	Q1 2019	Q1 2018	% Change
Scrambler	2,894	2,522	+14.8
Diavel / Monster	3,054	3,089	-1.13
Hypermotard / Multistrada	4,113	3,469	+18.6
Supersport / Superbike	2,480	2,868	-13.5
Total	12,541	11,948	+4.96

Source: Audi AG

David Beckham Banned from Driving

David Beckham was handed a driving ban.
He was charged with using his mobile phone while driving.
The driving ban is in effect for six months.

We wanted to not publish this story, but the temptation was too great. David Beckham was handed a driving ban by a British judge.

A member of the public spotted Beckham using a mobile phone while driving his Bentley in Central London. He then lodged a report against the former Manchester United, Real Madrid and LA Galaxy star.

Beckham’s counsel, Gerrard Tyrrell said his client had “no recollection” of the incident. However, Beckham pleaded guilty anyway.

The celebrity already logged six points on his driving license for speeding previously. The District Judge handed out six more points for the mobile phone offence, bringing the total to 12 that’s needed to lose driving privileges. The ban is in effect for six months.

Besides owning a bevy of exotic cars, Beckham also owns many motorcycles but his favourites are Triumphs. One of his motorcycles is a customized Triumph Bonneville on display in the Triumph Factory Visitor Experience in Hinckley.

David Beckham and his Triumph – Photo credit harrolds.com.au

Boost e-Wallet Accepted at 800 Shell Stations

Malaysia’s largest e-wallet, Boost and Shell Malaysia announced the availability of the e-wallet payment service at 800 Shell stations nationwide.
An exclusive promotion offers 2 times RM5 cashback with the spending of RM40 at selected Shell stations.
The e-Boost app is available for iOS and Android.

Malaysia’s largest e-wallet, Boost, and Shell Malaysia today officially announced the availability of the e-wallet payment service at 800 Shell stations nationwide. The partnership aims to enhance customers’ retail experience at Shell stations by providing them with an alternative payment method.

With this collaboration which began in April 2019, the e-wallet service is now available in more than 80% of the Shell stations across the country. The response to this e-wallet payment option has been encouraging, motivating both Boost and Shell to make this service available at all Shell stations nationwide by end May 2019.

The CEO of Axiata Digital Services Sdn Bhd, parent company to Boost, Mohd Khairil Abdullah shared the inspiration behind the collaboration, “Boost was first launched for mobile prepaid users to reload their mobile credit but since getting our e-Money license from Bank Negara Malaysia, our e-wallet features have gained a lot of traction. We are excited to play a leading role in turning Malaysia into a cashless society, in-line with the Government’s ambitions.”

“We wanted customers to be able to pay for their goods and services in a convenient and safe manner. As such, we see this partnership as providing more convenience to our users, because now they can use our e-wallet at Shell stations nationwide,” he added.

Shairan Huzani Husain, Managing Director of Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn Bhd and Shell Timur Sdn Bhd echoed the sentiment, “Our customers are digitally savvy and technology plays an important role in their day-to-day lives. Hence, partnering with the nation’s leading e-wallet enables us to offer them the additional option to pay with their Boost e-wallet when fuelling up with Shell fuels and grabbing their favourite treats at Shell Select.”

“We are constantly looking to offer Malaysians a more convenient and enhanced retail experience, to help make their life’s journeys better,” Shairan stated.

Customers can enjoy hassle-free payments, easy money transfers, e-vouchers, e-gifting and prepaid top ups through the Boost e-wallet, which can be downloaded from the App Store (for iOS users) or the Google Play Store (for Android users). The local e-wallet platform now has over 4 million registered users and over 80,000 merchant touchpoints, and growing.

To celebrate this partnership, Boost and Shell are rewarding Malaysians with an exclusive promotion from 14 May to 14 June 2019, customers to enjoy a two (2) times RM5 cashback if they spend RM40 with their Boost e-wallet at the selected Shell stations.