Wahid Ooi, Author at BikesRepublic.com

Government Foregoes AES Summons

The government is foregoing 3.1 million AES (Automatic Enforcement System) summons.
This decision is in line with the Cabinet (JPJ) taking over AES operations from 1^st September 2018.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke stressed that this is a one-off deal.

The government has announced that they are nullifying speeding summons recorded by the Automated Enforcement System (AES).

Transport Minister Anthony Loke made the announcement during a press conference earlier today in line with the Cabinet’s decision to take over the operations of AES from two private companies beginning 1^st September 2018.

“This is a one-off,” he said, “There will not be any more such offers or discounts.”

However, no refunds will be paid to those who have paid their AES summons earlier, to whom the Minister addressed, “I know those who have paid will feel it is unfair that we are cancelling unpaid summons. I would like to say thank you and sorry at the same time.”

Only 690,000 AES summons were paid for since 2012, leaving 3.1 million unpaid worth RM430 million.

The agreement with the current operators is set to end on 31^st August 2018, but the government has no plans to renew it. Instead, operations will be taken over by the Road Transport Department (JPJ – Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan). “Operations” means taking of photos and issuance of summons.

The decision to not renew the concessions agreement with Beta Tegap Sdn. Bhd. and ATES Sdn. Bhd. was “because the payment system to these two companies were lopsided and received public backlash. For every summon issued, RM16 was paid to them.”

“In 2015, the (previous) government had ordered Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT) through its subsidiary Irat Properties to take over the operations of AES. RM555 million was paid to both companies for just 40 speed cameras along the highways,” revealed Loke.

Royal Malaysian Police Launches Program Kembara PDRM

The Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) launched “Kempen Kembara PDRM” in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
The PDRM (Polis Diraja Malaysia) hoped it will bring them closer to the general public through the event.
The police seeks the cooperation of the public to stamp out crime.

A total of 60 senior officers and officers of the Royal Malaysian Police (Polis Diraja Malaysia) took part in an outreach event called Kembara Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM) at the MyTown Shopping Centre yesterday.

The outreach program was an initiative to bridge the gap between the law-keepers and the general public in building a cooperation to combat crime.

Kuala Lumpur Police Chief, Datuk Seri Mazlan Lazim said that the program sought to increase public awareness about criminal activities besides providing an opportunity for the public to voice their thoughts regarding security issues.

The ride began from the Kuala Lumpur Police Headquarters before making a total of seven stops including Dataran Putra at Putrajaya, Pusat Aktiviti Warga Emas (PAWE) Cheras, Restoran Pelita Ampang, Majid Al-Firdays Segambut Luar, Pasar Borong Selayang, KL Sentral and ending at the MyTown Shopping Centre.

It is also hoped that the program will spark the Merdeka spirit, prompting Malaysians to fly the Jalur Gemilang during National Day.

“We hope that the public will support us in this unique program,” said Datuk Mazlan.

Source: Utusan Online. Pictures: Sep Irran

Max Biaggi Appointed as Aprilia Global Ambassador

Max Biaggi had won five of his six world titles his with Aprilia.
Also known as “The Roman Emperor” he was the one who first made the brand famous, more than any other rider.
It is natural for the Italian manufacturer to appoint him as the Global Ambassador.

Six-time World Champion, Max Biaggi has been appointed as the global ambassador for Aprilia.

Popularly called “The Roman Emperor,” he has had much experience in working with the Italian brand, from the beginning of his 250cc GP career in 1991 and won five of his six titles in 250cc GP and World Superbike on Aprilias. In fact, it was Biaggi’s exploits that launched the Aprilia name to the masses, way before Valentino Rossi.

Indeed, he was among the riders who helped develop the Aprilia RSV250 to a winning bike and by taking the 1994 title with 5 wins.

Max Biaggi in 1991 – Courtesy of www.daidegasforum.com

He stayed with the Chesterfield Aprilia team and winning the world title again for the next two years, by winning 8 races in 1995 and 9 races in 1996, before hopping to another team in 1997.

Max Biaggi in 1995 – Courtesy of motogeo.com

Biaggi moved up to the 500cc class in 1998 and campaigned in the premier category on Hondas and Yamahas until his retirement in 2005.

2007 saw him contracted to the Alstare Suzuki World Superbike (WSBK) team, riding the Suzuki GSX-R1000. He finished third overall at the end of the year.

Biaggi then changed camp to the Sterilgarda Go Eleven team to ride the Ducati 1098 RS for the following year. Finishing 7^th, he had a famous falling out with the team.

Aprilia picked up the ball in 2009 when both parties reunited. Biaggi now had a new weapon, the Aprilia RSV4. It was a year of learning and the rider steered the bike to 4^th overall at the end of the season.

In 2010, the factory Aprilia team became known as the Aprilia Alitalia team and Biaggi scored his 5^th world title by dominating the series with a total of 10 wins.

Max Biaggi on the Aprilia Alitalia RSV4 – Courtesy of asphaltandrubber.com

2011 was an unlucky year for him when he was sidelined by a broken leg, but still finished 3^rd overall. Biaggi came back strong in 2012 to wrap up the WSBK title in an ultra-competitive season, finishing just ½-point in front of Tom Sykes.

Will we get to see The Roman Emperor at Aprilia Malaysia anytime soon given the large number of his fans here? How about during the Malaysian MotoGP?

Sepang International Circuit (SIC) Team Joins FIM Enel MotoE

The inaugural FIM Enel MotoE World Cup for electric motorcycles will begin in 2019.
The riders will be riding the electric Energica motorcycle.
Sepang International Circuit will field a team with a single entry.

The inaugural FIM Enel MotoE World Cup electric motorcycle GP will commence in 2019 and the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) will also field a team.

The announcement was made during the third MotoE Team Committee at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. SIC’s participation in the series takes the grid to 12 teams with a total of 18 bikes, as there are teams that chose to enter one rider (such as SIC) or two. All teams will ride the same Energica MotoE bike.

The teams with one entry are:

Sepang International Circuit (SIC);
Marc VDS Racing Team;
Ajo Motorsport;
Pons Racing;
Dynavolt Intact GP;
SIC58 Squadra Corse.

Teams with two entries are:

Tech 3 Racing;
LCR Team;
Pramac Racing;
Esponsorama Racing;
Gresini Racing;
Angel Nieto Team.

The committee also outlined other details such as test dates, sponsors and technical partners.

All tests will be conducted at Jerez on these dates:

23^rd to 25^th November 2018;
13^th to 15^th March 2019;
23^rd to 25^th April 2019.

Confirmed sponsors are:

Enel;
Energica;
Michelin;
DHL.

Technical partners include:

Dell’Orto;
Regina;
Brembo;
Marchesini;
Öhlins.

The full calendar for the inaugural FIM Enel MotoE World Cup is expected to be published during the San Marino GP, while the rider line-up will be revealed at the Aragon GP. The MotoE series augurs well with the development of electric motorcycles ahead of new petrol-powered vehicle bans in a number of countries within the next decade.

BikeBiz BMW R nineT Sun Kist

Building a custom bike doesn’t mean having to tear your pride ‘n’ joy into pieces.
The concept is demonstrated here by this BikeBiz build.
A good option for BMW R nineT and R nineT Racer owners, perhaps?

We’ve featured a number of custom bikes that’ve totally reworked the entire bike to something else but this BikeBiz BMW R nineT Sun Kist was built to augment the stock BMW R nineT and R nineT Racer.

One may argue that the work done on this bike was minimal, we believe it serves as an option for R nineT owners who don’t wish (read: too sayang) to have their bikes torn to pieces, since BMW did a great job of making the stock bike look plenty good out of the box.

There’s another reason to this bike looking rather stock, actually – warranty. BikeBiz is a motorcycle retailer and accessories supplier based in Sydney, Australia who supplies parts and accessories to owners to build the bikes themselves, besides selling ready-built customized bikes. Customers will not void their bikes’ warranty if they installed BikeBiz’s accessories or purchase ready-made customs.

Mark Condon of BikeBiz said, “Our team really know their bikes, so depending on the customer we can give some direction on design and performance, supply a BMW and parts and let them build it themselves, or we can really get hands-on and custom-build the whole bike from scratch.”

This R nineT Sun Kist, however, is a ready-built custom. Designer Alex Bianchini-Kometer worked together with BikeBiz’s Boris to come up with something out of the ordinary while still retaining the R nineT Racer’s original lines.

BMW fans will instantly note the gradated orange/silver paintwork, hence the “Sun Kist” name. It’s an homage to the legendary R90S’s “Daytona Orange” which commemorated the bike’s victory at the very first AMA Superbike race at the Daytona International Speedway in 1976. Additional red pinstripes on the bodywork and wheels were added to match the red frame.

The team replaced the stock Racer’s half-fairing with a larger classic half-fairing for a more retro look.

Other stock parts such as the fender/taillight/number plate holder assembly and turn signals were stripped to present a cleaner look. A custom-made 2-into-1-into-2 exhaust system ends with a pair of high-mounted mufflers to leave the single-sided swing arm and rear wheel in full view.

Other bits include Rizoma footpegs, mirrors, and turn signals while the clocks, brake system, wheels , seat, handlebars are all stock.

So there you go, a BMW R nineT that’s “different by same-same.”

Sourced from Return of the Cafe Racers. Photography by Saxon Shing

Ducati to Tie-Up with HeroCorp?

Rumours are starting to circulate that Ducati amy tie-up with HeroCorp.
Other manufacturers have started to produce more affordable smaller-displacement models.
The smaller models will appeal to a wider audience in the Asian markets.

Ducati has been in the middle of the rumour mills lately, including the recent VW statement about whether they should continue to invest or divest their interest in the brand. Now, a new rumour has surfaced that the Italian manufacturer may tie-up with HeroCorp.

VW Hints of Selling Ducati (Again)?

Fueling these rumors was also Ducati’s CEO Claudio Domenicalli’s statement that the Italian manufacturer is working on more affordable V4-engined models.

Ducati Working on “Cheaper” V4?

Ducati are among the few premium manufacturers who does not have an affordable sub-400cc bike in their line-up, except for the Scrambler Sixty2 (400cc V-Twin), while the rest have taken the initiative to produce smaller capacity bikes for growing market consumption, such as India and the rest of Southeast Asia.

KTM were the first to tie up with an Indian manufacturer, Bajaj Auto Limited in this case, to produce the smaller 125, 200, 250 and 390 Dukes and RC models, and receiving the engines for the 200cc Pulsar and 400cc Dominar range in return.

2017 KTM 390 Duke – “Are you DUKE enough?”

Other manufacturers include Triumph Motorcycles Limited who have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Bajaj to explore the possibilities of producing 400cc motorcycles in the future. BMW co-operated with TVS to produce the popular G 310 R and G 310 GS models.

BMW G 310 GS Test & Review

HeroCorp is currently the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer and is no stranger to tie-ups with other brands, having co-operated with Honda and Buell in the past, although the Indian manufacturer has been producing commuter bikes.

If Ducati and HeroCorp do tie-up, the Italians could do the R&D while HeroCorp produces the bikes.

Ten Riding Tips from Ten Pro Riders (Part 1)

It’s easy to forget that pros too started from basics.
It’s when they master the basics that they developed their unique riding styles.
Here are Ten Riding Tips from Ten Pro Riders (Part 1).

We watch in awe as the pros battle it out among themselves every weekend; they make going fast seem so easy. But if you’ve ever spoken to any one of them, you will be surprised that the riding basics are the similar – if not the same. In other words, they first learn the basics then evolve it into their personal styles. All riders are cultivated, not born. That’s what prompted us to put together this Ten Riding Tips from Ten Pro Riders article.

Furthermore, there is no such thing as one rider being braver than the next. It all comes down to not only skill but how one rides intelligently.

Here are the tips we collected over time, from interviews or read about throughout the years.

1. Kenny Roberts Sr. – “Go fast in the fast parts”

Kenny Roberts Sr. – courtesy of yamaha-motor.com

Being a vocal rider, Kenny Roberts Sr. was one of the first riders who revealed that there’s no such thing as riding fast and stupid. Instead it came down to analyzing how you ride. That’s how he won three 500cc World GP titles in a row. “King” Kenny doesn’t believe in coasting with the throttle off: You’re either on the gas or braking. The most important parts of a racetrack are the corners with long straights proceeding them and that’s where he rode faster. There’s no point in trying to ride faster in slow corners as the risks outweigh the benefits – in other words it’s easier to crash that way.

2. Wes Cooley – “Keep your chest on the tank”

Wes Cooley – courtesy of www.cyclenews.com

As a rider of late-70s and early-70’s superbikes, Wes Cooley always kept his chest close to the tank. Doing so puts more weight on the front tyres to help the bike handle. That’s why modern sportbikes are designed the way they are now, besides being more aerodynamic.

Cooley once recounted his story, “One day I came in from practice and my Dad told me I needed to stay tucked in. I told him I had, so he tied shoelace from my suit’s zipper to the ignition key. When I came back in after the next session, my racesuit was unzipped to my waist.”

3. Freddie Spencer – “Brake where you need to, not where you think you should”

Freddie Spencer – courtesy of www.motorcyclenews.com

“Fast” Freddie Spencer had his own approach to races. While others would keep detailed notes on braking points, turn-in points, reference points, etc., Spencer was more flexible and played by ear. Doing so allowed him to adjust quickly to fading tyres or changing track conditions. His method netted him the 500cc GP titles in 1983 and 1985, and also the 250cc GP title in 1985. He’s still the only man who had ever achieved such a feat.

4. “Learn how your suspension works” – Eddie Lawson

Eddie Lawson – courtesy of www.cyclenews.com

“Steady” Eddie Lawson is as cool a rider as it gets. Nothing ever seems to flutter him on and off the track. His cool personality is also a reflection of his super smooth riding style. Additionally, Lawson is a methodical rider who pays lots of attention to his bike settings. Take for example when he returned to the US in 1993 to race in the Daytona 200. He had no prior experience to riding the Vance & Hines Yamaha FZR-750 superbike so he went through the entire range of suspension adjustments in the practice session to settle on the optimal setting. His effort paid off when he went on to beat “Mr. Daytona” Scott Russell.

5. Scott Russell – “Steer with the rear”

Soctt Russell – courtesy of racingcafe.blogspot.com

Say what you will about the enigmatic rider from Georgia, USA but the man is fast. He won the Daytona 200 a record five times due to not only his uncanny tyre management but also his skill in riding a superbike with worn tyres. When grip levels drop, Mr. Daytona would apply a different lean angle in order to use a different part of the tyres. Apart from that, he would gas the bike to spin the rear tyre to tighten his lines. Modern bikes may have traction control to avoid tyre spin but the race mode on most sportbikes do allow the rider to spin the rear tyre, just like what Russell did.

Kevin Schwantz to be Inducted Into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America

Many motorcycle GP fans no doubt remembers Kevin Schwantz.
The #34 from Texas was always the favourite rider for his do-or-die attitude.
Schwantz is already in the AMA Hall of Fame and will be inducted into the multi-discipline Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2019.

Many long-time fans of the 500cc Grand Prix World Championship will tell you that the golden age of GP racing was in the late-80s and early-90s, due in part to the on-track exploits of rider #34, Kevin Schwantz. As such, it’s only fitting that the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America has announced that they will induct the lanky Texan next year.

Schwantz has already been inducted into the AMA’s (American Motorcyclist Association) Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) has since retired his #34 race number in honour of his contributions to the sport besides naming him as a “Legend” in 2000.

Schwantz was born in Houston, Texas to parents who owned a motorcycle shop. He started riding when he was just 3 years old, before competing as a trials rider in the footsteps of his uncle Darryl Hurst whose racing number was 34. He progressed from trials to motocross in his teens and became the regional champion. However, a bad crash in the 1983 Houston Supercross saw him quitting the sport.

During the next year, the Yoshimura Suzuki Superbike team held an audition for riders. Among those who decided to try out was Kevin Schwantz, and the rest was history.

He soon moved up to the World 500cc GP class, where his fiercest AMA Superbike rival, Wayne Rainey had moved to as well. The pair would battle incessantly between themselves and other great riders such as Mick Doohan, Wayne Gardner, John Kocinski, Eddie Lawson, Randy Mamola, et al.

While Schwantz’s smoking rear tyre powerslides won him many admirers, it was his do-or-die attitude that won him endless veneration until this day. In fact, a young Valentino Rossi was also a great fan of #34.

Germany Replacing Dangerous Steel Road Signs with Plastic Signs

We motorcyclists have known for a long time that contact with metal road signs results in serious injuries or even fatalities.
The UN and EU have recommended that metal signs and barriers be removed.
Germany is taking the lead to replace steel road signs with plastic ones.

Apart from the steel barriers we see lining highways here, there are also steel road signs which are dangerous to motorcyclists. How many times have we seen bikers losing their limbs and lives after colliding with these “safety barriers”?

Many developed countries around the world are taking steps to replace their road barriers. Germany, on the other hand is taking the initiative to replace steel road signs with plastic ones, in addition to barriers. Check out the main picture of this article.

While we motorcyclists have long known about the dangers of crashing into a road sign, the German safety research facility DEKRA (seen this logo on Michael Schumacher’s cap) researched the hazard for quantifiable results. They found (no surprise) that motorcyclists are likely to be killed if they hit steel signs.

As such, they are advocating plastic road signs. Please watch the DEKRA video below.

The United Nations conducted a road safety survey and published a report in 2017. Among the recommendations are calls to remove roadside hazards that are proven to cause injuries and fatalities among motorcyclists. The 108-page paper by the World Health Organization found that motorcyclists are 15 times more likely to be killed compared to crashing where there is no hazard. The severities of injuries are also increased.

Hitting a steel sign post – Courtesy of Dekra

The Federation of European Motorcyclists’ Associations (FEMA) and European Union Road Federation (ERF) have also published a report called “Improving infrastructure safety for powered two-wheelers” which echoed the call by the WHO, which includes installing motorcycle protection systems on guardrails, maintaining skid resistance of pavement markings (i.e. lines) and ensuring that road surfaces are maintained.

Speaking about those hazards we need to point out that while our roads in Malaysia are actually quite good compared to our immediate neighbours but there are still much to improve for safety. Our observations are:

We’ve seen the new rolling guardrail barrier at a corner along the Karak Highway and hope more are installed.
The lines on the road are hardly “skid resistant” and are slippery even when dry.
While they highways are generally well-maintained, there still potholes that rival the craters on the moon.

We hope that the new Minister of Transport and the Road Transport Department will view these seriously.

Rolling guardrail in Korea – Courtesy of highways.today

Ducati Working on “Cheaper” V4?

Ducati announced that more models will be powered by the V-Four engine.
The engine will be adopted from the Desmosedici Stradale that’s powering the Panigale V4.
The new V-Four engines will be more “affordable” according to Ducati.

The Ducati Panigale V4 marked a paradigm shift for the Italian manufacturer as they move from their signature and traditional V-Twin to the V-Four format to power their production sportbikes.

2018 Ducati Panigale V4S Test & Review

However, while the 1103cc Desmosedici Stradale engine in the Panigale V4 alone at the moment, as they will adopt it to an entire range of new V-Four powered bikes. Ducati called some of the models “affordable.”

But cheaper in what sense? The V-Four format is inherently more complex (hence more expensive) than the V-Twin or even the inline-Four to build. There has to be a compromise somewhere and that should be the materials used, hence making less power.

The manufacturer had also said that the next V-Four model should be an “R” version of a smaller capacity Panigale V4. According to Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali, we should see the V-Four format powering other models other than the Panigale in the near future.

“It will be more in the future because we think that we don’t want to just take this engine and apply it as it is. The new motor will be one that will be based on this technology but will be much more tuned for longer distance and lower maintenance cost and this is where our development we will focus. It’s taking time because we want to be right, but this is where we are going,” Domenicali told Motorcycle News.

That’s a mouth-watering prospect, indeed. Multistrada V4 or Streetfighter V4, anyone?

Ducati Streetfighter V4 coming soon?

Morbidelli and Quartararo Confirmed for SIC-Yamaha-Angel Nieto-MotoGP Team

The riders for the SIC-Yamaha-Angel Nieto-MotoGP Team for 2019 have been confirmed.
They are 2017 Moto2 Champion Franco Morbidelli and current Moto2 Fabio Quartararo.
The news was confirmed by Yamaha Factory Racing Managing Director Lin Jarvis.

The mystery over which riders will join the SIC Yamaha Angel Nieto MotoGP Team from the 2019 season has been confirmed as 2017 Moto2 Champion Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo.

The rider line-up was confirmed by Yamaha Factory Racing Managing Director Lin Jarvis when he spoke to Simon Crafar during the Austrian GP over the weekend.

The satellite Yamaha MotoGP team would have been left vacant by the departure of the Monster Energy Tech3 Yamaha team to KTM next year. The move also brought riders Johann Zarco and Hafiz Syahrin in tow.

The interview with Jarvis confirmed that Yamaha does have a final say on who rides for the satellite team, since the satellite team also provides extra data to the factory: “They’re an Independent Team. Of course, any rider they select needs to be finally approved by us at being at the level and the capacity to ride the M1. So they’ve (SIC) chosen to go for Franco Morbidelli, who is a rider who is very interesting to us because he’s a World Champion, he’s an Academy rider and he definitely has talent. I think he’ll do better on the M1 than he is doing this year on the Honda so in the case of Franco there was no doubt at all from the beginning.”

And the second rider? It will be Quartararo, confirms Jarvis:

“In the case of Quartararo he will be a rookie, but he’s young – only 19 – and he’s definitely talented. He lost his way maybe for a year or two but he’s showing promise again this year. But I think he could be one of the very good riders for the future. I think the case of Syahrin has shown that sometimes you can take a choice and if the guy’s got talent and is brought in without expectation, he can deliver. So we’re quite comfortable with the choice.”

Finally, on the equipment the team will be supplied by Yamaha, Jarvis was more coy. Will it be something like Tech 3 or more than that?

“It will be something like Tech 3 or more than that,” replies the Yamaha Factory Racing Managing Director.

Source: MotoGP.com

New Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade to Get More Power?

Honda’s CBR1000RR Fireblade has been criticized by race teams and enthusiasts for lack of power in the open-class.
Rumors are circulating that Honda is working on a V-4 engine for the new bike.
Will the new bike get more power or Honda will stick with less weight?

It’s perhaps the relentless march of the competition or the manufacturer’s philosophy, but whatever the cause, it’s odd to see that the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade being outclassed for a long time. Affectionately known as the “Rabbit” locally, it is still very popular among sport riders.

Ironic isn’t it? For it was its predecessor, the CBR900RR Fireblade which made its debut in 1992, which showed the way to build superbikes. It outsold every sportbike all the way until Yamaha introduced the YZF-R1 in 1998. Yes, more people actually bought the CBR900RR despite Ducati stomping the World Superbike competition with the 916 from 1994.

But now that the CBR1000RR is eligible for Superbike (production-based) racing, it’s getting trounced by its rivals such as the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R and BMW S 1000 RR.

Racing teams have complained about the Honda’s lack of power, top speed and front-end grip in high-speed corners. 187 bhp was awesome 5 years ago but it is now too large a gap. When the current Fireblade was reveled in 2016, project leader Masatoshi Sato said, “We could easily give the bike 200 bhp; we could give it 300 bhp if we wanted, but we think it’s the lack of weight people want to feel more.”

Ah, we see. It means the development team was adhering to the original CBR900RR concept of “light is right.” Indeed, the bike weighed 205 kg, just 2 kg heavier than Honda’s own CBR600F2 at the time. The next lightest 1000cc motorcycle (Yamaha FZR1000) was a whopping 34 kg heavier.

MCN has revealed that more power is on the cards for the new CBR1000RR which will be unveiled at EICMA later this year.

The rumour of a V-4 engine continues to circulate, although Honda is tight-lipped about it. It’s also speculated that the new bike’s aerodynamics may draw from lessons learned in MotoGP.

Till then, let’s keep our fingers crossed for the new “Rabbit.”

Bikesrepublic

Wahid Ooi

The government is foregoing 3.1 million AES (Automatic Enforcement System) summons.

This decision is in line with the Cabinet (JPJ) taking over AES operations from 1st September 2018.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke stressed that this is a one-off deal.

The Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) launched “Kempen Kembara PDRM” in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The PDRM (Polis Diraja Malaysia) hoped it will bring them closer to the general public through the event.

The police seeks the cooperation of the public to stamp out crime.

Max Biaggi had won five of his six world titles his with Aprilia.

Also known as “The Roman Emperor” he was the one who first made the brand famous, more than any other rider.

It is natural for the Italian manufacturer to appoint him as the Global Ambassador.

The inaugural FIM Enel MotoE World Cup for electric motorcycles will begin in 2019.

The riders will be riding the electric Energica motorcycle.

Sepang International Circuit will field a team with a single entry.

The teams with one entry are:

Teams with two entries are:

All tests will be conducted at Jerez on these dates:

Confirmed sponsors are:

Technical partners include:

Building a custom bike doesn’t mean having to tear your pride ‘n’ joy into pieces.

The concept is demonstrated here by this BikeBiz build.

A good option for BMW R nineT and R nineT Racer owners, perhaps?

Rumours are starting to circulate that Ducati amy tie-up with HeroCorp.

Other manufacturers have started to produce more affordable smaller-displacement models.

The smaller models will appeal to a wider audience in the Asian markets.

It’s easy to forget that pros too started from basics.

It’s when they master the basics that they developed their unique riding styles.

Here are Ten Riding Tips from Ten Pro Riders (Part 1).

1. Kenny Roberts Sr. – “Go fast in the fast parts”

2. Wes Cooley – “Keep your chest on the tank”

3. Freddie Spencer – “Brake where you need to, not where you think you should”

4. “Learn how your suspension works” – Eddie Lawson

5. Scott Russell – “Steer with the rear”

Many motorcycle GP fans no doubt remembers Kevin Schwantz.

The #34 from Texas was always the favourite rider for his do-or-die attitude.

Schwantz is already in the AMA Hall of Fame and will be inducted into the multi-discipline Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2019.

We motorcyclists have known for a long time that contact with metal road signs results in serious injuries or even fatalities.

The UN and EU have recommended that metal signs and barriers be removed.

Germany is taking the lead to replace steel road signs with plastic ones.

Ducati announced that more models will be powered by the V-Four engine.

The engine will be adopted from the Desmosedici Stradale that’s powering the Panigale V4.

The new V-Four engines will be more “affordable” according to Ducati.

The riders for the SIC-Yamaha-Angel Nieto-MotoGP Team for 2019 have been confirmed.

They are 2017 Moto2 Champion Franco Morbidelli and current Moto2 Fabio Quartararo.

The news was confirmed by Yamaha Factory Racing Managing Director Lin Jarvis.

Source: MotoGP.com

Honda’s CBR1000RR Fireblade has been criticized by race teams and enthusiasts for lack of power in the open-class.

Rumors are circulating that Honda is working on a V-4 engine for the new bike.

Will the new bike get more power or Honda will stick with less weight?

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This decision is in line with the Cabinet (JPJ) taking over AES operations from 1^st September 2018.