Wahid Ooi Abdullah, Author at BikesRepublic.com

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Wahid Ooi Abdullah

Should We Ride Like How MotoGP Riders Ride?

We see MotoGP riders ride the way they do on TV.
They are the best riders in the world.
Should we copy how they ride?

Week in week out (apart from 2020), we see pro riders in Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP battle it out: Leaning their bikes so far over that they drag their knee and elbow sliders on the track.

Then we head out to Karak Highway and see riders who clamber all over their bikes like MotoGP riders but are way slower than riders who ride so relaxed and upright. Or like that food delivery fellow who stuck his leg out while braking for corner, only to have the road grab his sneaker and fling that leg up and back so violently that I thought it was going to be ripped off (quite comical).

Should we ride like MotoGP riders? They’re the best riders in the world thus they must be doing something right, correct?

Not necessarily.

Why do Pros Ride the Way They Do?

First and foremost, equipment.

Their bikes are fitted with so much high-end gear that you and I could never imagine having on our standard roadbikes. But more specifically, tyres and chassis.

Here’s a fact. Marc Marquez was the one who brought the elbow down technique to MotoGP. Why did he drag elbow? He first tried and then honed the technique when he was in Moto2, which he found was difficult to ride. Remember that the Moto2 “manufacturers” consist of frame makers, not the main manufacturers themselves.

Also, all MotoGP riders who raced against him have said that he doesn’t use as much lean angle in the class. It’s because the Honda RC213V isn’t a bike for the traditional long arc, high midcorner speed cornering style. Instead, Marquez unlocked it’s secrets by braking hard, dumping it in very near the apex, stand it up early and blast it out of corners.

Dovizioso, Braking, Tyres, Aragon MotoGP 2012

Contrarily, the Yamaha YZR-M1 is low and long, built for the traditional long arc cornering style, which pays off in high midcorner speeds. This is why Jorge Lorenzo leans the bike to 62 degrees off vertical. The higher your midcorner speed, the further you have to lean for a given corner.

But it’s tyres and the bike’s chassis which allowed the riders to ride as such.

One great example was when Michelin took over from Bridgestone as the spec tyre supplier.

The Bridgestone has a very grippy front tyre. As such, riders could carry lots more speed into corners. Besides that, they could brake very late and hold lots more trail braking into corners.

It’s the opposite when Michelin first arrived: The rear tyre had so much more grip. Yamaha’s factory team test rider found out the hard way and crashed heavily in Turn 3 at the Sepang International Circuit (the fastest turn). Another test rider crashed at Turn 5 (downhill, sweeping left). The regular riders started complaining that the front tyre lacks grip.

Because of that, riders began braking harder when they were upright and used less trail braking.

Another example?

Brembo thumb brake on Lorenzo’s Ducati – Credit Brembo

Jorge Lorenzo remarked that he never used the rear brake on the Yamaha but he had to do so on the Ducati to make the bike turn into corners and when in corners to make it hold the line.

But what can we learn?

Countersteering – Courtesy of sPEEDY pADDY

The best things we can learn are the fundamentals of riding.

Watch closely how they squeeze the brakes instead of slamming down on it. How they trail brake into corners: The let the brake lever go progressively until full lean, followed immediately by rolling into the throttle (best guy to watch is Andrea Dovizioso). Study how the countersteer into corners: Watch closely as the push on the inside bar, while pulling on the one outside. Look at how they turn their heads to look through corners instead of keeping them in a straight line with the bike.

So, stop trying to lean way off the bike to pull the bike down into corners like Marquez. Note here that lean angle follows corner speed, not how much you pull.

WATCH: Dubai Police Force Hover Bike Crash

The Dubai Police Force hover bike is undergoing trails.
But this one hit trouble and crashed.
Thankfully the pilot got away unhurt.

The Dubai made headlines when they announced the purchase a batch of hover bikes. But what many feared had come through in this crash video of the Dubai Police Force Hover bike.

The video shows personnel carrying out field tests of the Hoversurf contraption, which resembles a large man-carrying drone.

He first took off straight up, before punching the machine forward aggressively as if to simulate a pursuit. He let go of his right hand for some reason, looking more like a rodeo rider as the hover bike struggled to stabilize. According to other media sources, he was trying to signal that he was in trouble to the ground crew.

The bike then started losing altitude at a hurry and smashed tail-first onto the ground. The rider rolled away quickly from the machine, thankfully.

One other fear, besides falling from great heights, are the open rotors that spin at thousands of RPM. But they seemed to have broken in the crash. They are made of carbon fibre, by the way, and those things are stiff, unless the Hoversurf is equipped with a system to stop or release them during impact.

The Dubai Police Force purchased the Hoversuf at US$ 150,000 a pop for the intention of patrolling the city. A charge could last for 25 minutes at 70 km/h. The machine could be piloted by a human or via remote control.

Video from Videokings YouTube Channel

All about Tyre Grip – What is Traction?

We always talk about grip and traction.
But what exactly is traction?
It comes from friction but what then is friction?

We always talk about “grip” and “traction.” More specifically, which tyres are gripper and provide more traction other other tyres.

We know what tyres you are thinking of as soon as we said grip. But do you know what traction actually is?

Defining traction

“A physical process in which a tangential force is transmitted across an interface between two bodies through dry friction or an intervening fluid film resulting in motion, stoppage or the transmission of power.”

— Mechanical Wear Fundamentals and Testing, Raymond George Baye

That’s a mouthful, isn’t it? Isn’t there an easier way to describe it?

Friction is good

It has to do with friction. We think of friction as two rubbing surfaces: The rougher they are in relation to each other, the more friction is generated. It’s certainly true with traction. While the tyre’s thread has a smoother surface, the road aggregate is rough, thereby creating friction.

But c’mon, do you think we’re going to stop there?

In truth, even the smoothest surface has peak and valleys like mountain ranges when viewed under the microscope. When two of these surfaces interact, the peaks and valleys complement each other, while two “peaks” sort of “weld” into each other when they touch.

So how does a tyre generate grip/traction?

The tyre’s compound conforms to the peaks and valleys of the surface it’s on. The softer the compound, the easier it is for the tyre’s surface to conform to these irregularities, and vice versa a harder compound.

Also note the temperature of the tyre. The compound becomes softer through not only friction with the road but also through internal friction among its molecules.

This is also how tyre wear occurs.

But what about the traction needed during acceleration or cornering or braking? That’s for another part because it involves vectors, coefficient of friction, forces, mass, etc. so stay tuned.

Are Bikers Superstitious?

We’ve always seen Valentino Rossi’s pre-race rituals.
But are other bikers truly superstitious?
Here are some stories we’ve heard of.

Surely you must’ve heard of horror stories among the motorcycling fraternity. But are bikers truly superstitious?

Here are some that we know of.

Right side first

It may seem as a habit, but there are bikers who insist on putting on the right side of everything prior to their rides: Gloves, boots, jacket. It may very well stem from the Islamic decree that everything must begin from the right side, but this habit carries on around the world, too.

What’s that bell for?

You may have seen a number of bikes with bells on them. No, there’s no relation to AC/DC; in fact, these are in the opposite of the song’s famous song.

It’s said that it’s gremlins that cause motorcycle problems, including crashes. Dead battery? Flat tyre? Spotty fuel injection? Blame it them.

So these guardian bells scare these critters away. It’s said that the bells are more powerful talismans if gifted by someone else (Gandalf?). Unfortunately, I’ve not being given one by anyone after riding for more than 30 years. Maybe people don’t like me…

Bike colour

There is a superstition that green colour bikes are bad luck. It probably stemmed from army riders in World War II, since many riders were killed. Yet, Kawasaki has been going strong all this while including winning five World Superbike Championships on the trot! (My personal Kawasaki ER-6f is another story, though.)

But I guess it goes along with each ethnic group or religion. Green is considered good in Islam. Red is considered auspicious among the Chinese, while black is seen as “morbid.” Purple is favoured among the Indian.

Bike number

This is definitely something pretty prevalent, especially among Asians. Four is read as “die” in Cantonese hence spurned by the Chinese, and is “lucky” or “auspicious.” Then there is the combination of numbers. 4448 reads as “die, die, die lucky,” which means being lucky no matter what. 458, on the other hand, translates to “die cannot lucky.” It means the owner will never be lucky until he dies.

For the Malays, the number 4 is considered lucky because it rhymes with “dapat,” i.e. get.

My favourite race number? 69. No, not because of the late Nicky Hayden. To me it means that a**hole is always in front of me.

The passenger footpegs

Some say you’d invite an evil spirit as a passenger by leaving the passenger footpegs down, especially when riding at night. Some say doing so lets your guardian sit behind you.

Which one is which? We don’t know. I always flip the pegs up so that it’s easier to slip through traffic.

The full moon

Research has shown that accident and murder rates pick up during the full moon. No, this is not made up. Does this mean you will crash during the Supermoon? Not in our experience – so far. No, we’ve not met any werewolves or vampires, either.

The pros

Let’s get to these guys. The superstitions do extend to professionals, too. We’re pretty used to seeing images of Valentino Rossi kneeling and holding a footpeg of his bike before he joins the grid. While certain riders insist on carrying a special number throughout their careers.

There are also those we’ve not seen such as riders who insist on applying the decals themselves. Or one rider who must have a spotlessly clean bike (well, that’s more OCD than superstition). Yes, there are ones who cannot have his helmet on the way we do.

Where have the 600cc Supersport Bikes Gone (Part 2)?

600cc supersport bikes were once developed on par with their bigger counterparts.
It was the most popular class and outsold the bigger bikes.
The class has been in decline but why?

We looked at the genesis of the 600cc supersport models in Part 1, so let’s take a look at more of the groundbreaking models in this part.

As we mentioned earlier, the class became a hotbed for sales across the world as riders sought bikes that are not only cost less to buy, they cost less to insure, too. Besides that, 600cc bikes were getting pretty fast but were still relatively easier to ride than their 750cc and 1100cc counterparts. The category should have seen ongoing developing and good sales, but something happened along the way to cause its decline.

Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R (1995)

Sure, the ZZ-R600 was fast and handled reasonably well, but there’ no getting away from its sport-touring platform. No one is going to race that and win.

So, Kawasaki chucked out that format and returned to with a sporty 600 in 1995. With a bodywork based on the Ninja ZX-9R, the ZX-6R had ram air intake too, which upped engine power to 101 hp. That made it the first production 600 to go above the “ton.” It went faster too, hitting 262 km/h.

Now the power wars were on.

Suzuki GSX-R600 SRAD (1997)

Suzuki finally got on the ball and released the GSX-R600 a year after the groundbreaking GSX-R750T. The smaller Gixxer was based almost thoroughly on the 750, albeit with a sleeved-down engine, adjustable but conventional telescopic shocks and 4-piston front brake calipers. But it did have Suzuki Ram Air Direct (SRAD).

It was a manic bike on the road, suited to twisty roads that’ll have bigger bike riders holding back on the throttle.

Yamaha YZF-R6 (1999)

The class is going to get even hotter. Yamaha finally fought back with the sublime YZF-R6, a year after launching the YZF-R1. However, the R6 didn’t share any parts with the R1 except for a compact, light and agile concept.

As per the R1, the R6 received a “stacked” transmission. It shortened the engine and provided the bike with a short wheelbase (shorter than the FZR400RR). That allowed engineers to move the fuel tank backwards and consequently the handlebars toward the rider. It was the beginning of mass centralisation.

The manic inline-Four spun to 13,000 RPM and put out 120 hp. Since it was also light, it accelerated faster and had a 265 km/h top speed.

Triumph TT600 (2000)

Triumph decided to get into the middleweight market too, since it was thriving. It was a brave decision since the new Triumph had to contend with what the Japanese had done for many decades.

So, the Hinckley manufacturer gave the TT600 the best components such as an aluminium frame, fuel-injection, forged pistons, fully-adjustable suspension and top-of-the-line Nissin brakes.

It handled really well, as a result but the engine was blighted by spotty fuel injection programming.

Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R/ZX-636 (2003)

With the everyone in the class now fighting tooth and nail, Kawasaki decided to up the power of their ZX-6R. Not in the conventional term, instead by upping engine capacity to 636cc. This “cheater” engine was for the road, while the manufacturer offered a 600cc machine for racing (like how what Ducati is doing currently with the Panigale V4).

It may have been a 636, but it was as close to an engine tuning gone mad. This is why the engine is a favourite among stunt riders (including one Aaron Twight).

Triumph Daytona 675 (2005)

Triumph wasn’t going to give up and 2005 saw the much-loved Daytona 675. Again, they held nothing back in terms of chassis components but the engine also saw it being changed to a triple. The three-cylinder engine has natural primary and secondary balance, besides having the right amount of torque and top-end horsepower. The 675cc is based on the extra capacity allowance for three-cylinder bikes in racing.

Years of development saw the engine grow to the current 765cc, which also powers the Moto2 grid.

The bike and its later variants were the best-handling 600 supersport. Period.

It had to end…

Suddenly, the 600s were gone. Much of it was due to riders moving on to sport-touring and dual-sport motorcycles. Sportbikes, whether 600cc, 750cc or 1000cc were suddenly spurned as riders seek something more practical to fit a whole variety of uses and roads.

Currently, there are only the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, Suzuki GSX-R600 and Yamaha YZF-R6 soldering on as pure 600cc supersport bikes. However, only Kawasaki and Yamaha are really pushing the development on their bikes. Hang on, though, Aprilia is about to launch their RS660.

There are bikes in the 600cc class at the moment, such as the Honda CBR650R, Kawasaki Ninja 650 but these aren’t true supersport bikes. Still, they’re much more practical at the price of all-out performance.

Will the 600cc supersport class ever see a resurgence? We do hope so.

Where have the 600cc Supersport Bikes Gone?

600cc supersport bikes were once developed on par with their bigger counterparts.
It was the most popular class and outsold the bigger bikes.
The class has been in decline but why?

600cc supersport bikes were once developed on par with their bigger counterparts and actually ruled the sales sheets in some countries. While there are still three major manufacturers producing them, they seemed to have “disappeared.”

What happened?

Let’s take a look at some of the best 600cc supersport bikes.

Yamaha XJ600 (1984) – The beginning

The Japanese manufacturers were already making sub-600cc machines by this time. Honda had the CBX550 F2, Kawasaki with the GPz550 and Suzuki with their GSX550ES. These were all inline-Fours, with monoshock rear suspension, adjustable forks and disc brakes to boot. Yamaha’s XJ550 lagged behind with twin rear shocks, basic forks and no bodywork.

Then in 1984, they unleased the XJ600, complete with a racy bodywork (which looks much like an RD/RZ), monoshock suspension, all-around disc brakes. The 598cc engine trumped the rest.

Kawasaki GPz600R (1985) – Beginning of the supersport

You guessed right if you thought the other manufacturers would fight back. Kawasaki was the first who did so. What they did was to introduce a new form of 600 – what would become the basis of the supersport class – in 1985. It wasn’t just any 600 wrapped in full-fairing for this was a giant-killer. Legend has it that it would run rings around bigger bikes such as the Honda CB900F, Suzuki GSX1100 and Kawasaki’s own GPz1100.

The engine’s technology was adapted from the GPz900R Ninja (which was the world’s fastest production bike at that point), including the piston stroke. It also had a twin cam, 16-valve head. Liquid-cooling was also adopted from the GPz900R.

Kawasaki didn’t stop there. The bike was given a perimeter frame, adjustable Uni-Trak rear suspension, anti-dive forks, and 270mm diameter brake discs up front. The steering geometry also mimics that of the 900. Finally, it featured radial tyres, which was a new development at the time.

It was the first 600 to be built like a race replica.

Honda CBR600F (1987) – The all-rounder

Honda could’ve fought back with a mad 600, but Big Red has always emphasized rider control which leads to fuller enjoyment. Hence the CBR600F in 1987. It did look racy with the all-enclosing bodywork but as we said earlier, it was made to be ridden everyday, in the canyons on weekends and could still turn in decent lap times at the track. It also had 17-inch front and rear wheels that made for better handling. But most of all, it was made simple and reliable. The CBR600’s legacy lasted for almost 20 years and the engine went to power the Moto2 grid for the first few years.

Yamaha FZR600 (1989) – More sport focus

As competition heated up on the tracks, the 600 class started to take on more sporty vocation like their 750cc siblings. The best example of this was the FZR600. It gained the aluminium twin spar Deltabox frame and bodywork of the FZR750.

The engine however, was a four valve per cylinder job, unlike the FZR750’s Genesis 5-valve head, but the former was given a longer stroke for low down and midrange torque. It resulted in a lively ride, which then became a favourite among the wheelie-happy crowd. It’s said that many FZR600s had oil starvation issues, due to long wheelies.

Kawasaki ZZ-R600 (1990) – First 260 km/h 600

You can bet that Kawasaki always fights back with mo’ po-wa (more power). And they didn’t disappoint with the ZZ-R600. Just like its forebear, the GPz600, Mean Green had upped the GPz900R Ninja to the ZZ-R1100 and scored another world’s fastest production bike title. So, the 600 was again given some of the same tech as the bigger bike.

Along with new-found ram air induction, the ZZ-R600’s engine pushed it to a 260 km/h top speed from a standing start. Not only that, it was faster than most 750cc bikes of the time, and that top speed was just less than 20 km/h lower than the ZZ-R1100’s.

However, Kawasaki somehow made the ZZ-R lineup to more of sport-tourers. But that’s about to change.

Benelli 600RR Sportbike Spotted

The fully-faired Benelli 600RR sportbike was spotted in China.
It’s based on the 600cc naked bike.
It may also share the new TFT screen and keyless ignition.

Seems like the Chinese-Italian brand Benelli dropped a bombshell on us. We had been publishing updates on an upcoming 600cc naked bike, but suddenly pictures of the fully-faired Benelli 600RR sportbike began popping up over the internet.

The picture shows a bike based on the TnT600i platform but wearing the QJiang – for Qianjang Motorcycles (the owners of the Benelli brand) – in China. It’s speculated to be called the 600SRG, after the 600SRK naked bike in the People’s Republic. However, it may be called the 600RR in other markets.

As it’s based on the TnT600 platform, it’s evident that it retains the same engine and chassis. The differences are the underslung exhaust canister of the updated TnT600. There’s no close up shot but it may also include the new TFT screen and keyless ignition system of the new naked bike.

Eagle-eyed observers also pointed out that the 600RR wears reflectors on the fork legs, signaling Benelli’s wish to comply with European laws. The bike currently adheres to the China IV emission standard, which is the equivalent of Euro IV. Benelli would need to work on it to comply with Euro V if they wished to sell the bike in Europe.

It’s also speculated that the inline-Four engine produces 80 hp. That’s puts it in between the Kawasaki Ninja 650 (70 hp) and Honda CB650R (98 hp). However, the Benelli is (much) heavier at 215 kg.

There’s no information on whether Benelli had reworked the engine. During our last tests, the TnT600i had to be revved upwards of 6,000 RPM for any meaningful acceleration. The exhaust was something else, though.

There’s also no word on how much it costs or when it’ll be released in Malaysia, but we’ll keep you updated.

Photos from: Thrust Zone

Top 10 Best 750cc Bikes (Part 2)

750cc bikes became the hotbed for sportbikes in the late 80s and 90s as the Superbike World Championship heated up.
Thus, virtually every great 750cc bike was a sportbike.
The same applies for 1000cc bikes nowadays.

Please click here for Top 10 Best 750cc Bikes (Part 1).

750cc bikes became the hotbed for sportbikes in the late 80s and 90s as the Superbike World Championship heated up to its glory days. Manufacturers were throwing in everything they had this way as they saw that the premier production racing class was the way to promote their street bikes.

5. Suzuki GSX-R750(F) (1985)

The first Suzuki GSX-R750 (F-model) may not break new technical grounds, but it’s the first big capacity racing replica motorcycle on the road. (The first was the Suzuki RG250 in 1983). Up till then, the performance bike scene was still pretty much dominated by UJMs (Universal Japanese Motorcycles). The Gixxer brought along the aluminium box-section frame (also debuted with the RG250) and other weight saving bits, plus an oil cooled engine also to save weight. Suzuki also gave it flatslide carburettors.

4. Honda VFR750R RC30 (1987)

The RC30 showed Honda’s determination in not only GP but also in other forms of racing. As such, the bike was built by HRC (Honda Racing Corporation): The same guys who build the GP bikes. The bike was pretty complex, indeed, with a V-Four engine, quad-cams, titanium conrods, beefy aluminium frame, etc. It went on to win the 1988 and 1989 Superbike World Championships besides other production racing series such as the World Endurance Championship (including the prestigious Suzuka 8-Hour), Isle of Man TT and Macau GP. Only 3,000 units were made.

3. Kawasaki Ninja ZXR-750/ZX-7 (1989)

Kawasaki also decided to enter superbike racing, after pulling out of the 500cc GP for many years. The Superbike series became hotly contested between four manufacturers i.e. Honda, Ducati, Yamaha and Kawasaki. The ZX-7 finally captured the manufacturer’s first crown in 1993.

2. Honda RVF750 RC45 (1994)

Just to show how stiff the competition and progress in Superbikes were, the RC30 was outclassed by the third year of its launch. A small Italian manufacturer called Ducati had kicked everyone’s butt by racing relatively simple bikes namely the 851, 888 and later 916. Honda responded the way Honda typically responds by upping their bike’s technology. Thus, when the new RVF750 RC45 was revealed in 1994, it had all the bell and whistles of modern bikes (except for traction control) including PGM-FI, close firing order V-Four, lightweight forged pistons, titanium conrods, ceramic and graphite impregnated cylinder liners, close ration gearbox, yada, yada, yada. It came close to beating Ducati to the title several times and finally doing it in 1997 in combination with John Kocinski’s talent. The RC45’s engine produced over 190 hp – higher than even Honda’s mighty NSR500 GP racer – in its final form. Only 200 RC45s were ever built.

1. Suzuki GSX-R750(T) SRAD (1996)

The original Gixxer may have shown the way in terms of “light-is-right” but subsequent versions started putting on so much weight that negated their performance. One prime example was the WP model. This new Gixxer was lighter than even the company’s own GSX-R600 and some 20 kg below the nearest competitor. To boost engine power, Suzuki gave the bike an intake system called Suzuki Ram Air Direct or SRAD in short. And along with its distinctive “hornet” tail, the bike became an icon.

But is it in Number 1? It’s because like what we said in the beginning of this article: Suzuki is the only manufacturer who is currently building 750cc sportbikes. The DNA of the original GSX-R750 still lives in the current 2020 GSX-R750(L9) and it’s a very rider-friendly bike.

Aprilia RS660 Spotted on the Road

The Aprilia RS660 is highly anticipated since being introduced at EICMA 2018.
The manufacturer says that it will revitalize the middleweight sportbike segment.
Now it’s been spotted undergoing road tests.

Perhaps it’s an understatement to say that many are awaiting the appearance of the production Aprilia RS660 since its launch two years ago at EICMA.

But to be more specific, many enthusiasts are eagerly hoping that the middleweight sportbike will be affordable, compared to the fully-loaded RSV4. That’s before mentioning that the RS660 looks beautiful and purposeful.

We’ve been following its development progress since then, first seeing it being tested on the track but there’s been no further news since then.

Lately however, the bike was spotted undergoing road testing on the road. The test mule wore complete bodywork, sans paint and markings. But more importantly, it wasn’t equipped with data logging equipment. According to Visordown, this meant that the bike was being tested in final production form.

Also noteworthy is the Honda CBR650R next to it. Now, we’re not sure if the two riders knew each other, but they did, it meant that Aprilia was testing the bike against a rival in the same category. Honda claims that the CBR650R’s inline-Four engine produces a healthy 70 kW (approximately 94 hp) and 64 Nm of torque. On the other hand, Aprilia says that they are aiming for the RS660’s parallel-Twin to pump out “more than 100 hp.”

We shall see what happens next from the manufacturer from Noale.

Source: Visordown

MV Agusta Rush 1000 Delivery in June

The MV Agusta Rush 1000 was launched at EICMA 2019.
It features an outrageous styling.
Besides that, the engine produces 208 hp.

While the motorcycling world was closely watching the launch of the Ducati Streetfighter V4 and Kawasaki Z H2, the MV Agusta Rush 1000 was akin to a bomb dropped on all of them.

It started out as just a styling exercise for the Italian firm. However, they decided to turn it into production – albeit a limited run.

The bike will feature both MotoGP and Formula 1 technology, including a 1000cc, inline-Four engine with radial valve arrangement (they are set all around the head, rather than pairing them in different locations). This boosts engine power to 208 hp. Not enough for you? Then you should purchase the Rush Racing Kit to bump it up to 212 hp.

The kit also includes a titanium exhaust system, a carbon fibre passenger seat cover and obviously, a remapped engine ECU. The use of carbon fibre parts drops the wet weight from 186 kg to 184 kg.

The MV Agusta Rush 1000 is already equipped with 8-level traction control, launch control, anti-wheelie electronics, electronic Öhlins suspension and Brembo Stylema front brake calipers. The manufacturer claims a top speed of “over 300 km/h.”

Customers in the UK and Europe are set to receive their orders beginning June 2020. Only 300 will be made.

Watch the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R Transformed into a Track Weapon

The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R garnered lots of positive response since its introduction at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show.
Kawasaki Indonesia shows the way in upgrading it for track duty.
The video shows how they did it.

The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R garnered lots of positive response since its introduction at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show.

We can’t see why not: a screaming 250cc, DOHC, 16-valve, inline-Four engine, upside down forks, quickshifter, etc. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a 250cc inline-Four, so the bike would most probably still get plenty of interest just for the engine without everything else.

But Kawasaki Indonesia is taking it a few steps further, by creating a track weapon out of the bike.

First off, the bodywork’s replaced with an all-carbon fibre set by A-Tech Japan. Look closer and you’ll see that the frame and subframe are carbon too! The body is then given the “mesh” graphic, first seen on the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR MotoGP bike. The tail definitely looks similar to the Ninja ZX-6R and Ninja ZX-10R.

The metallic orange coloured footpegs are hard to miss, too.

But we think there’s still more to come, as they have not touched the suspension, brakes, ECU, engine and exhaust system. It’ll also be interesting to see what they would do to the bike’s rider aid electronics and such.

Will we see this kind of effort in Malaysia when the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R makes it here? You betcha!

Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade Recalled in Europe

A recall campaign for the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade has been issued in Europe.
The campaign seeks to fix potentially defective conrods.
The bike is slated to arrive in different markets.

While many are still awaiting to take delivery of the 2020 Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade (besides being kept indoors by lockdowns in various countries), the manufacturer has issued a recall campaign in Europe.

The campaign affects some 300 bikes. Honda says that it’s a precautionary measure to fix what could be potential conrod (piston connecting rod) failure. The defect may be due to metallurgical defect.

The number makes up about 10% of the bikes allocated to the continent. Other countries are thus far unaffected. It leads us to believe that the conrod supplier made a bad batch.

Honda CBR1000RR-R cutaway engine – Credit moto-fan.jp

In any case, we’ll keep you updated in case those of other markets are involved.

On another note, it’ll be interesting to see how this new CBR1000RR-R will do in the market, especially given its price. Such price point was last seen with other Honda World Superbike homologation specials such as the VFR750R RC30, RVF750 RC45, VTR1000SP RC51. All these bikes were either built entirely or in part by the maker’s racing arm – HRC (Honda Racing Corporation).

Lastly, a recall campaign issued by a manufacturer ought to be seen in positive light, despite being as sensational as it seems. It’s better for manufacturers to discover problems early and notify consumers as soon as they can.

Therefore, recall and service campaigns are a commonplace these days.