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Six Parents of Basikal Lajak Kids Arrested

The Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM – Polis DiRaja Malaysia) arrested six parents over the weekend for letting their children ride basikal lajak.
The parents could face up to RM 20,000 fine and/or up to 5 years in jail.
Police have been cracking down on the activity but this is the first time parents were arrested.

The Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM – Polis DiRaja Malaysia) arrested six parents over the weekend for letting their children ride basikal lajak.

PDRM have warned last month that parents who allow their children on such contraptions could face fines up to RM 20,000 and/or jail up to 5 years. The measure was put in place after a car crashed into a group of basikal lajak riders on a highway at 3am. The accident took the lives of 8 youngsters.

The police had cracked down on the errand riders since January this year and nabbed some 116, all aged under 18 years old.

The latest crackdown in Ampang caught six kids aged between 11 to 16 years old. Police then hauled in their parents and legal guardians to the Pandan Indah police station.

Fines were handed to the children and their bicycles confiscated with accordance to Section 112(3) of the Road Transport Act 1987. The parents were charged under Section 33 of the Child Act 2001 for negligence but were released on police bail.

Police say that these cases will be handed to the deputy public prosecutor (DPP) for further action. The parents could very well face hefty fines and/or jail time.

Basikal lajak refers to bicycles that are modified to ape (for want of a better word) the ergonomics of sport and race motorcycles i.e. head down, arse up in the air for better aerodynamics. The riders then race them downhill using gravity and pedal power. The bikes are usually devoid of brakes. The real problem is that the riders would usually congregate in built up areas, endangering themselves and other road users.

Source: World of Buzz
Photos: China Press

Max Biaggi Moto3 Team to Campaign 2020 Moto3 Season with Husqvarna FR 250 GP

Max Biaggi’s Moto3 Team, Max Racing, will use the Husqvarna FR 250 GP in 2020.
The Husqvarna FR 250 GP was launched at EICMA 2019.
THe Swedish marque is currently under KTM.

Max Biaggi’s Moto3 team, Max Racing, will campaign the 2020 Moto3 season with the newly-launched Husqvarna FR 250 GP.

Husqvarna has made a timely return to grand prix racing, given that the class is as hotly contested as before, and that Max Racing is heading into their second season with Romano Fenati and Alonso Lopez.

Fenati may had been a hothead, but he possesses streaks of raw talent evidenced by his 2nd overall placing in the 2017 Moto3 championship.

Anyway, the FR 250 GP is actually the KTM Moto3 bike. Hardware includes WP suspension and O.Z Racing wheels.

The blue, white and yellow Husqvarna brand is currently under the ownership of KTM through KTM CEO Stefan Bierer’s vision to consolidate two premium off-road brands into one.

While the differences between Husqvarna and KTM motorcycles are just skin (err.. paint) deep, the former does have a number of street models that differ from KTM’s line-up. Take the Svartpilen and Vitpilen, for example.

The biggest question is will we see a road version of the Husqvarna FR 250 GP? Perhaps a road-tuned version with lights. Oh, yes please!

Kawasaki Buys into Bimota, Unveils Bimota Tesi H2 at EICMA 2019

Rumours of Kawasaki buying a stake in Bimota turned out to be true.
They purchased 49.9% of the shares.
The Bimota Tesi H2 made its debut at EICMA 2019.

There were earlier rumours about Kawasaki buying into Bimota and it turned out to be true when they unveiled the Bimota Tesi H2 at EICMA 2019.

It seemed that some time was needed to discover that the Italian Motorcycle Investment S.p.A. who purchased 49.9% stake in Bimota was set up by Kawasaki Motors Europe. In turn, Kawasaki Motors Europe is actually wholly owned by Kawasaki Heavy Industries.

The previous Swiss-Italian owners Marco Chiancianesi and Daniele Longoni still hold a 50.1% controlling stake in what will soon be known as Bimota S.p.A. Operations will remain at Rimini. It was reported that the deal took three years to conclude.

Launched at EICMA 2019, the Bimota Tesi H2 which is a H2 supercharged engine stuffed into the Tesi chassis.

The Tesi is radical that it uses a swingarm for the front instead of forks and hub centre steering. The concept was already explored in the previous Tesi and Tesi 3D. However, the Tesi H2 will be a faired bike instead of the naked 3D.

You can read more about the Tesi 3D and other Bimotas here.

Future bikes will most probably be designated as KB, now that Kawasaki is onboard.

It’s all good news because Bimota have always pushed the enveloped of motorcycle technology, specifically in terms of chassis design, where manufacturers fear to tread.

Ducati Desert X Concept Unveiled at EICMA 2019

The Ducati Desert X concept was unveiled at EICMA 2019.
The sketches were first shown at the Ducati World Premiere.
It’s based on the Scrambler 1100 platform.

The Ducati Desert X concept was unveiled at EICMA 2019 as the manufacturer promised during the Ducati World Premiere last month.

It’s the last day of the show and we wondered if the Desert X was going to be unveiled at all. It finally has and it looks great.

Designed along the lines of the Cagiva Elefant (when Cagiva owned Ducati) and meant as homage to the Paris-Dakar Rally winner, it’s a stunning-looking bike. Ducati will have line of true retro off-roader, should it go into production.

But rather than build a new bike from the ground up, the Desert X uses the Ducati Scrambler 1100 Sport (as with the concept) as the platform, along with the Öhlins suspension. As such, it gets the retro scrambler’s thumping 1079cc, air-cooled, 90-degree V-Twin.

The bike does get a lift in ride height courtesy of the longer travel suspension, along with 21-inch front and 18-inch front and rear wheels. Apart from that, there is also a steel luggage rack above the classic taillight and mudguard situated below

Look closer and you’d see that the fuel tank has filler caps on both sides. These are for the front tank, while another filler is located behind the rider for the rear fuel tank.

Other nice bits we can see are the new TFT screen which looks a lot like a max-sized smartphone, taking the place of the map-roller.

But the truly nice feature had to be the headlamps. Instead of having two bug-eyed Cibie-like units, they’re enclosed behind a plastic shroud and surrounded by a ring of LED’s.

According to Asphalt & Rubber, Ducati says that the respond they received is “overwhelming.” That could very much mean Ducati may well consider putting it into production.

World Champ Wayne Rainey Rides Again

Wayne Rainey rides again 26 years after his debilitating accident.
It was his first time since the accident that left him paralysed from the chest down.
He is the current President of MotoAmerica, the organisers of the US Superbike series.

Wayne Rainey rides again 26 years after his debilitating accident.

It was the first time he’s ridden a motorcycle since his accident at the 1993 Italian 500cc GP at Misano, which left him paralysed chest down.

From the video, we could see that a pneumatic gear shifter was fitted to the Yamaha YZF-R1. The device allows the rider to shift gears via buttons on the handlebar. The R1 was also fitted with thicker seats and Dunlop tyres (like the the brand of tyres on his YZR-500cc machine). He even donned his signature Shoes helmet.

Two guys helped the current MotoAmerica President to steady the bike as it rolled and Rainey did the rest on the track. You could see he wasn’t exactly slow.

Rainey was a real legend. The three-time world champion raced against other greats such as Kevin Schwartz, Mick Doohan, Luca Cadalora, John Kocinski, Alex Barros, Eddie Lawson, Randy Mamola, et al. But it was Schwantz who was his greatest rival — a bitter rivalry they brought over from the AMA Superbike Championship.

Schwantz vs Rainey – Courtesy of drivetribe.com

Rainey was on his way to his fourth consecutive world title when his Yamaha YZR-500 slid out from under him. It looked like the most innocuous lowside that even street riders would walk away from. Unfortunately, as he tumbled, he ended up burying his head into the “waved” gravel pit, and then clouted by his own bike. The gravel was deeply grooved to stop Formula One cars, not bikes.

Many long-time GP fans, this writer included and fellow riders were heartbroken to learn that he had fractured his spine, paralysing him from the chest down. We would never watch motorcycle grand prix the same way again.

His injury also had a telling implication on Schwantz, who suddenly lost his motivation and started questioning his own mortality. Schwantz did win the 1993 title but would go on to retire halfway through the 1995 season.

The duo, plus Eddie Lawson are close friends now. Both Rainey and Schwartz recently admitted that they didn’t know why they hated each other.

Please click here to read about their intense rivalry: https://www.bikesrepublic.com/featured/ten-fiercest-motorcycle-racing-rivalries-part-2/

In any case, this video almost brought us to tears.

2020 KTM 890 Duke R Also Appears at EICMA 2019

The 2020 KTM 890 Duke R was also launched at EICMA 2019.
Updates to the bike refines what the 790 Duke was bad at.
The new bike weighs only 166 kg, dry.

The 2020 KTM 890 Duke R was also launched at EICMA 2019.

While looking almost identical, the 890 Duke R is what the 790 Duke should’ve been and more.

Starting from the engine, KTM increased both bore and stroke to 90.7 mm and 68.8 mm. Doing so ups power to 120 bhp and 99 Nm of torque, from 105 bhp and 87 Nm.

As with other new KTMs the 890 Super Duke R also receives front and rear WP Apex suspension. The Austrian manufacturer chose to bin the 790’s J. Juan front brake calipers, too. In their place are now Brembo Stylema calipers that have so far been seen on bigger bikes only.

Cornering traction control, ABS are present and motor slip regulation (MSR), thanks to an inertial measurement unit (IMU), along with the “supermoto mode” to drift the rear wheel. The up and down quickshifter is optional, of course.

The bike weighs only 166 kg, dry despite the revisions. KTM dubs it the “Super Scalpel.”

No price yet but it’s expected to cost more than the old bike. Another thing is we wonder if it’ll debut in Malaysia. Although the 790 Duke was super cheap overseas it became rather expensive when it reached our shores.