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Police Caught Singaporean Bikers with Taped Up Plates

The Malaysian police have caught the Singaporean bikers with taped up number plates.
Malaysian Inspector-General of the Police confirmed the news
They paid up their summons.

PDRM caught the Singaporeans bikers who taped up their bikes’ number plates yesterday.

PDRM showed a radar gun picture of a Suzuki Hayabusa travelling at 253 km/h, although they did not specify where the group was stopped.

Another picture of a PDRM highway patrol car stopped in front of the motorcycles outside a petrol station shop. The bikers were seen taking selfies and smiling nonchalantly.

The next set of photos saw them paying up their summons at a PDRM payment counter. We assume they were escorted to the nearest police station.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun confirmed that the group were Singaporeans and the dashcam video was caught in Johor Bahru. “We have taken action against those bikers involved, regardless if they are locals, what more foreigners,” he added during a media press conference yesterday.

The Royal Malaysian Police had set up roadblocks and speed traps on Malaysia’s main highways and roads in conjunction with the Chinese New Year. Major celebrations in the country always sees the exodus of thousands of Malaysians to their hometowns and holiday destinations. So, it was foolhardy to pull such a “trick.”

This unruly bunch were lucky they didn’t get involved in accidents and causing even more difficulties to highway users during this busy time.

In any case, well done, PDRM.

All pictures: Info Roadblock PDRM/JPJ

4 out of 10 Malaysians on the Phone While Driving

An Associate Professor told Bernama that 4 out of 10 Malaysians use the phone while driving.
A 5 to 10 second distraction equals 160 metres on the road.
As motorcyclists we must always mitigate our risks and look out for signs of impending danger.

1 out of 4 Malaysians are using their smartphones while driving – as if many other things distracting them inside a car isn’t enough.

University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia Highway Engineering expert, Associate Professor Mohd. Ezree Abdullah told this when contacted by Bernama.

A driver distracted for 5 to 10 seconds at normal highway speeds is equivalent to turning the car into a runaway vehicle for 160 metres. How far is 160 metres? It’s the distance from the pedestrian crossing outside Suria KLCC and Avenue K to the Jalan Ampang-Jalan P. Ramlee intersection.

Voice calls isn’t the only distraction. There are so many apps to distract drivers such as Waze/GPS, Whatsapp/WeChat, SMS, Facebook and games. Yes, we’ve spotted drivers playing games on their smartphones while driving!

Drivers are think that they are paying attention as long as their eyes are on the road. But how many times have drivers “zoned out” even when they are just driving along?

Remember that a car driver may be distracted by other occupants, his favourite song on the radio, blindspots, an itch in the crotch… etc. etc. etc.

This article is not about blaming car drivers (there are motorcyclists talking on the phone while riding, too!). Instead, we wish to highlight that we should always trust our judgment when we ride and not leave our fates to other road users. We should always mitigate the risks around us by paying attention to “signs” of impending danger, such as the driver ahead is about to stop or switch lanes suddenly.

As such, adhere to traffic laws at all times, including not charging away from the red light!

Red light accident. Notice the red traffic light in front of the motorcycle – Credit Sinji Ng and Malay Mail Online

MotoGP 2019: Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 2019 Yamaha YZR-M1 Livery Unveiled

The Yamaha factory team is now called the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP.
They also launched the new livery for the 2019 Yamaha YZR-M1 for the MotoGP 2019 season.
Monster Energy takes over from Movistar.

The factory Yamaha MotoGP squad unveiled their new Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP livery and the 2019 Yamaha YZR-M1.

Monster Energy has taken over from Spanish telecommunications company Movistar as the main sponsor of the team. Hence the new livery consists of more black paint matched to the traditional Yamaha racing blue. The energy drink brand was already sponsoring both Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinalez prior to this.

2019 here we come!@ValeYellow46 and @mvkoficial12 got their #BeastModeOn.#MonsterYamaha | #MotoGP pic.twitter.com/RPzwK3mKO8

— Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP (@YamahaMotoGP) February 4, 2019

Whatever it is, the factory Yamaha team is looking forward to leaping back into contention after a dismal 2018 season. The longest losing streak in the brand’s history was thankfully broken when Vinalez won at Phillip Island.

The dearth of meaningful results even prompted Yamaha’s Project Leader Koiji Tsuya to issue a public apology to the riders, team and fans. He then stepped down last month and replaced by former head of chassis division Takahiro Sumi.

Riders Rossi and Vinalez will finally get to test the new bike during the first Pre-Season Test at the Sepang International Circuit from 6^thto 8^thFebruary.

Valentino Rossi

“I like it very much – Yamaha is always blue, and the blue of the Yamaha is beautiful, but I like the black of Monster because the colour of my soccer team, Inter, so I feel comfortable.”

Maverick Vinalez

“I can’t wait to start, the holidays were already too long,” Vinales said. “I would like to be on the bike. I’m really curious to see the steps forward we did and see if we can push the bike at the maximum already in the first test.”

MotoGP 2019: Team Suzuki Ecstar Reveals 2019 Suzuki GSX-RR

Team Suzuki Ecstar has launched the 2019 Suzuki GSX-RR for the MotoGP 2019 season.
The riders are three-year Suzuki veteran Alex Rins and rookie Joan Mir.
The 2019 GSX-RR is improved in a number of key areas without being completely new.

Team Suzuki Ecstar has launched the 2019 Suzuki GSX-RR for the MotoGP 2019 season.

Unlike other teams, Suzuki chose to unveil their bikes through a video on YouTube, instead of a “live” launch event. The team unveiled their all-Spanish rider line-up last season. Three-year factory veteran Alex Rins is joined by newcomer Joan Mir. The latter replaces Andrea Iannone who left for Aprilia. Sylvain Guintoli continues his role as test rider for Suzuki.

Alex Rins #42

Alex Rins finished in second place in the last three rounds of 2018 and hopes to move up to the front step in 2019. Suzuki last won a race with Maverik Vinalez in 2016.

“After the last test in November I left clear feedback for the engineers to work on, as far as I know the improvements we will try in Sepang will not be drastic but many small improvements in many areas, which is totally the Suzuki philosophy. We know what we were missing on the bike, so I believe the R&D in Japan will deliver a package which will help us to improve further,” said Rins.

Joan Mir #36

Joan Mir made his first Moto3 appearance in 2015 to replace the injured Hiroki Ono. He crashed out after making contact with John McPhee. Mir came back as a full rider in 2016 and finished 5^thoverall. In 2017, he dominated the series with 10 wins and a 91 point advantage over his closest rival. Pundits felt that he could be the next Valentino Rossi or Marc Marquez.

He moved to the EG 0,0 Marc VDS team in Moto2 in 2018 where he captured 4 podiums and finished the season in 6^th.

“Of course I still need many more hours on the bike, there are so many things I still need to understand to be even more effective, but I feel very supported by the team and I will rely on their wealth of experience to improve, and also to contribute my own improvements to my bike,” he said.

2019 Suzuki GSX-RR

The 2019 bike follows the basic shape of the 2018 model with some visible but small modifications.

Fatter tail section.
Different front brake calipers.
New wheels.
The front suspension also appears to be different.
The footpegs are placed higher.
New graphics with bolder yellow and gray stripes on the upper fairing, extending to the fuel tank.
The news bikes are shown in their “raw” form before being modified later to each rider’s individual preference.

Those are differences we could see, but the team’s Technical Manager Ken Kawauchi said that the factory has developed a new engine, chassis, besides improvements in the electronics and fairing. He also added that Suzuki’s approach to the MotoGP project is by taking step-by-step improvements rather than redesigning something completely new all the time.

That last statement proves how important it is for the riders to start off their new season with something familiar yet improved, instead of riding something which completely alien to them. It helps the rider to familiarize himself to the bike quicker and hopefully translate to great results from the beginning.

All pictures from Suzuki and MotoGP

Caught on Camera: Singaporean Motorcycles with Taped Up Number Plates

A car’s dashcam caught a number of Singaporean motorcycles with taped up number plates on the PLUS North-South Highway.
The motorcycles were among a large motorcycle convoy from the Republic.
This happened just days after the Singaporean government saying they will ban foreign vehicles with unpaid fines from entering the country.

A car’s dashcam recently caught a number of Singaporean motorcycles with taped up number plates on the PLUS North-South Highway. ROADS.sg’s shared the video on their Facebook page and has now gone viral.

The footage showed a large Singaporean motorcycle convoy moving along smartly on the left lane and allowing vehicles to pass on the right. That’s good commendable convoy and road etiquette. The car occupants were initially in awe of the big bikes, but they soon started to talk excitedly when they spotted a number of bikes with tape over the rear number plates. Check out the video below (video credit “Amy” and ROAD.sg Facebook page).

So, why did they ride with covered plates? Did part of the plate fall off? Or because of the AES/AWAS/police radar cameras? The biggest suspicion points to avoid their number plates being captured when speeding to avoid fines.

This video showed up days just after the Singapore government issued a statement that they will ban some overseas vehicles to the island republic. This is response to Malaysian motorists owing the Singapore government RM 100 million in traffic fines, reports World of Buzz.

We always take a neutral stand in such matters. There are always the good, the bad and the ugly among any country’s people. So, let’s be responsible and pay up our fines in Singapore. On the other hand, if there are any Singaporean riders reading this, please tell your friends to remove the tape on their number plates. They risk a bigger fine or even having their motorcycles confiscated if caught by the Malaysian authorities.

Yamaha YZF-R15: Test & Review – “Great stuff in a small package”

The Yamaha YZF-R15 is a lightweight sportbike.
Its strengths are its cornering speed and agility.
The unit we tested surprised us with its top speed!

The cliché “Good things come in small packages” certainly applies to motorcycles too. We found it true after riding this Yamaha YZF-R15 for one week.

First and foremost, an introduction. This is the 3^rd-generation R15, hence its “R15 V3″ nickname. It is definitely a handsome bike, having derived its styling from the YZF-R6 which in turn derived its styling from the YZF-R1.

Introduction

The 155cc, liquid-cooled, SOHC, single-cylinder engine features Yamaha’s VVA (Variable Valve Actuation). At 155cc, it’s probably adopted from the NVX/Aerox scooter. While being only 155cc, the R15’s engine punches out 19 bhp at 10,0000 RPM and 14.7 Nm of torque at 8,500 RPM. 19 bhp doesn’t seem a lot, of course, but that’s good in terms of specific horsepower from 155cc.

The engine’s power is fed through an Assist and Slip (A&S) clutch on its way to the 6-speed gearbox.

Its suspension consists of gold-coloured upside-down forks up front and a monoshock at the back. The forks and monoshock are non-adjustable. However, we noted that the shock acts through a set of rising rate linkages instead of being mounted directly to the swingarm. The frame is an updated Deltabox.

It features LED lighting and turn signals. The twin headlights flank a large (fake) air scoop. The windshield is as large as the R25’s. Apart from that, the instrument display is fully LCD.

Riding

The R15 felt front heavy at first, but it’s because we didn’t lower our upper body, causing us to push down onto the handlebars. During that moment, it felt like a steering damper that’s adjusted too tight. However, it disappeared as soon as we lowered our torso and relaxed our arms. Now the bike was very, very agile.

However, the bike became very stable at speeds above 90 km/h on the highway. It didn’t weave about even when hit by strong sidewinds. Credit goes to the well-designed aerodynamics.

The engine revved a little slowly under 5,000 RPM. You need to keep the engine RPM up to 2,000 RPM before dumping the clutch to charge off the line. However, the bike charges ahead when the VVA activates at 7,500 RPM (there’s an indicator in the instrument cluster). The engine smoothens out from 8,000 RPM, too.

The real fun of the R15 is in the corners since it’s lightweight, besides having a slipper clutch and sporty riding position.

The slipper clutch means you carry much more rolling speed into corners, even when you go off the throttle. Conversely, having too much back torque will slow you down mid-corner. On the R15, you charge into corners a gear higher than you normally do.

The lower handlebars allow you to hang off comfortably when you charge through corners. Just move your body to the inside and let the fuel tank support your out upper arm.

In fact, we kept flying through corners from 30 to 40 km/h faster than we would normally do. The R15 inspires lots of confidence when you chuck the bike in due to its low weight and quick-turning character. It holds the chosen line while you’re able to modify your line even while you’re sparking the footpegs.

Helping to realize this kind of riding is the suspension. We’ve tested all of Yamaha’s road bikes (apart from the R1 and R6) but it’s the R15’s suspension that’s the best calibrated. You may take big hits while riding slowly, because the bike is light, but the suspension becomes very well damped the faster you go. There’s no bobbing or wallowing at speed.

Another measure of the suspension was when the bike ran through wet patches and standing water while leaning inside corners. The stock tyres felt a little slippery on other bikes, but they felt perfect on the R15. We could only imagine how well the bike will perform on better tyres.

Yes, we know naysayers say the Yamaha YZF-R15’s riding position is uncomfortable, but that’s just because you need to know the correct technique. We’re not criticizing, just that it’s something riders have to learn.

Secondly, we know some may say it’s slow because it’s only 155cc. Yes, we admit it took time to build up speed (it’s not a 1000cc bike, so c’mon!) but the top speed we hit surprised us thoroughly. How fast? 150 km/h on flat road (right at the 12,000 RPM redline) and almost 160 km/h while charging down a slope. Slow? No way!

And no, there wasn’t any stock Y15ZR that could keep up on the straight line and in the corners.

Finally, the engine was remarkably fuel efficient despite us riding at 110 to 130 km/h all the time, after charging full throttle from idle. We averaged 310 km per 11 litres, and we only refueled the bike once in the one week! The computer showed 2.6l/100km, which equates to 38.5 km/l.

By the way, we tried really, really hard to find something negative but found none…

Conclusion

The Yamaha YZF-R15 really surprised us to no end, because it demonstrated just how capable it is. This is definitely the best 150cc sportbike in the market.

It is priced from RM 11,988 (basic selling price), and offered in Blue, Yellow and Black.