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Confirmed: MotoGP and Moto3 dashboard text messages approved!

Unlike Formula 1 teams who enjoy being able to communicate with their drivers in the thick of a race (with some heated and sometimes hilarious responses from the drivers), MotoGP teams on the other have always tried to find ways to be able to better communicate with the riders.

Riders say they often miss the outboards as they concentrate on staying ahead of their rivals. And in Moto3 races where riders are often bunched up together and everyone is trying to get a tow in the slipstream, riders say it is difficult to read the plt board and stay focused at the same time.

Teams were previously given permission to place a system to tell the rider when he has been red or black-flagged, and it is already in place. But it is no secret that Race Directions and the teams want a more thorough system that lets them communicate with the rider rather than just inform him of the colour of the flag.

According to popular MotoGP website Moto Matters, they have apparently been given the go ahead. The spec ECU and the dashboard in use in MotoGP and in Moto3 is already capable in a mode called the ‘duplex mode’, where messages can be sent and received via timing loops around the track. This will allow Race Direction to send messages to one or more riders, but whether or not the rider sees the message, reads it and actually understands the message is a different thing altogether.

Apparently at the Sachsenring MotoGP race last year multiple riders missed their pit boards, therefore missed out on the perfect time to swap bikes from wet tyres to slick tyres. It was then that some riders shared some opinions on receiving messages from their team.

And so, at the recently concluded Dutch GP, the Grand Prix Commission had met to discuss some revisions to the MotoGP rules, including permitting the use of dashboard messages by the teams from 2018. The rules have been changed, and MotoGP as well as Moto3 teams will adopt the dashboard message system that lets teams and riders share more than just the colour of the flag. Moto2 will follow in 2019 when Triumph begins supplying engines and Magneti Marelli will supply the electronics. There will be no limitations or restrictions to the messages sent.

The following is the statement from the FIM:

Dashboard Displays and Messages:  It has already been confirmed that machines in the Moto3 and MotoGP class must have the dashboard facility to display text messages, linked to the current warning lights, with effect from 2018. This will also apply to the Moto2 class from 2019. The GPC have now confirmed the precise list of messages that will be sent with the warning lights by Race Direction.

Some teams already have the facility on their machine dashboards to receive text messages and, following approval from the Safety Commission, the GPC confirmed that such teams may already use this facility as a “virtual pit board”. This does not require any amendments to existing regulations.

Mystery video shows top speed of the Modenas Pulsar NS200!

The Modenas Pulsar NS200 has been quite popular in Malaysia despite some people saying Modenas should be able to build its own bikes. Well, that’s a different story altogether but for what it is, the NS200 is a good bike for those looking for a cheap step up to bigger capacity motorcycles.

There are many reviews on the internet already, and we have also tested both the bikes with the review already in our draft board waiting to be published. Well, we were going to publish it today, but then we got hold of this video of someone taking the NS200 on a top speed run.

Well, the Modenas NS200 barely manages 151km/h, but some of our friends have seen 156km/h but it was on a downhill, so it doesn’t count. But that is not too shabby considering the price of the bike, we are just curious as to how stable the bike was at that speed. Watch for our review, meanwhile, enjoy the video!

Why is the Modenas Pulsar NS200 such a big deal? Click here to find out!

TESTED: 2017 Kawasaki Z900 ABS & Z900 ABS SE – “Speed Demon”


 Our video review on the difference between the Z900 Standard and the 
 Z900 Special Edition.

The latest 2017 Kawasaki Z900 ABS is considered as a major improvement to the model it’s replacing, the Z800.

We took the Z900 and Z900 SE (Special Edition) for a long term test ride to see how good these bikes really are.

To put into perspective, we’ve compared it to the previous Z800 and also the Z1000 to really understand how the Z900 ABS is a superior super naked machine from Kawasaki.

Naked bikes and street fighters have been a big part of the motoring industry even since motorcycle enthusiasts modified them to make their bikes more aggressive and perform better than ever before. Motorcycle manufacturers took note of this and ever since then, they’ve been churning out their ready-to-ride naked bikes and street fighters. (more…)

Hafizh Syahrin spreads joy of ‘Hari Raya’ at the Assen TT

Motorsport is an emotional sport, it is full of ups and downs, trials and tribulations and plenty of heartbreak. For our national racing heroes like Hafizh Shahrin, Khairul Idham Pawi and even Adam Norrodin, emotions were running high at last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix (Assen TT) as the race coincided with Hari Raya (Eid celebrations).

Though they had to be far away from their families, who were undoubtedly stuck to the TV to watch the race, it was Hafizh Syahrin who brought some Raya cheer to the track.

The 23 year old was seen around the track in the traditional ‘baju melayu’ complete with songkok. He was also keen to share some local delicacies as he offered dates and other yummies to members of his team and others.

The racer from Ampang, who had a scary moment on track when his race bike threatened to high side him but managed to control it with brute force, shared some interesting photos on his social media page showing him mingling around, and even wearing the songkok on the starting grid, only replacing it with his helmet when it was time for the teams to clear the grid. Some members of his team too were seen donning the baju melayu complete with songkok on the starting grid and around the pits.

Hafizh Syahrin finished the race in 8th place after a strong showing.

To Hafizh we say tahniah and thank you for flying the Malaysian flag up high. And Selamat Hari Raya!

Follow Hafizh on his Facebook page by clicking here.

Image credits: Hafizh Syahrin Facebook page.

Yamaha MT-10 Tracer: New trademark confirms this beast exists?

Back in March of 2016, we ran a report that Yamaha had officially ruled out any hope of there ever being a touring version of the MT-10. Back then, our report and those circulating the grapevine said that any chance of there ever being a MT-10 Tracer was quashed when Yamaha introduced an option touring pack that included “a tall Tracer-like windscreen plus luggages, which should complement the MT-10’s standard-equipped electronic cruise control feature.”

Well, tides and markets are constantly changing – and now there are new reports around the net suggesting that a mysterious new trademark has revealed that a Yamaha “Tracer GT” is supposedly on its way to global markets.

Yamaha has never spoken of a “Tracer GT”, so there is a chance that it could be one of two things – a more extensive touring kit for existing Tracer models with panniers and taller screens perhaps?

Or it could just be the highly anticipated MT-10 Tracer? Why not actually? There is already the MT-07 Tracer as well as the MT-09 Tracer (above), so a MT-10 Tracer would fit right in? Right? Well, on the flip side, maybe not.

The MT-10 is based on the manic R1, so putting on a screen and slapping on panniers would in effect, as some online reports suggest, create a R1 Tourer.

But before we completely rule it out, consider for a second that BMW created touring version of the S1000RR superbike and called it the S1000XR and almost immediately the bike was selling better than the RR in some markets. And Ducati almost single-handedly created the Sports Touring segment with the Multistrada 1200S, so there is an established market for it already and Yamaha knows that.

The Japanese company has previously offered a MT-10 Tourer Edition early 2017. The touring MT-10, shown in the photos above and below, featured soft panniers, a pannier frame, touring screen, GPS bracket, hand guards and a comfort seat.

Having already tested the market with the Tourer Edition, it would come as no surprise then should a MT-10 Tracer appear. At this year’s EICMA perhaps?

Good-bye Panigale: Say hello to the next generation Ducati superbike, the V4!

Ducati has been making waves recently after it announced that it will be making a huge announcement coming July 7th at the Laguna Seca round of MotoGP (read what the big news is here).

There is no doubt that the time is up for the Ducati Panigale, and a replacement is right around the corner. UK based motorcycling media and all-round cool guys MCN (Motorcycle News) got their hands on these set of photos showing what could be the replacement to the Panigale.

There have been rumours flying around for awhile now that the next Ducati superbike will be powered by a V4 engine, just as the Ducati MotoGP race bike. It is no secret that the Ducati Superquaddro L-Twin has shown its limitations over the years in terms of power, efficiency and emissions. And Ducati needs to introduce something faster, gnarlier and all out better than the Panigale. A bike that does a better job at bridging the gap between race and road.

The report by MCN quoted Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali as saying, “I confirm Ducati is working on a four-cylinder engine project for a road bike,” a few months ago.

This is also huge news for the Ducati WSB team, who will also get the new V4 but not until 2019. Paulo Ciabati confirmed this, “We will race the Panigale for 2017 and 2018, so obviously we will keep developing the engine to be competitive.”

The next generation Ducati road bike will undoubtedly receive even more motorsport know how than the Panigale. Speaking about the new bike, Domenicali continued to say, “the engine development that we have made in MotoGP is exceptional – we have an engine that is very light, very reliable, and with a lot of very interesting technology. We are seriously thinking about making that available to regular customers because it is really a masterpiece of engineering – of course translated into something that can be sold at a reasonable, but premium, price – so it will not be exotic like the Desmosedici, but a more regular high-end sports bike. We would absolutely race this in WSB.”

So with that said, it is clear that the new V4 engine will be below the 1000cc mark due to WSB engine regulations, but bike makers usually create a special homologation edition. Just like the current Panigale, there could be a 1000cc V4 model carrying an R somewhere in its name. And just like the current Panigale, there will likely be two more models – a standard and probably an S model – which could be powered by a 1200cc V4 engine.

And the bike in these pictures is quite clearly a well developed test mule, and is most definitely the upcoming V4. Featuring styling that can be used both on road and on track, and quite obviously an evolution to the styling of the Panigale, and with news that the final edition Panigale is just a few days away from its global introduction, this is surely the next generation Ducati superbike.

So what is known about this bike? Well firstly it ditches the Panigale’s monocoque ‘frameless’ design for a conventional twin-spar cast frame. It is around half the size of a normal frame. Also the design of the new bike is obviously different but similar, stalkier than the Panigale but different to the Ducati race bikes, the new Ducati sports bike is a lot beefier than ever, and similar to the width of four-cylindered Japanese bikes.

The lights too are completely different and the headlamps together with the sidelights have been repositioned inside the air intake ports, apparently given away by one of the LED headlamps seen in the photo below and above. The photos also show that the rear shock has been repositioned and is now placed behind the rider’s left ankle.

We will bring you the latest on this bike as news hits the internet.

UPDATE:
Sister site to MCN, Australian based AMCN (Australian Motorcycle News) has released the rendering below of the upcoming Ducati V4 Superbike. It is not known how close it is to the real bike, but it looks pretty damn good!