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Honda CB1000R Neo Sports Café Test & Review

The new Honda CB1000R is the flagship of the Neo Sports Café line-up.
It offers easy handling for the everyday rider.
New riders can learn on it and not outgrow it quickly.

The new Honda CB1000R Neo Sports Café takes over from its predecessor, also named the CB1000R.

However, the previous model featured some funky designed which polarized fans, although it did have a nifty single-sided swingarm. So, Honda reworked the model and initialized a new segment, called the Neo Sports Café.

The Neo Sports Café family of bikes feature stylings that combine the traditional with a new twist. The bikes have round headlights combined with unmistakably newer elements. Honda were clear in their description of the family not being naked sportbikes nor replicas.

The 998cc, inline-Four engine is typically Honda smooth and quiet without the gnashing or grinding sounds. Adopted from an earlier version of the CBR1000RR Fireblade, it offers more low-down and midrange torque. But the manufacturer didn’t just plunk in the engine: Their engineers reworked it almost thoroughly to feature forged aluminium pistons, larger valves, higher valve lift, larger intake ports, and new combustion chamber for better gas flow.

Other details include closer gear ratios optimized for street performance i.e. better acceleration and a slipper clutch.

On the electronics front, the bike uses a ride-by-wire throttle, opening up the inclusion of four riding modes (Standard, Sport, Rain, User). Additionally, there’s traction control called the Honda Selectable Torque Control (HSTC).

As for the chassis, the forks are fully-adjustable Showa BPF while the shock is adjustable for spring preload and rebound damping. A wide wheel shod with 190/55ZR17 tyre is fitted to the single-sided swingarm.

Ok, enough about the bike. Let’s see how it rides.

The engine starts up with a bassy vroom. The stock exhaust may not look the prettiest, but it sounded good and roars at higher revs.

The riding position was between all-out sporty aggression and everyday practicality. It’s just like its contemporaries in the open-class naked bikes.

But although the bike may sound like a beast on paper, it turned out to be supremely manageable. It rides like a pussy cat when you want to relax but turns into a panther when you decide to go bananas. Its straight-line acceleration gives your arms a good stretch but it doesn’t threaten to rip them off like a Doberman chasing after the postman.

The CB1000R has pretty good handling manners in town. It’s easy to ride in and out of a traffic jam, and you can use the torque to blast away. The brakes were fantastic too, offering a strong initial bite even from one finger.

Besides that, we liked the soft suspension, especially in the city. Bumps and potholes were taken care of admirably.

However, it’s exactly that softness to watch out for when riding fast on twisty roads. The forks are fine, since they are fully adjustable. But the rear shock will soon be overwhelmed by the type of undulating roads we have here in Malaysia. Many a times the rear end exhibited pogo-ing (pumping up and down). That’s not a problem for long-wheelbased bikes, but the CB1000R’s short wheelbase compounded that behavior, causing the front to push wide in corners.

But we soon learned to steer the bike into corners in smoother and more relaxed fashion. It doesn’t like to be flicked in late, so you have to set up your corner earlier.

Still, we found the CB1000R Neo Sports Café a good bike for beginners to the open-class category. It’s a bike that you could learn on, yet not get bored of it too quickly.

Ducati Streetfighter V4 is coming – “As soon as possible!”

Looks like the Ducati Streetfighter V4 rumour is more than just a fairytale.
A recent interview with Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali suggests that it might be on its way.
He stated that “She (Streetfighter V4) will be there as soon as possible!”

According to a recent interview with Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali posted by AcidMoto, it seems that there is light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to the re-emergence of the Ducati Streetfighter model. This time around, talks about a possible Ducati Panigale V4 is going around and what the Ducati big boss mentioned in the interview might just be a point of high interest. (more…)

MotoGP Riders Approve “Long Lap Penalty”

MotoGP will implement a new “long lap penalty” system beginning the first round in Qatar.
The penalty forces the offending rider to ride outside the racing line.
The GP Commission thinks it’s fairer this way.

In the past, we’ve seen riders being told by Race Direction to drop a position to the rider behind. But a new system called the “long lap penalty” begins its implementation in the first round at Losail, Qatar.

The penalty is meted out to riders who consistently runs a straight line through corners. In other words, taking the “shortcut” instead of following the turn. Doing so gives the rider an advantage as he covers a lesser distance and keep his speed up. Consequently, the pursuing rider has to work harder to make up for the gap.

As mentioned above, the offending rider will be instructed to slow down and allow the rider behind him to pass. But therein lies a problem: The pursuing rider could be a few tenths of a second, a second or 10 seconds behind.

The solution now is to force the rider to rider on the outside of a racing line – hence “long line” – through a corner, in this case Turn 6 at Losail. A “lane” is painted in green to allow the rider to follow it.

However, the GP Commission also stated that the long-lap penalty may not be implemented for track limit infringements only.

They also hope that this will lead to fairer racing and the field will remain closer.

2019 Harley-Davidson FLHT Electra Glide Standard Launched

The 2019 Harley-Davidson FLHT Electra Glide Standard has been launched in the US.
It has the basic features of the Electra Glide family but without a stereo and facilities for a passenger.
Harley reckons that it offers a rawer touring experience.

The 2019 Harley-Davidson FLHT Electra Glide Standard has just been launched.

By “Standard” it means that the bike is a “dressed-down dresser,” as the Motor Company calls it. What it does have are the trappings of the Electra Glide line-up.

Among them are the signature “Batwing” fairing, hard panniers, Milwaukee Eight 107 cubic inch (1753cc) engine mounted on the FLH touring frame. Additionally, there is cruise control, adjustable emulsion-technology rear shocks (instead of air-adjustable), bending-valve Showa forks, and Brembo brakes. Reflex linked braking system and ABS are optional.

Other details include cast aluminium wheels and polished chrome rocker cover, cam cover and derby cover. The company says the chrome treatment emphasizes the shape of the V-Twin engine.

However, what you don’t get are a sound system, passenger seat and the passenger footrests.

And oh, you can have any colour you like as long as it’s Vivid Black.

Harley-Davidson also said that the Electra Standard offers a “rawer touring experience.”

The way we see it, the bike is a good starting point for customization. A majority of custom Harleys don’t have accouterments for passengers, anyway. But the missing stereo…? Aftermarket 300-watt system, anyone?

The American price is listed as USD 18,899.

New Colours for 2019 SM Sport 110R

The 2019 SM Sport 110R will come with new colours.
The bike is a daily commuter for the city and town.
It represents value for money as it does include some useful features.

The 2019 SM Sport 110R will come in new colours. They are black, blue and red.

The SM Sport 110R belongs in the smaller, utilitarian category of underbone bikes (kapchais) to serve as daily commuters in both cities and towns.

However, it does boast a number of features despite of its greatly affordable price and capacity. It has a Fuel Saving switch to run it in economy mode. The air-cooled 109cc SOHC engine complies with Euro3 emission standards.

Furthermore, the bike has daytime running lights (DRL), LED turn signals all-around, Kayaba (KYB) suspension, safety key switch and a 5V USB charging port. Additionally, there is a large storage space. The SM Sport 110R ups the ante by using tubeless tyres.

Besides that, it has a sporty and aerodynamic styling which most riders could accept.

But what the bike truly represents is value for money, because at just RM 3,918.00 (basic selling price and not on-the-road), you’d be hard-pressed to find something like this in this price bracket.

Erik Buell is Back – with Fuell Electric Bikes!

Erik Buell is back with an electric bike and motorcycle.
The new company is called Fuell.
The e-motorcycle is called the Flow, while the bicycle is the Fluid.

Erik Buell is back with and electric bike and motorcycle, this time.

It was Buell who designed the chassis for the Harley-Davidson FXR, which became known as the best-handling Big Twin Harley of all time. He would later found the Buell Motorcycle Company, acting as the Chairman and Chief Technical Officer. The company produced naked sportbikes, using hotted-up Harley Sportster 1200 engines.

In 1998, Harley-Davidson bought out 98% of the shares of the company.

Buell left the Motor Company as he wasn’t happy to be restricted. Harley closed down the Buell subsidiary in 2009 amidst the financial crisis.

But that wasn’t the end of Buell. Shortly after leaving Harley, he launched Erik Buell Racing (EBR). He soon introduced the EBR 1190RS, 1190RX and 1190SX. The engines of these were fettled to produce 185 bhp and 142 Nm of torque!

India’s HeroGroup then bought 42.5% of the company’s shares in 2013 but poor sales resulted in the company being liquidated.

But like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Buell’s back again. This time, he teamed up with Formula E supplier Spark Racing to build the new motorcycle and bicycle.

The new company Fuell as a nod to the engineer. The e-motorcycle is known as the Flow while the bicycle is called the Fluid.

There are two versions of the Flow. The first is powered by a 11 kW or 35 kW wheel-mounted motor. There is also a 49-litre storage space inside the bike. A fully digital dash integrates all the systems.

Fuell claims the Flow will be priced around USD 10,995. That sounds a lot but it’s still better than the price of most other electric motorcycles.