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Honda Excited to Learn About Ducati from Jorge Lorenzo

Honda is hoping Jorge Lorenzo will reveal the strong points of the Ducati Desmosedici GP18.
The Spanish riders is joining Honda from Ducati in 2019.
Honda hopes to work with Lorenzo to add stability to the RC213V.

Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) hopes to find out more from Jorge Lorenzo about the how the Ducati compares to the Honda RC213V.

HRC Technical Manager Takeo Yokoyama said that he is curious about the Ducati’s strong points when Lorenzo joins the Japanese team from next season.

Repsol Honda factory team rider Marc Marquez is on the way to sealing his fifth MotoGP title, but it doesn’t discount the fact that the Desmosedici GP18 is considered the best all-round bike. It took six victories so far, three each for Lorenzo and his teammate Andrea Dovizioso.

“He (Lorenzo) is a champion, he has ridden many different bikes in the past and he has been always fast. So, I think he can adapt to our bike,” Yokoyama told MotoGP.com.

“I’m really curious to hear about Ducati’s strong points, what is Honda’s strong points – because that’s what he will say.”

Yokoyama continues, “We will not make a completely different bike. We will not make a bike ‘to the right’ for Marc and ‘to the left’ for Jorge. But slightly different is no problem for us.

However, Lorenzo prefers a stable motorcycle especially during corner entry as he rides the traditional “long arc” style, rather than “point and shoot” like Marquez.

“Maybe one of the things that I’m a little worried he would struggle with is the stability of the bike (Honda). I think you can see from TV that the Honda is many times shaking, dancing, jumping,” admits Yokoyama.

“Probably, he’s not the guy who likes to fight with the unstable bike and from our side I guess we need to make the bike a little more stable than we have now. But also from his side, maybe he needs to adapt to a little more unstable bike.

“If we can do this, and if he can do this, I think we will be successful.”

Lorenzo will get his first taste of the Honda in November during the Valencia post-race test.

Triumph Motorcycles Most Satisfying Brand in Australia

Triumph came out tops as the most satisfying motorcycle brand in Australia.
The British brand won the survey for the second consecutive year.
The results were tabulated through a survey among customers.

Triumph has come away as the most satisfying motorcycle brand in Australia. The results were tabulated through a customer satisfaction survey conducted by Canstar Blue.

It is the second consecutive year that Triumph has come out ahead in the annual motorcycle survey. Previous winners were Yamaha in 2016 and Harley-Davidson in 2015. The survey began in 2015.

Customers rated the brands based on factors such as reliability, style, handling, comfort, value for money, point-of-sale service, technology features and overall satisfaction.

The survey respondents included Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki and BMW owners.

KTM was ominously missing from the survey, despite being the fourth best-selling brand behind Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki.

The website also rated helmets, gloves, jackets, boots and tyres.

Triumph scored full five stars out of five in eight categories – overall satisfaction, reliability, style, handling and comfort. The brand shares top ratings in handling with Ducati.

Ducati scored full five stars for technology, but Triumph somehow scored “not applicable” despite modern Triumphs being up to the gills in technology, especially the Tiger 800 and Street Triple range. Even the retro classic Bonnevilles feature sophisticated traction control.

2019 Triumph Scrambler 1200 Launch in Just a Week’s Time

Triumph has released another 2019 Triumph Scrambler 1200 teaser video.
It shows the bike being ridden on the road and off-road.
The launch happens on 24^th October 2018 (UK time).

The countdown has begun to the launch of the 2019 Triumph Scrambler 1200.

Triumph Motorcycles has also released another teaser video, the fifth and perhaps the last, ahead of the grand event.

This latest video also showcases the versatility of the new bike. There are shots of it being ridden two-up on a tarmac road besides being pushed hard off-road.

Triumph was one of the leaders of off-road racing in the 60’s. The new Scrambler 1200 would return it to its off-road legacy with the promise of “never before seen levels of dual-purpose capability.” Indeed, the video shows the 1200 scrambling in the dirt; with the dust hiding the bike, of course.

Piecing together all the teaser videos revealed a little bit more about the bike. It will definitely feature the classic Triumph Bonneville silhouette, straight handlebar, flat saddle and high-mounted dual exhausts. It will be similar to its smaller 900cc Street Scrambler, but we are sure there will be many other differences to make it off-road worthy.

The Scrambler 1200 may even come ready with an underbelly skid plate and knobby tyres.

Its engine should very well be based on the High Torque (HT) version of the 1200cc, liquid-cooled, parallel-Twin with 270^o crank.

We could also very well expect traction control, ride-by-wire throttle, ABS and LED lighting. The suspension will definitely be updated.

The launch is happening on early morning, 25^th October 2018 (Malaysian time). Bikes Republic hopes to bring you the event “live.” If you can stay up for the English Premier League, you ought to stay up for the launch, too.

Misbehaving Car Drivers Caught on GoPro

It is alarming that people are generalizing all motorcyclists are evil.
Every motorcycle crash or motorcycle-related happening is being sensationalized.
We’ve caught misbehaving car drivers on our GoPro.

You only have to check out the comments for the posts and see just how ignorant the Malaysian public can be when it comes to motorcycles. Even some non-motorcycle related senior journalists have joined the fray of criticizing motorcycles without one iota of research. Well, we’ve got GoPro videos to prove that misbehaving car drivers are equally at fault in causing motorcycle accidents. But these are only two of the most blatant that we’ve recorded on a daily basis.

8 Things Drivers Don’t Understand About Motorcycles

Before we proceed further, we would like to say that we are not saying that all motorcyclists are saints and all car drivers are maniacs. Truth is, there are always the nut behind the handlebar or steering wheel. I see the same kind of bad driving and riding behaviours regardless when I ride or drive.

VIDEO 1

This was shot during a convoy to the East Coast. The truck squeezed in front of me from the right without as so much a signal, much less checking to see if his left was clear.

I pointed to the GoPro mounted to my helmet to warn his off. But he still kept shoving his way in.

He went from the rightmost lane to the leftmost lane without signal, before overtaking a lorry without signaling. The driver kept looking straight ahead at all times.

VIDEO 2

This maniac driver in the red Proton Saga could not wait for the motorcycles to overtake a few vehicles. He resorted to overtaking on the emergency lane.

I had to warn him off, in case he surprised another vehicle to swerve into the path of the convoy.

If you think the convoy hogged the overtaking lane, we were back in the left lane in 30 seconds. We did not ride the entire way in the right lane as one convoy did.

CONCLUSION

Malaysian road users must find a way to co-exist instead of generalizing and pointing the finger at an entire group.

Ten Things Motorcyclists Should Never Do (Part 1)

Besides that, the majority of vehicle owners, including bikers, know only the basics of handling their vehicles and not much else. Although the initiative for self-improvement lies within the individual, almost no one is willing to attend advanced riding or driving classes. The only way around this conundrum is for the authorities to make it mandatory. Many advanced countries have done so. Student who graduated will be given discounts on insurance and other goodies.

We also recommend that every motorcyclist be equipped with a video recording device. There are affordable ones in the market besides the top-of-the-line GoPro Hero 7 Black.

In the meantime, however, let’s live and let live. Stop riding and driving like the entire road leads to the finish line at SIC.

Bridgestone Debuts Battlax Adventurecross AX41 and Battlax S22

Bridgestone introduced the Battlax Adventurecross AX41.
The manufacturer finally has knobby tyres for dual-purpose adventure bikes.
They also debuted the Battlax S22 supersport tyres.

Believe or not, Bridgestone did not offer knobby off-road tyres for large capacity adventure bikes, despite an extensive tyre line-up. They have introduced the Battlax Adventurecross AX41 at the INTERMOT motorcycle show to compete in the segment.

Bridgestone Battlax Adventurecross AX41

The AX41 is a dual-sport tyre designed for adventure-touring motorcycles. For example, the Triumph Tiger 800 XCx/XCa, Honda CRF1000 Africa Twin, R 1200 GS, F 850 GS, et al.

Bridgestone also introduced a variant for Scramblers, calling it the Battlax Adventurecross AX41S.

TAKE NOTE: Please pay attention when you replace your tyres. Unscrupulous/ignorant workshops may fit tyres designated for other types of bikes! A mechanic had insisted on fitting the GT version of the Battlax T31 to my middleweight street bike. The T31 GT is meant for heavyweights such as the Kawasaki 1400GTR, BMW R 1200 RT, etc. So, again, the AX41 is for dual-purpose bikes, the AX41S is for Scramblers.

The A41 that was introduced earlier this year, on the other hand, is for road-oriented riding with some light off-roading. Best example of fitment is the Triumph Tiger 800 XRx. It is the replacement for the Battlax Battle Wing.

Please refer to the radar graph below on product designation.

It is a good move by Bridgestone as Metzeler, Pirelli, Continental and Michelin have been running away with adventure tyre sales.

However, the AX41 will only be available from 2019, hence it will be interesting to see which bike will receive it as OEM fitment.

Bridgestone Battlax S22

For track day, Karak GP and Genting Higlands TT riders, the Japanese tyre manufacturer also introduced the Battlax S22 supersport tyre at the same show, albeit without as much fanfare as the AX41.

Judging by the pictures, the S22’s tread pattern bears much resemblance to the sport-touring T31. The T31 is an excellent handling tyre in both the dry and wet, but the S22 ought to have a softer compound for even higher grip. This should mean the S22 handles just as great, while the aggressive grooves are great for rainy day riding.

As a bit of trivia, Bridgestone called the T30 a “hybrid” tyre as it combined the designs and characteristics of the BT23 sport-touring and S20 supersport tyres.

Modenas Dominar 400 Ride to Kuantan – “When Life’s a Beach”

The next Modenas Dominar 400 ride was to Kuantan, Pahang.
It was the first overnight convoys for the series of rides.
There were also a treasure hunt and bonfire gathering in addition to #motography.

Modenas organized another ride for Modenas Dominar 400 owners, this time to the seaside city of Kuantan, Pahang.

The ride was also part of Bajaj’s #motography and Modenas’ #motographymalaysia initiatives. The project seeks to collate the best pictures of the best riding destinations worldwide from Dominar owners themselves; since the manfucturer calls the Dominar 400 a sport tourer.

There were many differences to the ride this time. It was to be the first with an overnight stay, the fun games are more extensive and there was a bonfire at the beach.

The twenty participants, backup crew, marshals and representatives of Bajaj Auto grouped at the Modenas HQ in Glenmarie on early Saturday morning for some light breakfast. A representative from Bajaj said a few words before the safety briefing.

Light rain started to fall just as we were leaving the Modenas HQ. Indeed, it had been raining heavily all across the nation for the entire week and it was definitely on our minds. The roads were still wet from the midnight shower.

We proceeded all the way to the Karak Highway from there. Traffic was already starting to pick up although it was just around 9am. There were no large groups of weekend Karak GP riders, thankfully.

We refueled at a Shell station along the Karak Highway before exiting toward Lancang. From there it was a direct ride to the Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary for the first #motography stop.

Participants had a great time mingling with the elephants, although we could not get in our motorcycles in to shoot pictures. Entrance is free, but visitors could contribute any amount they so wished.

Visitors can also purchase bundles of sugar cane at RM3 and feed the elephants. There were two sections, one for the babies and teenaged elephants, and another for the adults.

Without the benefit of a guide, we could only surmise that the elephants were rescued and/or brought in for treatment. A baby had a leg in a crutch, an adult had malformed from legs. It was sad to see on one hand, but we took comfort that they are well-cared for.

Later, the rangers brought three full-grown elephants out for a walk around the sanctuary. And my, were they huge!

We left the sanctuary and re-entered on the East Coast Highway (LPT), stopping again this time at the Gambang R&R for fuel.

We arrived at the seaside Mandurah Hotel just in time to for lunch and check in. The hotel served lunch at the seaside terrace and the cool ocean breeze was a welcomed relief after riding in the heat.

A treasure hunt was held later that afternoon. The hotel staff had done a great job to set it up. They even handed us sticks of mosquito repellant. Participants were broken into groups and they had to solve puzzles, dash on the beach, do push-ups, commando crawl and dig into the sand for their “treasure.” The winners walked away with RM100 in cash per person.

Fishermen were returning to their base while all these were happening.

Dinner was again served at the beachside terrace while an excellent three-piece band belted out hit after hit song. The hotel staff lit the bonfire on the beach in the meantime.

We adjourned to bonfire where the CEO of Modenas, En. Amirudin Abdul Kadir addressed the riders. Participants also forward questions regarding their bikes to the Modenas crew and Bajaj representatives.

We arose early the next day for breakfast and checked out for the return trip. But first, we headed to Cherating for the second #motorgraphy stop. The hotel staff were also at hand to send us off. (We recommending staying at the Mandurah Hotel if you plan on visiting the Kuantan seafront.)

The resort town is only 30 km or so from the hotel but traffic and road condition (including a flooded stretch) forced us ride (really) slow. The participants were given 30 minutes to seek their preferred sites for photography.

With that done, we rode back out to the LPT.

But bikers beware! The highway is so arrow-straight that car drivers often speed here like it was the front straight of the Sepang International Circuit. They have so little patience that they even resort to overtaking on the emergency lane (video coming up).

We stopped at the Gambang R&R for fuel and decided that the ride should follow the “free and easy” format compared to a convoy for safety and avoid holding up traffic while we overtake other vehicles en masse.

We met up for one last time at the Genting Sempah R&R before saying our goodbyes.