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Petronas Raceline Malaysia Bids Hafizh Syahrin Farewell

Team Petronas Raceline Malaysia parting ways with Hafizh Syahrin in 2018.
Hafizh Syahrin has finished on the podium twice this year.
He has been with team Petronas Raceline Malaysia for the past 10 years.

Kuala Lumpur 20 OCTOBER 2017 – Team PETRONAS RACELINE MALAYSIA has announced that Hafizh Syahrin will not be continuing with the team in the 2018 Moto2 season, after an illustrious 10 year partnership. (Click here for Team Petronas Raceline Malaysia’s official Facebook page.)

Team PETRONAS RACELINE MALAYSIA has had a very successful relationship with Hafizh Syahrin, dating back to 2007, when the young rider made his debut at the PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championship. Barry Leong, the Team Principal then, first discovered the budding star when he was racing in the Pocket Bike League.

“It has been a wonderful journey, seeing Hafizh progress throughout his career from racing in the PETRONAS AAM Malaysian Cub Prix, moving up the different classes, and advancing on to the Asia Road Racing Championship. Hafizh, under Team PETRONAS RACELINE MALAYSIA, then participated in The Australian Formula Extreme Championship in 2011, before we moved on to race in the FIM CEV Championship in Spain” said Barry.

“It truly has been an honour and a privilege for us as a team, to have grown together with Hafizh. I have known and guided him since he was 12 years old, racing as a very talented boy, and now, a passionate young adult. However, for everything that has a beginning, there has to be an ending, and we have come to a natural and amicable one” he said.

“Malaysia still has a pool of untapped local talents that are waiting to be discovered. Moving forward, Team Raceline will continue to develop and groom these young talents in setting higher goals to fully maximize their potential” he added.

Hafizh Syahrin has scored a few podium finishes in Moto2, including two this year, one of them at Motegi last week. Syahrin picked up his “Pescao” nickname when he was contesting in the CEV Championships in Spain. According to the rider, because he had always done well in the rain, his crew called him, “Pescao,” meaning “fish” in Spanish. True to his nickname, his podium finishes were mostly from racing in wet conditions.

Since his full season debut in 2014, Hafizh has steadily improved on his overall standings – 19th in 2014, 16th in 2015, 9th in 2016, and is currently in 9th with three rounds to go.

Click here for Hafizh Syahrin’s official Facebook page.

Here’s how you can win A YEAR’S SUPPLY of Petronas Sprinta and Primax!

Petronas Lubricants Marketing Malaysia (PLMM) has just launched the Pengejar Impian Facebook Contest from now until 8 December 2017.

Three lucky Malaysians with the best inspirational stories will stand a chance to win a year’s supply of Petronas Sprinta and Primax.

The contest campaign has been set as a way for Petronas to help fellow Malaysians to achieve their goals and dreams.

Petronas Lubricants Marketing Malaysia (PLMM) has just launched the “Pengejar Impian” Facebook contest where three lucky Malaysian individuals will stand a chance to win…wait for it…ONE YEAR’S SUPPLY OF PETRONAS SPRINTA WITH ULTRAFLEX™ and PETRONAS PRIMAX FUEL! (more…)

Kalashnikov Producing Military and Police E-Bike

Russian arms maker, Kalashnikov is producing electric bikes for the military and police.
Kalashnikov will also supply the bikes to law enforcement during the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Militaries are getting into e-bikes because they are silent and don’t require fuel.

Kalashnikov, the Russian arms manufacturer best-known for producing the AK-47 (Avtomat Kalashnikova) assault rifle has recently shown off an electric motorcycle to be produced for the Russian military and police forces, reports Popular Mechanics. Kalashnikov Group presented the bikes at the 2017 Army International Military-Technical Forum in Moscow.

The e-bike is operational, evidenced by the promotional video (click here to watch), showing a rider unplugging the bike and proceeding to ride in sunglasses and a cap over rough terrain. The police version looks like a supermoto, for urban patrolling.

The manufacturer also announced supplying 50 of the bikes to law enforcement for the 2018 World Cup, which will be held in major cities across Russia.

Kalashnikov didn’t publish any technical data and we can’t read Russian, but a caption in the video shows 100km, most probably meaning the bike’s range. The police bike, however, is said to have a range of 150km.

The news of Kalashnikov’s e-bikes comes after the American firm, Logos Technologies’ announcement that they have been awarded the DARPA contract to research and built an electric motorcycle for the American special forces. According to Logos, their SilentHawk e-bike is based on the Alta Redshift MX e-bike with a range of 170km.

E-bikes are appealing to the military mainly because they are virtually silent compared to the racket of internal combustion engines. Besides that, being electric means planners do not have to sweat over the logistics of sending fuel to remote locations, especially during special operations. Also generally, motorcycles are smaller and lighter, hence the ease of transporting them.

But one thing that intrigues us is if the Kalashnikov bike is as resilient and reliable as the AK-47.

KTM Unveiling KTM 790 Adventure at EICMA

KTM will unveil the KTM 790 Adventure at EICMA 2017.
It shares the same parallel-Twin as the KTM 790 Duke.
We may see a road-going S-version and off-road R-version.

KTM has confirmed the unveiling of the all-new KTM 790 Adventure at EICMA 2017.

First spotted undergoing road tests in December 2016, KTM has confirmed that the 790 Adventure will be available from 2019. The KTM 790 Duke roadster, however, is slated to be available from 2018 (click here for the promo video of the prototype).

The 790 Adventure will use the same 800cc parallel-Twin of the 790 Duke. While there are no official specifications, the new engine is said to produce more than 100bhp.

Although the spy pictures provide a sketchy view, the 790 Adventure will most probably feature a fully-LCD instrument console, twin fuel tanks with their own fillers, LED headlamp, 21-inch spoke front wheel and 18-inch spoked rear wheel. If a road-going version is available, it should sport a 19-inch front and 17-inch rear wheels.

The spyshots show the front end as similar to the 1050/1090 Adventure’s, and electronic semi-active suspension should be ruled out due to cost concerns. The rear monoshock can be clearly seen as almost horizontal and bolted directly to the swingarm, since more space has opened up from having a rear cylinder. Doing so forgoes the complexities of having linkages.

ABS is mandatory, thus we could safely expect it; same for electronic rider aids such as riding modes and traction control.

Introduction of the 790 Adventure will no doubt spice up the hotly-contested middleweight adveture-touring/dual-purpose market.

The 790 Adventure is seen as the direct replacement for the 640 Adventure, which distinguished itself in the Dakar Rally. However, the 790 Adventure is ineligible, as the current regulations allow capacities of only up to 450cc singles or twins. (Click here for the Dakar Rally’s regulations.)

We do hope that the KTM 790 Adventure is a true dual-purpose/adventure-tourer motorcycle that’s not only fully capable off-road but also for long distance touring.

Honda Asian Journey 2017 – The journey continues!

Boon Siew Honda has planned their second ever Honda Asian Journey 2017 which will start from 26 October 2017 to 29 October 2017.

In conjunction with this year’s MotoGP round at the Sepang International Circuit, over 600 riders from Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines and India will take part.

The Honda Asian Journey’s main purpose is to promote all of the Honda Big Bikes range from the dual-purpose 2017 Honda CRF250 all the way to the powerful CBR1000RR.

In conjunction with this year’s Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix which will be held at the infamous Sepang International Circuit from 27 October 2017 to 29 October 2017, Boon Siew Honda is planning their second ever Honda Asian Journey 2017 grand convoy. (more…)

Kelantan Police Chief Gives Advice About Travelling to Thailand

Kelantan police chief issued a travel advisory to Malaysians travelling to Thailand
Malaysians are not prohibited from riding into Thailand
Southern Thailand has been the scene of violence

Kelantan police has issued an advice to Malaysians travelling to southern Thailand to be more vigilant, following the fatal accidental of a Malaysian national in Tak Bai, Narathiwat Province, on 16th October.

It was learned that Wan Mohd. Zain W. Hussain, 46, from Kampung Ketil, Tumpat, Kelantan was visiting his relatives when he was hit by a stray bullet when a group of armed men fired upon the police at the Ban Taba checkpoint.

Later, the superintendent of Tak Bai police station, Police Colonel Patcharapol na Nakhon, was lucky to escape a bomb explosion near a petrol station as he led a team to the scene of the attack.

The blast brought down power lines and caused a local blackout. An inspection of the scene of the bombing revealed what bomb technicians believed to be an IED (improvised explosive device) weighing between 22 to 25kgs.

Daylight inspection revealed a food stall and an electricity pole riddled with bullet holes. Police collected spent bullet casings from M16 assault rifles.

Patcharapol believed the attacks were the work of Famee Mudo, who leads a militant group active in the district. He is a suspect in similar attacks on Oct 21, 2012.

The attacks were believed to be linked to the approaching 13th anniversary of the “Tak Bai incident” on Oct 25, when 85 Muslim men suffocated after being arrested and stacked on top of each other in the back of army trucks after soldiers violently broke up an anti-government protest.

Southern Thailand has been the scene of bombings and violence. On 9th October, a bomb planted on a roadside killed a Ranger and seriously wounding another. On 26th September, a bomb disposal team defused a roadside 20kg IED. On 29th September in Mae Lan district a motorcycle bomb exploded at a checkpoint. Another bomb killed one and wounded 18 in Yala when bomb disposal units went to investigate after two explosions.

So please be careful when riding into Thailand.

Bikesrepublic

Latest News

Team Petronas Raceline Malaysia parting ways with Hafizh Syahrin in 2018.

Hafizh Syahrin has finished on the podium twice this year.

He has been with team Petronas Raceline Malaysia for the past 10 years.

Petronas Lubricants Marketing Malaysia (PLMM) has just launched the Pengejar Impian Facebook Contest from now until 8 December 2017.

Three lucky Malaysians with the best inspirational stories will stand a chance to win a year’s supply of Petronas Sprinta and Primax.

The contest campaign has been set as a way for Petronas to help fellow Malaysians to achieve their goals and dreams.

Russian arms maker, Kalashnikov is producing electric bikes for the military and police.

Kalashnikov will also supply the bikes to law enforcement during the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Militaries are getting into e-bikes because they are silent and don’t require fuel.

KTM will unveil the KTM 790 Adventure at EICMA 2017.

It shares the same parallel-Twin as the KTM 790 Duke.

We may see a road-going S-version and off-road R-version.

Boon Siew Honda has planned their second ever Honda Asian Journey 2017 which will start from 26 October 2017 to 29 October 2017.

In conjunction with this year’s MotoGP round at the Sepang International Circuit, over 600 riders from Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines and India will take part.

The Honda Asian Journey’s main purpose is to promote all of the Honda Big Bikes range from the dual-purpose 2017 Honda CRF250 all the way to the powerful CBR1000RR.

Kelantan police chief issued a travel advisory to Malaysians travelling to Thailand

Malaysians are not prohibited from riding into Thailand

Southern Thailand has been the scene of violence

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