National motorcycle maker Modenas today introduced its latest model – the Kriss MR2. The new MR2 moped/underbone/kapcai (lets just call it kapcai) is the successor to the old MR1 which was introduced back in 2011. If you’re wondering what the MR stands for, it is ‘Motosikal Rakyat’ in Bahasa Malaysia, which translates to the ‘People’s Motorcycle’.
Priced from just RM3,890 for the base model, the bike features a rotary gear system and a Euro-3 compliant 110cc, four-stroke engine that puts out 8.3hp at 7,500rpm and 8.2Nm of torque at 5,500rpm.
Fuel efficiency is what the new Modenas truly excels at; its tiny 4.5 litre fuel tank is capable of covering a shocking 200 kilometres on a full tank. There’s is also an undersea storage area that can fit a small helmet or other belongings, but not much else.
Modenas is targeting to achieve overall total sales of 60,000 units in local and regional markets by year end.
The MR2 is available in three colours – Sand White, Celebration Red, Strike Blue and Canary Yellow.
Modena says that it is committed to building up its after sales service support, and is aiming to improve this by opening its second Training Centre at its service centre in Subang by the middle of April 2017.
The 2018 Hesketh Valiant SC is equipped with 2,100cc S&S X-Wedge dry sump V-Twin engine coupled with a Rotrex supercharger
The Valiant SC is planned to have close to 250hp and over 300Nm of torque by the time it is ready for sale in 2018
The asking price for each Valiant SC is an astounding £50,000 (around RM276,500)!
Hesketh has introduced their latest addition to their line up for the masses that is the 2018 Hesketh Valiant SC. The British based manufacturer from Northamptonshire, England built the new supercharged Valiant under the new ownership. So what’s so special about this new motorcycle from Hesketh? (more…)
Usually sports bikes will go for the tubeless type while those who go tour riding will sometimes end up on the tube type as it is usually easier to repair
Too much pressure will lead to the middle part of tyre to wear out faster and of course affects the overall handling.
Tyre size has been chosen specifically in accordance with how the engine and chassis was developed.
The easiest and most common way to tell the tyre size is via the metric system where three different numbers are displayed on the side of the wall like 120/70-11 or 200/55-17.
We all know that there are so many tyre manufacturers producing a huge range of motorcycle tyres for the consumers and it’s almost impossible to keep up with each and every one of them. For some folks, choosing just one set for their beloved bikes can be difficult. Which brand is the best? What type of tyre should I use? What are all these numbers and letters on the tyre? We at Bikes Republic are here to help you guys out! (more…)
One of the most comfortable small capacity scooters in the market
When the Honda BeAT was launched November last year, the 110cc scooter main target audience was college students who are looking for an affordable yet modern form of transportation. The scooter seems like a sound choice and Boon Siew Honda played their cards right in choosing Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) as their first venue to introduce their latest scooter offering. (more…)
Walk around video of all three new Benelli motorcycles including engine start up.
The design of the Benelli TRK 502 has obvious influences from BMW, especially the fuel tank, sitting position and the shape and angle of the handle bar.
The damping is cushy so there is the usual dive under heavy braking typical of softish suspension, but the rear does a decent job at soaking up speed bumps and such, which gives it a comfortable ride.
Taller riders will find the TRK a bit cramped, but it makes up for that with good low speed handling, and a big comfortable seat.
Benelli Malaysia made quite a wave in the local motorcycling scene when it launched three new models last weekend. You can read about the launch here, but M Force Bike Holdings Sdn Bhd, the local importer, distributor and soon to be assembler of Benelli motorcycles, also gave us an opportunity to sample all three bikes the following day.
The test ride route was just a small loop around the Equatorial Hotel in Penang, maybe about a kilometer long at most, which wasn’t exactly the perfect scenario to truly sample the capabilities of any motorcycle, but it was good enough to judge the basic handling and engine response of the new motorcycles.
We started the ride with the TRK502, Benelli’s new adventure bike. I must say that I was surprised with this bike, so surprised that I will go so far as to say that among Benelli’s new motorcycles, the TRK is the best.
The design has obvious influences from BMW, especially the fuel tank, sitting position and the shape and angle of the handle bar, but who can blame Benelli when the BMW GS is quite obviously one of the benchmark’s for almost all adventure bike builders.
Taller riders will find the TRK a bit cramped, but it makes up for that with good low speed handling, and a big comfortable seat.
It does not have a lot of technology, in fact it skimps out on things like cruise control, traction control, and tyre pressure monitoring sensors, but it does have ABS. And Benelli knew exactly what kind of motorcycle it wanted the TRK 502 to be, so they also threw in a well placed button (on the left handle bar, right within reach of your thumb) that allows you to completely switch off the ABS system. This is handy when you want to tackle dirt and mud off-road. Well thought out Benelli!
The TRK 502 isn’t exactly big on power either, the twin-cylinder, liquid cooled engine produces just 48hp at 8,500rpm and 45Nm of torque at 5,000rpm. There’s good grunt lower down the rev band, but there’s a feeling that more power will be needed on the highway, especially when you want to just squeeze the throttle and accelerate out of a situation. We’ll get to that when we actually get to ride this bike on a highway.
Gear changes are nice – short and precise. The final drive is of course chain driven which makes the TRK quite well suited for global riders who want to ride a bike to the end of the world without worrying about complicated or shortage of parts and such.
Suspension feels good too – the front consists of an inverted fork with 150mm of travel while the rear is made up of a steel swing arm with a single telescopic oil damped coil spring with 45mm of travel. The damping is cushy so there is the usual dive under heavy braking typical of softish suspension, but the rear does a decent job at soaking up speed bumps and such, which gives it a comfortable ride.
Brakes too are decent and are made up of twin 320mm discs up front grabbed by twin-piston calipers. The rear is made up of a single 260mm disc. Tyres are 120/70ZR17 up front and 160/60/ZR17 at the rear.
All in all the Benelli TRK 502 seems to be the ideal adventure bike for those looking to get into the segment with a unsophisticated machine with proven old-school technology. It is cheaper than the Kawasaki Versys 650 and there is still no news of Yamaha’s 700 Tracer, so that makes the TRK 502 the cheapest Adventure bike you can get in the market right now.
Complaints? Well I don’t quite like the patchy welding job and the frame could do with a bit more attention to detail, but that does not make this a bad motorcycle. Aesthetics aside, the TRK 502 seems to have it all, now we are just waiting on M Force Bike Holdings Sdn Bhd to make this bike available for a review so we can rack up about 1000 kilometers on it. We will be back with more on the TRK 502.
Two 2018 Husqvarna two-stroke models will feature their fuel injected technology
Husqvarna TE 250i and Husqvarna TE 300i
This just in; Husqvarna is cooking up a couple of their popular two stroke engines with fuel injection technology for the year 2018. With the ongoing trend of gaining more efficiency and power, it is no surprise that the Swedish bike manufacturer is following the steps of their Austrian counterpart, KTM. (more…)
