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HTC Motorcycle Club Annual Dinner 2019

We caught with a group of Harley riders during the HTC Motorcycle Club Annual Dinner 2019.
The club ride mostly Touring and Softail models as they are active in touring.
The club is also active in giving to charities when they ride.

Harley-Davidson owners and owner clubs are as varied and colourful as the motorcycle models themselves. We met one such group at the HTC Motorcycle Club Annual Dinner 2019 through Harley-Davidson of Petaling Jaya.

HTC MC’s members are named with a “G,” such as Dei G, Loyar G, Ban G and so on. All of them ride Harleys; most of them Touring and Softail frames. Committee member Loyar G tells me that’s because they like long-distance touring.

Dei G also told me that the HTC Motorcycle Club discusses plans through a Committee, rather than posts such as President, Vice-President and so forth. Plans are discussed within the committee.

We caught up with two committee members Dei G and Loyar G for a short interview.

Bikes Republic (BR): How long has HTC Motorcycle Club been around?
Loyar G: We’ve been around for more than 5 years.
Dei G: We formed on 20^thJuly 2013, so it’ll be our sixth year this July.

BR: We saw many bikes parked downstairs. How many members do you have?
Dei G: We have almost 150 official members. However, attending the annual dinner tonight, including their spouses total almost 140.

BR: What does HTC MC do during most rides?
Loyar G: We ride the whole of Peninsular Malaysia and occasionally to Thailand and visit charity homes when we ride. In particular like the last Malaysia Day, we took the opportunity to ride to Kuantan, Johore, Seremban and back to KL. We did charity programs along the way.
Dei G: To add to Loyar G about the Malaysia Day charity ride, we will do so annually, since it’s a public holiday.
Loyar G: We went to four charity centres last year: National Kidney Foundation, old folks’ home in Kuantan, orphanage in Batu Pahat, and another orphanage in Seremban.

BR: What are your plans for 2019?
Loyar G: We’re planning to do more charities for 2019. That’s why we’re doing an auction tonight.
Dei G: We hold our annual dinner before the Chinese New Year. There are two purposes to the dinner. One is for the members to gather and two is to auction sponsored items by members and official sponsors. It’s to gather the charity funds for the year. We only gather charity funds once and utilize it for the entire year. 100% of what is collected tonight goes to charity. Our club has two separate accounts, one for charity and another for the club’s running.

BR: Since you started five years ago, what are your thoughts on the new custodian Harley-Davidson of Petaling Jaya?
Loyar G: It’s always good to have a dealer in every country that promotes Harley’s bikes. The popularity has grown over the years and more are buying Harleys.

BR: What’s your advice on road safety, since you are experienced riders?
Dei G: Our advice would be to adhere to the rules. As riders we have to give and take among all road users. We give way to cars and cars reciprocate. We keep to one lane when we convoy.
Loyar G: We keep to one lane although we ride big bikes. Follow the rule of law. As long as we’re on public roads we should give way to others. So, cars let us move around.

MotoGP 2019: Ducati Team Launches Ducati Desmosedici GP19

The factory Ducati Team launched the Ducati Desmosedici GP19.
Factory riders Andrea Dovizioso, Danilo Petrucci and Pramac rider Jack Miller will ride the GP19 in MotoGP 2019.
It now sports a full-red livery.

The factory Ducati Team launched the Ducati Desmosedici GP19 for the MotoGP 2019 season.

The launch was aired “live” from the Philip Morris Cube in Neuchâtel, Switzerland early this morning. Attendees at the launch were team riders Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci. Factory and team luminaries including Claudio Domenicali, Paolo Ciabatti, Davide Tardozzi, Luigi Dall’Igna, among others.

The Desmosedici GP19 now sports a fully-red livery without white and grey stripes. The Mission Winnow sponsorship is actually part of Philip Morris International (PMI).

Apart from the livery, the GP19 looks similar to its Desmosedici GP18 predecessor. However, the giant air intake at the front of the fairing has more rounded edges, especially at the bottom. Our guess it to maintain a steady flow of intake air as rounder shapes promote better surface tension. Hence the airflow “sticks” together rather than turn “choppy.”

Besides that, there are “whisker” aerobodies on both sides of the upper fairing.

To those who asked if the “lunchbox” is still there, yes, it is still there underneath the tailsection.

Although the GP19 many look outwardly similar to the older bike, we suspect much underneath have evolved. Remember, MotoGP will use a unified (standard) IMU this year.

There are claims on the internet that the GP19 may produce as much as 300 bhp. It could very well be true as the GP17 and GP18 were already eputed to produce around 280 bhp.

Dovizioso finished as the bridesmaid for the last two seasons. He’s confident that the new bike will help him seal Ducati’s second MotoGP championship since Casey Stoner did so in 2007.

Shark Helmets as French Grand Prix Title Sponsor for 3 Years

Shark Helmets will be the title sponsor of the French Grand Prix for 3 years from 2019.
The manufacturer hails from France hence the French GP is their homecoming.
The 2019 French GP will be held at Le Mans from 17^thto 19^thMay.

MotoGP promoter Dorna Sports announced that Shark Helmets will the title sponsor of the French Grand Prix for the next three years beginning 2019. The event will therefore we called the “Shark Helmets Grand Prix de France.”

The manufacturer was founded in Marseille, France 30 years ago. Hence, sponsoring the French GP is somewhat a homecoming.

Patrick Francois, Shark Helmets’ CEO said, “Racing is our DNA: with nearly 70 world championship titles, we has been relying on motorcycle racing to boost brand development ever since its creation.”

“We are thrilled to have SHARK Helmets on board as the title sponsor for the French Grand Prix,” says Pau Serracanta, Managing Director of Dorna Sports, “Their values match those of MotoGP perfectly. Le Mans is always one of the busiest and most energetic venues of the season and it’s great news for both us and the event to see such a company take top billing for the next three seasons of their home Grand Prix.”

Shark sponsors past top riders such as Carl Fogarty, and current MotoGP riders Johann Zarco and Jorge Lorenzo.

The 2019 Shark Helmets Grand Prix de France will kick off at the Le Mans circuit from 17^thto 19^thMay.

Northern Motorcycle Fest 2019 Thunders In

The Northern Motorcycle Fest 2019 is set to welcome the upcoming Chinese New Year.
The event will be held in Ipoh and Langkawi on two separate weekends.
They are organized by Goh Brothers and Sheng Fatt Motor.

To celebrate the coming Chinese Lunar New Year, Goh Brothers and Sheng Fatt have joined forces to bring you the largest Northern Motorcycle Fest 2019 happening at two locations below.

Audi Ipoh – 18th until 20th Jan 2019

Volkswagen Langkawi – 25th until 27th Jan 2019

The Langkawi edition may be extra special, as we heard that special duty-free deals will be on offer.

The Northern Motorcycle Fest features four premium brands from Harley-Davidson, Moto Guzzi, Aprilia and Ducati with 1 direction. The event offers special promotional deals that are unobtainable from showroom floors. This is the best opportunity to kook out for those merchandize, accessories, riding gear and apparels you have been drooling over.

Also, owners of the four motorcycle brands can visit the event to have their pride and joy checked out. The event organizer will deploy their mobile team to check and service your motorcycle.

There will be great food and refreshments at both venues, for sure.

The two dates are additionally great for the owners to catch up with one another. Who knows, you could find the perfect kakis for future convoys.

For more information, please contact Mr. Kheoh at 012-401 8932.

Aprilia Malaysia Rides Strong with its First Customer Engagement Event

Aprilia Malaysia and Sheng Fatt Motor held their first joint “shop talk” in Penang.
The program aims to support northern Aprilia riders.
Aprilia Malaysia and Sheng Fatt are serious in providing aftersales service.

Buying a bike from a dealer is easy but finding the right dealer who will continue to take care of you long afterwards is not. Sheng Fatt Motor Sdn. Bhd., a true O-G of the motorcycle scene in Penang, recently showed how it takes care of its customers.

The company, in partnership with Aprilia Malaysia under the new distributor Didi Resources Sdn. Bhd., recently held a ‘shop talk’ session for its customers as well as any biker who wanted to join in.

Mr. Goh Kian Sin, Managing Director of Didi Resources said, “The following initiative is part of our action plan to further strengthen the brand value and ownership experience via our new refresh network throughout Malaysia. The key is sourcing the right partner to deliver the objective together. Today our northern customers can rest assure that their bikes are in good hands”

Mr. Goh Kian Sin (left) and Mr. Kheoh Hock Seng (right)

The talk was hosted by Kheoh Hock Seng, the Managing Director of Sheng Fatt Motor together with the Aftersales Manager of Aprilia Malaysia, Idon Pang. The duo touched on topics such as bike care and maintenance, guidance on buying and using the correct riding gear. The event included a tour of the new official workshop for Aprilia motorcycles in Penang.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who attended the shoptalk. Our objective was to share as much knowledge as we can with everyone who attended and judging by the turnout and the enthusiasm everyone showed, I am happy to say that it was a success,” said Hock Seng.

The talk, which was attended by about 20 Aprilia riders and of other makes, was held at the company’s showroom at No. 24, Jalan Dato Keramat, Penang.

Ducati CEO: Ducati Not Far from Starting Electric Model Production

Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicalli hints that the first Ducati electric bike production isn’t far away.
It’s part of the VW Group to go electric by 2030.
Many countries are banning new petrol and diesel vehicle production in a decade or two.

Ducati is one manufacturer we have yet to hear about their concrete plans for an electric motorcycle. But that’s about to change, according to Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicalli.

Volkswagen (the owners of Ducati) introduced their Roadmap E initiative about six months ago. The plan calls for a full line of electric vehicles throughout the VW group by 2030.

Later, Managing Director for Ducati Western Europe, Edouard Lotthésaid that Ducati is working on an electric model in addition to a scooter. Now Ducati CEO Domenicalli has added his comment about the future of Ducati EVs.

Speaking to students at the University of Bologna, Domenicalli said, “The future is electric” and production of the first EV is not far away.

Could Ducati’s EV look like the Ducati Zero concept by Suraj Tiwari?

If this is true, we may see Ducati’s first EV by 2020 or 2021. A number of countries would have started their electric vehicle initiatives by then.

However, we expect Ducati to sell their new EV side-by-side with the petrol-powered motorcycles for a number of years until the fully-EV ruling takes over in 2030 onwards.

That means we will still have the Panigale for a while more.

By the way, many countries in the world will be switching to electric vehicles in as early as a decade. The plans call for bans on new petrol or diesel vehicles being produced, while they are phased out over a number of years.

What about Malaysia? Apart from the limited amount of self-installed charging stations, what is the government doing about electric vehicles? Besides “studying” to limit kapchais to 70 km/h and keeping to the left lane? (They’ve now conveniently forgotten what they said about the 70 km/h limit and pursuing the “keep to the left” study.)