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Leon Haslam to head to BSB

Uncertain about his future in the WSBK World Superbike Championship, rider Leon Haslam is all set to make a return to the MCE British Superbike championship in 2016.

Sources say that the 32-year-old will be teaming up with JG Speedfit Kawasaki, and will ride alongside James Ellison and Peter Hickman.

It is said that this will be the first Haslam will be riding a Kawasaki machinery in his career. And with a brand new bike closely developed with the factory team of Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes, it could be the chance that Haslam needs to finally bury his demons in the domestic series.

Although no official announcements have been made, Haslam did mention that he was looking at BSB options, and that interesting offers have already been made by certain parties.

Alpinestars and Dainese airbag tech feud

Two of motorcycling’s biggest and leading apparels brands are tangled in a legal battle over a groundbreaking piece of safety technology. The two are none other than Alpinestars and Dainese, and the tech in question are their respective Tech Air and D-Air airbag technologies. (more…)

KL Bike Week 2015: Road closure announcement

Red Garage Malaysia, the organisers of the KL Bike Week 2015, have announced that a part of Jalan Ampang, adjacent to the Malaysia Tourist Centre (MaTic) will be closed on the 19th of December (Saturday) from 10am to 10pm to make way for visitors and participating bikers making their way in and out of the event.

The KL Bike Week 2015, which will be held at The Lanai, Malaysia Tourist Centre (MaTic), will take place on this Friday, December 18 and Saturday, December 19.

Set to feature an array of activities such as a custom bike show, classic bike show, custom helmet painting contest, live music performances, burnout competitions, and many more, the event is expected to attract thousands of bikers from not only Malaysia, but also other countries in the Asia Pacific region.

For more information, visit Red Garage Malaysia’s official Facebook page.

Kawasaki J125 makes global debut

Less than a year after Kawasaki launched its first ever scooter (the J300), the brand has unveiled its second scooter – the J125 in Spain earlier this week.

Powered by an all-new water-cooled single cylinder 125cc four-stroke engine which produces a claimed 14bhp and 11.5Nm of torque, the J125 weighs 182kg and competes directly with models like the Suzuki Burgman and Yamaha X-Max 125.

Inspired by the J300, the J125 looks quite similar to its bigger sibling, and comes with under-seat storage big enough for a single full face helmet and A4 briefcase.

It is said that the scooter also comes with a small glove box at the front which has a 12v power outlet.

According to Kawasaki, ABS and an anti-temper anti-theft ignition switch is offered as standard.

All set to make its UK debut in January 2016, there has not been any official announcement on whether the J125 will be introduced here in Malaysia.

Rare Brough Superior barn find worth RM2.2 million!

As far as classic bikes go, no other name carries its weight in gold as much as the famed Brough Superior marque. Famed for hand-building motorcycles, sidecars and motor cars for the wealthy elite from 1919 to 1940, the British marque’s motorcycles were dubbed by many as the Rolls-Royce of motorcycles in its heyday.

Founder George Brough, who was a famed British motorcycle racer, had a clientele list that many would envy as it included the likes of Lawrence of Arabia and George Bernard Shaw. In its 21-year history, Brough Superior successfully developed 19 bike models and produced 3,048 units before operations ceased, but reports suggest that only less than a third of those still exists in the hands of collectors today. However, a recent barn find in a village on Bodmin Moor, England, is about to increase that number, albeit slightly.

Dubbed the ‘Broughs of Bodmin Moor’ collection, a series vintage motorcycles were found partly buried under dust and machinery. At least three complete bikes were found including a rare four-cylinder version of the Brough Superior – one of only eight known to be built and the last to be accounted for. Also in the mix was an ultra-rare Brough Superior 750cc BS4 that features a peculiar twin rear wheel layout.

Experts have stated that this is perhaps the greatest motorcycle discoveries of recent times as their existence was thought to be mythical prior to being found. Adding to that is the fact that this could also be the last un-restored collection of Brough Superior motorcycles to be found.

With that in mind, it is easy to see how the ‘Broughs of Bodmin Moor’ collection was given an estimated value of £340,000 in its entirety – that’s roughly RM2.2 million. Leading this is the twin rear wheel model, which has been valued between £80,000 and £120,000 (approx. RM518,000 – RM777,000). Besides its rare layout, this particular bike’s value skyrocketed thanks to the fact that it once belonged to Hubert Chantrey, a friend of George Brough.

The collection is expected to meet its £340,000 estimated total value when each bike goes under the hammer with specialist auction house Bonhams April next year. Additionally, you can view the complete collection and details in this press release issued by the auction house online.

‘Broughs of Bodmin Moor’

Source: Bonhams via Visordown
Images: Bonhams via DailyMail

Ural joins scrambler bandwagon

Scramblers have been all the rage lately, and believe it or not, even Ural is in on the action.

Presented at the recent EICMA show in Milan, Ural has fitted knobblies to its anachronistic Ranger sidecar outfit, renaming it ‘Scrambler’ and has given the bike a grey-and-yellow paint scheme.

The company mentioned that it plans to sell only 20 of them in by end of 2016.

It is said that since it’s based on the Ranger, it’s two wheel drive (the sidecar wheel is driven as well as the bike’s rear wheel), it has more off-road credentials than a lot of the other recent ‘scrambler’ launches, and the hefty tubular steel nudge bars around the side car mean it can probably stand up to some beating, even if the weight of them isn’t likely to help performance much.

For those of you who are wondering if this news is any relevant to our market, Ural is expected to make its presence known in Malaysia very soon, so, stay tuned for more updates.