Most of us (if not all of us) have encountered some VIP escorts making their way through traffic to let whoever that they’re escorting reach their destinations faster and safer. According to a recent post by World of Buzz, there was one particular convoy who caused a road accident when they allegedly forced a motorcyclist off the road. (more…)
Kawasaki Motors Malaysia (KMSB) organised their annual Kawasaki Road Safety Campaign located at the Sungai Besi Toll Plaza (Southbound) the whole of today from 9am to 6pm. It’s their fourth year in organizing this safety campaign at the location where their message is always to promote safety on the roads through proper riding gears as well as bike maintenance. (more…)
The Consumer Electronics Show 2020 (CES 2020) saw the debut of the Damon Hypersport HS, a new-generation electric superbike that’s not only powerful but packed with high-tech goodies that some riders use to dream about.
We’ve recently wrote about how Damon Motorcycles are working together with BlackBerry for their latest generation eco-friendly machines and how it can change the direction of the motorcycle industry in the future. The Hypersport HS is a prime example of what the future entails and we are completely excited about it.
Starting with its amazingly powerful powertrain, Damon stated that it has the ability to produce over 200hp with a range of around 260km when travelling at a constant about 110km/h. That distance grows further when travelling around cities and trunk roads, all thanks to its 21.5kW battery pack.
Apart from its impressive power and distance, the latest Damon Hypersport HS also comes with two super impressive features; electronically adjustable riding positions and the advanced CoPilot advanced warning system (developed by BlackBerry). One allows for supreme adjustability between sport and touring while the latter offers a buttload of sensors and cameras for an ‘enhanced situational awareness’.
A combination of 1080P cameras, radars, telematic array, and sensors allow the superbike to actively scan its surrounding areas to ensure that the rider is always aware of things around him or her. The bike will let the rider know via haptic movements on the handlebars, LED lights placed on the windshield, and a large LED screen that’s able to give a live feed of what’s going on at the back.
Interested in getting one? Damon Motorcycles will begin delivering the bikes starting 2021 with prices starting from $24,995 to $39,995 (around RM102,000 – RM164,000). There are no dealers that carry these bikes in stock because Damon is planning a very questionable ‘consumer-to-customer’ method. Will it work? Only time will tell.
The ‘Nak Ekstra RM20,000’ campaign is currently underway where Shell Malaysia is looking to reward a weekly winner with RM20,000 cash and the contest is still going strong until 9 February 2020. If you have not participated, then what the heck are you doing?? Go to the nearest Shell station now! (more…)
Ever heard of the world-famous Honda Collection Hall at the Twin Ring Motegi Circuit in Japan? What if you were put in charge of all these iconic machines from MotoGP bikes to Formula 1 cars? To Kuniyoshi Iwata, that’s the dream job for a gearhead and we can’t deny one single bit! (more…)
A motorcycle spec sheet actually contains plenty of information regarding a bike – if you don’t only look at the horsepower figure. Other important aspects include the bike’s steering dimensions, namely rake (also called castor angle) and trail.
Rake and trail figures provide a general insight into a bike’s handling characteristics. We say “general” here because how a bike steers is a combination of rake, trail, chassis balance, centre of gravity, mass centralization, wheelbase and weight. However, the rake and trail figures play the biggest role in terms of steering, handling and stability as that’s where the rider inputs his steering forces.
Rake refers the angle of the forks in relation to the vertical. First, draw a line along the centerline of the fork to intersect the horizontal ground. Then, draw another line vertically from the top of the fork to intersect the horizontal ground. The angle between these two lines is the rake (also known as steering angle or castor angle).
Let’s leave the line through the fork’s centerline in place. Now let’s draw a line from the steering head’s axis to intersect the horizontal ground. You will find a “gap” between these two lines – this is the trail, measured in milimetres or inches.
A “steep” steering angle between 22 to 25 degrees gives the bike a quick-steering characteristic. A slight push on the handlebar will have the bike leaning over. A “relaxed” steering angle from 26 degrees and up will result in slower turning, on the other hand.
Similarly, a smaller trail figure results in a quick turning motorcycle and vice versa.
But this is where it gets interesting.
A steep steering angle combined with a small trail will have the bike steering quickly, but it’ll also become “skittish.” In other words, the bike will be nervous in a straight line and under hard braking. A relaxed steering angle together with a long trail results in a longer wheelbase and consequently a more stable motorcycle in a straight line but turns like a battleship (i.e. choppers).
So, manufacturers sometimes combine a steep rake angle with a slightly larger trail. It takes away some quick steering but provides more stability under hard acceleration and braking. This is especially true for sportbikes.
Yes, you can by replacing the fork triple clamps.
Triple clamps with bigger offsets between the forks’ centerline and steering head result in bigger trail.
With this in mind, you can use a bottom triple clamp with more offset to enlarge the rake angle. Custom builders usually do this to choppers to “rake out” the forks (if they retain the bike’s stock frame).
As we mentioned earlier, a bike’s handling characteristics is also dependent on a number of other aspects. One quick way to quicken your bike’s steering is by adding more preload to the rear shock to lift the rear. But please do so only within the suspension’s sag range. Do not add so much preload that it overwhelms the shock’s damping.
Another way is to bring the forks up through the triple clamps, effectively lowering the front.
We’ll look at the other aspects in detail next time.
