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Petrol Subsidy Proposed for Below 125cc Bike Owners, Removal of RON95 Subsidy

Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs announced that the proposal for petrol subsidy is ready.
The new subsidy plan hopes to help the B40 group.
The proposed subsidy will apply to owners of motorcycles below 125cc.

After more than a year deliberation, the Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs announced that the proposal for petrol subsidy is ready.

If given the green light by the Cabinet, the government will employ a number of safeguards to ensure the that B40 group receives the subsidy. The measures proposed are in view of unreliable data which often plagues decision-making among government agencies in Malaysia.

The Malay Mail quoted sources who said that the government has a better database now. It is drawn up based on data from pension fund contributions, the applicant’s payslips, and vehicle ownership data with the Road Transport Department (JPJ). The Star reported that the government will also look at household electric bills that amount to between RM 100 and RM 200 monthly. Also, the assistance only applies to those whose monthly household income is less RM 3,900.

As for the amount of subsidy, the Ministry may be adhering to Minister of Finance Lim Guan Eng’s proposal in November. The plan calls for subsidising owners of motorcycles below 125cc and cars below 1,500cc with a minimum of 30 sen per litre of RON95 petrol.

The total amount of subsidised petrol is 40 litres for motorcycles and 100 litres for cars per month. The subsidy amounts to RM 12 for motorcycles and RM 30 for cars per month. The amount will be transferred to the recipients’ bank accounts on a monthly basis.

The current price of subsidised RON95 is capped at RM 2.08 per litre. Prices would fluctuate according to a weekly float once the subsidy is removed and may see an increase to RM 2.49 per litre.

It was revealed that government currently spends an average of RM 133 million a week on fuel subsidies.

PBM Be Wiser Ducati Team Selling Their 2018 Ducati Panigale R

PBM Be Wiser Ducati Team is selling their 2018 Ducati Panigale R.
The bike weighs just 165kg and can hit 338 km/h.
All for just £ 70,000.

Fancy a real race tuned Ducati? Well, here’s a deal and half for you: PBM Be Wiser Ducati Team is selling their 2018 Ducati Panigale R!

The team competes in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship (BSB) with champion Shane “Shakey” Byrne and Glenn Irwin as their original lineup of riders. But Shakey had a serious accident early in the season and was replaced by Andrew Irwin.

Shakey had a win and two podiums before his career-ending crash at Snetterton. Glenn went on to post seven podium finishes on the bike, while Andrew finished fourth twice.

So you see, this bike isn’t some tarted up hobby team race bike – it’s the real deal!

Yes, it’s based on the Panigale 1199, but check out these specs.

Termignoni exhausts, race-spec Brembo brakes, Öhlins suspension. Sounds meh? Wait! The bike weighs only 165kg dry. The engine produces 210 HP. Yup, 210 Italian stallions.

Top speed is claimed to hit 338 km/h (210 mph).

The team is also throwing in two extra “low mileage” engines into the deal.

Great, huh?

All for just RM 360,629.50 (£ 70,000).

Another Teaser for Supercharged Kawasaki Z Model

There’s a new teaser video for a supercharged Kawasaki Z model.
It gives further glimpses of the new supercharged naked Ninja H2.
Kawasaki will be a contender in the most powerful supernaked category.

There’s a new teaser video for a supercharged Kawasaki Z model.

This time, we get a small glimpse of how the new model will look like. The footage shows a sharp front with Kawasaki’s “River Mark,” supercharger, air intake, and so forth.

There is also a new TFT screen. We could see that the new bike will include cruise control, besides the required traction control and ABS.

We could only guess how the entire bike will look like at the moment but it won’t be long until the official unveiling on 23rd October. That date happens to be the beginning of the Tokyo Motor Show.

Kawasaki uses the “Z” designation for naked bikes in their line-up. Hence the new supercharged “Z” model is the naked version of the Ninja H2. As the 2019 Ninja H2 produces 231HP, we could only wait with bated breath to find out how much power will this bike make. This is the chance for manufacturer to claim the supernaked title. That honour is currently held by the 2019 KTM 1290 Super Duke R, whose engine produces 177 HP and 141 Nm of torque.

Ducati will also unveil their new Streetfighter V4 on the same date in their Ducati 2020 World Premiere. Based on the Panigale V4 which punches out 214 HP, Ducati is also on the path to introduce a contender for the most powerful supernaked.

The fight is on!

Jonathan Rea and Kawasaki Crowned WorldSBK Champion Five Times in a Row

Jonathan Rea and Kawasaki has won the 2019 WorldSBK title – their fifth in a row.
Rea won Race Two at Magny-Cours while Alvaro Bautista crashed out again.
Rea is now the rider who has won the most WorldSBK titles.

Jonathan Rea and Kawasaki has won the 2019 WorldSBK title – their fifth in a row.

Rea won Race Two at Magny-Cours, France, enabling him to pull clear of closest challenger Alvaro Bautista on the Ducati V4 R. Rea had entered Race Two with a 100-point lead over Bautista and needed a victory and a hope that the latter does not score to put the title chase beyond contention.

Somehow and true enough, Bautista crashed after tangling with Toprak Razgatlioglu. Toprak had overtaken Bautista but the rear tyre of his bike lost traction and slowed, causing the Spaniard to ram his bike. Both riders went down and out of the race.

But it wasn’t an easy win for Rea as he had to battle Michael van der Mark for the win. Rea fought hard and his determination netted him the win that he needed.

It was his 12th win of the 2019 season. But winning the title fives times in a row set the record as the first rider to do so, besides being the first rider to win the title five times. Carl Fogarty held the previous record of four titles, albeit separated by a seasons in between.

The victory will also become one of the most famous comebacks in racing history. Bautista had destroyed the entire field with 11 consecutive wins when the season began and held a 64-point lead.

But Rea kept up with a metronome-like consistency, finishing second in ten of those races and another in third behind Bautista. Then Rea fought back to post wins in Imola and Jerez. Bautista crashed in Race 2 at Jerez and that was when everything started to unravel.

The Spanish would eventually crash six times in total, first blaming the bike but went quiet about what was actually the problem. Then he inked a deal with Honda, and is now embroiled in a war of words with Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali.

Rea kept up the pressure by winning races and finishing on the podium when he couldn’t, and look at where he is now.

Makes for a great movie, don’t you think?

Going the Distance for Love – Not!

A man had his motorcycle confiscated in a roadblock.
He had ridden 200km to visit his fiancée.
He was riding without a license and his bike had “fancy” number plates.

Love makes us do silly things, does it not?

A man’s desire to visit his fiancée saw him willing to ride more than 200 kilometres but was stopped just short of his destination.

The 22-year-old man who works as a mechanic was stopped in a joint-forces roadblock at the Alor Gajah-Melaka-Jasin road.

Director of Melaka Road Transport Department (better known as Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan – JPJ) Muhammad Firdaus Shariff told Harian Metro that his officers found found the mechanic had ridden without a valid license and his Yamaha Y15ZR was using “fancy” number plates. When queried, he told the officers that he was on his way to visit his fiancée.

The JPJ then confiscated the motorcycle.

The Director also revealed that the massive joint operation inspected 654 vehicles, and a total of 389 summonses were issued. The sting consisted of 146 JPJ, Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM), National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK), Royal Customs Department, Immigration Department, Road Safety Department and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

Back to the question: How far are you willing to go for love? Have you ridden out in the middle of the night just because of your loved one merajuk (is sulking)?

Piaggio Loses Intellectual Property Case Against Zhejiang Zhongneng

Piaggio lost their Intellectual property case against Zhejiang Zhongneng (marketed as Znen).
The Italian manufacturer claimed that one of the Znen scooters copied the Vespa LX.
The European Union Intellectual Property Office didn’t think so.

It’s an understatement to say that many of Chinese motorcycle manufacturers blatantly infringe upon the intellectual properties of others, although a number are moving in their own direction. Such was the case of Piaggio & C. SpA versus Zhejiang Zhongneng Industry Group Co. Ltd.

Piaggio accused Zhejiang Zhongneng of copying the Vespa LX and brought the case to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

The Italian manufacturer stated that they have been in business since 1945, while the Chinese company started producing their line of scooters since 2005 (marketed as Znen). As such, the former was cited for imitating the LX’s lines in their product.

The EUIPO didn’t see it that way, however. They stated that it’s easy to distinguish between the two scooters. The Vespa LX’s classic lines are curved, while Zhejiang Zhongneng’s F9 are more boxy in appearance, hence there’s no mistaking one for the other.

Consequently, the court dismissed Piaggio’s claim as it would mean that the Chinese manufacturer did not infringe upon Piaggio’s intellectual property.

Check out the Znen’s website here. The disputed model isn’t listed anymore. The case had been pending since 2014, anyway.

Truth is, all modern step-through scooters were influenced by the Vespa. It was the brand which featured a bodywork which covers all the mechanicals. The designer did so to isolate the rider from being splashed by water, dirt and oils from the engine.