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Thailand May Ban Lane Splitting for Big Bikes

Malaysian bikers beware: Thailand may roll out a number of new rulings.
Lane splitting ban and an 80km/h speed limit for big bikes is being proposed.
Motorcycle license is required when renting a scooter.

Thailand Transport Ministry may ban lane splitting for big bikes and limit their speed to 80km/h in urban areas.

The country’s Deputy Permanent Secretary for Transport Chirute Vialachitra said that the ban would require big bike riders to wait for traffic lights behind other vehicles. The 80km/h speed limit applies to urban and community areas i.e. villages and towns.

Additionally, big bike riders are to undergo specially-designed tests to obtain their driving licenses. The government plans to set up special test fields and simulators for big bike riders. The simulations will present danger-prone situations to train riders on safety aspects.

But more importantly, foreign tourists are required to show their motorcycle license when renting motorcycles in the country. The requirement is already in existence but not enforced. This is in view of the spate of foreigner deaths while riding motorcycles.

A timeline for enacting the new rules has not been provided, said Mr. Chirute but will be finalized in 30 days before seeking cabinet approval. He hopes the new measures will be in place by year end.

Should the new ruling be approved, Malaysian bikers should beware of them when riding into Thailand.

Source: Bangkok Times

Research Recommends Saying “Bike” to Yourself When You See One

There are many reasons why car drivers don’t seem to see bikes.
But it’s usually due to how the human brain works.
A group of researchers recommend saying “bike” out loud to yourself when you see one.

Here we are, adhering to the ATGATT (all the gears all the time) rule, the headlights switched on and positioned in the lane for maximum visibility. Then we spot a driver waiting to exit her side of the junction. We know she sees us because we exchange glances.

Then she pulls right out in front of us with 10 metres to spare. It’s about this time when all the profanities of planet Earth, the galaxy and Proxima Centauri are spewed forth into the helmet’s chinbar.

Truth is, no driver wants the trouble of causing bodily harm to any biker (except for psychotic ones).

According to many researches, it’s all in the mind. Earlier, a study concluded that drivers could sometimes suffer from “inattentive blindness.” Their eyes saw the motorcycle, but their minds fail to register.

Now a new research from the University of Nottingham, UK says that drivers may suffer from “a short-term memory loss.”

They carried out tests with a BMW Mini and a driving simulator. The subjects consisted of both male and female subjects.

Tests found that the drivers actually saw the motorcycle, but somehow “forgot” that it’s there. It’s easy for drivers to be distracted by something and pull out in front of the bike. in 180 simulations, the subjects didn’t see a car 3 times and a motorcycle 16 times. Additionally, drivers tend to misjudge the distance and closing speed of motorcycles (this one we know very well).

The researchers have a solution to this problem. They recommended that the driver say, “Bike” out loud to himself when he sees one. Doing so will program the mind to register the motorcycle. It’s like reading out loud when you want to memorize the text.

We’ve kind of applied this in our daily lives when driving. Here, we would say, “Ada moto (there’s a bike).” Our spouses have also been helpful in this aspect.

Share this with your driving friends and see if it works.

“Safety Activist” Recommends that Kapchais are Banned

A “safety activist” recommended that the government ban kapchais from Malaysian roads.
He suggests electric scooters be used as the alternative.
It’s because electric scooters have limited range and lower speeds.

A “safety activist” recommended to the government that kapchais should be banned from Malaysian roads, reports Careta.my.

Speaking at a Malaysia Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) event, Sharhim Tamrin said that the government should consider electric scooters as the alternative, as they have limited range and top speeds of around 80km/h only.

He said this based on his findings that countries like China and Taiwan have banned kapchais. (The two countries did not “ban” kapchais, instead they urged the use of electic scooters as fuel is expensive and China especially didn’t want their economy to depend on petroleum. – Editor)

“I have, informally, proposed this to a number of government agencies. I will also send a (formal) proposal to the government to ban kapchais,” he said during a forum at the event.

A similar proposal was forwarded by Works Minister Fadilah Yusof in 2013, on the grounds of safety. He called for kapchais to be banned from entering highways.

Shahrim also mentioned the trend of 15- and 16-year-olds who likes to ride fast. He also called motorcycle manufacturers to task for advertising motorcycles as performance machines, which would influence the owners to ride fast and some to modify their bikes to go faster.

Assistant Director of Enforcement for the Traffic Investigations and Enforcement Department of the Royal Malaysia Police concurred that the government should ban motorcycles below 250cc.

According to him, there were more car accidents last year compared to motorcycles, but it’s the latter that contributed to higher death rates.

New KTM RC 390 Spotted Undergoing Tests

A new KTM RC 390 was spotted undergoing road tests.
Introduced in 2014, it needs an upgrade/redesign.
The new bike may be introduced for 2021.

As we speculated, all manufacturers are hard at work to produce new models by 2020 and 2021. But one bike which has gone under the radar for a long time is the KTM RC 390.

The bike made huge waves and sold like hotcakes when it was introduced back in 2014. Soon, they were everywhere. There were also RC 390-exclusive racing series and some owners took it to track days.

The bike was last updated in 2017. But 5 years is a long time (maybe too long) for the model’s product cycle in that cut throat segment.

So, as with the KTM 390 Duke test bike caught testing months ago, a prototype RC 390 was also spied over the weekend.

According to RideApart, the new bike will debut in 2021.

Changes to the new bike is immediately noticeable as KTM redesigned the bike: the front fairing has a similar profile, but the rest of the bodywork are different. Even the rear seat is different and takes a contemporary design instead of the current single-seat look.

Also gone is the lattice work of the rear subframe. The handlebars appear to be mounted higher for more comfortable ergonomics.

The new bike will of course be Euro 5 compliant, but there are no details yet if there are any power upgrades.

New 2020 Triumph Street Triple RS on the Way

A new 2020 Triumph Street Triple RS is one the way.
Triumph released a teaser video.
The new bike will be Euro 5 compliant and will feature new updates.

It’s confirmed: A new 2020 Triumph Street Triple RS is one the way.

As with the impending launch of new models, Triumph released a teaser video of the new Street Triple RS. Test mules had also been spotted a number of months earlier.

The video shows a heart-pounding run up to a corner while being accompanied by the triple’s distinctive and awesome soundtrack.

What we know is the new bike’s engine will be Euro 5 compliant but what we don’t know is what state of tune the engine will take on. As in our earlier report, the exhaust collector will house two catalytic converters.

There’s much speculation (hope, actually) that it’ll be fitted with some of the stuff from, or at least learned, from Triumph’s role as the sole engine supplier to the World Moto2 Championship. The current engine produces 121hp and 77.3Nm of torque. Will we see a hike to 135 horses? Please, please, please!

There will surely be updates in other areas, too.

The twin headlamps will take on a new look, there may be slight changes to the swingarm, and there’s a big chance that the instrument cluster will feature GoPro control a la the Scrambler 1200 XE.

The Street Triple RS remains this writer’s favourite all-time bike, so it’s interesting how the new bike will turn out on October 7th.

Aprilia GPR 250 Launched in China

The Aprilia GPR 250 was unveiled in China.
Its 249.2cc, single-cylinder engine produces 26.5hp and 22Nm.
Will it come to Malaysia?

Somewhat unexpected, the Aprilia GPR 250 was unveiled in China rather than in the traditional European markets first.

Aprilia has a long history with 250cc sportbikes, harking back to the glory days of the 2-stroke RS250 for the road. The bike capitalized on their outstanding success in the world 250cc GP in the hands of riders such as Tetsuya Harada, Loris Capirossi, Max Biaggi and one upstart by the name of Valentino Rossi.

However, their attention seemed to have shifted since they built the 1000cc Mille superbike, which culminated in the 1000cc RSV4 and finally the most recent RSV4 1100. Aprilia’s current MotoGP effort lends further weight to the RSV4.

But apparently Aprilia had not given up on lightweight sportbikes. They debuted the RS660 concept at EICMA last year and now this, the GPR 250.

One look and it’s apparent that it’s influenced by the RSV4 in many respects: The twin headlamps, swoopy bodywork, large twin-spar aluminium frame.

The 249.2cc, liquid-cooled, single-cylinder, four-stroke engine is claimed to produce 26.5hp and 22Nm of torque. The manufacturer claims a 150kg weight.

That power is on par with other 250cc single-cylinder sportbikes such as the Honda CBR250R, KTM RC 250 and TVS Apache RR 310. By comparison, two-cylinder machines such as the Kawasaki Ninja 250 and Yamaha YZF-R25 produce in the regions of 39hp and 36hp, respectively.

The Aprilia GPR 250 is slated for the Indian market soon. We wonder if it’ll ever come into Malaysia.