ducati Archives

Buy Shell Advance Oil on Lazada Malaysia and Meet Jorge Lorenzo

Buy Shell Advance motorcycle engine oil on Lazada Malaysia and you could Meet Jorge Lorenzo
Online shoppers stand to win exclusive meeting with the Ducati rider, MotoGP™ tickets and Oakley eyewear
Contest period from 3-29 October 2017

Buy Shell Advance Oil on Lazada Malaysia and Meet Jorge Lorenzo. Bikers nationwide can now purchase the complete range of Shell Advance motorcycle oils in full convenience from the Shell Malaysia Official Online Store on Lazada Malaysia, the leading e-commerce platform in the country.

Every purchase of the officially-sourced Shell Advance motorcycle oil will be delivered right to the customer’s doorstep in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak. You can visit the Shell Malaysia Official Online Store on Lazada Malaysia by clicking here.

In conjunction with Shell Advance’s online debut and the upcoming 2017 Shell Malaysia MotoGP™, online shoppers and avid fans of MotoGP™ will have a chance to bag exclusive giveaways* with purchase of Shell Advance products:

From 3-20 October, purchase one pack of Shell Advance and two cans of Monster Energy Drink via Lazada Malaysia and be in the running for the Grand Prize of a special invitation to an exclusive meet-and-greet session with Ducati rider Jorge Lorenzo on 25 October 2017. Only 100 lucky winners will enjoy this privilege. The First Prize is one (1) Hillstand ticket and a welcome kit at Sepang International Circuit (SIC) for 150 lucky winners while 20 winners will take home the Second Prize of one (1) limited edition Monster Recon backpack each.
Also from 3-20 October, purchase any of one pack of Shell Advance Ultra or Ultra Scooter and receive one (1) Hillstand ticket and a welcome kit at Sepang International Circuit (SIC), on a first-come-first served basis
From 25-29 October, purchase one carton of Shell Advance Ultra with PurePlus Technology or Shell Advance AX7 for a chance to win a pair of Oakley eyewear personally autographed by Jorge Lorenzo.

Shell Lubricants General Manager for Malaysia and Singapore, Baljit Singh, said that the company’s continued collaboration with Lazada Malaysia following the successful launch of Shell Helix passenger car motor oils in August was further proof that it was working hard to meet their customers’ needs.

“We are now providing convenience to bikers all over the country who want nothing less than complete protection for their bikes’ engines that only Shell Advance can offer. Buying from the Shell Malaysia Official Online Store, you can ’outride’ any unpredictability or uncertainty about the quality or authenticity of the product. Best of all, you could be rewarded with a memorable meeting with the Ducati’s Jorge Lorenzo or tickets to the Hillstand at SIC that has been reserved exclusively for Shell this year,” he said.

Baljit also expressed delight that Shell Advance and Shell Helix products through its Shell Malaysia Official Online Store will be part of Lazada Malaysia’s Online Revolution shopping extravaganza this coming 11 November 2017.

The annual event is the biggest online shopping fest in Southeast Asia. Themed ‘Shop the Universe’, shoppers in six countries can look forward to millions of products from around the world at ‘out-of-this-world’ prices. This year, for the first time, the offerings will include genuine, officially-sourced Shell Advance motorcycle engine oils and Shell Helix passenger car motor oils.

“We are thrilled to extend our collaboration with Shell Malaysia with the introduction of the Shell Advance range of motorcycle oils on our platform. Bikers across Malaysia can now enjoy unparalleled access to genuine products online with just a few clicks of the button. We look forward to the introduction of more products and services at the Shell Malaysia Official Online Store even we gear ourselves for the our biggest campaign in November, the Online Revolution,” said Hans-Peter Ressel, Chief Executive Officer of Lazada Malaysia.

Please click here to visit the Shell Malaysia Official Online Store on Lazada Malaysia.

You may also click here for our recent 3000km test and review of the Shell Advance Ultra with PurePlus Technology SAE 10W-40 Fully Synthetic engine oil by clicking here.

Harley-Davidson Malaysia will be managed by an exciting new company!

So it is officially official then, Naza has lost the Harley-Davidson dealership for the Malaysian market. Naza, under its sister company Naza Prestige Bikes Sdn Bhd, has been the exclusive dealers of the HD motorcycles in Malaysia for over a decade now, but the news does not come as a surprise for many industry insiders.

I personally heard of the news over two months ago, but was urged to keep mum about it, pending an official statement. Though that humble request went against every journalistic instinct in me looking for an “exclusive story”, friendship meant more to me than the story, so I toed the line.

It is not surprising that Naza lost the deal, the fact that the company used to sell grey import HD’s side by side to brand new HD motorcycles never really made sense for many. Why would you spend over RM100,000 for a brand new HD, when you could spend about RM60,000 for a slightly used, almost new, imported bike. And Naza even had the technical expertise and aftersales know-how to back you up after you buy the bike.

It made perfect business sense for Naza, but not for HD.

The big question on everybody’s lips right now is – what’s next for the HD brand in Malaysia? Who will take up the gargantuan task of managing such a elite brand in Malaysia. The only company that would step up to the challenge is a company that has huge experience in selling and maintaining mass market brands, and one that understands aftersales and has the capacity to do so.

There is a clear answer to that, and one that our friends at dsf.my have already hinted at (you can read their report here), is the big boys at The Gasket Alley.

The Gasket Alley is a new showroom in Petaling Jaya located by Jaya 33 that serves as the headquarters for some unique brands like Moto Guzzi and the Japanese custom bike builder, Zero Engineering. They have the perfect location to house HD, and the people behind it are brighter than daylight when it comes to managing big brands like HD.

The Gasket Alley was founded by a few businessmen with some really deep pockets. I will not go into details but one of them is from a famed Malaysian automotive group with vast experience in managing automotive brands, including mass market brands, and a luxury brand. And the other is a successful bumiputra entrepreneur with interests in property development in Malaysia and abroad.

The collective experience of the company is perfect for a brand like Harley-Davidson because it already has vast experience in managing unique and luxurious brands, and has the capacity to facilitate aftersales service. In fact, the company is known for great aftersales service, and if they can manage a luxury brand which demands perfect aftersales service of all their dealers, then they can definitely do a good job at managing a brand like HD.

Other than that, The Gasket Alley also has a few key people who previously served at Naza and know a thing or two about managing a brand like Harley-Davidson. These people were key to the success of brands under Naza like HD and even Ducati, but were either let go for reasons unknown, or simply quit and moved on.

There is no official statement confirming whether or not The Gasket Alley will serve as one of the new importer and distributor of the Harley-Davidson brand in Malaysia, but you can consider it a done deal. Especially since the key person in charge of aftersales was recently spotted attending the prestigious Harley-Davidson University in Bangkok. So, it is safe to then assume that the new dealers for the HD brand in Malaysia would be – The Gasket Alley!

So Harley owners in Malaysia, worry not, you’re in good hands.

Photos courtesy of the The Gasket Alley Facebook page

Top Motorcycle Designers (Part 1) – Fabio Taglioni

Ducati’s signature Desmo valve system owes its genesis to Fabio Taglioni
Ducati was making bicycles and scooters before Taglioni joined
Ducati has been using the Desmo system since 1968

Starting from today, Bikes Republic shall bring you a new series called Top Motorcycle Designers. These designers were the ones behind some of the most iconic motorcycles of our time. A few styled the bikes, while a few were engineers who designed the mechanicals of those motorcycles. For Part 1, we bring you Fabio Taglioni.

The Ducati brand is so synonymous with high-performance motorcycles – resulting from their racing successes in the 70’s, utter dominance in the World Superbike Championship in the 90’s and recent success in MotoGP – that it’s probably hard to imagine they were a state-owned motorcycle manufacturer which produced cheap, low-powered scooters and motorized bicycles.

Well, that was before Fabio Taglioni, better known as “Dr. T” came onboard.

Taglioni started at Ceccato as a design consultant in 1950. The small manufacturer specialized in 75 cc and 100 cc sportbikes. He would go on to join FB Mondial in 1952, before making the fated jump to Ducati in 1954 to head its technical, planning and experimental departments.

Taglioni didn’t waste time and the 100cc he designed, known as the Marianna went on to win three successive Motogiro road races from 1955 to 1957.

Then in 1957, he created the system that’s at the heart of every Ducati: Desmodromic valve actuation, or simply, Desmo. Although desmo wasn’t invented by Taglioni, it was he who successfully applied it to motorcycles.

Metallurgy wasn’t as advanced in those days, so impurities in metal made them weak and the hardening processes for engine valve springs made them brittle. There was also the phenomenon called valve float that springs had to contend with, in which the springs go beyond their elastic state and are unable to return the valve its closed position, particularly at high RPMs.

This effectively capped maximum engine RPM, hence power.

However, the desmo system doesn’t require springs to act directly on the valves to open and close them. This meant Taglioni’s engines could rev higher and produce more power.

**Schematic of the 1956 125 Desmo valvegear**

The desmo system made its debut in the single-cylinder, 125 Desmo. Ducati had used the system exclusively in race bikes only up until 1968, when they featured it in production models, too. But it wasn’t just the simplicity of the valve gear that Taglioni designed, but also the elegant towers encasing the bevel gear shaft which sent power from the crankshaft to the head.

Taglioni went on to build the Mach 250, which broke distance and speed records. The early 70’s saw Ducati’s 90-degree V-Twin – called L-Twin by Ducati, as the front cylinder is almost fully horizontal – contributing to Paul Smart’s win at the 1972 Imola race and Mike Hailwood’s comeback victory in the 1978 Isle of Man TT race.

**Mike Hailwood at the 1978 Isle of Man TT**

From that point on, all models built in 1980 and beyond were desmo.

**Taglioni with the 1982 600 Pantah TT**

The predecessors of Taglioni’s Desmo 90-degree V-Twin engines would go on to dominate World Superbike Championship, winning an unprecedented 14 titles in 21 years, from 1991 to 2011, and thereby launching the Ducati marque as a premium motorcycle maker.

***Andrea Dovizioso at the 2017 Austrian MotoGP***

Recent developments to yield more power for racing in World Superbike will see Ducati switching to the V-Four format in their superbikes, but Dr. T’s Desmo remains a feature in the racebikes and all road motorcycles. (Click here for our report on the V-Four Ducati.)

New Ducati Panigale V4 seen in all its glory

The upcoming Ducati Panigale V4 is not due to be official unveiled for another two months or so; Ducati will take the wraps off of it on November 5th, most likely during this year’s EICMA show. But because it is arguably the most anticipated motorcycle of the year, photos and teasers have already been hitting the internet for a while now.

The photo above was published in a few motorcycle websites and blogs, and shows what seems to be the full production ready machine.

This is not the only photo to hit the internet, just last week the photo below was uploaded, supposedly from a track test session. While the photo below is grainy and not does not show much about the bike, we do get the full view of the fairing while the photo above shows a clearer view of the rest of the bike.

The fairing is probably the biggest change to the new Panigale V4. The wordings on the side that clearly read Panigale V4 also confirm the fact that the new Ducati will retain the Panigale branding.

From these photos we can deduce that the new Ducati sports bike does not look all that different from the model it replaces. The headlights, seat and tail unit seem to be largely the same as the old bike.

But despite looking visually similar, the fairing is all-new, with the headlight recesses looking more like air ducts than headlight mounts. It is likely that the recesses will play a dual-role of channeling air to the radiators as well as headlight mounts.

Not much else is know about the new V4 except for the engine. According to Ducati, the new 1103cc V4 engine is derived from the race spec Desmosedici engine used in MotoGP. It produces 210hp and 120Nm of torque. There will also be another engine with less than 1000cc but producing more power. Ducati says that the engine will be used in the new Panigale R, and is already in advanced stages of testing.

Listen to the sound of Ducati’s new V4 engine in the video below:

MotoGP: Tito Rabat signs with Avintia Ducati for 2018

Tito Rabat will move to the Reale Avintia Racing team for the next MotoGP season in 2018.

The 28 year old Spaniard has had a tough season so far with his current EG 0,0 Marc VDS on board the Honda machinery.

Rabat will be piloting the Ducati Desmosedici GP17 which Avintia Racing will acquire from the factory Ducati squad used by Andrea Dovizioso.

Current MotoGP rider Tito Rabat has signed a new contract with the Reale Avintia Racing squad for the 2018 season. After a troubled season with his current Marc VDS squad, the 2014 Moto2 World Champion will race on board the Ducati Desmosedici GP17 for 2018. (more…)

Ducati officially unveils Desmosedici Stradale V4 engine – 210hp!

Ducati has finally launched their new Desmosedici Stradale V4 engine yesterday at the start of the San Marino MotoGP round in Misano.

The road-going version bred from Ducati’s MotoGP efforts is said to produce 210hp at 13,000rpm and 120Nm of torque at 12,250rpm.

The street variant will have a 1,103cc displacement whereas an “R” version will be released in 2019 to be able to compete in the WorldSBK.

The dawn of a new era for Ducati production premium motorcycles is finally here, folks. Ducati has officially unveiled the new Desmosedici Stradale V4 engine which will power their upcoming Ducati Panigale V4. This engine is the road-going version of the power plant bred for the MotoGP, the Ducati Desmosedici. (more…)

Is this the new Ducati Panigale V4 superbike?

There has been an interesting photo circulating around several social media platforms stating that this might be the new Ducati Panigale V4 superbike.

Powered by the V4 “Desmosedici Stradale” engine or “Desmosedici Road”, the engine will be unveiled this weekend during the MotoGP round in Misano.

While the bike might have broken cover thanks to this photo, the actual unveiling will probably be made at the end of the year during the EICMA Show in Milan, Italy.

As we get closer and closer to the next MotoGP round in San Marino where Ducati has confirmed that they’ll be introducing their new V4 engine dubbed the “Desmosedici Stradale”, there’s a photo circulating all over social media showing what is said to be the new Ducati V4 production bike in all its glory. (more…)

New colour announced for 2018 Ducati XDiavel – Iceberg White!

Ducati has announced that their 2018 Ducati XDiavel S will be getting a host of new upgrades including a brand new colour; Iceberg White.

The 2018 XDiavel S will also get a brand new suspension package to provide even more comfort for both rider and pillion.

Equipped with a 1,262cc V-Twin Testastretta DVT engine, the XDiavel produces 156hp and 129Nm of gut-churning torque for maximum dose of fun.

Hold on to your socks, folks. Ducati has just announced that their 2018 Ducati XDiavel S will be available soon with a bunch of new upgrades. The biggest update of all is that it’ll come with a brand new colour scheme called “Iceberg White”. (more…)

Ducati unveils name for new V4 engine – “Desmosedici Stradale”

Ducati has unveiled the name for their latest V4 engine which is the “Desmosedici Stradale” or “Desmosedici Road”.

The new engine for the upcoming Ducati V4-powered production superbike will be unveiled this weekend during the San Marino MotoGP round.

The new Desmosedici Stradale is said to be a hybrid between Ducati’s V4 Desmosedici GP engine and their current V2 Superquadro power plant from the Panigale series.

It’s only a few days away before the next 2017 MotoGP round in San Marino and the boys over at Ducati has been working on something very, VERY special for the motorcycle industry. We all know that they will be introducing something about the new Ducati V4-powered production superbike this weekend and by the looks of it, Ducati has dubbed the new engine as the “Desmosedici Stradale”. (more…)

Ducati V4 Superbike caught on video!

Belgian-based motoring media MaxxMoto has released a video of what seems to be the new Ducati V4 superbike doing some runs in a test track.

The upcoming V4-powered Ducati production superbike carries a soundtrack similar to the Ducati Desmosedici GP bike or even the Honda RC213V.

It can also be assumed that the new Ducati will be using the “big bang” engine firing sequence which carries a very unique riding experience compared to usual V4 engine configurations.

A recent report released by Belgian-based motoring media MaxxMoto shows that they have been keeping a very close eye on the upcoming Ducati V4 superbike. In their latest video, it seems that they’ve managed to catch a glimpse of the four-cylinder Ducati Panigale replacement ripping through the test track. (more…)

Deadpool 2 stuntwoman dies in motorcycle stunt crash

A stuntwoman has recently passed away in an unfortunate incident while filming motorcycle stunt scene for the new upcoming Marvel movie, Deadpool 2.

The stuntwoman was seen losing control of her Ducati stunt bike before going airborne and crashing through a window panel at the ground floor of the Shaw Tower in Vancouver, Canada.

No official news has been released yet by the team but the unfortunate incident is probably going to delay the release of blockbuster movie in June of 2018.

A stuntwoman has died in a freak accident while performing a stunt using a high-powered motorcycle earlier today while filming the new Marvel superhero movie “Deadpool 2”. (more…)

Next Bike Sdn Bhd launches new 2017 Ducati Monster 797 & Multistrada 950! From RM55,900

Next Bike Sdn Bhd (Ducati Malaysia) has launched their latest 2017 Ducati Monster 797 and Ducati Multistrada 950.

The two entry-level bikes from Ducati were launched earlier today at the NAZA Merdeka Autofair 2017 held at the NAZA Automall, Petaling Jaya.

The new Ducati Monster 797 is priced at RM55,900 while the new Multistrada 950 is at RM85,900 (basic priced with GST).

Next Bike Sdn Bhd, the sole importer and distributor of Ducati motorcycles here in Malaysia has launched two new entry levels bikes into their current line up.

These new bikes are the 2017 Ducati Monster 797 and Ducati Multistrada 950. The launch was held in conjunction with the NAZA Merdeka Autofair 2017 which is happening now from 10 to 13 August 2017 at the NAZA Automall, Petaling Jaya. (more…)

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ducati

Buy Shell Advance motorcycle engine oil on Lazada Malaysia and you could Meet Jorge Lorenzo

Online shoppers stand to win exclusive meeting with the Ducati rider, MotoGP™ tickets and Oakley eyewear

Contest period from 3-29 October 2017

Ducati’s signature Desmo valve system owes its genesis to Fabio Taglioni

Ducati was making bicycles and scooters before Taglioni joined

Ducati has been using the Desmo system since 1968