Yamaha Motor announced that the firm would donate USD700,000 (RM2.9 Million) towards humanitarian aid for Ukraine.
The donation will be made via Japan Platform – a non-profit organization – with the funds that will be used explicitly for helping those who are affected by the Russian invasion into the country.
According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, more than 902 civilians have perished in Ukraine and another 1,459 have been wounded so far in the ongoing war.
Unfortunately, the office is worried that the actual number will likely be considerably higher.
Meanwhile, in a statement, Yamaha Motor expressed its deepest condolences and sympathies to all victims affected by the war.
The recent Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered numerous sanctions by nationwide governmental bodies and private firms.
Automotive manufacturers have also stopped shipments of new motorcycles and cars to Russia.
The heavy sanctions extend to the world of sport, with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) calling for the ban of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials on February 28, 2022.
As the invasion is about to enter its third week, more organizations have stood out against the Russian Federation, including the FIM.
In a recent response, FIM has suspended Russian and Belarusian riders from competing in any international two-wheeled competitions, including the FIM Motocross World Championship (MXGP).
As a result, Russian rider Vsevolod Brylyako, who managed to qualify P19 for the Mantua GP, was informed not to participate in the series until further notice.
The suspension also applies to all Russian Motorcycle Federation (RMF) and Belarusian Federation of Motorcycle Sports (BFMS) officials, experts, members and agents.
Baru-baru ini, Litar Antarabangsa Sepang (SIC) telah menjadi topik hangat di laman sosial Twitter, dengan SIC hangat dikaitkan dengan penganjuran Formula 1.
Ini kerana salah satu ‘venue’ sukan itu yang dijadualkan berlangsung di Sochi, Russia telah dibatalkan penganjuran susulan kemelut Russia-Ukraine yang sedang melanda ketika ini.
Punca utama Litar Antarabangsa Sepang dipetik adalah berkait dengan kalendar F1 musim ini.
Selepas selesai pusingan 16 di Itali, F1 akan bertandang ke Singapura pada 30 September hingga 2 Oktober sebelum bersambung di Jepun pada 7-9 Oktober dan seterusnya ke Sochi pada 23-25 September.
Namun dengan pembatalan penganjuran F1 di negara itu, rata-rata pengguna media sosial mengaitkan SIC sebagai pengganti paling sesuai bagi mengisi kalendar 2022.
Lebih menarik, media sukan permotoran tempatan, Tarmac Sports, mendakwa pihak SIC juga telah mengadakan mesyuarat tergempar mengenai kebarangkalian kembali menjadi tuan rumah F1 selepas kali terakhir pada 2017.
Perkongsian terbaru akaun Twitter rasmi SIC juga seakan memberi bayangan sukan itu akan kembali.
Malaysia menjadi tuan rumah F1 bermula 1999 sebelum kali terakhir melakukannya pada 2017. Keputusan untuk tidak lagi meneruskan penganjuran berkait dengan perbelanjaan tinggi yang terlibat. – Tarmac Sports Malaysia
Harley-Davidson has suspended the shipment of new motorcycles to Russia amid the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
The decision supports America’s sanctions against Russia’s invasion of its neighbouring country.
2021 Harley-Davidson Road Glide Special
Harley-Davidson officially joins various large companies in suspending their business with the country, including General Motors, Ford, BMW, and most recently, Volvo.
Although the Milwaukee-based firm has around ten dealerships in Russia, Chris Hodson, senior analyst at Edgewater Research, stated that the country is not an essential market for the brand.
“Russia is not that significant of a market, to begin with.
“Any units that have been earmarked for Russia can be diverted elsewhere,” he said.
Regardless, Europe still remains the second biggest market for Harley-Davidson, after the United States.
Russian arms maker, Kalashnikov is producing electric bikes for the military and police.
Kalashnikov will also supply the bikes to law enforcement during the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Militaries are getting into e-bikes because they are silent and don’t require fuel.
Kalashnikov, the Russian arms manufacturer best-known for producing the AK-47 (Avtomat Kalashnikova) assault rifle has recently shown off an electric motorcycle to be produced for the Russian military and police forces, reports Popular Mechanics. Kalashnikov Group presented the bikes at the 2017 Army International Military-Technical Forum in Moscow.
The e-bike is operational, evidenced by the promotional video (click here to watch), showing a rider unplugging the bike and proceeding to ride in sunglasses and a cap over rough terrain. The police version looks like a supermoto, for urban patrolling.
The manufacturer also announced supplying 50 of the bikes to law enforcement for the 2018 World Cup, which will be held in major cities across Russia.
Kalashnikov didn’t publish any technical data and we can’t read Russian, but a caption in the video shows 100km, most probably meaning the bike’s range. The police bike, however, is said to have a range of 150km.
The news of Kalashnikov’s e-bikes comes after the American firm, Logos Technologies’ announcement that they have been awarded the DARPA contract to research and built an electric motorcycle for the American special forces. According to Logos, their SilentHawk e-bike is based on the Alta Redshift MX e-bike with a range of 170km.
E-bikes are appealing to the military mainly because they are virtually silent compared to the racket of internal combustion engines. Besides that, being electric means planners do not have to sweat over the logistics of sending fuel to remote locations, especially during special operations. Also generally, motorcycles are smaller and lighter, hence the ease of transporting them.
But one thing that intrigues us is if the Kalashnikov bike is as resilient and reliable as the AK-47.
