The Indonesian island of Bali has banned tourists from renting motorbikes in a new effort to curb antisocial behaviour. The move follows a string of traffic violations by foreigners, including drunk driving, speeding, and using fake license plates.
Bali is banning tourists from renting motorbikes to curb antisocial behaviour and traffic offences by foreigners.
Visitors will be encouraged to rent cars instead of motorbikes, which are popular among tourists.
Tourism is a vital part of Bali’s economy, but locals are increasingly frustrated with tourist hooliganism and unruly behaviour.
The new rules aim to encourage visitors to rent cars instead of motorbikes, which are popular among tourists and easily navigable on the country’s winding roads.
Governor I Wayan Koster said tourists should “act as tourists,” use vehicles provided by travel agents, and abide by traffic rules.
Tourism is a vital part of Bali’s economy, with the sector contributing about 60% of the island’s annual GDP. However, many locals have grown increasingly frustrated with tourist hooliganism and unruly behaviour, with some blaming tourists for the high number of road accidents that occurred in 2020, causing 405 fatalities.
Although travel has rebounded after international travel restrictions were lifted, Bali’s businesses have been hit hard by the pandemic.
The ban on renting motorbikes is expected to be implemented later this year, but the government has not yet revealed how it will be enforced.
Not all locals and tourists are pleased with the new rules, with some arguing that specific violations should be targeted instead of imposing a blanket ban.
One Twitter user said they would not be returning to Bali if motorbikes were banned. However, the government believes the move is necessary to tidy up the island and curb antisocial behaviour, which has been made more visible by the pandemic-induced lull in tourism.
The new Havoline motorcycle engine oils are especially formulated for urban riding.
At the heart of some oils is the CORE Technology.
Caltex is also offering “Ride Strong” promotional package.
Subjected to extreme pressure and heat in the engine, coupled to variable operating and ambient temperature, fighting off affluent of the combustion process, resisting being oxidized by moisture, engine oils lead a hard life in order to protect, lube, cool, and clean the parts of an engine.
Racing is of course and activity that’s harsh on oils, but lugging the bike at slow speeds in traffic is just, if not worse.
At extra slow speeds like those encountered in inner city commuting, depending on the state of tune (in terms of valve overlap) an internal combustion engine may not produce enough positive pressure from combustion or negative pressure from the exhaust tract to evacuate the burned gasses, leaving behind residues that end up as carbon and so forth.
In the meantime, temperatures increase due to lack of airflow and it’s the job of the coolant (if the bike is liquid-cooled) and oil (especially critical if the engine’s oil- or air-cooled) to keep temperatures manageable. Oils break down quickly in this environment.
Yet, the oil has to avoid causing the clutch plates to slip while being sheer resistant to provide optimum protection to the engine and transmission. (This is why we should never use car engine oils in a motorcycle engine. Click on the link below for our earlier article on this subject.)
That’s the main aim of Caltex’s new line of engine oils, lead by the flagship Havoline Super 4T Fully Synthetic SAE 5W-40 for motorcycles and scooters. The family includes semi-synthetics and mineral grades, as well.
Caltex’s latest proprietary C.O.R.E. Technology was developed to address the concerns of today’s urban riders. The semi-synthetic range is further fortified with ZOOMTECH additive, to minimize clutch slip hence maximizing power transfer.
Lennard Kwek, Regional Marketing Manager, Asia Pacific, Chevron Lubricants said it best, “Motorcycles make up almost 46% of the registered vehicles on Malaysian roads and in start-stop city traffic and congestion, the vehicles are constantly under stress. For our consumers, our latest range of Havoline motorcycle engine oils with C.O.R.E. Technology and ZOOMTECH booster aims to give riders a reliable product that is especially suited for urban commuting.”
C.O.R.E. Technology stands for: Cleans and protects for a more efficient and cleaner engine to deliver superior performance. Oxidation stability provides heat protection against oil degradation. Reduces engine heat damage with superior oil stability for continuous protection. Enhances acceleration through improved clutch grip even under high loads.
CORE Technology is available in all products except for Havoline Ezy 4T.
The addition of ZOOMTECH in Havoline Super 4T Semi-Synthetic delivers a 13% improvement static friction index (SFI) when measured the JASO T903:2016 standard for better clutch grip over the Havoline Super 4T Synthetic Blend SAE 10W-40. The term “JASO” may sound familiar to you – that’s the certification for the MA or MA2 clutch grip standards.
The flagship Havoline Super 4T Fully Synthetic SAE 5W-40 with C.O.R.E. Technology is suited for high performance, large capacity motorcycles. To cope with the high revving engines which generate additional heat, this oil has been formulated to be 50% superior compared to the industry’s standard in oxidation stability. It means the engine will be better protected against heat damage, and last longer.
We presented a question during the Q&A Session on whether there’s a need for higher viscosity such as 5W/40 or 10W/50 in view of our climate’s higher ambient temperature. Caltex is confidence that the C.O.R.E. Technology addresses the issue since it’s formulated against high heat oxidation.
As for the scooter segment, Havoline’s scooter range has been upgraded to meet the latest API SN service standard, for both semi-synthetic and mineral grades. All products are JASO MB certified, as scooters do not use wet clutch.
“RIDE STRONG” PROMOTIONAL PACK
Chevron Malaysia Limited is offering a special bundle pack promotion in conjunction with launch. Customers will receive a free limited-edition microfiber towel with “Ride Strong” branding.
Police to nab illegal racers after identifying the ‘rat holes’ they use to avoid being caught.
Highway authorities to fix fences to stop motorcyclists from escaping.
JPJ and police team up to conduct joint road blocks.
Over 170,000 summons have been issued in just 3 months.
According to a report by The Star Metro, the Selangor police have upped their focus on nabbing Mat Rempit’s (Malaysian for street racers). And they plan to begin doing so by locating all narrow roads used by these racers as escape routes from housing areas to highways and vice versa.
These escape routes, dubbed by the Selangor traffic chief Supt Kamaludin Mohamad, as ‘rat holes’ are used by the racers to quickly evade police roadblocks around housing areas and on major highways.
To avoid getting caught, these illegal racers will break certain sections of fences along the highways.
According to the report published online, the traffic chief was quoted as saying, “We have informed the highway concessionaires – Besraya and Kesas – to repair damaged fences along the highway.”
The chief was also quoted saying that the police are planning to use a new technology to catch the culprits during the next raid, but the report made no mention of what the new technology is.
He did however remind the public that Selangor has an ongoing campaign called Ops Zero Tolerance in all 15 districts in Selangor, and which started on October 14 last year.
Both the police and the Road Transport Department (JPJ) are working together to curb illegal activities through regular raids and joints roadblocks, the latter can usually be seen operating at the entrance to major highways like the NKVE.
The chief also added that from October 14 last year to February 6 this year the police has issued summonses to 171,619 motorcycles. This consists of 54,507 summons to riders without a valid license, 10,751 for not having a road tax, 7,688 for not wearing a helmet, and 98,673 for causing obstruction.
Selangor JPJ director Nazli Md Taib said that in its three operations in the past two weeks, 1,900 motorcycles were checked and 553 of them were summoned.
Bikes Republic welcomes this move by the authorities as there are just too many motorcyclists with no regard for the law. It was just last week that a father and what we assume to be his daughter was seen riding on the NKVE without a helmet. We have reached a dangerous level of ignorance and it is good that the authorities are stepping up their game.
