Melihat kembali pada musim MotoGP 2017, Johann Zarco mengungguli senarai kami sebagai ‘Penunggang Terbaik Tahun 2017’.
Setelah memenangi 2 kejuaraan Moto2 secara berturut-turut, penunggang muda kelahiran Perancis itu telah berpindah ke kelas MotoGP sebagai seorang penunggang rookie, tetapi, telah menunggang seperti seorang penunggang amat berpengalaman yang sedang mengejar takhta kejohanan.
Secara keseluruhannya, dia telah menamatkan musim itu dengan tiga penamat di atas podium, 174 mata, dan gelaran “MotoGP 2017 Rookie of the Year”.
Looking back at the 2017 MotoGP season, Johann Zarco topped our list for ‘Rider of the Year’.
After winning two Moto2 titles back to back, the young Frenchman moved up to MotoGP as a rookie but rode like a seasoned veteran chasing the championship.
All in all, he finished the season with three podiums, 174 points and the title “MotoGP 2017 Rookie of the Year”.
The 2017 MotoGP season has been nothing but breathtaking ever since the very beginning where the season started off under the floodlights of Qatar. Apart from a few monumental shifts in the series such as the great Jorge Lorenzo converting over to the scarlet red Ducati team and Maverick Vinales taking his place in Movistar Yamaha, there were a few more unexpected surprises thrown into the mix. (more…)
Fork dive – compression of the forks when the brakes are applied – has been something that gave chassis and suspension engineers migraine headaches ever since BMW featured the first production hydraulically damped telescopic fork on the R12 in 1934.
Fork dive is counter-productive; as little suspension travel is left to soak up bumps in order to keep the front wheel planted to the road. If the bumps are large enough or if there are multiple successive ones, the front wheel will start to hop as it runs out travel, causing loss of traction, instability and potentially loss of control. (Or a rolling stoppie!)
Besides that, most riders find it disconcerting when the forks bottom all the way down, leading to loss of confidence, leading them to either release the brakes and/or failing to turn into a corner.
Well, many folks decided it was time to eliminate front end dive, and one notable solution was presented by the ELF Racing Team GP racer in the late-70’s through to the late-80’s, ridden by one Ron Haslam. The single-sided swingarm front suspension removed shock absorbing and damping duties from the steering head, in the pursuit of making the front end more stable under extreme braking. Honda saw a potential in the program and started supplying racing engines to the team.
A designer named James Parker also saw the capability of the single-sided swingarm front suspension and went about designing his own, which he then named together with his company, Rationally Advanced Design Development – RADD.
His first prototype was based around a Honda XL600R engine and frame, donated by Honda USA, which he got a young dirt tracker and Superbike rider, one who will one day become a 3-time 500cc World Champion, to test ride it. He was Wayne Rainey.
Rainey was impressed by the handling and feedback of the front suspension. Honda Japan wasn’t interested, however, as they were already involved with ELF.
Parker went on to work on a Yamaha FZ750 next and the finished project named RADD MC2 was revealed at the 1987 Milan Motorcycle Exhibition.
Yamaha Japan got wind of the MC2 and began work on their own project, called the Morpho, without Parker’s approval. When Parker found out, he negotiated with Yamaha to license his designs before the Morpho was unveiled in 1989. But the project hit a roadblock as Yamaha has always outsourced fork production to contractors.
However, there’s light at the end of the tunnel for Parker’s RADD concept as Yamaha Europe demanded that Yamaha Japan build a new sport-tourer. That’s where the RADD chassis found a place.
The result was the GTS1000 in 1993. Besides the RADD front suspension, it also boasted other new technologies such as electronic fuel injection, ABS, and for the first time on a motorcycle, a catalytic convertor. The engine was lifted from the FZR1000, but detuned to 102 bhp.
The GTS1000 looked great and was generally praised by the media, unfortunately the price tag of US$ 12,999 put many potential buyers off as they felt the improvements and added weight did not justify the extra cost.
Plus the fact that Ducati launched the 916 in the same year, which overshadowed every single bike for the next two years, the GTS1000 included.
Honda telah mengumumkan bahawa akan adanya satu lagi penyertaan baru bagi perlumbaan ketahanan Suzuka 8 Hours 2018 bersama dengan pasukan pengilang HRC mereka.
Pengumuman ini dibuat setelah Yamaha Factory Racing Team memenangi perlumbaan ikonik buat tiga tahun yang lalu.
Pengeluar tersohor dari Jepun itu mungkin juga bakal menggunakan penunggang utama mereka dari siri perlumbaan MotoGP dan WorldSBK bagi memperbaiki peluang mereka bagi tahun 2018.
Honda has announced that there will be a new entry in the 2018 Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race with their HRC factory squad.
This announcement came to be after the Yamaha Factory Racing Team has won the iconic race for the past three years.
The giant red Japanese manufacturer might even bring their top riders from WorldSBK and MotoGP to improve their chances in 2018.
One of the world’s greatest motorcycle endurance races that is the Suzuka 8 Hours will see a major shift in major league players for the year 2018. After three years of dominance from the Yamaha Factory Racing Team in July earlier this year (which also marked the race’s 40th anniversary), Honda has decided that it’s time to bring out their big guns. (more…)
The Yamaha R1DT dirt track racer is a dirt track drifter powered by the 998cc inline-four engine taken from the Yamaha YZF-R1S.
The dirt-track racer concept was built using tube-frame technology to promote a robust and fun dirt track racer at a relatively low budget.
Design by Yamaha Motor USA, eight Yamaha R1DT race cars thundered around the Perris Auto Speedway with eight racing champions from different race disciplines.
What happens when you take the powerful Yamaha YZF-R1 998cc inline-four engine with its iconic crossplane crankshaft technology and stuff it into a dirt track racing car? You’ll get the Yamaha R1DT dirt track car and just yesterday, Yamaha build eight of these bad boys and organised an exhibition race at the 2017 Budweiser Nationals sprint-car race. (more…)
Sebuah motosikal ‘flat tracker’ Yamaha XJR1300 buatan khas istimewa telah dihasilkan buat penunggang pasukan Movistar Yamaha MotoGP, Valentino Rossi.
Diberikan nama gelaran “Mya”, motosikal ‘flat tracker’ buatan khas ini telah dibina dan direka oleh VR46 Riders Academy bersama dengan pembina pakar, Rodolfo Frascoli.
Motosikal XJR1300 buatan khas ini dilengkapi dengan lampu hadapan R1, suspensi Ohlins, ekzos berkembar Akrapovic, dan sepasang roda berjejari 19 inci.
A special custom Yamaha XJR1300 flat tracker was made for Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider, Valentino Rossi.
Nicknamed “Mya”, the custom Yamaha flat tracker was built and designed by the folks from the VR46 Riders Academy together with master designer, Rodolfo Frascoli.
The custom XJR1300 comes with R1 headlights, Ohlins suspension, Akrapovic double-barrel exhaust and a set of 19-inch spoke wheels.
What would be the perfect gift for a nine-time MotoGP world champion with a legion of fans around the globe? It’s a pretty daunting task for anyone brave enough to try but the boys and girls over at VR46 Riders Academy pulled off something quite magnificent for their one and only big boss, Valentino Rossi. (more…)
Motosikal Yamaha MT-09 SP 2018 terbaru telah diperkenalkan semasa pertunjukan EICMA 2017 di Milan, Itali baru-baru ini.
Mengambil inspirasi daripada motosikal Yamaha MT-10 SP, Motosikal MT-09 SP ini telah dilengkapi dengan pengemaskinian suspensi keseluruhan yang amat diperlukannya.
Ciri-ciri baru yang lain termasuk kawalan cengkaman, quickshifter, lampu hadapan projektor LED, kemasan warna “Silver Blu Carbon”, dan pelbagai lagi kelengkapan lain yang diinspirasikan oleh saudaranya yang lebih besar serta berkuasa itu.
The latest 2018 Yamaha MT-09 SP was introduced during the recent EICMA 2017 show in Milan, Italy.
Heavily influenced by the Yamaha MT-10 SP, the 2018 MT-09 SP receives a much needed all-round suspension upgrade.
Other new features include traction control, quickshifter, LED projector headlamps, “Silver Blu Carbon” paint job and many more parts inspired by its bigger and more powerful sibling.
Yamaha’s most successful motorcycle in the world to date with close to 50,000 units sold has just received a much needed upgrade for 2018. During the recent EICMA 2017 motorcycle show in Milan, the boys in blue introduced the updated 2018 Yamaha MT-09 SP. (more…)
Hong Leong Yamaha Motors Sdn. Bhd. (HLYM) baru sahaja memperkenalkan dua kemasan warna yang baru bagi skuter Yamaha Nmax 2017 mereka.
Dengan nama yang ringkas “Blue” dan “Black”, ianya sudah pasti menambahkan lagi dua warna yang baru dalam rangkaian itu, sementara warna yang lama akan dihentikan pengeluarannya.
Harganya tetap sama pada tahap RM8,812.14 termasuk 6% GST (tanpa cukai jalan, insurans, sert pendaftaran).
Hong Leong Yamaha Motors Sdn Bhd (HLYM) has released two brand news colours for their 2017 Yamaha NMAX scooter.
Called just “Blue” for one scheme and “Black” for the other, justifiably adds two more to the colourful family, while the older colours will cease being produced.
Price remains the same at RM 8,812.14 inclusive of 6% GST (without road tax, insurance and registration.)
Since its maiden launch in 2016, the Yamaha NMAX scooter has gone to become the best-selling automatic scooter in Malaysia. (more…)
