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A total of 37,708 summonses were issued to motorcyclists by the Road Transport Department (Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan/JPJ) in the 13 days since the start of Ops Khas Motosikal (Motorcycle Special Operation) on 1 November 2024.

JPJ Director-General, Datuk Aedy Fadly Ramli said the fines were issued following inspections carried out by his department on 136,067 motorcycles. The department also seized 1,014 motorcycles involving various offences such as no insurance and road tax as well as excessive modifications by motorcycle owners.

Ops Khas Motosikal will continue for two months until December nationwide. This continuous enforcement is important to educate and ensure the safety of road users.

So we would like to remind all road users to comply with all the regulations set because strict action will be taken against those who violate the law,” he said after the Terengganu State Level MyLesen B2 Program at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Padang Midin here, earlier today.

Meanwhile, Datuk Aedy Fadly said the MyLesen program is the government’s commitment and continuous effort to help the low-income group (B40) improve their socio-economic status and household income through job opportunities.

He said that owning a class B2 driving license benefits the community, including in Terengganu, by facilitating movement to manage local economic activities, thereby increasing household income.

Brembo is virtually enjoying a monopoly in MotoGP as all teams use their braking solutions. But the Italian brake specialists do not rest on their laurels and launched the new 2025 Brembo MotoGP brake caliper.

However, Brembo said that teams can carry on using the 2024 GP4 caliper, lettng them choose which one fits their needs.

The current GP4 caliper has been in use since 2020, without any complaints from riders and teams. In any case, Brembo probably thinks that a new caliper is needed due to increased aerodynamic forces and ride-height devices. In other words, future proofing.

The new caliper has a longer fixing distance of 130mm compared to the 108mm of the old GP4. The extra size is needed to fix bigger pads. As such, the new caliper increases to 847g compared to 810g.

A statement from Brembo said: “An oversized pad, capable of withstanding extremely high temperatures, ensures constant and powerful braking even in the most critical situations. The increased braking area, combined with optimised contact pressure, allows for greater braking efficiency, permitting riders to manage the bike with extreme precision.

The increased exchange surface, on the other hand, promotes rapid heat disposal, improving pad wear and ensuring consistent performance over time. The caliper/foot fixing wheelbase has been reinforced to offer greater stiffness and resistance to braking torque, improving stability and precision.

Finally, the position of the bleeder has been studied to make brake bleeding and maintenance operations as easy as possible, allowing mechanics to work quickly and efficiently.

Remember the Bimota KB998 WorldSBK racebike? We have said earlier that manufacturers need to produce a certain number of roadgoing bikes to homologate it for racing in the series, examples being the BMW M 1000 RR, Ducati Panigale V4 R, Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR, etc. So yes, the 2025 Bimota KB998 Rimini road bike was launched at EICMA 2024.

As with the previous Bimota motorcycles where the company makes the frames and uses contemporary engines, the KB998 uses the Kawasaki ZX-10R’s inline-four engine and wrapped in a Bimota frame.

The frame here is called a “hybrid design” as it combines a tubular frame from the headstock and mated to a CNC-machined from billet sideplates. Capping the headstock are billet aluminium triple clamps that also clamp fully-adjustable Showa forks.

Brakes are by Brembo, of course, fed cooling air through a beautiful carbon fibre duct which is part of the front mudguard. The TFT screen is shared with the ZX-10.

Unfortunately, Bimota and Kawasaki did not indulge in further details of the 2025 Bimota KB998 Rimini such as engine performance, weight, price, etc.

The bike will be ridden by Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani in the 2025 World Superbike Championship. The team, called Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team (BbKRT) consists of the staff members of the previous KRT.

The 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R was previewed at EICMA 2024.

Unlike other manufacturers, the “R” moniker for KTM denotes adventure variants with more off-road capabilities and higher specifications. For example, the 790 and 890 Adventure R, 1290 Super Adventure R. In fact, most of us journos have been asking about the R-spec 390 Adventure since its launched in 2019. So, it is finally here.

However, the 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R is 99% new compared to the current bike.

Highlights
  • Firstly, the 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R has a new look, and surprisingly different from spyshots.
  • A pair of stacked round LEDs are flanked by LED DRLs like on the 990 Duke, while the 5-inch TFT screen in housed in a tall tower and larger windscreen.
  • KTM says the new bike will share the updated 390 Duke’s LC4 engine, which displaces 399cc, and produces 44hp and 39Nm, although these figures will be different for the 390 Adventure R’s.

  • The new engine has a longer 64mm stroke, while leaving the bore at 89mm, thus moving peak torque at 1,000 RPM lower.
  • Up front are fully-adjustable WP Apex forks with 230mm travel, compared to just 170mm for the standard bike.
  • At the back is a WP Apex monoshock with also 230mm of travel compared to 177mm. It is adjustable for rebound and preload.

  • A new and redesigned gravity-cast swingarm complete the rear suspension.
  • The wheels are 21-inches front and 18-inches rear, compared to the 19/18 combo on the standard Adventre.
  • There is a new frame and subframe, and although it appears to be similar to the 2024 390 Duke’s, there is an additional bracing for off-road duties.

  • Weirdly, the Akrapovic muffler is low-slung which will raise concerns for water crossings, but it allows for the rider to mount soft luggage without having to worry about exhaust heat.
  • There are of course ride modes Rain, Street, and Rally. The Rally mode allows the rear ABS to be deactivated. However, there is no mention of adjustable traction control levels like that of the 790/890 Adventure R.

KTM did not state when the 2025 KTM 390 Adventure R will be available for sale and how much it will be. We hope to be able to test it during the international media launch, like we did when the 790 Adventure and its R variant in 2019.

The Aprilia Tuono 457 was also launched at EICMA 2024, filling the gap between the Tuono 125 and Tuono 660.

The Tuono range is based on their larger sportbike siblings, thus the Tuno 457 is based on the Aprilia RS 457 sportbike. As such, the engine is the same 457cc parallel-twin which produces 47.6hp at 9,400 RPM and 43.4Nm of torque at 6,700 RPM. 82% of the peak torque is available from as low as 3,000 RPM. The Tuono’s shorter final drive contributes to the extra 2% of torque at those RPMs.

Also sharing the same chassis as the RS 457, this model uses an aluminium frame. This makes it as the only naked motorcycle in its class to sport an aluminium frame. As such, Aprilia claims the same dry weight of 159kg.

Suspension duties are handled by 41mm upside-down forks up front and a monoshock at the rear. Both ends are adjustable for preload. The monoshock is mounted to an asymmetricla steel swingarm, just like the RS 457, too.

The brake system consists of a single ByBre four-piston caliper up front, which clamps on a single 320mm disc. A single 220mm disc is at the back. The front brake lever is adjustable. A two-channel Bosch ABS is standard. Tyre sizes are 110/70-R17 and 150/60-R17, front and rear, respectively.

A new 5-inch TFT screen with smartphone connectivity also allows the rider to choose his preferred ride modes namely Eco, Sport, and Rain. A bi-directional quickshifter is optional.

The Aprilia Tuono 457 is offered in two colour options called Piranha Red and Puma Gray. Aprilia has not released the price of the bike.

The Fantic brand is still very much under the radar here in Malaysia, but it is gaining some traction, especially with the Caballero Scrambler 500’s success in Rimba Raid. Now, the company shows off the production ready Fantic Imola sportbike and Fantic Stealth naked bike at EICMA 2024.

Both are powered by a new 460cc single-cylinder engine which was developed in-house in partnership with the engine maker Motori Minarelli. It had been developed over three years and meets the Euro5+ regulations. This is a clear move from using engines supplied by Zongshen.

The engine is said to produce 44.4hp at 8,250 RPM, weighs less than 40kg, and incorporates a slipper clutch besides ride-by-wire throttle. There is a smaller 125cc engine which produces 15hp.

The engine is houses in a frame which combines steel trellis up top, with aluminium side plates below. There is 5-inch TFT screen with Bluetooth connectivity, multi-level traction control, and cornering ABS.

As for the variants, the Fantic Imola is a sportbike complete with winglets, while the Fantic Stealth is a naked sportbike which includes a Ducati Streetfighter-like headlight unit. Both also feature a high-mounted exhaust muffler.

We expect these bikes to be launched in the first half of 2025.

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