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Kawasaki and Suzuki to make 250cc tourers?

Rumour has it that Suzuki and Kawasaki are developing parallel twin 250cc tourers to provide new entry-level additions to their dual-sport ranges.

According to sources in Japan and India, Suzuki is developing the G-Strom 250 (basically a mini V-Strom 650), meanwhile Kawasaki is working on a Versys 250.

The G-Strom 250, which is expected to be based on the Suzuki Inazuma 250, will apparently be providing an adventure-styled bike, with power coming from a 250cc parallel twin engine.

The Kawasaki Versys 250 on the other hand, is expected to share the frame and the engine of the Ninja 250 and the Z250 sold here.

Although there has not been any official announcement or any solid evidence regarding these two bikes, the idea of smaller-engined, cheaper bikes with the stance and look of ‘big’ adventure-style machines does sound possible as the 250cc bike market has seen rapid growth lately.

With models like the KTM Duke 390, RC 390, Kawasaki Ninja 250, and Z250 selling like hot cakes here, there is no reason for manufacturers to not take full advantage of the high demands of the sub RM35,000 segment.

While the Versys 250 and the G-Strom 250 remain as rumours, let us stay tuned for further updates from the manufacturers.

Norton to develop 200hp superbike

Rumour has it that Norton plans to bring to market a 200hp V4-powered sport bike, similar to the SG models that have been raced at the Isle of Man TT.

Adding to the good news is that the sketches of the bike are finally out, a few sources have managed to talk to Norton’s Head of Design, Simon Skinner, about the new model and Norton’s future.

According to Skinner, the new superbike will have a 1,200cc V4 engine that makes over 200hp. The machine is supposed to go head-to-head with the 1,285cc v-twin of the Ducati 1299 Panigale – though obviously won’t be sanctioned in any superbike racing class.

It is said that Norton’s engine will be developed by Ricardo Motorcycles, and will take cues from British car marques like Aston Martin and other designs in the British F1 corridor that Norton is situated in.

Besides this beast, other models in the pipeline according to Norton are a 650cc parallel-twin sport bike, which is said to re-think the segment, as well as a rumored electric model.

That said, we expect Norton to shed more light on the upcoming models in the near future. Meanwhile, let us feast our eyes on the sketch of the upcoming machine.

Husqvarna-KTM Team conquers Mat Daling

60 dual-purpose motorcycles embarked on a journey last month from Kuala Lumpur to Mat Daling, Kuala Tahan for a weekend full of challenging off-road adventure. (more…)

Kawasaki middleweights get new colours for 2016

Kawasaki has revealed new colour options for the ER-6f, the ER-6n, the Versys 650, as well as the Vulcan S.

While the Versys 650 and the Vulcan S are new models, the ER-6f and ER-6n were expected to go through an extensive update by mid 2016, but looking at Kawasaki’s decision to introduce new paint options, we feel that it is safe to say that the refreshed ER-6f and ER-6n will take longer than we expected to make their debut.

Coming back to the new paint options, the ER-6f gets three options for the 2016 season. The iconic green Candy Lime Green version now features fairing sides in Metallic Spark Black fading to a lighter colour fairing lower. In a similar style, the Candy Persimmon Red model also has Metallic Spark Black fairing sides while the Metallic Carbon Gray option sticks to an all over single colour approach.

Like its ER-6n partner, each new for 2016 ER-6f comes with a coloured rear shock absorber spring and pin-striped wheels as standard. All the new colour options are available on ABS and non-ABS models.

The Vulcan S on the other hand, is now available in white. The beige Urban City White option is joined by Metallic Matt Carbon Gray, creating an impactful and purposeful look. All the new colour options are available on ABS and non-ABS models.

And then we have the Versys 650, which is currently available in Metallic Matte Carbon Gray and Metallic Spark Black machine. New for next year are the striking Candy Matte Orange and Pearl Stardust White combined with Metallic Spark Black option.

On another note, Kawasaki mentioned in the press release that it has many announcements due in the near future. So, we can expect 2016 to be a pretty busy and interesting year for the brand.

Chaz Davies and Jonathan Rea reign supreme at Sepang

English riders Jonathan Rea and Chaz Davies reigned supreme during race 1 and 2 respectively at the Pirelli Malaysian Round of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship in Sepang last weekend.

Race 1

In the beginning stages of race 1, it looked like Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Time) was on his way to the chequered flag as he was ahead of Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team) and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) by approximately 3 seconds, Sykes’ tyres gave way with 4 laps remaining, allowing Davies and Rea to overtake him.

The battle between them lasted all the way until the last corner, where Davies managed to overtake Rea, only to get overtaken again right before the finishing line. In fact, the pair swapped places three times on the final lap before the last corner. The victory at Race 1’s marked Rea’s 10^th win this year.

The winners aside, the closest on track fight was between the Aprilia pairing of Leon Haslam and Max Biaggi who were dicing for 5^th and 6^th.

Wildcard entry Max Biaggi, who represented the Aprilia Racing Team on the other hand finished third, claiming a historic 71^st podium finish, extending his own record of being the oldest rider to ever stand on a WorldSBK podium.

Sylvain Guintoli also claimed a season best 4^th after his Pata Honda appeared to be kinder to its tyres while Poleman Sykes dropped to 5^thafter setting a blistering pace that saw him shatter the lap record in the early stages.

Alex Lowes was 6^th aboard the Voltcom Crescent Suzuki ahead of Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team), Althea Racing pairing Matteo Baiocco and Niccolo Canepa, and Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team) who dropped from what looked like a safe 4^th to 10^th in the final few laps.

David Salom (Team Pedercini), Randy de Puniet (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki), Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), Roman Ramos (Team Go Eleven) and Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing) completed the point scorers.

Race 2

In Race 2, it was drama at the first corner itself as Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) crashed out of contention. The next drama occurred when former champion Tom Sykes crashed at Turn 9 with ten laps to go. This was a big blow to Sykes as it ended his championship ambitions for 2015.

Up front, the battle this time was once again between Chaz Davies and Jonathan Rea. Thanks to his consistent pace until the end, Davies was able to secure his 3^rdvictory in four races, moving into 2^nd overall in the championship standings. Jordi Torres of the Aprilia Racing Team finished third, claiming his second podium finish of the season.

Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda) scored another 4^th position, his best weekend of the season ahead of team mate Michael van der Mark who made up for his race one retirement with a fine 5^th.

Leon Haslam was 6^th on his Aprilia Racing – Red Devils machine, finishing a tenth behind the Dutchman.

David Salom (Team Pedercini), Alex Lowes, Matteo Baiocco (Althea Racing) and Roman Ramos (Team Go Eleven) were 7^th to 10^threspectively with Niccolo Canepa (Althea Racing), Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), Randy de Puniet (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki), Tom Sykes and Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing) completing the points finishers.

After the action in Sepang, the race for overall title has gone all wrong for Tom Sykes, who was almost 90 points ahead of the closest competitor last week. Well, looks like he has nobody else to blame except himself, or maybe his tyres.

The overall leader now is Jonathan Rea of Kawasaki Racing Team with 452 points, followed by Chaz Davies of Aruba IT Ducati team with 308 points. And then we have Tom Sykes with 295 points.

The next round will be taking place at the Circuito de Jerez in Spain, on September 20^th.

Victory launches first electric bike

Victory Motorcycles has unveiled its first full production electric bike model called the Empulse TT.

The bike, which is a revised version of the Brammo Empulse R, will only be sold in the US, until Victory completes a ‘process of determining global demand’.

Sharing the same DNA with the Empulse R, the Victory Empuse TT now has a longer recharge time and shorter combined range than the Brammo Empluse R.

The Victory Empulse TT is capable of top speeds over 160 kmh and it has a high-capacity 10.4kWh battery. The bike has a built-in battery charger and an easily accessible SAE J1772 plug atop the bodywork to the front of the seat.

The bike’s Brammo Power Lithium Ion battery fully charges up in just under four hours using a Stage 2 charger (available as an accessory utilising a 240V outlet).

In typical riding, the Empulse TT battery provides riders with a range of about 65 miles and a range of 100 miles is possible with throttle management and use of the bike’s regenerative charging. In preliminary testing, the bike demonstrated a Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) city range of 94 miles. The bike delivered an MIC “combined 70 mph highway and city range” of 57 miles.

Riders can make the most efficient use of the battery’s 10.4kWh of electricity by using the six-speed gearbox. Shifting and downshifting helps to create regenerative power (when the bike is under deceleration) and also produces a feeling similar to the compression braking that riders experience on petrol-powered motorcycles.

Yamaha XSR700 revealed

Custom-styled motorcycles are all the rave nowadays, and more the most recent manufacturer to join the bandwagon is Yamaha, with the XSR700 – a custom-style edition of the MT-07 which has just been officially revealed yesterday.

According to Yamaha, the XSR700 is the production version of the MT07 that was restyled by renowned Japanese custom bike builder Shinya Kimura. The company added that this model adds to the brand’s range of custom-style ‘Faster Sons’ special editions, which also includes the XJR1300 Racer and XV950 Racer.

Unlike the traditional looking naked XJR1300 and XV950 cruiser, the XSR700 is the first to stem from a contemporary-styled model. Rumour has it that Yamaha might even consider the R1 for the custom treatment.

Noteable features on the Yamaha XSR700 include:

* Two-texture leather seat
* Aluminium retro fuel tank
* Aluminium fender
* Aluminium headlight bracket
* Wide tapered back handlebars
* Mesh side panels
* Stubby rear muffler
* Embroidered seat logo
* Wide range of customization accessories

The 2016 Yamaha XSR700 is expected to hit European dealerships from November 2015. As much as the Malaysian market is concerned, there have not been any official announcements from Hong Leong Yamaha yet, but lets just keep our fingers crossed.

2016 Yamaha XSR700

BMW S 1000 XR and R 1200 RS launched

BMW Motorrad Malaysia today unveiled the highly anticipated S 1000 XR and the R 1200 RS.

Being the fourth model to come with BMW’s straight-four-cylinder engine, the new BMW S 1000 XR basically combines the elements of touring ability of a GS with supersport characteristic of the RR.

Featuring the same liquid-cooled 999 cc in-line engine as the S 1000 RR, the XR delivers a maximum output of 160 hp and generates a maximum torque of 112 Nm.

Features include dynamically-styled twin headlights, optional LED daytime running light, a pentagonal end silencer, tapered aluminium handlebars, a full E-Gas ride-by-wire system, a stainless steel exhaust system, two standard riding modes – “Rain” and “Road”, Automatic Stability Control (ASC), ABS Pro, a road-ready weight of 228kg, an upside-down fork with inner cartridge insert, twin-disc brake with two radial four-piston fixed callipers at the front, and two floating steel brake discs in the rear. Moving into the cockpit, there is the large display along with an analogue rev counter, and a 12V power socket integrated.

Meanwhile, the New BMW R 1200 RS carries the original all-round qualities of the RS production bikes from almost 40 years ago. With a flat-twin boxer engine which is the same DOHC drive unit which powers the New BMW R 1200 GS, the New BMW R 1200 GS Adventure and the New BMW R 1200 RT, the new sports tourer delivers a maximum output of 125 hp and a peak torque of 125 Nm. According to BMW, the torque figures at low revs for the RS are slightly higher than the R 1200 GS, GS Adventure and RT variants.

Other highlights include a maintenance-free cardan shaft that is positioned on the left side of the engine, a 2-in-1 exhaust system with a controlled exhaust valve, a redesigned airbox, an upside-down telescopic fork with 45 mm sanchions, EVO Paralevel single-sided swingarm, two standard riding modes, and a multifunctional instrument cluster among others.

The retail prices on the road, without insurance and including GST for the New BMW S 1000 XR and the New BMW R 1200 RS are:

BMW S 1000 XR – RM 112, 900.00

BMW R 1200 RS – RM 101, 900.00

The new motorcycles from BMW Motorrad are also complemented with special four year financing programs from BMW Credit Malaysia with an offer of ownership of the New BMW S 1000 XR from a monthly installment of RM 1, 588.00 and the ownership of the New BMW R 1200 RS from a monthly installment of RM 1, 488.00.

BMW S1000XR & R1200RS Launch @ Dua Annexe, Kuala Lumpur

Suzuki unleashes GSX-R1000 30th Anniversary Edition

2015 is a very special year for Suzuki as one of its most popular models – the GSX-R range, celebrates its 30th anniversary. Unveiled in 1975, the GSX-R was very successful in the racing scene, thanks to riders like the legendary Kevin Schwantz.

Thanks to all the success and fame in the MotoGP scene, the GSX-R gained a massive following worldwide. It is said that there are more than a million GSX-R owners at the moment in the world.

So, in order to celebrate this milestone event, Suzuki unveiled a 30^th Anniversary edition of the GSX-R1000 superbike at the German MotoGP event last week. The main highlight about the special edition model is that it features the same paint scheme as the original 1985 750cc model.

The blue and white paintjob was also run in the weekend’s German MotoGP race on the factory racing bikes of Aleix Espargarò and Maverick Viñales. There are no mechanical changes to the bike but the new colours are a tribute to the original GSX-R750 machine that kick-started the now famous GSX-R name.

According to Suzuki, the bike will be a full production machine and will go on sale globally from November.

The Suzuki GS series was Suzuki Motor Corporation’s first full range of 4-stroke road bikes, launched in 1976 in 750cc guise; which then expanded to include smaller GS550, GS1000, GS125 and GS1200SS models over the years. However, it was the 750 and 1000cc models that drove development on the race track and led-to the development of a new breed of motorcycle; the GSX-R.

Harley-Davidson Kuala Lumpur organises Sahur Ride

Initiated in 2008, Harley-Davidson’s World Ride event is an occasion where thousands of owners from around the world hit the open road on the same day, in order to celebrate the pure feelings of joy and freedom they get via riding their motorcycles.

The event, which was initially a one-day affair, has grown into a two-day occasion over the years due to the overwhelming support and response shown by “hogs” worldwide.

With “Just Ride” as the theme, this year’s installation of the Harley-Davidson World Ride took place on the 27th and 28th of June. In an effort to be a part of the event, and also to welcome the festive season, Harley-Davidson Kuala Lumpur (HDKL) and NAZA World organised a Sahur Ride on the 27th June from Petaling Jaya to Port Dickson.

A total of 500 motorcycles, comprising owners from almost every state in Peninsular Malaysia, as well as neighboring nations such as Thailand, and Singapore, were part of the Harley-Davidson Sahur Ride which was flagged off at 11pm on the 26th of June.

It is said that the convoy, which was escorted by the Royal Malaysian Police throughout, was also held to promote the Harley-Davidson brand and the spirit of brotherhood, besides to ‘just ride’ and have a good time.

Despite being a Sahur ride, the event saw owners of all races, ethnicity, and gender participating and showing their support. It is said that each participant received a participation certificate courtesy of Harley-Davidson Kuala Lumpur.

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Admin

Kawasaki and Suzuki to make 250cc tourers?

Norton to develop 200hp superbike

Husqvarna-KTM Team conquers Mat Daling

Kawasaki middleweights get new colours for 2016

Chaz Davies and Jonathan Rea reign supreme at Sepang

Victory launches first electric bike

Yamaha XSR700 revealed

BMW S 1000 XR and R 1200 RS launched

Suzuki unleashes GSX-R1000 30th Anniversary Edition

Harley-Davidson Kuala Lumpur organises Sahur Ride

2015 Kawasaki Versys 650: Minor updates, major improvements

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