Global News Archives

More than 20,000 Attended Vespa World Days 2024 in Italy

More than 20,000 attended Vespa World Days 2024 in Italy. Taking place at Pontedera, it was an extra special event which coincided with Piaggio’s 140th anniversary.

While the majority of participants were from Europe, there were those who came from as far away as Argentina, Australia, Colombia, Hong Kong. A total of 55 international Vespa clubs made the event.

Together, they rode in the parade consisting of 15,000 Vespas. The parade travelled over 16 kilometers through the rolling hills of Valdera. It’s a lot to wrap your head around, but the photos look fantastic.

Piaggio also formally rolled out the Vespa 140th of Piaggio limited edition scooter during this event, although it was revealed to the world’s press prior.

The 2025 edition was also formally announced during the festivities of Vespa World Days 2024. The 2025 Vespa World Days will take place in Gijón, Spain, with full details to ensue.

Any Malaysian Vespa fans took part in this event? Do share your experience and photos with us!

Hakim Danish Ramli Takes Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Podium at Jerez

Malaysia’s young rider, Hakim Danish Ramli took the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup podium that took place at the Jerez Circuit, Spain on the podium over the weekend.

The 17-year-old showed a fierce fighting spirit in Race 2 by leading the race but Spain’s Alvaro Carpe pipped Hakim Danish at the last yard to win the race by just 0.006 seconds ahead.

“Today I am happy to be back on the podium,” Hakim said. He finished third on the podium on his debut last season in Round 1 of Race 2 at the Algarve Circuit in Portugal.

“In the last race, I almost won but that’s okay, because I will keep trying to do better after this. For me, the last race was very fast and it was a tough competition.

“Regardless, I tried to follow the pace, stay focused and (as a result) I managed to be in the front group. Of course I’m happy and will look forward to the next race. Malaysia Boleh!”

With that success, Hakim Danish has now jumped to fifth position in the overall rider standings with 27 points after finishing Race 1 yesterday in ninth place.

Round 2 of the 2024 season is now scheduled to take place at Le Mans Circuit, France on May 11 and 12 before Mugello Circuit, Italy becomes the venue for the third round from June 1 to 2.

Hakim Danish Ramli was cited as a candidate rider by Datuk Razlan Razali if he could start a new Moto3 team in the 2025 season.

CFMoto 800NK Wins Red Dot Award

The CFMoto 800NK wins the Red Dot Award for product design. CFMoto is now the first Chinese manufacturer of large capacity internal combustion engines (ICE) to receive the prestigious award.

The award means something special for the Hangzhou-based company, who are celebrating their 35th anniversary this year.

The 800NK is the flagship model of the NK range. As CFMoto is KTM’s technical partner, it utilises the 799cc parallel-twin engine that is shared with the 890 Duke R and 890 Adventure.

Receiving the award is an honour to the the CFMoto Design and R&D Departments. The company says that their bikes’ designs were defined through their two wheel Design Director Charles Solsona, who is based tat CFMoto’s R&D Centre in Italy.

Solsona said, “To win the prestigious Red Dot Award is a great result for the whole team. The 800NK embodies the core values of our Brand: design, technology and performance, and this achievement is a great way to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of our company, as well as recognising our commitment to developing our own design philosophy.”

GWM 8-Cylinder Motorcycle Engine Breaks Cover!

The motorcycle world had plenty of groundbreaking innovations in the 80’s and early 90’s but that seems to have slowed down since. But let us leave it to the Chinese to do it now. Just last week, rumours were rampant of a GWM 8-cylinder motorcycle engine and the drawings from the company’s patent submissions made rounds on the internet. There was also speculation that the engine will break cover at the Beijing Motor Show, which begins today.

Well, our man Keshy Dhillon is at the show and look what he ran into. The actual prototype of the engine!

This is GWM (Great World Motor) going for the Honda Gold Wing’s jugular. But instead of settling for some established engine formats i.e. Boxer and inline-six (BMW), V-Twin (CFMoto), V-four (Yamaha and Kawasaki), and the flat-six (Gold Wing), GWM ups the ante by going eight (auspicious number for the Chinese, anyway).

The flat-eight is believed to displace approximately 2000cc, higher than the current Gold Wing’s 1833cc. Both engines feature similar architecture, with the transmission tucked underneath to shorten the entire package. There is a huge alternator toward the back, and of course, it is necessary to support all the electrical and electronics the rider and his passenger would lug along. GWM is said to be developing a dual-clutch, semi-auto gearbox similar to Honda’s DCT, too.

There are several standouts here: Check out the quality of the casting on those cases.

Not shown in these pictures are the dual-overhead cams underneath those beautifully polished valve covers, upping the Gold Wing’s SOHC. The patent drawings illustrate the side-mounted radiators, following Honda’s cooling solution.

But that was as much as the GWM 8-cylinder motorcycle engine was shown in the Beijing show. However, there was a footage of GWM’s Chairman showing a Xiaomi SU7 gifted to him, and there in the background was a touring motorcycle peeking out underneath a black cover.

So, let us wait a little further and see the final product.

Bimota Returning to WorldSBK in 2025

Bimota is returning to WorldSBK in 2025. The announcement was made in Bimota’s press release posted on their website, last night.

It is also somewhat a return to their roots for the legendary Italian boutique motorcycle brand. Bimota’s claim to fame was by building sublime chassis while housing the engines sourced from contemporary bikes. So, in this case, the frame will be Bimota, housing the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR powerplant. As a note, the H2’s engine is disallowed in WorldSBK as the rules permit only naturally-aspirated engines.

As such, the program will be known as Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team (BbK). Kawasaki had acquired a 49.9% stake in Bimota back in 2019. And soon, the Bimota Tesi H2 was unveiled at EICMA 2019, complete with the famed Tesi hub steering front end.

It was quickly followed up by the KB4 sportbike, KB4 RC naked bike, and Tera sport-tourer.

The team has not unveiled their rider lineup, although as the names suggests, will be run the present Kawasaki Racing Team (KRT). It makes sense to utilise Kawasaki’s multiple championship winning experience to fast-track Bimota’s brand back into superbike glory.

Another tantalising possibility is that Kawasaki will look to Bimota to develop their ZX-10RR’s handling and performance further, to wrestle the WorldSBK title back.

A little history about Bimota

The name Bimota is a combination of the names of its founders, namely Valerio BIanchi, Giuseppe MOrri, and Massimo TAmburini. Yes, the great maestro Tamburini who designed the Ducati 916 and original MV Agusta F4.

The company built frames around some powerful engines to fully realise their full potential, utilising the likes of Ducati, Suzuki, BMW, Kawasaki, Yamaha engines.

They had raced and found success in WorldSBK prior to this in 1988. A certain Davide Tardozzi took the YB4 EI to seven wins in the season. If the name sounds familiar, Tardozzi is the current Ducati factory MotoGP team manager.

Let us hope that Bimota will be on the top step once again.

2025 KTM 450 Rally Replica Launched

The KTM 450 Rally Replica is the closest the buying public can get to a factory-kitted race bike as one can get, and it has proven to be popular. Now, the 2025 KTM 450 Rally Replica has been launched, with the biggest changes since its introduction in 2020.

Up until recently, KTM is the force to be reckoned with in motorcycle rallies (in the 450cc, class). They have since won the Dakar Rally 19 times since 2001. But Honda has since made inroads to this dominance for the last two years, and it is high time for the Austrian brand to move the goalposts.

Changes for the 2025 KTM 450 Rally Replica ranges from the powertrain and right through the chassis.

Highlights:

The single-cylinder 450cc engine gets a new cylinder head (still SOHC, though), reinforced clutch, and a strengthened transmission.
The radiator is now double-sided.
Engine frame guard at the rear near the engine mounts. The sections of this guard were laser-cut and hydro-formed, then welded by hand at KTM Motorsports.
According to KTM, the frame features “specifically calculated” longitudinal and torsional flex characteristics, but “maintains exceptional” rider feedback, bump absorption, and straight-line stability. That is a lot of different parameters from the frame.
Biggest change here is the absence of a “traditional” rear subframe. Instead, the new bike uses its new self-supporting 16-litre fuel tank as the subframe.

Speaking of fuel, the 16-litres at the back, combined with one front 9-litre tank, and another with 9.5-litres means the 2025 model can carry 34.5 litres in total.
Up front are WP Xact Pro 7548 closed cartridge cone valved 48mm diameter forks, clamped in new 23mm offset CNC-machined triple clamp, plus a Scotts steering damper.
The rear is supended by a WP Xact Pro 7750 shock, which acts on a new die-cast hollow aluminium swingarm.
Up in the cockpit, the navigation tower takes centre stage behind a redesigned fairing.
New LED lighting to improve output by 33%.

Only 100 2025 KTM 450 Rally Replicas will be built. Price on application.

Pol Tarres and Yamaha Ténéré 700 Triumphs in Moroccan Desert Challenge 2024

Pol Tarres and the Yamaha Ténéré 700 triumphs in Moroccan Desert Challenge 2024.

The victory goes into the record books as the first rider to win the rally on a twin-cylinder adventure motorcycle, by beating out specialised single-cylinder 450cc Rally entrants. Tarres won in six of the eight stages, including the last special stage.

This was the rider’s maiden desert rally win. He led from the start by attacking the stages despite being the “sweeper” and trailblazer being in front. By doing so, he won the first four stages. A sandstorm swept in during the fifth stage, so Tarres waited it out before finishing in second.

The sixth stage saw him finishing in fourth despite errors in his roadbook which missed two waypoints.

He came back to winning the seventh and penultimate stage, and gassed through the final stage to win the crown.

Another amazing fact is that Tarres had been competing in Rally Raids only since 2022. He had been on the podium of the Morocco Desert Challenge in 2023. This victory is another notch in his cap after the 2023 TransAnatolia, and the third place at the Africa Eco Race this January.

His performance meant he took the overall victory by an astounding margin of 2 hours, 21 minutes, and 6 seconds, a feat made all the more remarkable due to the fact he was competing on the Yamaha Ténéré 700 against lighter single-cylinder 450cc purpose-built machines.

This year’s Morocco Desert Challenge covered more terrain this year, despite an extremely tough 2023 edition that took the life of two participants. The 3,000 km route connected the Mediterranean sea and Atlantic ocean through some of the toughest terrain on the planet.

Closer to home, the Yamaha Ténéré 700 has been reigning supreme in the Rimba Raid rally races, particularly among the Thai participants.

Yoshimura SERT Suzuki Wins Le Mans 24 Hours for the 10th Time

The Yoshimura SERT Suzuki team won the Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race for an unprecedented 10th time over the weekend.

The team had an early scare when one of their riders, Greg Black, was chucked over the handlebars and crashed at the exit of Les Esse Blue. It was later learned that the bike had traction control issues. Black managed to nurse the bike back to the pits for repairs and they rejoined the race far behind the field.

Black’s crash meant that the YART Yamaha racing team took over the lead, and built it up to being in front by several laps. However, Karel Hanika also crashed at the same corner as Black on early Sunday morning. Luckily, the corner was just next to the pit lane, so Hanika brought the bike back to the pits for repairs. Unfortunately, they were already laps behind when they rejoined.

Yamaha’s misfortune handed the lead to the MRP BMW team but they suffered a slow pit stop, which saw Suzuki back into the lead.

Suzuki’s rider Black, who crashed 20 hours earlier, seemed to redeem himself by riding a steady final stint to the victory flag, the Yoshimura SERT Suzuki’s 10th victory at the event. It was also the rider’s third Le Mans 24 Hour win.

YART Yamaha riders Marvin Fritz and Niccolo Canepa made their way up the field and back on the podium in third, behind the BMW team.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans (24 Heures Motos) was the first race in the 2024 FIM Endurance World Championship. There are only 4 races this year, and unfortunately, they will not visit the Sepang International Circuit.

Yamaha MT-09, Yamaha XMAX Wins Red Dot Award

The new Yamaha MT-09 and Yamaha XMAX each won a Red Dot Design Award for 2024.

The 2024 MT-09 is in its fourth generation. Yamaha redesigned the bike as the previous 2021 MT-09 with the “cyclops” (one-eyed monster) headlight proved unpopular. The new version also has a new front screen, fuel tank, and tail section. Additionally, the redesigned fuel tank includes acoustic ducting to channel the bike’s engine sound to the rider. The new tank was also designed to allow for a freer riding position.

While the MT-09 won the award for its design, the XMAX won on practicality. Yamaha says the functionality of the front fork and engine, “are visualised in the tight silhouette, expressing an attractive sense of exuberance.” As a footnote, although it was the XMAX 300 that garnered the accolade, it has the same design as the XMAX 250 in our country.

Yamaha has picked up Red Dot Design Awards in each of the last 13 years, having won one at least every year since 2012.

Two of Honda’s motorcycles had also won the Red Dot Design Award, earlier. One was the EM 1e:, together with the Motocompacto. Both are electric scooters.

Vespa 140th of Piaggio Celebrates Piaggio’s 140th Anniversary

It is an important year for Piaggio as they celebrate their 140th anniversary. Piaggio in 1884 and has since owned the Vespa brand, among others. So, Piaggio called upon Vespa to create the Vespa 140th of Piaggio edition.

To commemorate the momentous achievement, only 140 will be built, making it the rarest Vespa. It is only available for ordering between 18 to 21 April, coinciding with the Vespa World Days 2024 Rally.

The Vespa 140th of Piaggio is resplendent in a white and blue theme, as an homage to Piaggio’s corporate colours. Several other components also use these colours such as the seat and wheels.

As you can see, it is based on the Vespa GTV, which has a 300 HPE single-cylinder, 4-valve, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected engine. It produces 24 hp, making it the most powerful Vespa engine.

Apart from that, it has a digital display, keyless start, traction control, ABS, and connectivity via the Vespa MIA app.

Each unit has a numbered celebratory plate on the rear shield, with an enhanced 140-years logo.

There is no pricing on the bike, though, but you can check it in on the Vespa website.

MBP Moto Acquires Legendary Morbidelli Brand

MBP Moto has acquired the legendary Morbidelli brand.

The purchase was made by Chinese-owned Keeway Group through MBP Moto. MBP stands for “Moto Bologna Passioni,” hence MBP Moto will now be renamed Morbidelli MBP.

The purchase has been discussed since the end of 2022 when logos and names for Morbidelli MBP and Morbidelli MBP Pesaro were registered in Hong Kong by Powerlink, a company linked to the Qianjiang Motorcycle group that owns Keeway and another legendary Italian brand, Benelli.

Giancarlo Morbidelli started Morbidelli in Pesaro but the new Morbidelli MBP will move to Bologna, instead. The Centro Stile Morbidelli and a new R&D Center will be built “to explore new technologies and materials, improving the design, performance and bringing Italian motorcycling excellence to the world, in the name of heritage and passion by Giancarlo Morbidelli,” Morbidelli MBP says.

The new brand’s range will consist of scooters between 125cc and 500cc, and motorcycles between 125cc and 1000cc. An electric range is set to be revealed in 2025. Morbidelli MBP is targeting the US, European, and Chinese markets to begin with. MBP’s current range consists of bikes such as the C1002V cruiser and M502N naked.

Dante Bustos, CMO of Keeway Group, said: “This acquisition is a testament to MBP Moto’s aspiration for excellence in the motorcycle industry. We are thrilled to welcome a historic premium brand like Morbidelli into our family. It will allow us to blend the legacy of racing and Made in Italy craftsmanship with our vision of the future of motorcycling. Our passion for innovation, combined with Morbidelli’s rich heritage, will lead to the creation of motorcycles with an unrivalled blend of performance, design and history.”

The original Morbidelli’s fame came primarily from racing. It began in the Motorcycle World Championship in 1969 in the 50cc class, and would race in the 125cc, 250cc, 350cc, and 500cc World Championships throughout the 1970s. Four titles were captured by Morbidelli between 1975 and 1977, with three in the 125cc class and one, in 1977, in the 250cc class. Racing activities ceased in 1982.

On the local front, the Malaysian distributor, Mforce Bike Holdings has confirmed that MBP Moto and Morbidelli will make an appearance at Malaysia Autoshow 2024, from 22 to May 26 at MAEPS Serdang. They will feature several models intended for the Malaysian market, such as the T1002V, SC150 and N252V, besides launching several new models.

Ducati to use Thailand as Export Hub

Ducati to use Thailand one of their export hubs. The decision follows the opening their first and new Asian production factory in Rayong.

The 400-million-baht plant has the production capacity of 10,000 units per year in the first phase.

Chief Executive of Ducati Motor Holding, Claudio Domenicali said, “Thailand is an important market for premium motorcycles, or big bikes, and we want to make Thailand our export base.”

“We produce every model of Ducati motorcycles at our plant in Rayong. We ensure the products meet high standards set by the parent firm in Italy,” he added.

The factory will be overseen by Ducati Motor Thailand and will supply the Asia-Pacific market. China was once Ducati’s key market but has seen sales slide due to an economic downturn.

Ducati sold a nearly 58,000 motorcycles last year but have yet to set a sales target for 2024. The sales volume will be determined by demand growth and market sentiments, said Mr Domenicali.

Nevertheless, sales of large capacity motorcycles in Thailand is set to increase.

Surapong Paisitpatanapong, vice-chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) and spokesman for the FTI’s Automotive Industry Club, expects sales of big bikes (motorcycles above 400cc) to hit 15,000 units this year. He also said that production will also increase to supply both domestic and international markets.

Production of all types of motorcycles in Thailand rose by 5.2% year-on-year to 2.12 million units in 2023, with 1.7 million of them for export, according to the Thai Automotive Industry.

Thailand is already the hotbed for several major automotive and motorcycle manufactures including BMW, Honda, Kawasasi, Suzuki, and Yamaha.

In an interview with Triumph during a visit, we found out that the decision to set up these manufacturing facilities in Thailand is not due to labour costs, which is in fact higher than at neighbouring countries. Instead it is due to the automotive supply infrastructure in place at Rayong.

Source: Bangkok Post

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Global News

More than 20,000 Attended Vespa World Days 2024 in Italy

Hakim Danish Ramli Takes Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Podium at Jerez

CFMoto 800NK Wins Red Dot Award

GWM 8-Cylinder Motorcycle Engine Breaks Cover!

Bimota Returning to WorldSBK in 2025

A little history about Bimota

2025 KTM 450 Rally Replica Launched

Highlights:

Pol Tarres and Yamaha Ténéré 700 Triumphs in Moroccan Desert Challenge 2024

Yoshimura SERT Suzuki Wins Le Mans 24 Hours for the 10th Time

Yamaha MT-09, Yamaha XMAX Wins Red Dot Award

Vespa 140th of Piaggio Celebrates Piaggio’s 140th Anniversary

MBP Moto Acquires Legendary Morbidelli Brand

Ducati to use Thailand as Export Hub

KTM Parent Company Pierer Mobility will Axe 200 more Jobs

Thai Motorcycle Market Shrinks in 1st Half of 2024

Somkiat Chantra to MotoGP in 2025

New CFMoto 675 NK Prototype Spotted

Can-Am Origin and Can-Am Pulse Revealed

Latest KTM 990 RC R Spyshots Reveal Almost Ready Bike

Not Possible for Four Wheel Guys to Race on Two Wheels – Mark Webber

Oxford Products Celebrates Best Start Ever in 2024

New Ducati V2 Superbike on the Way

BMW Buys Suzuki’s MotoGP Data

Moto2, Moto3 2024 Times Tumble with Pirelli Tyres

Tesla Sued by Family of Biker Killed by Autopilot

Archive

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2025 Honda CRF1100L Africa Twin Gets New Colours

40 Drivers and Riders Received Summons at Ulu Yam “Circuit”

Somkiat Chantra to MotoGP in 2025

2024 Honda CBR250RR Launched in Malaysia

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