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The 2018 Art of Speed Malaysia festival recently concluded its seventh show last weekend.
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Thousands gathered at MAEPS Serdang for one of Malaysia’s biggest custom bikes and cars gathering.
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Here are some of the major highlights revolving around AOS 2018.
Love custom bikes, cars, and everything revolving around the culture plus lifestyle? Did you attend the 2018 Art of Speed Malaysia festival this past weekend? No? Where were you, then?? It was a festival of epic proportions and one that we’ve been anticipating since last year’s extravaganza.
Those who went to AOS 2017 most probably had the time of their lives hanging out around some Malaysia’s greatest custom bikes and cars ever to congregate under one roof at MAEPS, Serdang. It was a tough event to follow but based on our experience last weekend, it blew our expectations right out of the water.
To those who missed the show, we feel your sadness but fear not as we bring you the major highlights of the 2018 Art of Speed Malaysia festival!
1) Hot Wheels celebrates their 50th anniversary
At some point in most of our lives, we’ve been graced with the presence of Hot Wheels die-cast cars and its iconic orange track setup. AOS is renowned for highlighting this fine establishment every year to collectors and enthusiasts across the region and this year, they’ve introduced something very, very special.
To celebrate their 50 years of existence, they’ve organised the Hot Wheels SEA 50th Tour where their very own Product Design Manager, Dmitriy Shakhmatov flew in all the way from the US. To make things even more special, they officially unveiled their first-ever life-sized Hot Wheels 50th Anniversary RWB Porsche 911 in partnership with Christian Coujin from RWB Porsche.
This purple beast definitely kicked things off on the right path for AOS 2018 and if you were there at the show, this was just the beginning. Moving on!
2) 2018 Kawasaki Ninja 250 official launch
The folks from Kawasaki Motors Malaysia (KMSB) finally introduced the highly-awaited 2018 Kawasaki Ninja 250. Redesigned and rebuilt from the ground up, the all-new 250cc sports bike comes with improved aerodynamics package with a serious increase in firepower.
Taking inspirations from a multitude of high-performance machines from Kawasaki like the Ninja 650, ZX-10R, ZX-14R, and the supercharged H2, the 2018 Kawasaki Ninja 250R is not just a bike with updated fairings. Designed to blast down straight and cut through corners like a very hot knife through butter, there’s no doubt that anyone will have loads of fun on this baby in and out of the track.
Powered by a new 249cc, twin-cylinder, eight-valve, DOHC engine, the new Ninja 250 is able to produce a super generous 38.2hp at 12,500rpm and 23.5Nm of maximum torque at 10,000rpm. Against its closest competitors, the new Ninja 250 has around three to eight horsepower more!
To know more about the all-new 2018 Kawasaki Ninja 250, CLICK HERE.
3) The most powerful Ducati Scrambler made its Malaysian debut
We all know Ducati is one of the best bike manufacturers in the world when looking at some of their amazing machines like the 2018 Ducati Panigale V4. At AOS 2018, Ducati Malaysia (Next Bike Sdn Bhd) introduced their biggest and most powerful Ducati Scrambler yet; the 2018 Ducati Scrambler 1100.
Two different variants were unveiled that day which are the Scrambler 1100 Special and Scrambler 1100 Sport. Two different tastes to suit different palates powered by a stunning 1,079cc air-cooled, L-twin engine which is able to punch out 86hp at 7,500rpm and 88.4Nm of torque at 4,750rpm.
Embedded with the latest technology from Ducati, the Scrambler 1100 comes ready with specs such as:
- All-new twin upper spar steel Trellis frame
- Ohlins suspension kit (Kayaba set for the Scrambler 1100 Special)
- Front 45mm USD front forks
- Bosch 9.1 MP Cornering ABS
- Ducati Traction Control (DTC)
- Front dual 330mm disc with Brembo M4.32B monobloc 4-piston calipers
- Selectable riding modes (Active, Journey, and City)
The 2018 Ducati Scrambler 1100 is certainly a capable beast that caters to a wide variety of audience here in Malaysia and to find out more about it, CLICK HERE!
3) Custom Honda C70 street cub by Pa’din Musa and Mudah.my!
Looking at all the custom bikes and cars on show at AOS 2018 certainly shows a lot of style, work, and a steady amount of cash flow into all the work that were done for the show. According to the legendary skater and custom bike builder, Pa’din Musa, those with a minimum budget can also create something amazing when it comes to custom bikes.
Together with Mudah.my, they created the custom Honda C70 Streetcub with a budget of only around RM3,000 to purchase and customise the beautiful street cub. Using Mudah.my as the main purchasing platform, both the bikes and custom parts were all attained using the site from getting the bike all the way from Kuala Kangsar.
According to Pa’din Musa, “I chose the c70 streetcub because I wanted to prove that you don’t have to break the bank to enter the custom scene. It’s not about fancy brand names, it’s about your passion and utility of the vehicle coming together.” Splendid work, good sir!
4) All-new Motul 300V² engine oil launch
Developed for race use, the Motul 300V² first made its official appearance at last year’s EICMA show in Milan, Italy. Now, the state-of-the-art engine oil has arrived in Malaysia concocted with organic base oil enhanced with Ester Core® Technology for optimum performance.
Apart from track use, the new Motul engine oil is also perfect for on the road use as well as stints on the unbeaten paths. The combination of organic base and synthetic injection allows for increased torque, better clutch grip, gearbox reliability, overall power output as well as performance and durability.
The folks from Gasket Alley also made their first public appearance with their newly-acquired brand, Aprilia. The current custodian for Moto Guzzi which is also another well-known brand under the Piaggio Group displayed their finest machines which included the 2018 Moto Guzzi V7 III Carbon and the Aprilia RSV4 RF superbike.
To know more, head over to https://www.motul.com/my/en.
5) Modenas Bakat Besi custom bikes showcase
Modenas Malaysia’s motorcycle performance organisation, R8DER, showcased their first ever design and modding talent programme called the Bakat Besi: Reka Bina. On the path for discovering esteemed local talents in the custom bike scene, six builders took on the challenge to customise three great Modenas models which are the Modenas Pulsar RS200, Pulsar NS200, and the V15.
Great talents got down and dirty in not just customising the looks of the three Modenas models but also elevating their overall performances. A panel of esteemed judges will look, decipher, and decide on which one is the most worthy so do check out the R8DER official Facebook page for more details.
The great thing about this particular custom bike contest is the fact that the public can participate in choosing which team should win top honours. If you head over to https://r8der.my/bakat-besi/binasifu/, you can view the videos and photos of the custom bikes before casting your vote on the bike of your choosing. Better hurry as the votes will end on 9 August 2018!
6) AOS 2018 Invitational Custom Bike Build-Off
One of Art of Speed Malaysia festival’s main highlights has to be the invitational custom bike build-off. Esteemed custom bike builders from all around Malaysia and one entry from Singapore raised the bar when it comes to pushing the boundaries of custom bike building.
Eight exceptional custom bikes from an alien-inspired trike, Gundam-like ultra-low rider, to the pure and angelic custom BMW all stole the show upon entering the main hall. All attendees were in awe of the machines created by the likes of Kenstomoto, Beautiful Machines, Rusty Factory, and more but there can only be one winner of the build-off.
We were also very intrigued with a red mechanical beast dubbed the “Valkyrie” built by Kenny Yeoh of Kenstomoto. Looking at how low and badass the bike looks in the midst of AOS 2018, you’ll never guess that the bike started out life as a Kawasaki ER6-N.
The titanium red paintwork together with its centre-hub steering design, we would imagine that giant fighting robots fans like Gundam will go head over heels (and probably offer ridiculous amounts of money to own it). As fans of Japan’s Akira anime movie, this also greatly reminded us of the bike ridden by Shotaro Kaneda which in short was awesome AF.
Last year’s winner Rusty Factory took home the overall win last year for both judge and public choices in their first-ever show entry. High expectations were presented to the Ipoh local but Muhammad Khalid Musa did the impossible by winning both categories AGAIN this year with his custom BMW R75/6 aka “White Angel”.
The quality of work produced by these great individuals proves that the Malaysian custom bike scene has elevated to epic heights and can easily compete amongst the best from around the world. We would love to see Rusty Factory representing Malaysia in global competitions as we are sure that their work will turn heads and gain supreme recognition. Malaysia boleh!
7) Custom 600cc Honda C70 grand prize giveaway
We witnessed the birth of the custom Honda C70 fitted with a 600cc single-cylinder engine acquired from a Honda XR600R. Built by Mohamad Irwann aka “Cheng” of FNG Works from Ipoh, Perak, the final product with its stunning paintwork gathered thousands of entries in Sunday’s lucky draw.
Three names were pulled out from the lucky draw entry box and following the usual AOS lucky draw protocol, a task was given to the three individuals to complete before the ultimate winner was chosen by the public.
Mohamad Nasruddin won the hearts of the crowd when he stated that he wanted to surprise his father with the bike a gift. Such a nice boy. The bike was fired up live in front of the audience and now, the nice young man is able to present “Papa Jahat” as a gift to his lucky father. This is all possible thanks to Art of Speed Malaysia.
8) Honda Rebel 500 flat tracker from Boon Siew Honda
For this particular editor, the Honda Rebel 500 has a very special place in his heart for its simple yet appealing design with adequate performance for daily riding needs. Seen by many as somewhat of a blank canvas ready for personal customisation, one would never think that it could be an awesome flat tracker.
Boon Siew Honda proved us wrong with a very beautiful custom Honda Rebel 500 injected with the spirit of the American flat tracker. Some work has been done to the overall look with an amazing paint job and paired with that super long SC-Project exhaust system, we’re sure that there’s a decent power increase as well.
In addition to the custom Rebel 500, BSH also previewed the 2018 Honda Monkey and Honda Super Cub to the Malaysian audience. There are plans to bring the bikes into the local market and as of now, BSH is conducting a survey on whether the crowd will appreciate such machines here in the country. Our verdict? We want the Monkey!
All in all, there are so many things that went down during AOS 2018 that we can’t possibly cover everything in our story. So many award-winning custom bikes and cars made their way from several countries and with the endless support from many close friends and associates, the 2018 Art of Speed Malaysia was easily a success and we simply can’t wait for the next show to arrive. Only 365 days left!
2018 Art of Speed Malaysia Mega Photo Gallery
