As part of its commitment to fostering safety education for motorcyclists, Berjaya Sompo Insurance is proud to support the development of future talent in motorcycle sport racing through its sponsorship of Hong Leong Yamaha Malaysia’s racing activities. (more…)
The brand-new 2025 Triumph Tiger Sport 800 has been launched. It fills the gap left by the outgoing Tiger 850 Sport, between the Tiger Sport 660 and Tiger 900.
Unlike the Tiger 850 Sport which is based on the Tiger 900 dual-sport platform, the Tiger Sport 800 is based on the fully road-biased Tiger Sport 660. The 660 platform began with the Trident 660, before seeing the Tiger 660 Sport and Daytona 660 being added on.
As such, the Tiger Sport 800 will be more powerful than the Tiger 850 Sport, touting a 798cc, three-cylinder engine which produces 113hp and 84.1Nm of torque. Those figures put it in the range of the Yamaha Tracer 9 GT (117hp, 93Nm) and BMW F 900 XR (105hp, 92Nm). Although the Triumph’s peak torque output is lower than its competitors, do remember that all Triumph engines are tune to provide 90% of their peak torque over a wider rev range.
The bike’s chassis is shared with the 660’s, meaning that Triumph has somehow managed to squeeze the bigger engine into the frame. Yes, the 800’s frame and swingarm are shared with 660’s but the former’s suspension is higher in spec. Up front are fully-adjustable 41mm upside-down Showa forks, and a Showa monoshock at the back. Brakes consist of dual 310mm discs and four-piston calipers up front.
Electronics include a TFT display with smartphone connectivity via the My Triumph Connectivity System, allowing for turn-by-turn navigation, phones calls, music streaming.
There is a six-axis Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) which provides optimised cornering ABS and traction control. Riding modes are Road, Rain, and Sport. Cruise control and quickshifter are standard.
Triumph claims fuel consumption is a frugal 25.5 km/litre, giving a maximum of range of 402km when coupled to the 18.6 liter fuel tank.
The 2025 Triumph Tiger Sport 800 sells for £10,995 (RM61,865.91) in the UK.
The Bimota KB998 WorldSBK racer has finally been revealed.
Bimota had already voiced their interest in rejoining the superbike race series since Kawasaki took over the brand. Known as Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team (BbKRT), Bimota will supply the chassis and Kawasaki provides the engine which is from the Ninja ZX-10RR.
Speaking about the new partnership, team manager Guim Roda said: “Of course, there has been much work to do behind the scenes to get us to the eve of unveiling the new bike and testing on track in public for the very first time.
“To have Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani onboard as riders – plus the associated pit crews and support staff – means we can concentrate on the core tasks at hand, testing our new KB998 racing machine and accumulating data across a testing schedule, inside the test limitation rules set by BWO and the FIM, reaching from tomorrow and across the Winter.
“This is a very new bike and will need our full commitment. We are very enthusiastic to be part of this fascinating project and honoured to take responsibility for making the new Bimota KB998 perform on top as soon as possible.
“We have updated all our social media accounts so we encourage fans to follow BbKRT and play their part in this exciting journey.”
One question remains, though: Will there be a Bimota KB998 homologation model for the public?
It is well known that some F1 drivers also ride motorcycles.
Motorcycle riders can agree that motorcycles offer the most visceral enjoyment. There is no roof and huge windscreen to block the wind, the controls that require the entire body’s muscles. The most powerful street motorcycles may have “only” 200+hp compared to some supercars that sport 1000+hp, but the motorcycle accelerates harder and faster. And that feeling of dragging a knee through a corner… ah heaven.
Seven-time F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton is visibly passionate about riding motorcycles, both on the road and track. The peak of this was swapping rides with Valentino Rossi (in Hamilton’s F1 car) at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit.
The Briton even has motorcycles dedicated to him, namely the MV Agusta F4 and Brutale LH44.
Now and again the MV is paraded in front of the world’s press as Hamilton takes the short commute to ‘work’ at the Monaco Grand Prix from his nearby home.
Fernando Alonso tested Marc Marquez’s Honda RC213V MotoGP at the Motegi Ciruit bike in 2015.
Since then, after parting ways with the Honda days now way behind him, Alonso returned to F1 with the Alpine team part-managed by ex-Suzuki MotoGP boss Davide Brivio. The driver purchased an Aprilia RS 660 to get around.
The four-time World Champion prefers classic motorcycles. Although he keeps his collection away from public eyes, he had been spotted on a Kawasaki two-stroke triple in the past and a Suzuki GS550. There are also rumours that he regularly visits classic motorcycle shows. He has also been see several of KTM and BMW motorcycles.
The German says he loved motorcycles after buying a Cagiva Mito 125.
Charles Leclerc’s Husqvarna 701 Vitpilen is a one-off special created by French custom house Bad Winners. The ‘Apex 2.0’ used a Vitpilen 701 as the base, and spec’ed it up with a unique frame and bodywork, a full system exhaust, and gorgeous looking DYMAG carbon fibre wheels. And oh, a KTM headlight.
Max Verstappen had been spotted riding motorcycles in his native Netherlands.
Like Leclerc, the current F1 World Championship leader has commissioned his own custom, but prefers a cruiser in the shape of a Montois-custom Harley-Davidson.
The “King of One Liners” in F1 loves his motorcycles and owns a large collection of motorcycles in his native Finland.
However, his passion is primarily for ‘Choppers’ and Harley-style cruisers and even has a series of special customs made under his ‘Iceman’ nickname.
Having retired from F1 at the end of the 2021 season having started more grands prix than any other before him, Raikkonen spent approximately five minutes with his feet up before taking everyone by surprise by being announced as the new team manager for the factory Kawasaki team in MX1.
Being an outspoken environmentalist, Rosberg has popped up now and again touting the advancements made in automotive technology and electric transport. That laid the way to collaborating with Italian manufacturer Energica. Rosberg was hired to launch the company’s latest generation Ego sportsbike in 2019.
Unlike others in this list, seven-time F1 World Champion Michael Schumacher not only loved motorcycles, but he even raced them. It led to him bringing his megastar status to the comparatively modest German IDM Superbike Championship in 2008 aboard the factory Holzhauer Honda.
He wasn’t a front runner on a bike that his team-mate Martin Bauer was winning the title, but he didn’t disgrace himself either. Alas, a heavy crash led to a shoulder injury that not only ended his motorcycling aspirations but ruled him out of a planned return to F1 with Ferrari to replace the injured Felipe Massa.
The Brazilian won devoted fans around the world for his passion for anything fast, including motorcycles.
He particularly loved Ducatis and would often arrive in the Monaco Grand Prix paddock riding a Ducati Monster. The Italian firm later created the Ducati 916 Senna.
Alas, the man himself never got to experience his dedication, being launched the year following his tragic and untimely death during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
The 2025 BMW S 1000 R naked sportbike is currently in the works and it looks extensively restyled.
The last update for the bike was in 2021, following BMW’s four-year model refresh schedule. The last redesign saw the headlight evolve into a rounder and smaller profile while the rest of the bike looked similar. The higher spec M 1000 R variant gained winglets similar to the M 1000 RR WSBK homologation model, as with the inline-four engine’s tuning.
Coming back to the 2025 model, it features a dual-headlight arrangement with what looks like a central air intake. If the air intake is a functioning part, it means that air will be fed through an opening in the upper part of the frame the same way as the S 1000 RR. In any case, we feel that this revamp makes the bike look more aggressive among its competitors namely the Aprilia Tuono V4, Ducati Streetfighter V4, Kawasaki Z H2, Yamaha MT-10, Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RS.
However, there is yet news regarding its engine and performance.
One of the most irritating (and dangerous) thing to pick up a tyre puncture. Good news is, plugging a tubeless tyre puncture is rather straightforward as you do not have to remove the tyre, unless the hole is too large to plug. On the other hand, a tube tyre requires you remove the tyre from the rim.
What we need
Firstly, you need an Oxford Tyre Repair Kit. The kit is complete with:
Secondly, you need the Oxford Tool Kit Pro. The set includes further pieces of tools including pliers to pull the thing that punctured the tyre. You may also consider the Oxford Tool Kit.
Plugging the puncture
Usually, the hole is easy to find as there is still a nail, screw or some object embedded in it.
1. Rotate the tyre and check for other signs of puncture.
2. Pull offending item out with the pliers.
3. Pick up the corkscrew-like tool and ream in and out of the hole to rough it up a bit.
4. Apply the cement into and around hole. The cement is to hold the rope plug (also called ‘cacing‘ colloquially in Malaysia) in place.
5. Insert the sticky rope plug through the eyelet of the needle.
6. Push the needle with the rope plug through the hole and pull the needle back out quickly.
7. Cut off the excess rope plug, leaving just a little higher than the tyre’s surface.
8. Place the metal part of the valve adapter on the tyre valve.
9. Push in a CO² canister into the red end of the adapter.
10. Check again to see if air is escaping from the repaired hole, by sprinkling some water on it or spitting on it.
11. You can ride away if there’s no further leak, or you may need to insert another plug if there is.
You can ride away after inflating the tyre with the CO² canisters. Ride slowly, not over 80 km/h for 15 minutes to let the plug settle in.
However, the tyre pressure may not be correct after doing so, thus the first thing you should do is head to a petrol station or workshop to reinflate the tyre, whichever comes first.
Also do visit a motorcycle workshop to have the tyre removed and patched from the inside, as the rope plug is NOT a permanent fix. After that, remember that the tyre’s top speed is reduced by one level i.e. Z => V.
The best solution is to replace the punctured tyre completely, as its structure has been compromised.
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