Honda is scheduled to unveil its 2022 RC213V race bike on January 14, 2022.
However, the global unveiling will take place without six-time MotoGP world champion, Marc Marquez who is still nursing his injured eye.
Instead, Repsol Honda has confirmed that the event will continue with Pol Espargaro and LCR Honda riders, Takaaki Nakagami and Alex Marquez.
Missing out on the bike unveiling is not an issue for the Honda camp, however, Marquez’s latest diplopia (double vision) diagnosis is still a concern as there is no confirmation if he could make it on time ahead of the Sepang test in February.
The Spaniard suffered the injury at the 2021 Algarve GP, but HRC only reported it as a concussion before the team confirmed the rider is struggling with diplopia.
Nevertheless, we hope Marquez could still make it back just in time for the pre-season test in Sepang or at least given enough time to test out the updated RC213V.
WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team welcomes Malaysian technology consulting company, Telcowin for the 2022 MotoGP season.
Telcowin has put pen to paper on an one-year deal with WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP team which also marks a historic milestone as the team embarks on a mission in bringing Malaysian brands to the international stage of two-wheel racing.
Meanwhile, Razlan Razali, Founder and Team Principal WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Teamm, welcomes Telcowin to the team ahead of the new season.
“We are proud and excited to welcome our new Malaysian partner Telcowin to the WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team.
“Obviously being a Malaysian, I have a strong affinity for Malaysian companies who are interested in collaborating with the team as a platform to achieve their international presence and aspirations,” he said.
Despite Telcowin’s humble start in Malaysia, Razlan’s expressed his satisfaction towards the Malaysian company rapidly growing ambition of making it big.
“From our first meeting, I am excited to be working together with such a dynamic team who started from humble beginnings here in Malaysia, but have grown tremendously and are ambitious to expand their business internationally.
“Align with Telcowin’s aspirations, we are both venturing into a new chapter and aim to push to our highest potential and win together.
“With Telcowin as our partner, we can look into new technology solutions to assist the team in the digital front especially for marketing and enhancing customer
engagements.
“I would like to thank Mr. Hafiz Izwan Mohd Ariffin, the CEO of Telcowin and his team for their trust and support as they take their next big milestone to enter the MotoGP World Championship for the first time with us, ” he added.
Telcowin was established in 2007 as a digital asset management vendor providing solutions and implementation for document digitisation services.
The company made significant progress in 2012 by delivering cloud computing solutions using the no.1 CRM brand in the world.
Kawasaki marks the 50th anniversary of the iconic Z Series with four special models.
To honour the signature models, Kawasaki recreates the look of its Z900RS and Z650RS, while the naked siblings, the Z900 and Z650 get a trailblazing new colour.
Kawasaki developed a special painting process for the Z900RS and Z650RS to capture the colour scheme of the original Z1 with a combination of a deeper brown and burnt orange candy.
In addition, the RS also gets a vibrant gold wheelset.
Team Green also adds the 50th-anniversary emblem on the tank and engine case cover including a retro-inspired 900 Double Overhead Camshaft badge.
While the Z900RS and Z650RS is almost a perfect rendition of the original Z series, the Z900 and Z650 displayed the Z1100GP Firecracker Red livery.
The modern Z900 and Z650 also get a blazing red rim along with the anniversary emblems on the fuel tank and fender.
According to reports, the 50th Anniversary Z Series will land in Japan on February 1 2022.
Motorcycle clothing giant, Alpinestars has rolled out the next generation airbag system ever at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The new product consists of new Tech-Air 10, Tech-Air 3 and Tech-Air Off-Road V2 autonomous Airbag Systems.
According to Alpinestars, the new Tech-Air 10 provides unrivalled body protection for road riders and track day junkies.
*Alpinestars Tech-Air 10
The self-contained and fully autonomous suit protects the riders shoulders, chest, full back and hips.
Meanwhile, the Tech-Air 3 is an over-the-jacket airbag system built specifically for daily riders that is also suitable for use in every weather condition.
*Alpinestars Tech-Air 3
The Alpinestar Tech-Air 3 can be easily folded and stored in a rucksack or under-seat compartment when not in use.
Alpinestars also presented the Tech-Air Off-Road V2, proven body protection for the rugged terrain and off-road enthusiast.
*Alpinestars Tech-Air Off-Road V2,
The company claimed that the airbag has been developed at the highest level, featuring at the last three Dakar Rally.
If there is one thing that Chinese bike makers have a reputation is, it is for being copy cats of great designs.
And that has been proven true once again by a Chinese motorcycle company called Colove, and its latest model called the Excelle 525X .
Truly, this is the Excelle and not a BMW F850GS, we kid you not! This is real. Check out the Youtube video below from a Youtuber called AutoWin.
The headlight (shown further below) may not be like a BMW, but it does look like it was inspired by Honda’s CBX models.
The design of the tank, the beak and the golden tubeless wire-some rims are curiously similar to the BMW.
But unlike the BMW on which it has obviously stolen its design from, the Excelle 525X supposedly costs a third of the asking price of the BMW.
The Excelle 525X relies on a 493.9cc engine that puts out 53.8PS at 9000rpm and 48Nm at 6500rpm. The engine is mated to a 6-speed gearbox that features a slipper clutch. A quick search on the internet reveals very little about where this engine originates from, or anything about the Excelle at all. A quick visit to the website of the Chinese bike maker shows that the website has been down for a while.
But if there is one thing that is impressive about the curious Chinese brand that has very little digital presence is that it comes with an impressive underpinnings.
It offers an adjustable KYB upside down fork with 195mm travel while the rear monoshock offers 200mm travel.
When compared to the bike it has based its design on, the BMW F850GS, the German bike costs more and even has inferior suspension made up of a non-adjustable fork, but with a fully adjustable mono shock.
As for the brakes, the Excelle uses Kailing callipers that grip on dual petal discs at the front and a single disc at the rear. There is no further information available about braking duties.
In terms of electronics, the Chinese manufacturer has loaded the 525X with an adaptive LED headlight, dual on-board chargers and a smartphone compatible instrument console.
Price starts from RM25,880 for the base model while the top end model that apparently features a single-sided swing arm costs about RM28,000 before Malaysian taxes.
There is no further information available regarding the Colove Excelle 525X, neither are there more photos.
Imagine having a scooter which you will never have to refuel again. All it asks is that you recharge it whenever needed, and will get you where ever you want in an urban setting.
We are talking about the new Kymco Like 125 EV.
With a near retro design, the Like 125 EV is capable of giving you a range of 199km on a single charge. It is powered by a 3,200 watt motor that gives the rider around 4.3 horsepower.
It has 27-litres of underseat storage, which is enough to store three batteries, which when combined, gives the 125 EV its spectacular range.
The batteries are from Kymco’s own Ionex battery technology, which the company claims needs just one hour to charge.
And if you wondering about battery fade, Kymco says each battery will be able to be charged roughly 1000 times over its lifetime.
What is the Ionex Battery?
Kymco introduced the Ionex as a response to Gogoro’s electric scooters complete domination of the Taiwanese market.
According to The Taipei Times in March of 2021, Gogoro sold 345,190 electric scooters as compared to Kymco’s 19,215.
This prompted Kymco’s president to announce that the Ionex will be a spin off brand to Kymco, much like Ducati’s Scrambler.
In Taiwan, the brand is known simply as Ionex, but around the world, it is known as Kymco Ionex.
One of the key factors to the success of both Gogoro and Ionex is the use of swappable battery stations. This is perfect to counter range anxiety, and is ideal for delivery riders who can simply walk in, swap batteries and get on their way again.
And so Ionex too has been rolling out swappable battery stations of its own, and plans to have 4,000 stations around Taiwan by the end of 2022.
To ensure it meets its target, Ionex has partnerships with four major local companies: President Chain Store, Chunghwa Telecom, Fubon Insurance, and Carrefour Taiwan.
All four existing companies have multiple locations around Taiwan, and provide the ideal location for Ionex swap stations to be built.
Back to the Kymco Like 125 EV
And it is this model that will ensure the success of the Kymco Like 125 EV, in Taiwan at least. But around the world, its good looks and feature packed body will increase its appeal.
The Like 125 EV weighs in at just 94 kilograms, and is able to connect to smartphones via an application to access information such as speed and battery levels. The display is of course fully digital.
As for its price, the Kymco Like 125 EV costs about 1,200 Euros, which is less than RM6,000, making it the perfect solution to urban mobility.
It is unlike that this model will be introduced in Malaysia since the charging infrastructure is still in its infancy, but for our readers based elsewhere – this is quite a good solution to electric urban mobility.
