The Swiss National Council is planning to stop all noisy vehicles, including motorcycles and cars.
According to reports, Switzerland is looking to ban any vehicles with idling noise over 95 decibels.
Interestingly, the ban might not be issued for the whole country instead only on certain roads, much like in Austria, where a specific scenic road popular among motorists was officially closed to motorcycles.
However, the proposed initiative received a huge backlash, especially from the Swiss Motorcycle Federation.
The proposed plan (if agreed) is expected to go into effect by the end of 2022.
Monster Energy Yamaha announced Maverick Vinales would leave the team at the end of the 2021 MotoGP season.
Vinales and Yamaha have mutually agreed to put an early end to the two-year deal following the rider request.
Vinales spend five seasons with the factory Yamaha since joining in 2017 and has accumulated eight victories so far.
“This partnership has been very significant to me over the last five years, and it proved a difficult decision to part ways.
“In these seasons together, we experienced both great achievements and tough times.
“However, the underlying feeling is of mutual respect and appreciation.
“I am fully committed and will strive to achieve the best results for the rest of the season,” said Vinales.
The relationship between Vinales and Yamaha turn sour ever since the team decided to replace his crew chief, Esteban Garcia, with Valentino Rossi’s former aid, Silvano Galbusera.
Last week, he admitted that he is frustrated at the lack of respect and answers from Yamaha involving his factory M1 machine.
In other news, the 26-year old rider is expected to join Aleix Espargaro at Aprilia for the 2022 season despite denying the link earlier.
The 2022 Suzuki Hayabusa officially launched in the Philippines less than six months after the global release in February 2021.
The newly improved Hayabusa was at the heart of Suzuki’s latest 2022 range, including the GSX-S1000, GSX-S950 and the upcoming GSX-S1000T.
For 2022, the Hayabusa continues to be powered by a 1,340cc inline-four engine capable of producing 187hp @ 9,700rpm and 150Nm @ 7,000rpm.
However, the revised engine (now meets Euro 5 emission standard) makes less horsepower than the previous generation.
Nonetheless, the 2022 Hayabusa features loads of technological advancement, including an all-new six-axis Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) that runs the traction control, cornering ABS and wheelie control.
It also comes equipped with three riding modes and customizable settings that can be easily accessed via the TFT instrument.
The all-new ‘Busa now available in the Philippines for a price of PHP1.1mil (RM93,000).
More than 11,000 spectators witness Fabio Quartararo recorded his fourth win of the season at the Dutch GP.
Despite the win took Quartararo championship points to 156 and comfortably leading the race heading into the mid-season break, his teammate, Maverick Vinales, was at the centre of attention.
Vinales comes second at Assen, followed by Suzuki’s Joan Mir, but the Spaniard looks less than happy with the result, and it was more noticeable on the podium.
“It’s an option (about leaving Yamaha). I’m thinking about it since the beginning of the season because I’m not able to show my full potential.
“I can’t tell you more,” he said after the race.
The 26-year old was left frustrated with Yamaha decision to replace his crew chief, Esteban Garcia, with Valentino Rossi former crew chief, Silvano Galbusera.
He later admitted the lack of respect and answers from Yamaha after suffering the same rear grip issues with the YZR-M1 a couple of weeks ago.
In the most recent news, Vinales is linked with a move to Aprilia for the 2022 season despite having a year left on his contract with the Japanese manufacturer.
While this might be another rumour from the paddock, it does not change the fact that Vinales is clearly frustrated and will utilize the summer break to announce a decision (if there is any).
Here, we sum them up as 10 Steps to be a Better Rider.
Keep these tips in mind everytime you ride.
We’ve published a number of riding tips previously, from avoiding target fixation to braking to body positioning and so forth. To sum them all up, plus adding a few more, here are 10 steps to be a better rider.
Again, as we’ve mentioned many times before, you have to “check” your riding at all times not only to be able to go faster, but more importantly, to be safe. Being safe means you can continue to ride forever.
1. Be attentive
Don’t daydream. Always evaluate your surroundings, speed and space. Be proactive in spotting potential danger – if you find yourself in close call situations all the time, it could pretty well mean that you’re not on top of things.
2. Look further up the road
Not looking far enough could also be attributed to losing concentration. The human vision will default to a view of just a few centimetres in front when a person doesn’t focus on anything in particular. When that happens, reaction time is increased. Additionally, peripheral vision is reduced, and you can’t spot that car swerving into your lane quickly enough. So, keep your eyes up and look ahead as far as possible while continuously scanning to keep your vision and mind active.
3. Maintain a wide vision
As we mentioned above, keep your vision wide by scanning the road back and forth – imagine a forward-looking radar. A wide vision helps to slow things down at any given speed. Sure, zeroing down your vision is fun at speed, but you’ll feel overwhelmed when something unexpected occurs. Keeping your vision wide also avoids from getting surprised from the sides. Finally, a wide vision helps to avoid target fixation as it allows you to spot a route of escape.
4. Body positioning
Seat yourself back a bit by leaving 2.5 cm (1 inch) between the tank and your crotch. You will feel that the steering is lighter, and your upper body will have a more natural bend. Being natural results in better comfort too. Remember to clamp the sides of the fuel tank with your knees and inner thighs to free up the torso. And keep ride with the balls of your feet on the footpegs.
5. Relax!
There are still too many riding with straight arms. Keep them loose. Loosening up the arms loosens up your grip on the handlebar, besides your torso, shoulders, neck and back. The benefits are increased comfort, the bike handles better, and more control. The bike handles better because you allow it to do what it’s supposed to. Riding tense means you’re fighting the bike.
6. Be smooth
Image credit: MotoGP
Notice how smooth professional riders transition from accelerating to braking to turning and back to accelerating? Being smooth avoids feeding extra forces into the bike which causes instability. Being smooth also means that you’re not cramming too many inputs at one go for example, grabbing the brake while downshifting and turning. Here’s a little secret: A smooth rider isn’t afraid of worn tyres or slick road conditions.
7. Ride in the rain
Photo credit cycleworld.com
Speaking of slick road conditions, riding in the rain teaches you the necessity of being relaxed and smooth with your controls. Besides that, you’ll also discover how much your bike and tyres are capable of. All our Editors love riding in the rain!
8. Practice your braking
We’ve written about this before: Don’t treat your brakes as an on/off switch. Instead, find an empty road or parking lot and practice your braking technique. Find how much pressure you need to slow the bike down to a desired speed. Discover how much distance you need to bring the bike to a complete stop from certain speeds. Find how much pressure it takes to trigger the ABS and how it feels when the system activates. Learn to steer the bike when ABS triggers. Know how the bike feels like when a tyre skids. Don’t forget to practice trail braking, too. Last but not least, clamp your knees on the tank when you brake and leave your arms loose.
9. Ride a dirt bike
We can’t stress this enough. Riding a dirt bike teaches you the real basics of throttle control, braking, body positioning, rider inputs, traction and everything else you can shake a stick at it. We understand that many are concerned about safety when riding in the dirt, but guess what, you don’t have to jump like Gabit Saleh in order to ride in the dirt. Just go to Most Fun Gym or Moto Maniac and ask to practice on a flat piece of ground. (That’s what we do.) You’ll be surprised how much better you can after that!
10. Enrol in an advanced riding school
This goes without saying. We think probably less than 1% have done so and that’s what contributes to the exceptionally high number of motorcycle accidents in Malaysia (among other causes). There are so many to choose from that could fit your budget and type of bike you ride.
BONUS
Attend a trackday. You don’t have pressure yourself into riding at Azlan Shah’s pace. Who said you have to, by the way? Go to the track and have fun riding around in a controlled environment while you practice your skills. You can even make new friends who are faster and lead you around the track.
Yamaha recently launched the all-new FZ-X, a retro-styled naked motorcycle in India.
Despite the small displacement, the FZ-X features Bluetooth connectivity via the Yamaha Y-Connect application, allowing the rider to monitor the motorcycle information, including engine health, service intervals, and parking location.
The Y-Connect feature is similar to the one available in Malaysia with the all-new 2021 Yamaha NVX.
However, the latest report suggests that Yamaha plans to update the YZF-R15 and MT-15 range to feature Bluetooth connectivity.
The move is seen as an effort to increase ownership experience, especially aspiring riders.
The Y-Connect function will enable riders to access the bikes overall condition and location, including sharing your ride on social media.
