During a recent event held in Alor Setar, Kedah, MForce did a special preview of the Moto Morini X-Cape 650.
According to reports by Paultan.org, the Moto Morini X-Cape 650 will be available in Malaysia by mid-2022 with an estimated price of RM45k.
The X-Cape 650 features a 649cc parallel-twin engine that makes around 60hp @ 8,250rpm and 56Nm @ 7,000rpm. While the power is decent, the X-Cape 650 comes with premium components, including adjustable upside-down Marzocchi forks, adjustable KYB rear shocks and Brembo brakes.
The adventure-tourer also comes equipped with an 18L tank and a 7-inch TFT instrument display.
The X-Cape 650 is built around a steel trellis frame and paired to an aluminium swingarm to ensure its rigidity on and off-road.
Fast Bike Sdn Bhd, the sole distributor of Triumph Motorcycles brand in Malaysia, has confirmed that the entire Gold Line Special Edition range will be available at Triumph Motorcycles Malaysia showroom soon.
According to the latest posting on Triumph Motorcycles Malaysia Facebook page, the entire Gold Line range is priced from RM67,900 to RM93,900.
The Triumph Gold Line range consists of the Bonneville T100, Bonneville Speedmaster, Bonneville Bobber, Bonneville T120, Bonneville T120 Black, Street Scrambler, Scrambler 1200 XC and Scrambler 1200 XE.
While the exact price is yet to be revealed, we assume that Triumph Motorcycles Malaysia will soon unveil them officially.
However, it is worth noting that only a number of these bad boys will be available in Malaysia.
Check out the full details on Triumph’s Gold Line range below:
Our riding yesterday didn’t just end after we arrived at the Century Pines hotel in Tanah Rata.
In fact, right after I had published yesterday’s entry, we jumped back on the bikes and headed to one of the oldest hotels & restaurant in Cameron Highlands – The Smoke House.
The ride there was chilly. If there is one good thing that Covid did, it stopped people from over visiting some key landmarks in the country, like Cameron Highlands.
This allowed the environment to somewhat heal, and the cool weather Cameron Highlands was once known for is thankfully back.
We rode in 18 degrees Celsius yesterday. And that was at 730pm. I hope it stays that way for good now. Fat chance I know.
Anyway, as I had mentioned it had rained earlier and that meant we were riding in the dark on wet roads.
I didn’t bother changing the ride mode and kept the bike in Roll (as I mentioned yesterday, the R18 has three riding modes – Rock, Roll and Rain)
Throughout the many corners between Century Pines and The Smoke House, never did the traction control light blink.
Power was easily manageable thanks to the masses of torque, so you don’t really need to downshift when entering a corner.
I did try the Rain mode on the ride back, but that just made the throttle feel too lazy. I reckon that would be best left for riding in torrential rain.
On the ride down from Cameron Highlands, I swapped the R18 Classic for the R18 Pure. I found the 16 inch front wheel a little too heavy and un-obliging when I wanted the front end to be where I wanted it to be.
So swapping the 16 inch front wheel for the 19 inch front wheel of the Pure should sort that out, in theory at least.
The Pure is also about 5-8 kilograms lighter than the Classic since it does without the windshield and cruise control and a lighter front wheel.
At first, the tight corners of Cameron Highlands had me huffing and puffing to manage the 350 kilograms of the R18.
It is a heavy bike and there is no sugar coating that fact.
KK Wong, the BMW certified trainer then pulled me aside and reminded me of something I had already known all this while – just be in the right gear and look where you want to go, and let your right hand manage the throttle and ultimately the weight of the bike.
And then it all flowed nicely.
Sometimes we all need a cool three minute talk to remind us of what is already in our entrenched memory.
From then on, the R18 Pure proved to be perfectly tractable in tight and long corners.
That front end was obliging anytime I needed it to move away from a pothole.
But the joy of riding the R18 Pure ended at the corners around Cameron Highlands, because as soon as we came down from the hills and hit the highway, I found myself wishing I was still on the R18 Classic.
Northbound on the highway heading towards Penang, we had the perfect opportunity to feel how the R18 is like on the open roads.
The 1,802cc engine and the 158Nm of torque were perfectly at home on the open highway, all you ever need to get up to speed is to gently squeeze the throttle and you would reach jail term speeds in about 200 meters or less.
There is no denying the power of the engine.
But there is also no denying the well known fact that a cruiser with no windshield and open handle bars can be extremely uncomfortable on the highway at high speed.
And I reiterate the now very important point that the first thing that needs to be done when you buy a R18 (Pure or Classic) is to change the seat for something more comfortable.
But if there is one thing that I learnt today, it would be the fact that the R18 Pure is quite capable in corners and can be quite fun too, which is amazing for such a heavy bike.
It would however need some aftermarket accessories to make it more comfortable on the highway.
A BMW representative nailed it on the head when he said, “The R18 is not a long distance tourer, it is a mid or short range tourer”. And you can’t blame them for that either, because they have the RT or the GS for those who want to go far comfortably.
After reaching our destination of the day, we ended up in what could just be the most difficult nasi kandar to have in Malaysia, and that is simply because of the long lines that the shop almost always seems to have.
I am talking about Deen Maju Nasi Kandar in Penang. For those not in the know, this joint always seems to have a long line that snakes out and around the shop. It is quite normal for people to wait upwards of an hour to have a meal.
But of course, in another stroke of pure class, BMW simply reserved a room and we trudged right in for lunch.
And about two hours after lunch, we hopped onto a catamaran for a relaxing sunset cruise under the Penang bridge.
Though quite common in islands like Langkawi, I never knew that you could charter such cruises in Penang. I suggest that you check them out at the “Straits Quay Sunset Cruise” Instagram and Facebook page.
Or you could simply email them at stratsquaysunsetcruise@gmail.com
What happens tomorrow?
Tomorrow is sadly the last day of the R18 Getaway.
But not before some cruising around Penang Island, and a spot of banana leaf “lunching” in Ipoh.
This could just be your adventure too.
BMW R18 MALAYSIA
You too can join the BMW R18 Getaway Ride Malaysia at just RM3,350 which includes all that I have mentioned including the cruise and even the BMW R18 motorcycle itself. And if you would like to bring a pillion along, you just have to add a further RM2,200 to that.
Seems like a steal doesn’t it? Consider this, the yacht trip alone costs RM4,500 for three hours. And you simply pay RM3,350 for the entire ride.
This is the ultimate motorcycle tour bargain, if there ever was one.
Some time ago, Scorpion was almost unknown to the motorcycle industry. Still, the company rose to the spotlight after it became the helmet of choice for 2021 MotoGP world champion Fabio Quartararo.
While Quartararo will continue to wear the company’s helmet for the 2022 season, Scorpion has revamped its range of helmets for the new year, especially its ever-popular ADX-1 modular adventure helmet.
After five years in the market, Scorpion decided to update its popular modular ADV helmet with the ADX-2.
According to Scorpion, the ADX-2 offers better comfort and increased safety as the helmet now meets ECE 22.06 standard after undergoing a more stringent test process.
The ECE 22.06 compliant also means that the ADX-2 received double P/J homologation, making it safe to wear the helmet with the chin-bar up.
Nonetheless, the ADX-2 maintains the same versatility as its predecessor, whereby the helmet can be worn in various ways to suit the rider riding style. The peak is detachable to suit the riders need and can also act as an open face helmet with the chin-bar up.
The Scorpion ADX-2 also offers a detachable and washable interior, retractable sun visor and multi-channel ventilation system. The visor is also Pinlock ready and compatible to wear with an intercom.
According to Scorpion, the ADX-2 is available for EUR249.99 (RM1,2k).
If you own a classic Kawasaki motorcycle, you might be familiar with Japan’s Doremi Collection, as the company has been crafting high-quality reproduction parts for classic Japanese bikes for years.
For 2022, Doremi has announced the release of a new reproduction tank explicitly built for the 1984 Kawasaki Ninja GPZ900R.
According to reports, the tank is something that customers have been asking for quite some time, and the new reproduction tank is expected to make a lot of the GPZ900R happy.
Interestingly, the tank is unpainted to allow owners the freedom to paint it freely to match with their GPZ900R. Moreover, instead of recreating the exact tank, Doremi has improved the design and material so owners can enjoy their GPZ900R for many more years to come.
This is because the stock tank had some apparent weakness, namely the tendency for the bottom part to rust.
According to Doremi, the tank can be fitted to all GPZ900R models.
Nevertheless, the high-quality tank comes with a price, JPY148,500 (RM5.4k) to be exact and with only 300 units built, we’re pretty sure it’s going to be a hot-selling despite the price tag.
The MotoAmerica King of the Baggers quickly gained worldwide attention when it first started, with every Harley-Davidson owner turning their baggers of something similar to the race bike.
As it turns out, the popularity of the big bagger race has its influence over the company new 2022 range.
Harley-Davidson kickstarts its 2022 calendar with a new ST range for 2022, including the new Low Rider ST.
Despite sharing the exact blueprint as the 2022 Low Rider S, which includes the Softail chassis and associated components, the Low Rider ST features a different fairing and pannier.
The three ST models (including the Street Glide ST and Road Glide ST) also became the company first mass-made Harley to adopt the 117 Milwaukee-Eight V-Twin engine, previously reserved for the flagship CVO range.
In addition, the 2022 ST range only offers single-seaters with no passenger footpegs available. To ensure an exciting riding experience, the ST also gain longer rear shocks for better cornering clearance.
Meanwhile, the Low Rider ST is built based on the heavily updated Low Rider S and features the 117 Milwaukee-Eight engine that makes 103hp @ 4,750 rpm and 170Nm @ 3,500rpm.
Despite the bigger engine, the Low Rider S weighs as much as its predecessor, while the ST version weighs 327 kilograms.
According to Harley, the Low Rider S and ST also gain longer rear shocks allowing better cornering than its predecessor.
Nonetheless, the ST is differentiated by the addition of lockable panniers taken from the Sport Glide.
While the saddlebags are mounted higher to allow better lean angles, the new fairing, on the other hand, is inspired by the 80s FXRT, which itself followed the same styling from the water-cooled Nova V-4 prototype developed in the 70s.
However, while the air duct on the side of the headlight on the Nova fed air to the under-seat radiator, the one on the Low Rider ST is designed to help airflow around the rider.
Harley-Davidson also replaced the Low Rider S console-mounted gauge with a single mounted instrument that combines an analogue tachometer with a digital speedometer.
On another note, Harley adds the Street Glide ST and Road Glide ST alongside the already launched 2022 Street Gide and Street Glide Special and the Road Glide and Road Glide Special.
Like the Low Ride, the ST also represents the introduction of the 117 Milwaukee-Eight engine but with a higher 106hp and 172Nm. The two models also gained taller suspension for better cornering clearance.
