Again about motorcycles' seizure....

From News Strait Times:

Motorcycles can be seized only if...

27 Feb 2007

---

KUALA LUMPUR: The police’s move to seize the machines of motorcyclists who break the law has received the thumbs up — provided it is carried out in accordance with the law.

Bar Council president Yeo Yang Poh said under the Road Transport Act 1987, there were two conditions which allowed for a vehicle to be detained.

The first was when the driver or vehicle could not be sufficiently identified.

"For example, where a vehicle is parked in the middle of the road, or where the driver of the vehicle does not have any identification on him."

The second is when the seizure and detention of the vehicle was necessary to prevent the offence from continuing.

"For instance, an underage person riding a motorcycle is detained at a road block.

"Here, the police has the right to seize the motorcycle as otherwise, the person would continue committing the offence," Yeo explained.

He said if either one of the conditions were satisfied, the police would then have the right to seize the vehicle.

"If the person has no road tax, licence or insurance coverage, then his motorcycle can also be seized as otherwise, it would allow the continuance of the offence," he said.

Yeo was commenting on the New Straits Times front-page report yesterday which stated that offenders, including those without licences, road tax and insurance coverage, would have to go to district police stations, pay their summonses and show proof that they have their documents before claiming their motorcycles.

As of 3pm on Sunday, police had seized 1,569 motorcycles in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Perak in an exercise that began last Friday.

The report also said parents and friends who lent their machines to those not qualified to ride them would also face the wrath of the law.

Yeo said that each case would depend on its circumstances and that the power to seize should be exercised in a reasonable manner.

Lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad, meanwhile, clarified that the relevant section for seizure was section 64 and not section 26 as reported.

"Section 26 basically says no person can drive on the road without a valid driving licence.

"Section 64 allows police to seize vehicles, but this is subject to certain conditions."

Once seized, the vehicle could only be released on the order of a magistrate or chief police officer.

He added that if fees were imposed, they would have to be settled before the vehicle could be released.

Although what the policemen were doing looks seems outrages for me, but still, that's the only way to do for them to teach the motorcyclist to abide the laws.

Hope that these guys (policemen) didn't sell those bikes, haha.

Another effort by the government to decrease the ammount of road accidents.

From News Strait Times Today:

'Arresting' the bikes
Offenders will lose m-cycles on the spot

26 Feb 2007
Alang Bendahara

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KUALA LUMPUR: Motorcyclists who break the law will have their machines seized on the spot.

Police have taken 1,122 motorcycles in an exercise which began on Friday. Yesterday, until 3pm, 447 machines were seized.

Offenders, including those without licences, road tax and insurance coverage, will have to go to district police stations, pay their summonses and show proof they have their documents before claiming their motorcycles.

Federal traffic police chief Senior Assistant Commissioner II Datuk Nooryah Md Anvar said they were unable to stomach the lackadaisical attitude of those who ride the two-wheelers.

Ops Sikap XII, which began on Feb 11, had seen 183 deaths until Friday, of whom 107 were motorcyclists.

"Of the motorcyclists who died, 34 did not have valid licences or road tax or insurance coverage. They should not have been on the road in the first place.

"It shows how reckless they were and their lackadaisical attitude towards the law.

"This cannot go on as they endanger their lives and that of other road users.

"Hence, the decision to remove them from the roads," Nooryah said at a roadblock near the Cheras toll plaza here yesterday.

She said that the exercise would continue even after Ops Sikap XII, which ended yesterday, to ensure that only those with valid documents were on the road.

Although the exercise was confined to Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Perak, it would be extended to the other states soon.

Nooryah said the police were using Section 26 of the Road Transport Act 1987, which allowed them to seize the machines.

"When stopped by the police, they have all sorts of excuses. They say they need the motorcycles to go to work and travel.

"But it is not as if we are now living in a kampung era. They can only be on the road if they have licences, road tax and insurance coverage. If not, they can rely on alternative transportation."

She said aside from issuing summonses to the motorcyclists, parents and friends who lend their machines to those not qualified to ride them would also face the wrath of the law as the Road Transport Act provides for it.

"They should have known better as it is their property which they are allowing those not qualified to use."

With seven people killed on Saturday, the total number of deaths under the 14-day Ops Sikap XII reached 190. Of the seven deaths, three involved motorcyclists, three pedestrians and one on a bicycle.

Police issued 12,539 summonses to motorists on Saturday.

I agree what the government do to decrease the ammount of road accidents by doing this. As I know, from the newspaper, motorcyclists are the main contributors of the nation's road accidents. I hope by doing this, It may change the attitudes of Malaysian's motorcyclists to abide rules and road regulations. It is not hard to abide those rules. If others can, so, why don't you? By abiding those rules, you wouldn't have to be afraid to go anywhere with your bike. The police and other inforcements just doing their work. Bashing those authorities everytime you meet up a roadblock by them doesn't prove anything.

Think about it.

Fatal Accident Involving 2 Riders.

My deepest condolences to the families.

From SingaporeBikes.com

From NST (News Straits Times) today:

IPOH: A decision to help a biker friend involved in an
accident in Thailand
proved fatal for two friends from Singapore.
They
were killed in an accident
near here at 9pm on Tuesday.
Police said
their 1,300cc motorcycle grazed a
car near the Simpang Pulai rest area along
the North-South Expressway. They fell
on the road and were run over by
another vehicle.
They were identified as
childhood friends Muhammad
Ridzuan Hussein, 25, and Roslan Rahim, 24, from
Tampines, Singapore.
Police have classified the case as hit-and-run as the
car which mowed
them down did not stop.
Ridzuan’s father, Hussein Supaat, a
policeman,
claimed the body at the Ipoh Hospital yesterday afternoon. Roslan’s
brother,
Yacob Rahim, claimed his remains.
Ridzuan and Roslan left Singapore
at
5am on Tuesday on hearing that their friend, involved in a motorcycle
accident in Thailand, needed their help.
The three were part of a group
of
bikers which traversed Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
Ridzuan’s
mother,
housewife Salmah Abu Bakar, 50, said her son had returned to
Singapore on Monday
from a weekend trip to Genting Highlands with his
younger brother, Muhammad
Rahmat, 22.
"I was surprised that he decided
to make another trip north and
was worried. He had earlier told us he would
sponsor our umrah this
year.
"Ridzuan and Roslan were always together,"
she said.
Ipoh district
traffic chief Assistant Superintendent Razali
Bakar said after a car ran over
the two on the road, another car rammed into
their motorcycle and the driver
alerted the police about the accident.

From METRO today:

Lelaki Singapura mahu hantar ibu bapa tunai haji maut nahas
IPOH: “Saya tidak
menyangka niat Allahyarham untuk menghantar kami berdua mengerjakan haji
kesampaian apabila dia terbunuh selepas motosikal ditungganginya terbabit
kemalangan kelmarin,” kata seorang ibu warga Singapura, Salmah Abu Bakar,
50.
Ibu kepada Mohd Ridzuan Hussein, 25, itu berkata, anak lelakinya itu
sebelum ini sering menyuarakan hasrat untuk menghantar dia dan suaminya, Hussein
Supaat, 50-an ke Makkah pada musim haji kali ini.
Katanya, anaknya itu sering
memberi galakan kepada mereka berdua untuk berbuat demikian serta menyatakan
kesediaan untuk membantu termasuk dari segi kewangan.
Bagaimanapun, katanya,
niat Mohd Ridzuan untuk berbuat demikian tidak kesampaian selepas terbunuh
bersama seorang rakan, Roslan Rahim, 24, yang membonceng motosikal
berkenaan.
Dalam kemalangan kira-kira jam 9 malam di Kilometer 289.6 di
Lebuhraya Utara-Selatan dekat Simpang Pulai itu, kedua-dua mangsa terbabit dalam
perjalanan ke Thailand untuk membantu seorang rakan yang mengalami kecederaan
akibat kemalangan motosikal di negara itu.
Difahamkan, rakan senegara yang
cedera termasuk patah tangan itu ialah rakan baik kepada kedua-dua mangsa yang
berasal dari Tampines, Singapura dan berada di negara berkenaan bersama
sekumpulan penunggang motosikal lain untuk bercuti sempena Tahun Baru
Cina.
Salmah berkata, pada hari kejadian, Mohd Ridzuan dan adiknya, Muhammad
Rahmat, 22, baru saja pulang ke Singapura selepas bercuti ke Genting Highlands,
Pahang selama beberapa hari.
“Saya menemui Muhammad Rahmat yang pulang ke
rumah sendirian dan terkejut apabila dimaklumkan anak saya itu masuk semula ke
Malaysia dan seterusnya ke Thailand untuk membantu seorang rakan di
sana.
“Ini kerana Mohd Ridzuan menerima panggilan dari seorang rakan
kira-kira jam 4 petang untuk membantunya mengambil motosikal yang terbabit
kemalangan sebelum itu.
“Berikutan itu, mangsa dan rakannya kemudian bertolak
ke negara berkenaan untuk membantu rakan terbabit sebelum kejadian menyayat hati
itu berlaku,” katanya.
Salmah berkata, Mohd Ridzuan adalah anak ketiga
daripada empat beradik dan mula bekerja sebagai pemandu di sebuah syarikat
komputer sejak tiga bulan lalu.

Biking Techniques (Part 3)

NO SWERVING -- it's all corners

In one way, the MSF does riders a disservice in terms of track riding. When they teach you to swerve, they emphasize to move the bike under you rather than lean with it. DON'T DO THAT HERE!

On the racetrack you are not swerving. You are taking corners. Lean with the bike, don't lag behind it. On the street I see a lot of riders who lean their bikes over a lot in a turn, but are keeping their body quite upright. That uses up a lot of the bike's lean angle --they leave less reserve, and would touch down well before a good rider would.

When you start reaching your own personal tiltmeter, you'll find it very hard to lean your body more. The pavement gets closer as you lean, and it's intimidating to sense it nearer to you than you're accustomed. It's vital that you not start to lean the bike under you at that point, but keep your body leaning with the bike. That's an important basic technique I'll be watching for today.

Compare these two pictures, taken at TrackDoD 1...

First, a note about the corner: this is exiting Oak Tree at VIR. It's a very slow corner, and so at the point where these photos are taken the bike is accelerating onto the front straight. The bikes in both photos are travelling at roughly the same speed.

In this first picture, the rider is leaning the bike under him. He's looking through the corner well, and accelerating nicely through the corner, but by keeping his body more upright he's pushing the bike down into the ground. He's almost used up all the lean angle he has available -- he's cornering about as fast as he can, and has virtually no reserve of cornering clearance left.

photo by Mike Ragsdale

In this next picture, the two riders coming out of the corner are leaning more than the bike. Notice how much more ground clearance they have -- and compare the angle of the wheels to the ground in this picture and the previous one. Even though one of these bikes is a standard and the other a cruiser, when ridden this way they actually have more ground clearance than the sportbike shown above.

photo by Mike Ragsdale

This also shows how useless Joe Racer's guide to how fast a rider is by looking at the tires. The rider in the first picture has scrubbed his tires all the way to the edge, but he's going no faster than the riders in the second picture, who may still have unscuffed rubber at the outside of their tires.

From TrackDoD Novice Group Orientation

Biking Techniques (Part 2)

Slow, Look, Lean, Roll

The MSF is right... sort of

The MSF teaches every rider how to go around a corner. Slow, look, lean, roll. They're right. That's exactly what we do on the track.
What they don't tell you is you can do a bunch of these at once. We'll lean as we slow, and roll as we lean, and we never -- ever -- stop looking.

Look where you want to go

Like the MSF says, you'll go where you look. So look where you want to go. That is never more true than on the racetrack, where you don't have to do much SIPDE and can concentrate on where you're going.
The MSF also tells you to keep your eyes up, look ahead, look through the turn -- but they don't emphasize it enough for the track.

The faster you go, the further ahead you need to look. When you exit Oak Tree, you should be looking for your turn-in at Courage, over half a mile away. When you've identified your braking point for Courage, you're looking for the turn-in. When you have identified your turn-in, before you even get there! -- you're looking for the apex. And as soon as you're on the gas, well before the apex, you're looking at your track-out point.

That's hard to do. It's much easier and oh so tempting to look at the next thing you have to do. You want to look at the braking point until you start braking. You want to look at the apex until you hit it. But by then you're not looking where you want to go -- because you're already there!

To start with today, you'll quite possibly not be able to force yourself to look that far ahead. Things will be happening rapidly enough that you'll have your attention full with just what you're doing now. But one of your goals during the day should be to move that attention point further and further away from you.

DON'T look where you DON'T want to go!

Almost more important than looking where you want to go, is not looking where you don't want to go. It's actually quite hard. When you're in Courage, you'll be tempted to see just how far that grass runoff area goes before it hits the woods. Don't look there unless you want to ride on it. Here's a clue -- it's a long way, but it's all downhill and grass; don't ride on it.
It's easier to look where you want to go if you aren't always worrying what's around you. Here's another clue -- if you aren't going to ride on it (and you won't if you don't look there) you don't need to worry about it.

Let me give an example:

A big key to riding the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course fast is to get through the famous Turn One. It's a fairly straightforward turn, except for one thing -- for most of the corner, you're aimed directly at a concrete wall. If you get the corner right, you'll exit the corner maybe three to six inches from that wall. If you can do that, you'll carry much more speed into the infield and can maybe even make a pass going into Turn Three, somewhere "everybody" knows you can't pass. The reason so many people get Turn One wrong is they get intimidated by the wall -- what if they make a mistake, they'll hit it hard! It doesn't worry me -- because I know I'm not supposed to drive into that wall, I don't look there. I'm looking at the exit of the corner, or the turn-in for the next, and so I hardly even see that wall.

The drop-offs in Deals Gap are Charlotte Walls. Don't want to ride off the edge of a cliff? Don't look there. And there's no reason why you should be intimidated by a big drop-off on the outside of a corner unless you're going to ride off the edge. A lot of Sleazeballs (a technical term we'll define later) take their bad line just because they're intimidated by the drop-off, and so they increase the chances of becoming Junior Birdman just by their mental attitude.

So don't bother to look at the runoff areas today. Sure, enjoy the scenery, but you should be spending all your attention on where you want to go, not where you don't.

Reference Points

Keith Code makes a big deal about Reference Points. They're points around the track that help you anchor where you are visually. This rock by the side of the road, that patch in the asphalt, this clump of grass, that piece of kerbing... if you want to do that, that's fine. I think that people can see more things at once, and don't actually need to mark something mentally to use it as a visual anchor.
I also find that if you pick a marker near your braking point, for example, not only is it a visual anchor, but it locks you into braking there. Once you have associated "this rock" with "brake near it," it's very hard to unlock the two. Sometimes you'll find yourself turning in where you have some sort of Reference Point, even though it's not ideal, just because there's something you can fix on there.

So if you're a Code advocate, go ahead and use Reference Points. Just make sure they're only visual anchors, not behavioral ones.

Site Picture

I use a full visual picture of the scene. A Site Picture for the approach to a corner, for example, is built around what you see as you approach the corner. You're not looking at the edge of the track trying to pick out things, you're looking for your braking point, turn-in, apex, and so on. But you're actually taking in a lot more than just those points -- your peripheral vision is noticing things around you even if you aren't focussing on them, and your picture at your braking point will include unconscious cues that will help you say "I recognize this."
It'll take a little while to build this picture, but the more you go around the track -- on your bike, in a car, on a bicycle, walking, it doesn't matter how -- the more you'll build a visual model of the way around it.

Your eventual goal is to be able to play a lap of the track in your head. Not only that, but to do it in real time -- it should take exactly as long to do the visual replay as it takes you to ride around.

Once you've reached that point, you can run practice laps in your head. When you come back to this track next time you'll hit the pavement already having run a hundred laps or so in your head. That'll give you a big advantage when you get to do it in reality. Bringing a different bike? Get familiar with the bike on the street, then visualize the track on the new bike -- the reality probably won't mesh perfectly with your visual one, but you'll have an idea of what to expect. It'll save a lot of acclimatization time and help you be fast straight out of the box.

From TrackDoD Novice Group Orientation

Biking Techniques (Part 1)

Smooth, but sometimes so quickly it isn't

Everyone says that the fast riders look really smooth. They do all sorts of things with the bike and it's always a smooth transition from one position to the next. What they don't say is that even when you don't look smooth -- like in the depths of some twisties, or diving into the tight corner, you still have to be smooth.
What smooth means is that as the bike transitions from one state to another -- accelerating to braking, or braking to turning, or turning to acceleration -- there's no sudden break from one to the other. Each blends with the other to make a progressive motion, with no jerks or sudden changes. That progression is what smooth is.

What many riders don't understand is that you can be smooth so quickly that it doesn't look it. When you move from braking to turning to acceleration rapidly enough, you can't see the smooth transition. All you can see is that bike is going on one direction now, and in another direction now. When you turn in to some corners today, you'll want to move the bike around that quickly, but you still need to be smooth when you do it.

Give the bike a chance

As we'll see when we talk about dynamics later, bikes don't go from one state to another instantly. It takes time for a bike to go from upright to a lean, it takes time for the forks to compress under braking, it takes time for the bike to react. Being smooth means giving the bike a chance to get settled in one state before throwing the next one at it.
That's one reason why we blend braking into turning, rather than finish braking and then turn. It lets the bike come smoothly out of braking, and smoothly into turning, while doing both at once so we don't waste time.

Squeeze the brake -- Turn the throttle

Part of giving the bike a chance is that we don't do anything suddenly. We squeeze the brake, not grab it. We turn the throttle, not whack it. That goes for the other direction too -- we don't let go the brake, we ease it out.
Sure, we do these things very rapidly, so that if you weren't thinking about it you might assume that you let go the brake and whack the throttle, but we must be smooth with all the controls -- in all directions -- if we want the bike to be smooth.

From TrackDoD Novice Group Orientation

Etiquettes on The Track

Riding on the track can be as simple as just getting out there and doing it. That's what a lot of riders do, and something you'll have to watch out for, because it increases the danger. Once you get outside the TrackDoD, you'll find there's a bunch of riders who have no idea how to behave in a track session. Most of them have a vague idea what the flags mean, but as for the more general unwritten rules of being on the track, they are clueless.

You can increase your safety -- and look after your bike -- by following some simple procedures. Taken down to basics, it can be expressed as "be patient." Don't dash out and tear around like the world will end before the track session. Take time to plan what you do and be in control throughout.

Before You Start

Before you even line up to get on the track, make sure you and the bike are ready for the session. That means performing a simple check. Walk around your bike and look at it. Check your own personal gear, too. Make sure your boots are done up properly. Make sure your visor is clean. Make sure you have the right gloves. Drink some water. Use the bathroom.

The simple pre-flight checks help you get out of relaxed mode, and into taking things seriously. You're about to ride your bike hard, and that's a serious matter that requires concentration. By the time you open it up coming out of the last turn, you and the bike will have to be 100% ready, and that process starts right now before you even start the motor.

Put on all your gear. Once you get lined up on the grid, you can take some of it off again if you want, but dressing up now means you know you'll have everything you need -- no running back for a set of gloves, or to change to your tinted visor.

Start the bike. You want the motor to be warming up by the time you hit the track, so if this is the first session of the day give it a little while to get some heat into it. Get to the grid in plenty of time, switch off and relax.

Warm Up

We all know about the classic mistake of crashing on cold tires. Less talked about, perhaps because it's more embarrassing, is crashing with cold brakes, or with cold brain. Neither of these should ever happen.

The whole bike needs to warm up before you get up to speed. Tires stick better when they're warm, brakes stop more effectively and consistently, the chain needs to warm up for efficiency, wheel bearings need to come up to temperature, the gearbox as well as the engine should be warm before hard riding. Also you yourself need to warm up. You need to get back into the habit of looking for your line, looking far ahead, getting the feel of the bike, modulating the brakes, and so on.

Fortunately all this is very simply achieved. All you need to do is take the first lap easy and work your way up to speed. Accelerate away from the pit lane gently. Take the first turn slowly, using the brakes gently. Accelerate out of the first corner firmly but not rapidly. As you corner progressively harder, as you brake more forcefully, as you roll on the throttle increasingly rapidly, it will heat up all the bike components that need it. As you warm up the bike progressively through that lap, you're also giving yourself time to come up to speed yourself -- early on you have lots of time to pick your line, and as the lap goes on you get into the rhythm of riding the track.

That's how to take the first lap. Start slowly and work up to speed. Don't flick the bike from side to side on the straight -- that does nothing but present an opportunity to throw the bike away. Just warm the bike and yourself up naturally by riding progressively harder through that first lap.

Cool Down

Just like you come up to speed when you get on the track, you should also come down from speed before you come in. You want to let the brakes and engine cool down before stopping. You want to bring yourself down from the high state of riding fast to where you won't misjudge your speed in the paddock and crash there.

As soon as you pass the checker flag, slow things down. Raise your hand, pause, back off the throttle and change up to top gear. Sit up in a comfortable position. Start using a lower rpm range and less throttle. Brake earlier and less hard. Use less cornering forces and less lean angle. By the time you reach the last corner, you should be down to a slow street speed, hardly using the brakes at all, and rolling on gently using slow street rpms.

So when you come into the pits, you should feel like you're crawling along. Ride straight back to your paddock area, shut the bike down, park it and get your gear off. Drink more water before you feel thirsty.

Between Sessions

Your job isn't done when you've parked the bike and pulled off your gear. Before you go out again, make a visual inspection of the entire bike. Any sign of fluid leaks? Do you need to lube the chain? How's the oil level? How about the fuel? You'd be amazed how many experienced track riders run out of fuel in the afternoon.

Look at your tires. Some tracks are very hard on tires, some tires wear rapidly. Even if you started with brand new tread, always check at the end of each session to see how they're doing. See how the surface of the rubber looks -- a tire that's working hard at optimum temperature looks rippled, and balls up the rubber at the edges. If it's coming off the edge of the tread blocks in chunks, or is looking shiny and blue at the edge of a smooth scuffed area, it could be getting too hot. If you can see signs of riding over the edge of the tire, you might be using too much lean angle -- compensate for it by using less lean of the bike, either by going slower or by leaning your body more. You can tell a lot about how you were riding the last session by examining your tires.

Signal when Slowing

Any time you reduce your speed, or roll off the throttle on a straight, you need to warn the riders behind you first. Remember, there might be someone drafting you down the straight, and backing off suddenly could cause a collision. Or perhaps someone is judging a pass on you and are relying on you to keep up to speed.

So before you slow, raise your left hand high up in the air. Raise your hand, count one-thousand-one, and only then begin to slow down.

Ride Your Own Ride

The biggest danger on the track is colliding with other riders. That not only means don't run into anyone, but also make sure that other riders have a chance to avoid you. The basis of this is usually expressed as "Hold your line," but it's really just an extension of the street principle of "Ride your own ride."

Most important is don't adjust your line just because you think someone faster is behind you. It's up to them to find a safe way around, but it's up to you to let them do that. That means don't change your line in the corner to let someone through, don't brake early to let someone by -- let them plan their pass around you. What if they are planning a drafting pass at the end of the straight, and are on your tail when you brake early? What if you cut your corner entry inside to give them room on the outside, and they're planning a late apex pass and are already there? The safest way to let someone by is to do nothing different -- ride how you would ride if you were the only bike on the track.

Leave Some Space

If you're riding close behind another bike, allow some space between you. They should be riding their own ride, but that doesn't mean they're going to ride exactly the same every lap. They may be experimenting with braking points, trying out new lines, or maybe they're just riding inconsistently.

Whatever the situation, it's your responsibility to keep clear. Three feet is usually enough to give a margin between experienced riders, and that should be considered the minimum. If the rider you're passing is an unknown quantity, or a bit erratic -- or you tend to be a bit erratic­­ -- allow more space. If in doubt, just stay clear. Remember, if you're getting caught up in traffic you can always pull into the pits and wait for clear track.

Plan Your Passes

Even racing is not about stuffing your bike into every little hole you can find just to get by -- and we're not racing. Passing is something to be planned, and something to do carefully and with forethought.

Even if you're much faster than another rider, you'll still have some time when you can see them up ahead of you. Over the course of the day -- and over the course of more track events -- you'll get to know how the other guys ride. Some corner slow and pass on the straights, some corner fast but go slowly on the straights, some are very similar to your own speed. Take into account the other rider's style. Plan whether you'll go around the outside in the corner, pass them on corner exit, or wait until you can blow by on the straight. By planning your pass you'll do it safely and cleanly, and be able to stay ahead of the bike you just passed.

Be Friendly, Be Polite

A TrackDoD event is not a race. It's a track riding event. You're sharing the track with other people who also hold safety in mind, and many of whom are probably personal friends. But no matter who is on the track with you, being polite and friendly is how to keep things safe.

Polite and friendly means leave space between you. If you're passing an inexperienced rider, wait until you can do it where and when it won't surprise them, and leave enough space not to scare them. Ride around other bikes how you'd like them to ride around you. Don't push in front of other bikes in the grid -- or, if you want to get on the track towards the end of the line, pull up well back and wave others by. If you go off the track and need to re-enter, make sure you have plenty of space. Don't get frustrated at other riders -- if someone frustrates you, make a pit stop, and re-enter the course when they're a long way away from you.

You all have a gut feeling for what friendly and polite means. All you have to do is ride like it.

From TrackDoD Novice Group Orientation

Learn to Race?

Sort of...

Riding on the track necessarily uses racing skills. Every skill you use in a track session is applicable directly to racing. In fact you can develop your racing skills better in track sessions than you can by actually racing. In the same way that the absence of SUVs lets the street rider concentrate on technique, the absence of competition lets the race rider concentrate.

...but not exactly

Racing is not just about riding fast. It's very important, of course, but there's a lot more to racing than just going fast. Oddly enough, passing is a very small part of racing. The time spent passing is dwarfed by the time spent riding alone or in a constant order. Now riding fast in a race does involve dealing with slower traffic -- getting through backmarkers can make an enormous difference in lap times -- and the ability to adapt your lines on the fly is something that's difficult to practice in a regular track session. There are also factors such as the very critical start procedure, race strategy and tactics, and end-race strategy and tactics.
But racing also involves dealing with the sanctioning body, licensing procedures, bike preparation, at-track modifications and repairs, entries, protests, medical requirements, and staying friendly to more officials than you'd meet in the Pentagon. It's not just dealing with all that, but being able to stay focussed and leave it all behind once you hit the track.

So while track sessions do give you the techniques and skills you need for racing, there's a whole other mental and theoretical field that you need to master to be a consistent winner. You can race and win the occasional race by just being fast; you can't win a championship that way.

From TrackDoD Novice Group Orientation

Go Fast... Safe ! ! !

Increase Margin on the Street

The faster you're capable of going, the more margin you have when you do it slowly. A rider taking a corner at 40mph when they could take it at 60mph has less margin than a rider taking a corner at 50mph who can take it at 90mph. A rider who is calm and comfortable at 150mph will have much better concentration and ability to react to situations at 65mph than someone who starts getting a speed rush at 80mph.

So just because you can go fast, doesn't mean you have to go fast to use those skills. You'll get benefits from riding on the track whatever speed you ride on the street.

Learn to Ride Faster

Most of us, as a primary motivation, want to ride on the track to ride fast.

But what is "fast?"

"Fast" is the feeling you get when all the information you're getting from your senses -- your view of the road, the rush of the air, the engine tone, the feel at the bars, your sense of balance -- is too much for you to process. This is a bad thing -- you start overlooking things around you that are important, or the things you do see overwhelm your attention and you lose concentration. Either way, you open yourself up to serious mistakes and a bad crash.

The way to get over this "speed rush" is to practice. Riding at higher speeds around a track, where you're going around familiar corners and down familiar straights, lets you pick out the actual important cues from your senses. You start processing that information faster by learning -- mostly unconsciously -- what is and is not important. You end up filtering out all the "noise" in the input from your senses, leaving just what actually requires your attention.

When you've "trained" yourself this way -- I use quotation marks because it really is mostly an unconscious process -- you'll find that when you leave the constant repetition of the track, you'll automatically apply the same filtering to all your riding.

You probably won't notice this happening today unless you think about it. At the beginning of the day, you'll start out going relatively slowly and it will feel very fast. By the end of the day, you'll be going pretty fast, but it'll actually feel much slower because you'll have learned to handle it.

So we won't be practicing "fast." We'll be leaving the rush of "fast" behind us as we push onto a whole other level of riding.

Expand Your Tiltmeter

Each of us has a built-in mental limit to how far we can lean a bike without feeling like we're going to crash. Unfortunately this usually comes to light in avoidance situations, or when encountering a tighter curve than expected. What usually happens is the brain says "I can't lean any further" regardless of how far the bike can actually lean, and this leads to riders running off the outside of curves that the bike is fully capable of taking.

The only effective way to reset that internal tiltmeter is to ride at higher lean angles. Riding on the track, taking the same corners again and again, will lead to you doing that without even realizing it. By the end of the day you'll be leaning further and -- importantly -- more consistently than you started. The next time you hit a decreasing radius corner on the street, or a truck over the centerline in a curve, you'll be equipped to handle the situation with ease.

Recover from Mistakes

Every rider makes mistakes -- the difference between the top GP riders and the fresh out of MSF novice is that the GP guys catch them almost before they're made.

Riding on the track, by its nature as a consistent environment, helps you practice how to catch those mistakes. Learning how to pick out your own correct lines, braking points, and so on, leads to an awareness of the wrong line, the wrong braking points, and other mistakes. The more you learn how to find your own way around a track, the more you pick up on cues that you've got it wrong, and the more intuitive it is to correct those mistakes before you get yourself in trouble.

Focus

The controlled environment of a track session frees you of the need to "waste" attention on the mundane tasks of looking for errant minivans, loose gravel, horse manure, and all those other distractions you encounter on the street. That lets you focus on your technique on the actual riding. When you get back in the rough world of street riding, you'll find that since your limits have expanded, the actual riding part will take less of your attention, leaving you with more left over for avoiding those ever-present hazards.

From TrackDoD Novice Group Orientation

The real side of motorcyclists or known as bikers

THE BIKER

When you see us moving past you quickly:

Don't take offense or think we're trying to "show off". Ninety five percent of the time, we're trying to get out of your blind spot or taking ourselves out of a potential dangerous situation that has evolved around us.
Distancing ourselves from you does not mean we want to race, but that we're giving ourselves the edge we need at the moment.

When you hear our horn:
Don't take offense or think we're trying to aggravate you.
All we're doing is letting you know where we are in relation to you on the road, and we're more than likely aware of your inattentiveness to us while you're talking on a cell phone, eating, reading or involved in some other distracting aspect to
your driving. It's important to us, and you, that you know we're there.

When you hear our loud pipes:
Don't become angry and hostile toward us. Yes, some are quite loud, but for some, there's a purpose behind being loud. It's about letting you know we're close by and we're constantly hoping that our investment in this accessory will help save our lives. Our pipes are really not about our ego...it's a pride and personalization to our form of transportation.

When you see us in our clothes:

Don't become fearful of us or think us weird. Our leather jackets, chaps, gloves and boots are the barriers between loosing massive amounts of flesh should something cause us to go down...nothing more, nothing less. Safety
gear is paramount to our riding. We wear patches on our jackets, and pins on our vests. These are symbols of pride and honor within our group(s), individuals giving back to those who gave. These things bond us as a brotherhood and sisterhood among bikers. Not that we're better than anyone else, but that we have the same kind of nobility and pride in our accomplishments as you may have in the various aspects of your life. I guess one could say; our patches and pins are the decals and the bumper stickers of our involvement with society and the general public, of which we are very pleased to be a part of in our own little way.

When you see us in a restaurant:

You don't have to shield your child or feel intimidated. We have family, wives, husbands, children and loved ones too, just like you. We smile; we laugh and enjoy the moments we have. We are approachable, and would befriend you, if given the opportunity.

When you see us in a parking lot:

Don't convince yourself that we're there to "get you". More than likely, we just finished a long ride and are taking a break. Or, we may be meeting up with other riders for a charity run for young children, or another very worthy cause. We may just be admiring one another's bikes, sharing our pride with other brothers and sisters, just like you do with your personal vehicle.
It's what we do...it's a part of our lives, and we'd be more than welcome to share with you what riding a bike is all about...if you'd only ask.

When you see aggressive riding bikers:

Don't put us all in the same stereotypical category as those whose behavior and actions would cause you to react in disgust and intolerance. Many of us do not agree with this style of riding either, and we know and understand that human nature tends to blend us all together as the "same group". Most of us don't want that title...and don't deserve it.

When you see a group of bikers on the roadways:

Give us the courtesy of sharing the road with you.
Please don't "move in" between several bikers in formation. This gets us very excited and nervous, especially when it's done with no due regard for our safety.
Provide us with your awareness of the fact that we are much more vulnerable than you. We don't want to challenge you, for all of us are wise enough to know...we'd lose that battle.

When you are turning left or entering a roadway/highway:

Look, then look again...and then one more time. For we can be easily hidden, and appear to be invisible by such things as a telephone pole, another vehicle, bright lights or the glare of the sun...or possibly, the beads hanging from your rearview mirror, among numerous other items that are displayed there. If you see us flashing our lights at you or blowing our horn, we're only trying to ensure that you will see us before tragedy changes both our lives.

When you are behind us:

Please give us the room we need and don't tailgate us. If you hit us, we're going down...HARD! We don't want to play games with you, we just want to enjoy the ride and the fresh air, and experience that which many of you have never lived for. If we accelerate away from you, don't interpret this action
as though we want to drag race you. We're only trying to take ourselves out of a bad situation if you insist on being too close.

When, and if, you experience road rage:

Don't take it out on us just because we're smaller than you and more vulnerable. Think about what you're doing and the end result that may become a reality. The consequences of your actions and choices could be very detrimental to our well being, our families, our children and our loved ones.
Yes, there are those that can tend to piss you off, however, rage towards them will not solve the issues, but accentuate them. Nine out of ten bikers will do everything they can to take themselves out of that situation without causing you or them harm.

When you have an opportunity to talk to us:

You'll discover, outside any influenced or stereotypical mindset you may have, that we are just as human as you are, just with different interests and toys. Many of us would give you the shirt off our back if it would tend to brighten your day or console you in some way. We're really no different...and we drive cars, trucks and vans too. So, meet us and greet us...I think you'll be pleasantly surprised that you'll be met with open arms.

Thank You for attempting to understand.

MotoGP Test in Sepang 2007

MEDIA RELEASE by MotoGP

Monday 5th February

Four teams and seven riders were on track today in Malaysia, for MotoGP’s second visit to Sepang of 2007. The teams absent from last week’s Australian excursion all continued their 800cc development in the customary humid conditions, in the first of three testing days.

Both Yamaha factory riders took the early initiative in Asia, with Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi at the top of the timesheets. Edwards put in a lap of 2’02.175 on the latest version of the M1, edging out team-mate and five-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi by under 5 hundredths of a second. The Italian, who committed his future to the factory for the next two seasons last week, rode the fewest laps of any rider on day one, completing just 40 circuits.

Kawasaki’s Randy de Puniet was the only other rider to break the 2’03 barrier, albeit over half a second slower than the two official Yamaha representatives. The Frenchman grafted hard on the opening day, and put in over twice as many laps as Rossi on the Ninja ZX-RR800.

As he continues to adapt to the Yamaha M1 with Dunlop tyres, a product of his switch this season from Luca Montiron’s Michelin-shod Honda team, Makoto Tamada was fourth fastest, ahead of the French duo of Olivier Jacque and his fellow Yamaha Tech 3 rider Sylvain Guintoli. The Japanese rider already went quicker than at the opening test of the year in January.

Ilmor, making their first appearance outside of Europe, only bring rider Andrew Pitt to Sepang for this week’s proceedings. His team-mate Jeremy McWilliams is still on the mend after surgery on his leg, and is expected to return to action for the Official Test in Qatar. Pitt put 49 laps worth of miles on the Ilmor GP bike’s clock, adding to the small number he was able to undertake in Almeria last month.

MotoGP Test Sepang
Day One: Unofficial Times

1. Colin Edwards – Yamaha Racing 2’02.175 – 47 laps
2. Valentino Rossi – Yamaha Racing 2’02.221 – 40
3. Randy de Puniet – Kawasaki Racing 2’02.966 – 85
4. Makoto Tamada – Yamaha Tech 3 2’03.219 – 68
5. Olivier Jacque – Kawasaki Racing 2’03.959 – 60
6. Sylvain Guintoli – Yamaha Tech 3 2’06.558 – 55
7. Andrew Pitt – Ilmor GP 2’08.640 - 49



Tuesday 6th February - Sepang, Malaysia - MotoGP Test

The second Malaysian test of 2007 continued today at the Sepang Circuit, with seven riders upping the tempo on their adaptation to the new 800cc machines. They were greeted by the customary humidity present on MotoGP visits to southern Asia which, coupled with the absence of rain for the second consecutive session, allowed the teams to test out their newest prototypes under very specific conditions.

Five-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi topped the timesheets on the Yamaha M1 800cc, a bike on which the charismatic Italian seems ever more comfortable. Working predominantly on development of the team’s Michelin tyres, Rossi clocked a time of 2’02.099 from 53 laps to put himself ahead of his team-mate and fastest rider from day one, Colin Edwards, by less than one hundredth of a second. Scarily for the rest of the competitors, Rossi yesterday proclaimed that the bike still lacks the horsepower he desires, and that further improvements are on the cards when they receive new parts from Japan.

Despite suffering a light crash, Randy de Puniet managed to go round third fastest at Sepang, undertaking the most laps of any rider with 67 as he performed a race simulation on the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR800.

Makoto Tamada continued to work with the Yamaha Tech 3 version of the M1, and was the quickest rider from the Dunlop-shod satellite team. The Japanese star was still under a second slower than Rossi’s official bike, which is an encouraging sign for Team Manager Herve Poncharal.

Olivier Jacque joined team-mate De Puniet in putting in a large number of laps, essential for the veteran after a season away from premier class racing. Trailing him was the second Tech 3 bike of Sylvain Guintoli, the only rookie in MotoGP this season.

It was another day of establishing a foundation for the Ilmor GP team. The newcomers to the premier class grid only have one rider, Andrew Pitt, testing for them this week, but are facing the challenge of developing the first 800cc bike to earn World Championship points with relish as they await the return to action of second rider Jeremy McWilliams who is recovering from a broken leg at home in Northern Ireland.

All four teams will undertake a final day of testing at Sepang tomorrow, ahead of next week’s regrouping of the MotoGP grid for the Official Test in Qatar.

Sepang Test: Day 2
Unofficial Times

1. Valentino Rossi- Yamaha Racing 2’02.099 – 53 laps
2. Colin Edwards- Yamaha Racing 2’02.118 – 44
3. Randy de Puniet – Kawasaki Racing 2’02.554 – 67
4. Makoto Tamada – Yamaha Tech 3 2’02.745 – 46
5. Olivier Jacque – Kawasaki Racing 2’03.761 – 60
6. Sylvain Guintoli – Yamaha Tech 3 2’05.002 – 50
7. Andrew Pitt – Ilmor GP 2’07.923 - 47

2006 MotoGP Summary

For MotoGP fans, 2006 will be the year remembered as the Year Rossi lost the Championship, rather than one where Hayden won his. Without a doubt, the Best rider , who is also the fastest by far had luck deserting him, and , while Hayden is a good rider, the general feeling is that Hayden's win was aided by almost divine intervention.
Rossi had more bad luck in this season than all his other seasons combined, with Toni Elias knocking him down at the first round at Jerez, his DNFs at Le Mans, Shanghai and Laguna Seca.

Then there's the broken wrist at Assen, where he managed to claw his way from last to eighth place. One can only guess but certainly at the season's end after the crash on the last round Rossi will kick himself everytime he gets out of bed for making the stupidest mistake in his whole career.

Toni Elias actually won the championship for Hayden, his contribution was knocking off Rossi in the first race, causing Rossi to finish 14th after remounting, and his epic ride at Valencia in the photo finish which gave Hayden the 5 points needed to win at the last race.

2006 will also be remembered as the best season in a long time, with underrated newbie CV who gambled to join Suzuki after Honda denied him of a MotoGP ride. Who can forget the wet pole at Istanbul and another superb pole at Laguna only to see his podium lost due to a failing fuel pump. He was finally rewarded with a brilliant 2nd at his home track. More of CV for 2007.

2006 is also the coming of age for Dani Pedrosa, who despite needing a soapbox to mount his RCV and torpedoing Hayden displayed stupendous grit throughout the season. Then there's Stoner, Edwards, Capirossi and an almost has been KRjr who showed amazing resurgence in the last few races on his daddy' bike.

Having said all that, 2007 is still about Rossi losing the championship, with Hayden picking up the fruits of ladyluck's labor.

Lets go Race by Race and see why the above is so;

Rd 1 Jerez
Elias knocked Rossi who remounted to finish 14th while Hayden finished 3rd .
KK 16 / VR 2

Rd2 Qatar
Rossi wins with Hayden 2nd
KK 36 / VR 27

Rd3 Istanbul
Rossi ran off the track on lap 2 after starting at 11th while Hayden finished 3rd. Rossi worked his way up to clinch 4th.
KK 52 / VR 40

Rd4 Shanghai
Hayden beaten to second by rookie teammate Dani while Rossi DNFs due tyre failure.
KK 42 / VR 40

Rd5 Le Mans
Rossi blasts past on lap 5 and was steadily pulling away when his engine blew. Hayden 5th.
KK 83 / VR 40

Rd6 Mugello
Rossi wins with Hayden 3rd.
KK 99 / VR 65

Rd7 Catalunya
The race with the biggest crash of the year when Stet's front brake lever touched Capirossi's bike, taking out Marco, Dani, Randy and Hopper. Rossi won after throwing Hayden a distant 2nd.
KK 119 / VR 90

Rd8 Assen.
Rossi start was doubtful in the morning after breaking his wrist but he eventually joined the grid at last position and increadibly finished 8th. Also increadibly, Hayden scored his first win away from home.
KK 144 / VR 98

Rd9 Donington
With a healing wrist Rossi managed a sensational second while a fully fit Hayden finished 7th.
KK 153 / VR 118

Rd10 Sachsenring
Rossi started 11th and finished as the winner. The race was one of the best in the season with 6 riders freight-training their way to the line. Hayden finished 3rd. Rossi also celebrated Italy's World Cup glory on the podium.
KK 169 / VR 143

Rd11 Laguna Seca
Hayden scored another win at home ground, his third in his career. Rossi DNFed with a blown overheating engine.
KK 194 / VR 143

Rd12 Brno
Ducati woken up from slumber by Capirex and blows Rossi away into second. Hayden lost his way and finished 9th.
KK 201 / VR 163

Rd13. Sepang
Capirex was again on the rampage only to be anhilated by Rossi in such a convincing display of riding on the last lap. I was there when that happened and it was certainly the best bike race at Sepang ever. A privilege to see a living legend in action. Hayden managed 4th.
KK 214 / VR 188

Rd14 Phillip Island
Rossi sneaked a 3rd after escaping a yellow flag infringement while Hayden finished 5th.
KK 225 / VR 204

Rd15 Motegi
Capirex again denied Rossi top spot while Hayden collected 5th.
KK 236 / VR 224

Rd 16 Estoril
A race where Dani feels much much smaller than he actually is after making Hayden crumble in tears in the sandpit. Toni saves Haydens life here although we all don't know it yet. Rossi 2nd and Hayden DNF. Rossi overtakes Hayden in the points for the first time.
VR 244 / KK 236

Rd17 Valencia.
Rossi blows it a the final gate. Hayden almost forgot his way to the podium as he has not been there for a half dozen rounds. But what matters is Rossi has lost the championship. Oooooh yes.... The Kenlucky Kid won 2006 by the way.
KK 252 / VR 247

KK-Nicky Hayden
VR-Valentino Rossi

source-msportbike.com

The calendar for the 2007 MotoGP World Championship

The FIM announced the calendar for the 2007 MotoGP World Championship (changes in bold):


Date Grand Prix Circuit
March 10th** Qatar Losail
March 25th Spain Jerez de la Frontera
April 22nd Turkey Istanbul Park
May 6th China Shanghai
May 20th France Le Mans
June 3rd Italy Mugello
June 10th Catalunya Catalunya
June 24th Great Britain Donington Park
June 30th** Netherlands Assen
July 15th Germany Sachsenring
July 22nd United States* Laguna Seca
August 19th Czech Republic Brno
September 2nd San Marino & Riviera di Rimini Misano
September 16th Portugal Estoril
September 23rd Japan Motegi
October 14th Australia Phillip Island
October 21st Malaysia Sepang
November 4th Valencia Ricardo Tormo - Valencia

* Only MotoGP class
** Saturday race

Group riding. The recipe of disaster.

Example picture of bikers riding together in Genting Highland, Malaysia

A social blast with mates is a real temptation for new riders, but the mob mentality group riding can encorage may create an environment not suited to them.

Group riding has become a cause of accidents, and in 2005 it became a real issue. You'd get more than 20 blokes riding together at a pace only one was happy with. That is a recipe of disaster.

Without doubt the worst riding I see is group riding. I don't think it could be covered in learner training, but any rider who has passed their test should think about.

So what to do? Only ride with those sympathetic to your limitations. Ideally avoid large group, and certainly avoid riding with people whose pirority to show you how much faster/more reckless than you they are. If you want to ride with someone, pick a mate you can trust who's happy to ride at your pace. If you're following, avoid the temptation to fixate on them; look through, not them. Be aware that following a rider who knows where to positon themselves will mean they block your view if you're too close. Make your own decisions and think and ride for yourself.

The New Honda CBR 1000 RR Fireblade 2007

GENERAL
Model	Honda CBR 1000 RR Fireblade 2007
Category	Sport
ENGINE
Type	998 cc, liquid cooled, 4 - cylinders in line, 4-stroke
Bore x stroke (mm)	75 mm x 56.5 mm
Compression ratio	12.2:1
Valves	DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder
Fuel system	PGM-DSFI electronic fuel injection
Ignition	Computer-controlled digital system
Power	176 hp (131.2 kW) @ 11250 rpm
Torque	114.5 Nm (84.5 ft. lbs) @ 10000 rpm
TRANSMISSION
Clutch	Wet multi-plate type
Gearbox	6 speed
Ratios	1e 2.538 (33/13), 2nd 1.941 (33/17), 3th 1.578 (30/19), 4th 1.380 (29/21), 5th 1.250 (25/20), 6th 1.160 (29/25)
Primary drive	1.604 (77/48)
Final drive	Chain, 2.625 (42/16)
Starting system	Electronic
CHASSIS
Front suspension	43mm inverted H.M.A.S. cartridge-type telescopic fork with stepless preload, compression and rebound adjustment, 120 mm travel
Rear suspension	Unit Pro-Link with gas-charged H.M.A.S. damper featuring 13-step preload and stepless compression and rebound damping adjustment, 135 mm travel
Rake / Trail	23.30 degrees / 100 mm (3.9 inches)
WHEELS
Front wheel	17M/C x MT3.50
Rear wheel	17M/C x MT6.00
Front tyre	120/70-17
Back tyre	190/50-17
Front brakes	dual 320 mm discs with radial-mounted 4-piston calipers
Rear brakes	single 220 mm disc with 1-piston calipers
DIMENSIONS
Overall length	2030 mm (79.9 inches)
Overall width	720 mm (28.3 inches)
Overall height	1118 mm (44 inches)
Seat height	831 mm (32.7 inches)
Wheelbase	1400 mm (55.1 inches)
Ground clearance	130 mm (5.1 inches)
Fuel capacity - reserve	18 l (4.8 gallon US) - 4 l (1.1 gallon US)
Dry weight	176 kg (388 pounds)

The New Suzuki GSX-R 1000 2007

GENERAL
Model	Suzuki GSX-R 1000 2007
Category	Sport
ENGINE
Type	999 cc, liquid cooled, 4 - cylinders in line, 4-stroke
Bore x stroke (mm)	73.4 mm x 59 mm
Compression ratio	12.5:1
Valves	DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder
Fuel system	Fuel injection
Ignition	Electronic ignition (Transistorised)
Lubrication system	Wet sump
TRANSMISSION
Clutch	Wet multi-plate type
Gearbox	6 speed
Ratios	1e 2.562 (41/16), 2nd 2.052 (39/19), 3th 1.714 (36/21), 4th 1.500 (36/24), 5th 1.360 (34/25), 6th 1.269 (33/26)
Primary drive	1.553 (73/47)
Final drive	Chain, 2.529 (43/17)
Starting system	Electronic
CHASSIS
Front suspension	Inverted telescopic, coil spring, spring preload fully adjustable, rebound and compression damping force fully adjustable, 125 mm travel
Rear suspension	Link type, oil damped, coil spring, spring preload fully adjustable, rebound and compression damping force fully adjustable, 135 mm travel
Rake / Trail	23.45 degrees / 98 mm (3.9 inches)
WHEELS
Front wheel	3.50x17
Rear wheel	6.00x17
Front tyre	120/70-17
Back tyre	190/50-17
Front brakes	dual 310 mm discs with radial-mounted 4-piston calipers
Rear brakes	single 220 mm disc with 1-piston calipers
DIMENSIONS
Overall length	2045 mm (80.5 inches)
Overall width	720 mm (28.3 inches)
Overall height	1130 mm (44.5 inches)
Seat height	810 mm (31.9 inches)
Wheelbase	1415 mm (55.7 inches)
Ground clearance	130 mm (5.1 inches)
Fuel capacity - reserve	17.5 l (4.6 gallon US)
Dry weight	172 kg (379.2 pounds)