1Malaysia Chopper buatan OCC diperkenal di Malaysia

Siapa tidak kenal siri permotoran popular Orange County Choppers (OCC) dalam siri Discovery Channel di Saluran Astro, pernah sebelum ini saya menjadi peminat setia siri tersebut. Agak mengejutkan kerana antara projek terbaru yang dilakukan oleh pasukan OCC ialah membina sebuah motosikal chopper 1Malaysia.

Motosikal itu telah diperkenalkan secara rasmi oleh Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak di PWTC dua hari yang lepas dengan kehadiran Teutul, pengasas OCC. Apa pendapat anda berkenaan motosikal tersebut? Menarik? Berapa pula agaknya kos yang dikenakan oleh OCC untuk mengubahsuai motosikal custom tersebut?

p/s : Saksikan video YouTube sempena majlis memperkenalkan 1Malaysia Chopper tempoh hari di PWTC, kredit kepada The Staronline.

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PICS: Rossi, Hayden 2012 Ducati MotoGP colours

Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden reveal Ducati's 2012 MotoGP colours

The 2012 MotoGP race colours of factory Ducati stars Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden were unveiled during an online presentation on Monday, shown live on sponsor TIM's Facebook page.

The new livery features more white on the front and side of the fairings, plus some patriotic green stripes, compared to the 2011 colours. 

Rossi's bike still contains a yellow #46, while Hayden's #69 remains a more discreet white.

During the launch, watched by 96,000 users live online, Ducati Corse General Manager Filippo Preziosi confirmed that the GP12 (which features Ducati's first aluminium frame) uses the full 1000cc of engine capacity allowed under the new rules.

Rossi and Hayden, who finished seventh and eighth with one podium each last season, will ride with the new colours for the first time during this week's Jerez test, the last outing before the season begins in Qatar on April 5-8.

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Ducati Streetfighter 848 launched by Next Bike – RM99,333

Next Bike Sdn Bhd, the importer and distributor of Ducati motorcycles in Malaysia, launched the Ducati Streetfighter 848 bike at its showroom in Taman Tun this afternoon. Ducati’s Streetfighter naked bike is not new, but this 2012 model year 848 is, featuring a smaller 849 cc L-Twin engine in place of its big brother’s 1,099 cc unit.

The Italian bike maker says that the 848 “adds everyday accessibility” to its famous naked sport bike family. The Testastretta 11, Desmodromic, liquid-cooled engine makes 132 hp at 10,000 rpm, compared to the bigger engine’s 155 hp at 9,500 rpm.

The sexy thing is suspended by front Marzocchi 43 mm fully adjustable forks and progressive linkage rear suspension with a fully adjustable Sachs monoshock. To stop the 169 kg (dry) bike, you’re looking at double 320 mm semi-floating discs and radially mounted monoblock four-piston Brembo calipers up front. The rear disc is a 245 mm unit with two-piston floating calipers.

Ducati Data Analyzer (DDA) and ABS are available on the Streetfighter 848, which comes in three colours, black, yellow and red. The nett selling price is RM99,333, and you can find out about 100% financing schemes at Next Bike outlets.

This unveil comes after the October 2011 introduction of the (relatively) affordable Monster 795 and last month’s launch of the beast called Diavel AMG, and Next Bike is in a bullish mood.

“In the first quarter of 2012, we expect to sell more bikes than our total sales volume in the whole of 2011, an astonishing growth that reflects our economic prosperity and the growing sophistication of Malaysian buyers,” said Datuk Wira SM Faisal, Joint Group Executive Chairman of the Naza Group.

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A Monster Diesel coming up

NEW YORK:  You have heard of the tie-up between Ducati and AMG via the Diavel.  Next up is Ducati's alliance with  apparel brand Diesel, using the Monster as a platform.

The two Italian companies have put together a so-called Monster Diesel alongside a Capsule Collection to mark the occasion. 

A Ducati statement said the customised bike is an "urban military chic" interpretation of Ducati’s naked motorcycle and has been unveiled together with the new collection at the Diesel stores of New York-Soho  on March 15. 

The set will be displayed  in Rome on March 22 and Tokyo-Shibuya  on March 29.

“The Monster Diesel, and the collection dedicated to it, reflect the 'coolness' of this iconic motorcycle and our brand in general,” said Ducati president Gabriele Del Torchio. 

“The collaboration with Diesel, underlines our focus on the style and trends that shape the market and I am delighted to associate our world with that of fashion and, in particular, with Diesel. Both brands globally represent technology and innovation in pure Italian style.”

Stefano Rosso (pic), project leader and son of Diesel founder, said:  “When we had the opportunity to work with Ducati, with last year’s MotoGP sponsorship, we discovered a whole world of shared values and common roots. 

"That brought us the desire to create something new together, and we made it in the only way we know: taking the great know-how of both companies and mixing it with passion and creativity. The results are unique products, characterised by a great mix of design and technology.” 

The Monster Diesel will be available at Ducati stores around the world from late July onwards. More information is available at Ducati.com 

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Brilliant Button wins the Australian GP

Jenson Button delivered a supreme drive to win the season-

opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne after an incident-

packed race.

There was drama all over the track except at the very front, where Button remained from the first corner where he passed team-mate Lewis Hamilton, until the chequered flag.

Sebastian Vettel demonstrated the race pace of the Red Bull to take second place, while pole-sitter Hamilton was left to rue some bad luck with pit stops to end up in third.

Mark Webber was fourth in his home Grand Prix - his best result in Australia - while Alonso took a surprise fifth in the struggling Ferrari.

Pastor Maldonado, breathing down Alonso's neck in the final laps, looked set to finish a creditable sixth place for Williams, but crashed just a few corners from the end to spark a frenzied race to the line for the lower points positions.

Kamui Kobayashi pounced for sixth, while Kimi Raikkonen stole a couple of places to take seventh, with Sergio Perez, Australian Daniel Ricciardo and Scot Paul Di Resta rounding out the top 10.

Having taken the lead, Button never looked back, opening up an advantage that gave him breathing room over his team-mate.

Webber reprised his starting woes from 2011, being clipped twice in the race to the first corner and slipping down to ninth, while Romain Grosjean also dropped down sharply from third on the grid and soon exited the race after a clash with Maldonado.

Another man forced out early was Michael Schumacher, who had been running in third before technical problems put paid to his chances after 10 laps.

Alonso belied the concerns over the new Ferrari by jumping from 12th to fourth and matching the pace of the Red Bull ahead of him in the early stages of the race, while the Saubers and Raikkonen also made progress from humble starting positions on the grid.

Though Hamilton did not get the best of starts, he was unfortunate with both his pit stops. On the first he emerged behind Perez, allowing Button to stretch the lead to 10 seconds. Having avoided that error on the second, Vitaly Petrov's retirement on the home straight forced the safety car out on the next lap, meaning that Vettel was able to dive in to the pits immediately and leapfrog him into second place.

When the safety car returned into the pits with 17 laps of racing left, it looked like Button would be faced with a challenge from the world champion.

But he opened a three-second advantage over Vettel in scarcely a lap, and never looked back, taking the 13th race win of his career and his third at Albert Park.

 -eurosport

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