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BIKES: Naza Premira Introduces Three New Limited-Edition Vespa Models!

Naza Premira Sdn Bhd, official distributor of the Vespa brand in Malaysia introduced three limited edition Vespa scooters recently; Vespa 946 (RED) (below), Vespa Sprint Carbon (2nd pics down) and Vespa Sei Giorni (above) to Malaysian shores.

Expressing uniqueness and a distinctive lifestyle, Vespa is the ultimate symbol of Italian elegance and its scooters are designed for those who appreciate the true meaning of life with the brand interpretation “Not for Everyone”. Infused with style, comfort, safety and sturdiness, the Vespa 946 (RED), Sprint Carbon (below) and Sei Giorni are unrivalled in today’s scooter market.

Vespa 946 RED: For Those Intrigued by Uniqueness and Style…

The Vespa 946 (RED), is an all-red version of the classic Vespa 946 scooter; a highly exclusive model dedicated to aesthetic and technological perfection. The Vespa 946 (RED), has a style and cutting-edge technology that will rewrite the future while evoking memories of the inspiration and creativity of the original idea behind the Vespa.

As per Vespa tradition, the Vespa 946 (RED), uses steel bodywork embellished with eye-catching aluminium components such as the mudguard and the side covers that houses the engine, transmission and mechanical parts. An epitome of timeless elegance without having its safety compromised, the exclusive scooter also comes with double disc type brake system complemented by a dual-channel Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) and an innovative Anti-Slip Regulation (ASR) traction control; exclusive to the Piaggo Group, that prevents loss of grip and ensures superior traction at all times.

The ultra-modern and eco-friendly Vespa 946 (RED), is powered by a 150 cc single-cylinder four-stroke engine with three valves, which consumes minimal fuel, makes very little noise and boasts exceptionally low emission levels. The Vespa 946 (RED), is priced at RM66,000 (no, that’s not a typo) and is available exclusively in the colour red.

Vespa Sprint Carbon: For Those Who Know Life is a Sport…

A combination of sporty personality and innovative technology, the Vespa Sprint Carbon is the most modern version of the Vespa sport idea. It was made to heighten riding pleasure and safety while embodying the heritage and tradition of vitality and youthfulness of the legendary vespino

With its small and lightweight body that is comfortable and protective, the Vespa Sprint Carbon is quick, extremely agile and modern, perfect for the youths and young at heart looking for dynamism and enjoy riding round town in style. The sporty “small body” scooter is entirely made of steel, characterised by its bold rectangular headlights and large 12” wheels with spectacular aluminium alloy rims.

The Vespa Sprint Carbon packs a punch with the Piaggio Group’s new and ultra-modern i-Get 150 cc air-cooled engine capable of brilliant performance, lower operating costs with reduced noise and extremely high overall efficiency. Designed to make the ride smoother, quieter and more comfortable, the engine is also environmental-friendly with approval in compliance with the Euro4 Multi-Directive. Additionally, the Vespa Sprint Carbon also stands out for its generous equipment package which includes a USB socket, located inside the leg shield back plate compartment and comes standard with Anti-lock Braking System (ABS). Available in the colour black, the Vespa Sprint Carbon is priced at RM17,400.

Vespa Sei Giorni: For Those Ever-Ready for Travel and Adventure…

Reminiscent of Vespa’s classic nature, the Vespa Sei Giorni is the heir to the original Vespa Sport “Sei Giorni” specifically built for the taxing “Sei Giorni Internazionale di Varese” regularity competition of 1951, where it earned 9 gold medals, making it the undisputed protagonist. The Vespa Sei Giorni is a special version, produced in numbered edition and dons a “Special Edition” plate on its leg shield back plate bearing its serial number.

The Vespa Sei Giorni is designed with the characteristic elements such as the “faro basso”; the low position of headlight assembly on the front fender, and the handlebar like the one on the original Vespa Sei Giorni, as well as its iconic exposed metal pipe. Its uniqueness is also enhanced by the black number plate taken directly from the livery of the Vespa, highlighted by all black parts and gritty red details. The scooter also comes with a single-seat look saddle – actually passenger approved, to highlight the sporty spirit of the Vespa Sei Giorni.

Perfect for moving around elegantly, the Vespa Sei Giorrni uses the most powerful engine in the history of Vespa scooters – the modern and technological 300 Euro 4, a single cylinder, 4-stroke, 4-valve, liquid-cooled, electronic injection engine capable of putting out 15.6kW of power at 7,750 rpm, ensuring quick response in acceleration and overall brilliant performance.

Boasting the style, comfort and safety of the typical Vespa GTS range, the Vespa Sei Giorni is equipped with a spacious helmet compartment and a large and comfortable seating area, ergonomically crafted to ensure absolute comfort even for long distances. In addition to its standard ABS safety feature, the Vespa Sei Giorni also has a USB port located inside the compartment of the leg shield and front turn LED lights that function as day running lights. The Vespa Sei Giorni is available in the colour green and is priced at RM38,000.

The exclusive Vespa 946 (RED), Vespa Sprint Carbon and Vespa Sei Giorni are available for viewing from September 2018 at selected authorised Vespa dealerships and outlets nationwide.

*While stocks last.

WEEKEND SPECIAL: Bikes On The Federal Highway – The Star Online, Seriously???

Wow. I’m not sure if I’m angry or just very, very disappointed in The Star Online, for this utter drivel. Honestly, I expected a LOT more from one of the more respected media houses in the country. While I’m quite sure the writer of this article published today (screenshot below) is not a biker…

…what’s even more ridiculous is that the writer didn’t even bother to do a little bit of research before writing this nonsensical rant of an article, (some rempit probably pissed him off today) because if he had done so, he’d realise that as of today, September 15th 2018, the Federal Highway bike lanes are still officially CLOSED. Check out this video which I just went out to shoot if you need visual proof… Location: Motorola heading to KL.

And as you can clearly see from this photo below as well, the entrances to the bike lanes along the Federal Highway are closed in many places, necessitating the need for bikes to use the main highway. As I said in the video, I don’t want to use the main part of the highway, none of us do, it’s horrendously jammed most of the time, and a lot more dangerous for bikers to use than a dedicated bike lane.

The bike lanes on both sides of the Federal Highway were supposed to be opened for use in March this year by the way, but they’re still closed..

Would you like to see the most laughable aspect of this bullshit article? Check out the main photo that was used in it below… You can clearly see the entrance to the bike lane is closed even in their own picture, and the arrow is directing bikes to use the main highway! Shoot yourself in the foot much Star Online? What rubbish. – Chris Wee.

(What preceded were the express personal views of the Editor and may not be that of Piston.my as a whole)

UMWT Malaysia Invites You To Take On Toyota ESports!

UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd (UMWT) has announced its involvement into the world of ESports, a first of its kind actually by a Malaysian car company. The company’s first move into the sport is the upcoming Toyota Velocity ESports Championship, the biggest national racing event in Malaysia, which will be held at the Sunway Pyramid Blue Atrium from the 21st to 23rd of September.

Those who are interested to become Malaysia’s quickest and fastest racing simulator drivers are welcome to participate without any fees. Entries are open for up to 400 participants who hold Malaysian citizenship or residency status.

The game? The exhilarating Gran Turismo Sport.
The racetrack? The legendary, Suzuka Japan GT.
The car? The speedy, Toyota GR Supra Racing Concept!
The Prize? Total of RM60,000 (Top prizes 1^st=RM20,000, 2^nd =RM10,000 and 3^rd =RM5,000).

There will also be an exciting exhibition race participated by celebrities from Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) Festival and all of this are not to be missed! “At Toyota, we always have our youth in mind. The Esports is on a steep upward curve and has the potential to become one of the top five sports in the world. This rapidly-rising industry is a new and exciting experience especially for the younger generation and with that being said, we at Toyota would like to be at the forefront of this Championship Series,” said Mr. Ravindran K., President of UMWT.

More details on registration procedures, programmes and a lot more about the exciting event will be announced soon. Log on to www.toyota.com.my to find out more. So watcha waitin’ for? Buckle-up and get your game on with Toyota!

ETCM Announces New Prices Of Nissan Vehicles With SST, Now Cheaper Across The Board!

In line with the Government’s Sales and Service Tax (SST) implementation effective 1^st September 2018, Edaran Tan Chong Motor Sdn Bhd (ETCM), the sole distributor of Nissan vehicles in Malaysia, has announced the new pricing for its Nissan models inclusive of 10% Sales Tax.

Nissan Almera, Grand Livina, Serena S-Hybrid and X-Trail will be priced ranging from RM 69,800 to RM153,800*, and are lower compared to the Goods and Service Tax (GST) price structure, whereas for the Nissan Navara, the pickup’s price will remain at current 0% GST price while stocks last. This ranges from RM 77,330.97 for the 2.5L Single Cab to RM 119,869.08 for the fully loaded VL Plus (Double Cab). After-sales services by Tan Chong Ekspres Auto Servis Sdn Bhd (TCEAS) will be subjected to a 6% service tax for labor charge.

ETCM also introduced its ‘Malaysia Day Bonus’ campaign with attractive rebates up to RM 8,000* for selected Nissan models. Members of the public are invited to test drive the recently launched Navara VL Plus with Intelligent Around View Monitor (I-AVM) and other innovative Nissan models at any Nissan showrooms across the nation.

Below are the new Nissan prices with SST, compared to when 6% GST was in effect…

Model	Variant	OTR Price with 6% GST (RM)	New OTR Price with 10% Sales Tax (RM)	Price Difference (RM)	Price Difference (%)
Almera	1.5L E AT	72,200	69,800	(2,400)	– 3.3%
Almera	1.5L VL AT	82,000	79,800	(2,200)	– 2.7%
Grand Livina	1.6L AT	91,100	89,800	(1,300)	– 1.4%
Grand Livina	1.8L AT	102,800	99,800	(3,000)	– 2.9%
Serena S-Hybrid	2.0L Highway Star	135,500	131,800	(3,700)	– 2.7%
Serena S-Hybrid	2.0L Premium Highway Star	147,500	143,800	(3,700)	– 2.5%
X-Trail	2.0L 2WD	137,000	133,800	(3,200)	– 2.3%
X-Trail	2.5L 4WD	159,200	153,800	(5,400)	– 3.4%

*Terms & conditions apply, for more information, visit www.nissan.com.my or call ETCM’s Nissan Customer Care Centre at 1800-88-3838.

FEATURE: Why I Rode A Scooter 1,233kms & Via A “Certain-Death” Area To Prove Two Points [+Mega Photo Gallery]

Terrorists! Bombs! Communists! Dangerous! You will be kidnapped and raped! There’s no petrol stations! There’s no food! You will DIE! These are just some of the unbelievable horror statements and stories I’ve heard about the infamous Route 410 (below) that goes from Danuk to Betong, close to Pattani and Yala in Southern Thailand. And that’s exactly why I needed to find out for myself…

You see, this is exactly what terrorists and terror-groups want you to believe, to instill ‘terror’ (hence the terminology) in the hearts of everyone, to the point that if you believed everything you hear from a friend – of a friend, of a friend, of a friend, ad infinium – or read about from various sources on the internet, you’ll be too afraid to even leave your house, much less undertake a 5-hour road trip like I did, in previously unexplored and unknown terrain, laden with supposed terrorists just waiting to kill you…

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a death-wish, but I fervently believe that when your time is up, it’s up. It doesn’t matter what you could be doing at the time, a car could come crashing through the Starbucks you’re sitting at peacefully sipping your mocha-latte, and take you out spectacularly. You’ll probably make the evening news. Heck, you could die right now from a stroke or heart-attack, just ask my dear departed friend Ramesh Kanagasundram…

Hence the line from that movie “The 13th Warrior” always rings true for me: “The skane of your life was written the day you were born, go hide under a rock if it makes you feel better, you won’t live an instant longer, fear benefits man nothing…”

And that fear is what prompted me to write this article. As was the fact that after successfully and safely completing this journey with my trusted ride-buddy Buck Saleh (above, that’s his best side, snigger, snigger, arf arf) on his brand new Yamaha N-Max, there were still some who felt compelled to mention the dangers of riding here, in his later social media posts about the trip, despite the fact that I’m quite certain that some of those commenting have never even set foot in this area, much less travelled its entire distance.

Sure they can always say that ‘news reports’ said so, and if it’s online then it must be true right? Well, yes and no. Don’t forget that “sensation sells” and no news sells better than bad news. Ever been drawn inexplicably to look at a crash on the highway? You know it’s bad, you know you might see a dead body possibly in pieces, which will haunt your thoughts for days and maybe even weeks to come, and yet we are compelled to look.

It’s the same with news, a lot of it is sensationalism in order to capture an audience. I just did the exact same thing on purpose with the headline for this story. Hammer it home hard and long enough, and soon fantasy becomes reality, fabrications, embellishments and even outright lies become truths. Thus the more I heard about the (hearsay) dangers of Route 410, the more curious I became. How bad could it really be? The ‘want’ to find out manifested itself over the years and soon it became a ‘need’. I needed to know…

Yes, there are petrol stations along the way on Route 410. Still not one terrorist in sight at this halfway point…

Let me cut to the chase. It was one of the most brilliant +/- 288km of back-roads I’d ever travelled on a bike in my life. And when it was over I wanted to turn back and ride it again. I even recall Buck and I being quite pissed-off that we’d taken to heart all the horror stories about Route 410 over the years, and seriously regretted not doing this ride sooner.

At no point did I ever feel in danger or threatened in any way, (point of fact, I’ve felt in more in danger riding in downtown KL than the whole of Route 410) since there were numerous check-points to go through, and save for the last one before the destination town of Betong (the red pointer in the map above), we were not stopped or hassled even once. Along the way there were various places to stop and take a break, like the Khao Nam Khang Historical Tunnel Complex in the National Park, where we also had some of the best coffee ever at this small hut leading to the entrance…

Route 410 proved to be one of the nicest, most well made roads I’d ever had the pleasure of riding on, and seems to be a favourite not just with the locals, but I distinctly recall seeing quite a few Malaysian registered vehicles go by as well. Average speed throughout the entire stretch was about 80kmh, and that was fine, seeing as how my steadfast rule when it comes to biking is that if you go too fast you lose the essence of what biking is all about, and you’ll completely miss everything the location has to offer, since all your concentration is taken up just staying on the road.

The other point I wanted to prove was more to myself than anyone else. I wanted to really know if #Scootouring, or touring on a scooter, was a plausibility or just a hashtag I made up because it sounded funky. It’s a real thing by the way, I even have a Facebook page on it, so it must be real, right? Well, the fact that I’m hacking away on this laptop back home after 1,233kms over 4 days through supposed terrorist-infested roads proves that it is. Just make sure your vehicle, be it bike, scoot, car or truck is properly maintained, and in tip-top condition before any long-distance trip, to anywhere, not just here.

Before I end, let me set the record straight. I’m not telling you to go out now and drive to Beirut okay? No. All I’m trying to impart is to NOT let what you hear stop you from doing something that you’ve always wanted to do, or doing something that you love. That’s what terrorists want, to change how you think and feel; to change your way of life, to make you afraid. Remember, it’s all about how much fear they can instill in you, nothing else. And like I said earlier, if your time is up, hey, it’s up; only the man upstairs knows how and when. Your skane is written…

In the meantime, #yolo… we only get one shot at this, one chance, one life… so I don’t know about you, but I intend to make full use of it. I’m already planning the next ride, wanna come? Peace. – Chris Wee.

Route 410 Danuk – Betong Scooter Ride Photo Gallery…