There has been concern within Malaysian police on the rising number of deaths of youth riding small motorcycles, notably kapchais or underbone motorcycles. From information received by paultan.org from a source, police and the Road Transport Department (JPJ) held a discussion with local motorcycle manufacturers and assemblers on the possibility of factory fitting speed limiter devices on kapchais.
It should be noted, and paultan.org’s source emphasised this, this meeting was merely a discussion, not even a feasibility study, on the possible pros and cons of such a move. Such a discussion, if following standard practice, will usually lead to a study being placed before the minister responsible, then tabled in Parliament and debated by Members.
Ultimately, Parliament would have approval or veto of such an action. However, our source said this would be something extremely difficult to implement on a local level due to design changes to the performance of the motorcycle needing approval from the principal’s engineering and design teams.
Among topics raised was the possibility of limiting kapchais to a maximum speed of 90 km/h, or perhaps 110 km/h. Targeted is the 150 cc class of kaphais, notorious for being a favourite of rempits (motorcycle hooligans) and a favourite with the motorcycle modders.
Police previously voiced concerns about the outright speed of such motorcycles, such as the Inspector-General of Police’ statement back in 2022. Notwithstanding, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Rural and Regional Development Ahmad Zahid Hamidi rebutted the statement, citing several reasons opposing such a move including the installation of speed limiters.
The practice of modifying kapchais, especially models like the Yamaha Y15ZR and Honda RSX150, has spawned a huge local industry with some motorcycle shops offering packages for modification “stages” with prices typically in the mid four-figure range. While most 150 cc kapchais will reach a speed of perhaps 120 km/h in standard form, modded kapchais are known to achieve speeds of around 160 km/h or more, depending on the state of tune.
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