When BMW purchased Husqvarna a few years ago, it was hard to see the direction it might take with the development of the small, race oriented, off-road manufacturer. Now, it is clear that BMW has Husqvarna in mind for several new street models, and has even unveiled a prototype 900 cc engine based on the 800 cc parallel twin currently found in BMW’s lineup.
The 800 cc parallel twin is already extremely light for its displacement. Compact and light, in fact, and certainly will be an efficient design at 900 cc … producing an awful lot of power from a compact engine that could be packaged inside of a small, nimble frame.
BMW appears to be developing enthusiast-oriented street models for Husqvarna, somewhat like the bikes found at KTM. Minimalist, and not quite the most comfortable machines to ride, they pack plenty of power and offer impressively low weight. Expect some very fun bikes to come out of Husqvarna for street riders, just don’t expect them to tread on BMW’s core turf, touring and sport touring.
I sure hope the BMW doesn’t smack those Huskies with the ugly stick that the rest of their two-wheel line was hit with. I like their automotive line, but their bikes are just too overstyled.
There was an interesting Motard shown in Milan a couple of years ago. This was a prototype, conjured up during the Husqvarna/Cagiva alliance. Maybe they will produce that bike…
I’ve been waiting for state of the art 450/250 motocross bikes since I read of BMW’s purchase. I guess they don’t see enough revenue.
uhh.. They have both.. They might not be everyones cup-of-tea, but they are state-of-the-art.
Steel framed motocross bikes have not been state of the art since about 2006.
Yeah, so you meant aluminum frame. Ultra-small engines, crank-mounted clutch, output shaft-mounted swingarms etc. are state-of-the-art – Husqvarna MX bikes are. Aluminum frames are decade old tech in motocross (and much older in street bikes) and hardly superior.
Tell that to KTM.
Bravo! Steel is real. Sorry, our old road bicycle mantra. Aluminum isn’t my favorite, but it is fixable now with all the TIG machines out there. I’ve got steel and aluminum frames in the barage, the steels are a little easier to work around in my opinion and can be modified if need be a little. I just try and keep my eyes and mind open to technology and not get caught up in the buzzwords the marketers want us to take as gospel.
Bringing in KTM just supports my argument.. They hired Roger DeCoster, along with Red Bull spent as much if not more than anyone in the 250 class and got one win in the shootout, one or two heat wins and a LCQ win. Poor results with the money they spent, even if it is Decoster’s first year.
How does hiring Roger DeCoster have anything to do with the validity of their bike designs?
Absolutely nothing.
If you want to talk about wasted time, effort and money….go talk to Toyota F1 and the half a billion they spent to ultimately quit without ever even coming close to winning.
Go check KTM’s track record in Europe and then tell me steel is outdated.
a larger displacement supermotard would be so cool…… from what i have read aprilia’s svx550 is just a hoot to ride, but the high strung motor requires expensive and often maintenance, and that is a turn off…. 🙂
KTM 690SMC.
Not a twin – but all of the Hoot, with extremely livable maintenance.
i follow ya ruefus, its just i have a ktm in garage now…a superduke…. and while the chassis is great, and the wp suspension is the best stock suspended bike from the showroom, i have ever owned, my motor has been a pain in my @ss, with problems, so i’m kinda not looking to waste my money on future purchases from them…. i like me an rc8r, but i’ll look to another manufacturer for my next purchase… i’ve been scarred from ownship of my red lemon, a duc 996… manufactures that burn me, get NO repeat buisness…period!
I totally agree on the dealer network. I had a 610sm and had a problem with it. my dealer close to me closed. i had to take the bike all the way from s. Florida to Atlanta to get service or pay for it locally. Not a very good network.
Husky has been making some big strides in the off road world again. Ages ago they had a couple V twins in a Super Motard style. That Beemer parallel twin seems like a good fit. This could be interesting. Doubt I’d buy one because of the dealer network but stranger things have happened.
A particular wrench who builds AMA pro flat trackers says BMW’s 800cc parallel twin has a superb balance of size, weight, reliability, and HP potential (especially the later). I rented an F800GS for one day. The motor was indeed very strong; the F800GS seemed to accelerate stronger than my ’00 R1150GS (except at low RPM).