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Husqvarna MOAB Concept – A Modern-Day Scrambler

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We already know that the Husqvarna as a brand needs to start pulling its weight around the BMW Group, which has lead the once off-road brand to expand into on-road segments. We also know that the last time the Swedish brand debuted a concept bike at EICMA, it ended up giving birth to a production model. Debuting the Husqvarna MOAB concept at EICMA today, Husqvarna has done a modern-take on the classic 1960’s & 1970’s scrambler aesthetic, and is undoubtedly testing the waters on the brand increasing its range of street motorcycles.

“The red tank, the spacious seat, the yellow side panel number holders, the simple stripped-down frame…these all form the essence of the new incarnation of the Husqvarna spirit,” said the company in its press release. While it is always interesting to see how a group perceives itself, it is perhaps even more telling to hear a company describe what it is trying to change itself into. While many Husqvarna hard-part liners were put-off by the debut of the Husqvarna Nuda 900, we have a feeling the Husqvarna MOAB concept will strike a chord that is clearly novel, but also true to Husky’s old values.

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Husqvarna Concept E-go – The Entry-Level Electric

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Watch out Zero, Brammo, BRD, and KTM as Husqvarna just decided to enter the electric motorcycle market with its Husqvarna Concept E-go. An urban commuter aimed towards first-time bikers, the E-go concept draws from the Swedish brand’s dirt and supermoto background to bring a stylishly aggressive electric motorcycle package to the table. Clocking in at 80kg (176 lbs), the Husqvarna Concept E-borders on anorexic, and is the first electric motorcycle we’ve seen specifically geared towards younger riders.

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Bikes

Rendered: 2012 BMW R1200GS

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Our friend Luca Bar did these renders for Infomotori that shed some light on what the 2012 BMW R1200GS could look like once the German manufacturer takes the duct tape and camouflage off the water-cooled boxer-twin adventure bike. With emission standards putting increased pressure on air-cooled motors, and the adventure bike segment becoming more competitive, BMW has finally had to tinker with the good thing it has going, updating the big boy GS to a water-cooled power plant for the 2012 model year.

With spy shots of the 2012 BMW R1200GS already hitting the interwebs, we have at least a basic understanding of what the new R1200GS will look like, and it would seem that BMW hasn’t moved too far from its best-selling design. As such, Bar had plenty to work from in the spy photos and current GS to create a series of renders that show what the new GS could look like at its unveiling later this year. As always it is top-notch work, check out Luca’s work after the jump.

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Ducati Scrambler Concepts by Luca Bar & Lusca Custom

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It’s been a while since we’ve seen a concept from the pen of Luca Bar, and in bringing us this design of a Ducati single-cylinder motorcycle, Luca also introduces us to Lusca Custom Designs, as the two designers collaborated on several designs that use half a Multistrada 1200 motor. With Luca penning the scrambler model and the motor configuration, and Lusca working the street tracker, we get at least an idea about the rumored small-displacement motorcycles from the Italian brand would look like.

With Ducati’s Thai plant now operational, everyone is waiting for the rumored other shoe to drop, and for Ducati to start manufacturing small-displacement machines for the Asian market. While all of that is conjecture, there is a strong business case for Ducati going after the lucrative people-mover market in developing countries overseas. How that would resonate with the current Ducati brand isn’t entirely clear, though it plays well with the rumors we’ve heard of an Asian IPO. More on that later, concepts after the jump.

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Ariel Motorcycles Returning in 2012

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Before the name Ariel was synonymous with the Honda-powered Ariel Atom trackday car, the brand was affixed to vehicles of the two-wheeled variety. After producing great bikes like the Ariel Square Four, the now defunct Ariel Motorcycle company was folded into BSA, which in a roundabout fashion gave birth to the current Triumph brand. Building on that vein, we get word that the makers of the Ariel Atom want to get into the two-wheeled biz, and are planning to launch a new Ariel motorcycle by the end of this year.

Though there may not be any exact ties between the current past Ariel marques beyond their names, the idea of another motorcycle maker entering the treacherous and rarely lucrative motorcycle industry fray is nonetheless exciting to us here at A&R; and since we’re big fans of the Ariel Atom car project, we can only just barely contain our excitment on the idea of a similar movement done on two wheels as the one we’ve seen already on four.

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Ducati Supersport Concept by Luca Bar

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Tracing back to when Ducati made the SS line, Luca Bar has put pen to pad again, rendering a modern-day version of the Ducati Supersport. Envisioning a motorcycle based off Ducati’s popular Monster 1100 EVO platform, the Supersport would feature the same 1,078cc air-cooled two-valve v-twin motor of the Monster, which should provide plenty of power and take some design cues from the top-spec naked bike. Bar also points out that using the Monster as the basis for the Supersport could help keep costs down as well, and keep the MSRP close to the Monster 1100 EVO (we’d imagine pricing would have the SS as slightly pricier than the Monster).

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Rendered: 2012 Suzuki GSX-R1000

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While the Suzuki GSX-R600 & GSX-R750 were updated for the 2011 model year, it seems like Suzuki’s crowned king of the liter-bike class hasn’t see a touch-up since the Reagan administration. This is due in part because of Suzuki’s staggered development life-cycle, but primarily rests on the motorcycle industry apocalypse that many just refer to as the past recession. Because of the economic downturn, Suzuki had an overabundance of motorcycles sitting in its domestic warehouses, causing the Japanese company not to bring over any more fresh units for the North American market.

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2012 Ducati Superbike 1199 Rendered by Luca Bar Design

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Ever since we heard about the new 2012 Ducati Superbike, we’ve been marking the days until we could see the v-twin sex machine in the flesh. There’s no denying that the specs being banded about on the new Superquadrata motor are impressive, as the new bike is expected to make up to 20hp more than the current Superbike 1198 (though peak performance numbers only tell one side of the story). Also intriguing is the MotoGP-derived stressed-airbox chassis arrangement, which finally does away with the iconic trellis chassis, though has caused some problems for Valentino Rossi on his move to Ducati Corse.

Just last month we got our first look at the new Superbike prototype, as Ducati leaked first a Supersport spec version of what many think will be called the Ducati Superbike 1199. An encore to that moment, the street version of the v-twin superbike leaked just days later. While many of us will have to use our imagination on what Ducati’s latest creation will look like, we’re lucky that Luca Bar Design (website here: bar-design.net) can take those thoughts and put them to paper, err…pixels. Rendering the 2012 Ducati Superbike 1199 from what information that is available, this is perhaps one of the best glimpses as to what the Bologna Bullet will look like. Two more renders after the jump.

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Racing

Concept: Bimota TB-2 675 by Oberdan Bezzi

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Last week Oberdan Bezzi inked his concept for a Triumph-powered Bimota, dubbed the Bimota TB-1. That fully-faired alternative to the MV Agusta F3 naturally needs a naked streetfighter variant, and accordingly Bezzi has penned today’s latest concept sketch, which he calls the Bimota TB-2 675. Featuring the Triumph 675cc three-cylinder motor, the Bimota TB-2 675 competes against its donor the Triumph Street Triple, and goes head-to-head with the heavily anticipated MV Agusta Brutale 675 B3.

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Concept: Bimota TB-1 by Oberdan Bezzi

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For his latest work, Oberdan Bezzi imagines a three-cylinder Bimota that uses Triumph’s 675cc three-cylinder motor. Dubbed the Bimota TB-1 by the Italian designer, Bezzi brings up an interesting point with his sketch, namely that when the MV Agusta F3 comes it will, for all intents and purposes, be in a class of its own. You can’t really argue the point that there is yet-to-exist a premium well-designed supersport triple on the market right now (sorry Daytona owners), and Bezzi says that Bimota could easily come into this space with such a bike as seen here.

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Husqvarna 900cc Street Bike in Sketches

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The folks at MCN have had their finger on the Husqvarna street bike pulse lately, and today published sketches of the soon-to-be released BMW-derived 900cc Husqvarna street bike. Part street-naked, part supermotard, these sketches seem to suggest that the new Husky will stick somewhat to its dirt roosting roots. Despite the large displacement size, the street-going Husqvarna looks to be very minimalistic and svelte, though how much of that will translate over into the final design remains to be seen.

We’re still apprehensive as to what BMW’s plans for Husqvarna are in the coming years, as the German company clearly wants to use Husky for its evil road-going purposes, but so far there’s nothing in these sketches that send us running for a long rope and a short drop. The designs appear to stay true to what we’d expect from Husqvarna, though you can leave your conclusions in the comments. Additional sketches after the jump.

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