Not long after we talked about how Husqvarna’s on-road segment was saving the boutique motorcycle manufacturer from its dwindling off-road segment, do we get a spy photo of what appears to be a Husqvarna Nuda 900 in a touring setup.
Featuring more of a top fairing, proper windscreen, and a broader saddle for the rider and passanger, the changes should make this Nuda variant a bit more comfortable on long hauls when compared to its predecessor, if not more attractive as well.
Normally when we talk about Husqvarna’s sales, it is about how the German-owned, Italian-run, Swedish-in-name-only brand is slowly collapsing in on itself like a dying star. Not so in 2012 though, as Husqvarna sales to dealers were up a solid 15.7% (10,751 units) over the 2011 figures (9,286 units).
Holy shnikeys Batman, but with numbers that sounds almost too good to be true, a closer examination of Husqvarna’s sales figures sheds some interesting facts. Fans of the brand, may not like what they have to hear after the jump.
Italy’s motorcycle publication of record, Motociclismo, is reporting that BMW Motorrad is developing a 450cc race bike for youth racers. Said to be a ground-up design that centers around a single-cylinder motor that will likely be prepared by Husqvarna, the BMW race bike would feature a frame built in Bologna, Italy with “racing” suspension, forged wheels, and carbon fiber bodywork.
With pricing to be in the €20,000 range, BMW hopes that its 450cc cup bike will appeal to 15 to 18-year-old riders, and is formulating a racing series that will piggyback off six select World Superbike and British Superbike rounds. As such, BMW’s proposal appears to be in direct competition with the European Junior Cup (EJC), which will use the Honda CBR500R as its spec-machine for the 2013 season.
When Husqvarna debuted the at the start of this year, it was tipped that the Husqvarna Baja Concept, which was modern take on the Husqvarna Cross 400, could make it into production. We rejoiced. Eleven months later, Husqvarna has returned with the Husqvarna Baja 650 Concept at the EICMA show, and the design has gone a great deal forward from its avant garde angles, to something that is a bit more rounded.
Looking like a bike that is ready for production, it wouldn’t surprise us to hear that the German-owned brand will bring the Baja to market in 2013. Based around the same 652cc BMW engine that is found in the Husqvarna Strada, the Husqvarna Baja 650 Concept uses a steel tube frame for the chassis.
To be entirely honest, we don’t follow the adventure racing arena as much as we should, giving only a little bit of press to the world-famous Dakar Rally at the start of each year. So, we really can’t do justice to what Husqvarna and Speedbrain are doing with this factory-backed Husqvarna TE449 RR Dakar bike.
The photos are surprisingly detailed though, and are probably as close as you will ever get to a proper works rally machine, and Husqvarna gives a good accounting of the bike’s progression and current development. Rather than fake our own rewording of their story, read it after the jump. It’s pretty interesting.
Just judging from the popularity of our posts on the Husqvarna TR 650 Strada & Husqvarna TR 650 Terra, it seems you all are about as enthralled as we are with the latest models to come out of BMW’s little dirt bike brand — that is to say, not enthralled at all. Maybe it is because the Strada & Terra feel like a rebadged BMW GS, maybe it is the angular styling that Husqvarna has been applying to its on-road machines, or maybe it is because the Husqvarna brand seems to lack any real focus whatsoever.
Whatever the reason may be, hopefully it is due in-part to the fact that we didn’t really get a good look at the Husqvarna Strada & Husqvarna Terra motorcycles when they came out a couple days ago, as at that time the German-owned, Italian-based, Scandinavian brand only released a few basic studio shots for your retinal enjoyment. Fixing that problem now, 42 high-resolution photos await you in the gallery after the jump. Enjoy.
In addition to debuting the Husqvarna TR 650 Strada, our favorite German-owned Italian-based Scandinavian-branded motorcycle company has released a 21-inch-wheeled version of the Strada that is destined for more off-road use. They call it the Husqvarna TR 650 Terra. Using the same 652cc water-cooled single-cylinder DOHC motor, the Husqvarna Terra also makes 58hp and 44.25 lbs•ft of torque, just like the Husqvarna Strada.
Tipping the scales a bit lighter than its road-going sibling, the Terra has a dry weight here in the United States of 368 lbs (410 lbs wet). Available with ABS as an option in other markets, it appears our more feature-reluctant American riders will only be given the non-ABS variant of the pseudo off-road machine (apparently Husky isn’t a part of BMW’s pledge for universal ABS). While the Terra shares many components with the Strada, BMW Husqvarna hopes that the minor changes between the two bikes will help facilitate the Husqvarna Terra’s more off-road oriented purpose in life.
It has been eight months since Husqvarna took the wraps off its second road-going model, but the Husqvarna TR 650 Strada is now officially official ahead of fall’s motorcycle bike shows. A big displacement thumper to compliment the only moderately civil Husqvarna Nuda 900, the Strada is an interesting model to go alongside its parallel-twin street counterpart.
Featuring a 652cc water-cooled single-cylinder DOHC motor, the Husqvarna Strada puts out 58hp and 44.25 lbs•ft of torque (Husqvarna offers a de-tuned version of the Strada with 48hp for countries with graduated license schemes). At 375 lbs dry (414 lbs wet), the Strada has a strong power-to-weight ratio for its class, and is the on-road variant in Husqvarna’s dual-pronged single-cylinder motorcycle attack plan.
I imagine that for some, despite the business case to the contrary, a Husqvarna should always play well in the dirt, which seems to be the mantra with the folks over at Touratech. Taking Husky’s first true-born road bike, and baptizing it with mud, the Touratech Nuda-X-Cross looks perfectly capable going where the sidewalk ends.
Shod with a set of knobbies, some purpose-built bodywork from Touratech’s line, and a new attitude, we dig what the ADV-touring parts company has done with Swedish brand’s latest offering. Not just a looker, Touratech intends on racing two Touratech Nuda-X-Cross bikes in the grueling Erzberg Rodeo, held in the Austrian Alps. Even that makes our street-bound hearts skip a beat. More photos after the jump.
Racing in the Bol d’Argent, the three-hour endurance race that supports the Bol d’Or 24 hour race, we get our first glimpse of the Husqvarna Nuda 900R in racing-trim. Not exactly designed to go road-racing, the Nuda still held its own at the French endurance race, finishing ninth overall. Making the feat even more impressive was the team of French journalists that raced the Husqvarna Nuda 900R, and we all know that moto-journalists can ride for beans…let alone French ones.
Husqvarna’s first true sport bike, the Swedish brand hopes that the street-going Nuda, Strada, and Baja/Moab concepts will help turn around its failing dirt-centric business. Not exactly the first thing that comes to our minds for a track bike, let us know what you think of the Nuda 900R in track form. Photos after the jump.
Writing about BMW Motorrad’s quarterly sales announcements is starting to become an exercise in mad libs, and I really should just create a template that is full of praise and positive comments, leaving blank only the spots where the figures of units sold and percentage growth should go. Since I have no such template at my disposal, here we go again with the back-slapping about BMW’s sales juggernaut. Read onward for more sales news from Zie Germans.