When Pierer Industrie AG purchased Husqvarna from BMW in January, it was obvious some major changes were on their way. Pierer Industries AG is owned by Stefan Pierer, who happens to be chief executive officer of KTM, which also happens to be the parent company of Husaberg. That’s three European motorcycle manufacturers with strong off-road lineages in the same family. Something was bound to happen.

Well the other shoe has finally dropped, with the announcement of Husqvarna and Husaberg reuniting to forming a new company to be called Husqvarna Sportmotorcycle GmbH, with . The move reunites the two Swedish marques after years under the ownership of other companies in Italy, Austria and Germany.

Husqvarna and Husaberg have a shared history. Husaberg originated as a splinter group of Husqvarna engineers that started its own company in 1988 after Husqvarna was acquired by Cagiva. From that point on, the two Swedish brands went their separate paths. Continue Reading »

Last weekend, the Team Icon Brammo and Team Parker Brammo squads competed against their gas-powered counterparts, which you can read about here. Now, let’s take a closer look at just how far e-bike technology has progressed since Brammo — and Lightning — last raced at Sonoma Raceway, exactly one year ago.

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Honda announced it is bringing the CRF250M supermoto to Europe. We first heard about the supermoto version of the CRF250L in January, when it was announced for Thailand. Though nothing official was said, it seemed likely at the time Honda would introduce the CRF250M to other markets. American Honda has not yet announced whether it would offer the CRF250M, but we hope it will.

Like the CRF250L, the M version uses a liquid-cooled 250cc Single engine based on the powerplant introduced with the CBR250R. The CRF models share similar power and torque figures, claiming 22.8 hp at 8500 rpm and 16.2 ft-lb. at 7000 rpm. Honda claims the CRF250M can get about 80 miles on the gallon. Combined with a 2.0-gallon fuel tank, the CRF250M should have a range of about 160 miles. Continue Reading »

Honda has revealed a new supermoto version of the new CRF250L in Thailand dubbed the CRF250M.

Like the L, the CRF250M uses re-tuned version of the CBR250R‘s engine, a liquid-cooled fuel-injected 249cc Single. When we dyno’ed the CRF250L in our recent 2013 250cc class dual-sport shootout, we measured a peak of 20.3 hp at 8700 rpm and 14.0 ft-lb. at 5800 rpm, so we expect similar numbers out of the CRF250M.

The CRF250M is equipped with 17-inch street tires instead of the 21-inch front and 18-inch rear knobby tires that come with the CRF250L. The suspension will have been adjusted for the change in wheel sizes but the M retails the CRF250L’s upside-down fork and Pro-Link rear suspension. Continue Reading »

The biggest news from KTM at the 2012 EICMA Show was the unveiling of the new 390 Duke and a prototype of the upcoming 1290 Super Duke R. In between these small and large naked bikes, KTM announced a new R-spec version of its middleweight 690 Duke.

The 690 Duke was introduced in 2007 and received a substantial update last year with a 690cc engine claiming 67 hp, leading KTM to call it the world’s most powerful Single in a production model. The 2013 KTM 690 Duke R takes that same engine but adds an Akropovic exhaust KTM claims pushes peak power output to 69 hp at 7500 rpm. Claimed torque remains at 51.6 ft-lb. at 5500 rpm, just like the non-R version.

The 690 Duke R also has a higher chassis and stiffer suspension with more damping, developed during the 2012 European Junior Cup racing series. The new WP fork is 15mm longer than the fork on the regular 690 and offers 150mm of travel compared to 135mm on the 690 Duke. The new fork also separates compression damping and rebound damping between the two fork legs. Continue Reading »

I’ll always recall with fondness the up close and personal access I had during the last couple rounds of the 2003 inaugural season the AMA Supermoto Championship.

I’ve never raced supermoto; nevertheless, I think it’s one of the most kickass forms of motorcycle racing, and this video of supermoto racing reminds me why I dig supermoto.

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Who says a motorcycle show has to contain Concours-level machinery? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and the 2012 One Motorcycle Show, sponsored by Bell, celebrates motorcycling in a rather unusual way. Continue Reading »

There it is, folks. That’s Spanish roadracing and supermoto ace Dani Ribalta goofing around for the camera and getting his elbow on the ground. In case you’re wondering, no, he didn’t crash. Continue Reading »

The Husqvarna Nuda 900R will make its public debut in near-series production form at the 2011 Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung, also known as the Frankfurt Auto Show, Sept. 13 in Frankfurt, Germany.

Described by Husqvarna as a cross between a supermoto and a naked standard, the new Nuda 900R is the product of the partnership between Husqvarna and parent company BMW. Powered by BMW’s F800R parallel Twin motor adapted to a 900cc displacement, power output is said to be over 100hp while torque is said to be near 74 ft-lb. Husqvarna also claims linear power delivery at low revs.

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Husky’s largest models (at least, until the 900 finally breaks cover), the SMS630 and TE630 were all new models introduced last year as early 2011 models. After the discount, the 2011 Husqvarna SMS630 is priced at $5,999 while the TE630 is priced at $6,499.

The two models share the same platform, both powered by fuel-injected 600cc Single-cylinder four-stroke engines. Suspension is provided by rebound-adjustable upside-down Marzocchi forks and fully-adjustable rear Sachs shock. The braking system is supplied by Brembo. According to Husqvarna, the two 630 models get about 49.5 mpg, which translates to about 158.4 miles on a full 3.2 gallon tank.

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