If there was any doubt that the journeyman Husqvarna brand had found a permanent home, or would be reinvigorated by BMW ownership, those doubts were dispelled during the recent BMW Innovations Day program in Munich when the wraps were pulled off the new NUDA 900 R streetbike.
If last year's Mille3 concept shown at EICMA hadn't emphatically pointed the way towards Husqy returning to the roads, the Nuda is a concrete design landmark that leaves no doubt about the blacktop future of a BMW Motorrad sister brand.
Husqvarna has a tradition of road models dating back to the beginning of the last century and its origins as a motorcycle manufacturer. However, the history of the brand is synonymous with off-road success, winning 14 Motocross world championships, 24 enduro world championships and 11 Baja 1000 victories.
The Nuda's 900cc engine is based on the Rotax parallel 800cc two-cylinder engine used in the BMW F 800 R, but modified to give the bike a sportier character.
With a dry weight of 175 kg (386 lb), and its mass centralized around the center of gravity, it can be expected to handle extraordinarily well, with additional thanks to full-adjustable Ohlins suspension at the rear, and full-adjustable Sachs forks at the front.
Brembo Monoblock radially-mounted four-piston brakes at the front will no doubt offer both power and feel, while the exhaust system is designed to be both light and easily unrestricted, hence ensuring it will make appropriate feel-good noises.
The plan is to have the new 900cc NUDA in the showrooms by the end of the year.
