Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127597
9RIDING IMPRESSION e Husqvama's 1994 WXE 125, 250 and 360 constructing serious off-road competition motorcycles . Husqvama celebrated its 90th birthday in a major way, wi th Brit Paul Ed mo nd so n a nd Sw ede Sven Erik Jonsson - both Husqvarna tea m riders - winnin g the 125cc En du ro a nd 350cc Fou r-Strok e End u ro Worl d Cham pions hips, resp ectiv ely, and Belgian H usky p ilot Jacky Martens beco ming the first four-stroke rider in 28 years to w in th e 500cc MX World Ch ampions hip. It is no t at all acciden tal tha t two of the three world titles H usqva rna earned this year were a boa rd th u m p e rs . With Euro pean emissio ns laws g rowing ever-mo re stringen t, Hu sky views fo u rs tro ke tec h nology as the sport's fut u re, and is concentrati ng their efforts in tha t a rea . Hu sqvarna is not alo ne in thi s id ea; next yea r, the FIM is cu tting the n umbe r of two-s trok e cl asses in in te rn a tio na l end u ro competitio n from four to two, while retaining the ir two four-stroke d ivisions . This is not to say that Hu sqvama is forsaking their tw o- s tro ke line-u p, o r th at they don't have the technology to cha nge them. In fact, Cagiva has gleaned a substantia l am ount o f two-s troke know led ge from their GP road racers; they are simply avoiding m a k in g hu g e inves tmen ts in two-str oke off-rea ders un til they are su re of the future. For now, t he two-s tro ke s a re re ceiving yearly updates and imp rovements to the areas that need work. Sure, it's m uch more exciting to see allnew models every yea r, b u t the In addition to several performance updates, the WXE250now features bright yellow rad iator shrouds, ' lighter blue grap hics and a larg e st icker on th e front fend er. Th e quarter-liter powerplant offe rs a strong combination of healthy midrange pow er and a man eu verable chassis, which is perfectly su ited for tech ni cal conditions . ~~. By Chris Jon n um 18 o yo u think you' re a motorcycle trivia expert? Answer this question: Which major mo torcycle manufacturer ,celebrated its 90th anniversary this year? (Hint: It starts with the lette r "H"). Actually, that was a tric k ques tion. Th e mos t obvious answer is H arle yDa vid son, but yo u get 'extra poin ts if ,yo u guessed H usqva rn a . Believ e it or not, Husky began making motorcycles way back in 1903, and while it is true that th ey were bought out by Cag iva jus t over five yea rs ag o, the Swed ish company has actually been around since 1689, when they first began manufacturing gu ns. In the meantime, Husqvarna h as b u il t eve ry thi n g fr om sew in g machines to chai n saws, but since they "turned Italian," the company has been concentrating on what the y do bes t -