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/127806
1996 IFMA Cologne Motorcycle Show the Ducati ST2 sport tourer designed by Monster maker Miguel Angel Galluzzi, which has been ready for manufacture for almost one year, and so will begin production almost at once, now that suppliers finally have been paid and cash flow stabilized. Using the fuel-injected 94 x 68mm liquid-cooled 944cc version of Ducati's .established two-valve desmo motor, fitted to an updated version of the 900SS tubular steel spaceframe, the 466pound-dry ST2 replaces the moribund 907 i.e., with more $ophisticated fully adjustable suspension and many wellthought-out details, like bifocal rear mirrors to eliminate blind spots, a digital information center incorporating a trip computer, and exhaust silencers which can be adjusted up and down for height, depending on whether or not the spa- (Above) BMW showed its new flagship, the K1200RS. The 1171 cc "flying brick" four pumps out 130 horsepower and is mounted'in an aluminum frame that uses the Telelever front end.(Right) Ducati's major new model was the ST2 desmo sport tourer, powered by a two-valve, liquidcooled 944cc twin (of course) with fuel injection. (Below) The big news from' Triumph at Cologne was the aluminum-framed, single-slded swingarm T595 Daytona. IFMA of the V7 Ippogrifo, a 750cc retrostyled sport custom named after the Hippogryph, a mythical half-horse halfeagle winged beast out of the book of legends. Actually, this isn't as far-fetched as it sounds, since the bike is powered by a new fuel-injected derivative of the Guzzi V-twin aircraft engine fitted to the Israeli Air Force's spy planes, adapted to bike use and fitted for the first time with the new six-speed gearbox developed by Guzzi chief engineer Anget Feueri, which will gradually be adopted on other models, too. Delivering 58 bhp at 5,500 rpm, the 82 x 71mm V7 engine with two valves per cylinder has sequential Weber / Marelli EFI with twin 36mm throttle bodies, and is 30mm shorter than the previous 750 Guzzi motor, thanks to the compact design of the new gearbox. The ligh tweigh t chassis - though at 396 pounds dry for the complete bike everything is relative weightwise on a Guzzi - has Magni-type parallelogram rear suspension with a single WP shock located horizontally under the seat, and 45mm Marzocchi front forks fitted with a single 320mm floating front disc, while the wire wlieels made for Guzzi by BBS are specially designed to allow tubeless tires to be fitted - another first. Production of the V7 Ippogrifo (no relation to the Iso Grifo sports car) starts next spring, with an expected selling price in Italy of 16 million lire - just under $10,000. With the American buy-in to Ducati completed just as the show opened, it was interesting to see that, for the first time, there were separate stands for Ducati, Cagiva and Husqvarna, a hint of the future compartmentalization of operations for the three marques. Each had one major new model, headed by cious set of specially designed luggage is fitted. The ST2 looks far better in the metal than in photos,ยท especially in silver or charcoal with the luggage fitted - could be a contender for European sport-touring honors. Alongside it on the Ducati stand were various specials based on the Monster theme thatvnay or not make it into production one day and the 916 SPS Hypersport, a limited edition homologation special for Superbike racing incorporating the 98 x 66mm engine dimensions used by the works machines this season, produced just in case new FIM rules prevent overboring beyond production street bike engine capacities. Over at Cagiva, the Canyon 900 made its scheduled debut, though it might as well have carried the Ducati tag it will very likely one day adopt, consisting of a fuel-injected 904cc twovalve desmo engine slotted into a square-section tubular steel Elefant chassis, disguised by designer Pierre Terblanche to look like a beam frame and fitted with bodywork modeled on the same designer's good-looking Canyon 600 single. But apart from failing to call it the Grand Canyon as everyone else at IFMA did, Cagiva management also seems to have missed the boat with this still only marginally tarmac-related design. Instead of the upside-down forks and 18-inch front wheel anticipated, it's still just a modified trail bike with 45mm cartridge forks and 19-inch front rim, while clever ideas like the document holder and change receptacle found on the Canyon single have been left off, too. Perhaps if and when some of the cash from the TPG buy-in to Ducati trickles down to Cagiva, they'll finish the job off properly - especially as no date has yet been set for production to start. The first of the marques left in the Cagiva Group to benefit from the extra cash from the TPG deal is certain to be Husqvarna, which finally launched the long-awaited new single-cylinder fourstroke 'engine the company has been known to have had under development for the past three years. Equipped with electric start, a crank-driven balance shaft and street-type oil system with twin pumps, the new liquid-cooled 98 x 76.5mm 577cc engine fitted in the '97 TE/TC610 models also has a six-speed gearbox, cartridge oil filter and springdamped primary drive, while retaining the compact build and SOHC four-valve format with chain camshaft drive of the old engine. Cagiva boss Claudio Castiglioni says his first priority with the extra cash flow generated by the TPG buy-in is to tool up at Varese to put the new HVA engine into production - and that it'll also be fitted to the Cagiva Canyon single to give the extra zest that its current elderly air-cooled T4 motor lacks. Back to twins territory and the Laverda stand, where owner Franceso Tognon's cautious policy of steady expansion is paying off with the debut of the first new engine design since he took over the company two years ago, the liquid-cooled 750cc parallel twin launched at Cologne. Loosely based on the exlsting 668cc air/ oil-cooled motor which equips the entire Laverda range at present, the new 83 x 69mm; 747cc DOHC six-valve power unit is fully liquid-cooled with new engine castings, but retaining the six-speed gearbox and Weber/Marelli EFI of the current engine. Scheduled to enter production this fall after a year of development, the water pumper is set to power an uprated version of the current 668 sportbike with twin-spar alloy frame, in which it was displayed at IFMA, alongside two new versions of the 650 Ghost naked roadster. One, the Ghost Strike, uses the alloy chassis for the first time combined with twin-headlamp nose fairing and carbon exhaust cans. The other - known as the Ghost Legend - uses a single-headlamp nose fairing and the tubular steel trellis frame painted traditional Laverda orange. All '97 Laverda models benefit from continued improvement to the 668cc engine, including a more powerful oil pump, revised mapping for the EFI;better piston cooling and a smoother gearbox. With 2,200 bikes built in '96 and 4,000 targeted for '97, this is one Italian success story tha t looks set to keep growing. Another is Aprilia, which continues to ride the scooter wave for all it's worth, with '96 production rising to 175,000 powered two-wheelers in all. The oompany's plans to move upmarket with the launch of its V-twin four-stroke range are near fruition, but not till next year. The only big bikes at IFMA were the Shiver custom, first shown at the Bologna Show last December, and another version with luggage called the Shiver Way. Not for sale - and maybe not even eventual production - but not so the allnew third-generation version of Aprilia's.good-selling Pegaso 650 street bike, still powered by an uprated version of the Rotax-built five-valve DOHC single, but with the aluminum twin-spar frame's geometry altered to deli ver more stability at speed thanks to a slightly longer wheelbase, coupled with a lower seat height from the completely revised styling. Basically, the Pegaso has gone down the tarmac route, like BMW's new