Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

lu zzi , w ho designed the Ducati Monster. In the coming year, Cagiva prod uction is pin ned at 20,000 un its, up from so me 8000 units two years ago following the com pa ny's financial difficulties. "In recent times, Cag iva is the brand that has su ffered more than eit her Husqvarna or MV Agusta," Bian chi ad mits. "So now we are p u tt ing m uch m o re effo rt in to Cagiva, and are moving to make it a brand that will pr oduce more large-capacity models. "[ust recently we com pleted a join tventu re wit h Suz uki to p rovid e mot ors fro m 750 to lOoocc to Cagiva. The first new Cagiva mod el will be the Raptor which is a naked bike - a kind of a ntiMon ster. " And yep, you guess ed it, the Rapt or, w hi ch wi ll be unv eil ed a t th e Mila n Show in Sep tember, has been designed by Mr. Galluzzi. "We are invest ing a lot of money into Ca giva," Bianch i co ntin ues, " to m ak e the brand mor e im portant to European rid ers, and of cou rse Italian riders . The focus will be on machinery from 500 to 1000cc." DOIN ' IT IN THE DIRT And what of Hu sqvarna? Firs t up, Bian chi ass u res us the p roductio n and spare pa rts woes of a few yea rs ago are totally resolved , and production is back in full swing. In fact, 1999 Hu sqvarna production is expected to top 15,000 pieces, with the marque's groundsh redding four -strokes lead ing the way. The top-selli ng Hus ky is th e TE610 end uro iron w ith 2000 units, a fig ure soo n to b e m atch ed by t h e sp in-off Su pe r-Mo tard 610 knee-scratcher, while the electric-start TE610E Dual will racku p 1500 sa les th is year, signaling the success of H u s q v a r n a ' s p u r s u it of broad er horizons. "T he n e w elec tric-s ta r t 610s have really paid off for Husqvarna," Bianchi ent huses. "We w ill continue to p ursue more sales for Husqvarna, by ma king a wider range of machines to suit mor e riders no t jus t pure competition ma ch ines." And wi th mooted emissions regulation s set to hit Europe in com ing years, which might well, in effect, "ou tlaw" all tw o-strokes, including even scoo te rs and mop ed s, fou r-strokes will certa inly be the wa y of the future - both on and off the road . . -"Dua l (-s port) fou r-s tro ke mot orcycles will become very important for all manufacturers, and cer tai nly Husqvarna," Bianchi exp lains. "Four-strokes can be more contro lled for bot h noise a nd em issions. "A lrea dy w e ha v e devel oped th e new TE610E-LT (which features a larger-ca paci ty fuel tan k a nd rear rackmounted topbox) for touring, while the Super Mo ta rd is already very popu lar ...The MV Agusta engine production line at Varese produces four eng ines pe r day. . ...At the new Ca ssinetta plant (opened la st December) near Varese , there are four full assembly line s, which on the author's visit in July, were producing year 2000 models Husq varna TE610s and CR250s, the Cagiva Mito road bike, and the Cagiva Cicculio scooter. ...In a separate small building with its own short production line at the Cassinetta plant, the MV Agusta Oro (Gold) special is handmade. When MV Agusta Strada comes on -line it will be produced on one of the four main production lines at Cassinet- tao ...Total maximum production capacity of the three plants is 60,000 units per year. Right now unofficial production levels is 20.000 Cagivas, 15.000 Husqvarnas and soon-to-be 2800 MV Agustas. ...Total Cagiva group employees at three factories is 530. (Above left) Cagiva's production cap acity for the Husqvarna motorcycles Is 15,000. (Above) Getting new parts for your 2000 Husqvarna sh ouldn't be a problem. and can be used on the road. Dual-purpose and rally bikes are another avenue fo r fo ur-strokes, so rea lly , there are many, many options for the future." Husqvarna a lready has a high -spec 250cc en d uro thumper on the go , wh ich is likely to be d ebu ted by yo ung Aussie off-road ace Ben Grabham in selec ted rou nds o f n ext yea r's FIM World End uro Cha m pionshi p. Such a machine woul d su rely pass o n to wid er dual spo rt a pp lica tio ns for th e Italian marqu e. Meantime, Husqvarna, like everyone else, has been watching in so me awe the world wid e success of Yam ah a's YZ400F and WR400F thumpers. "Yamaha did a very importan t job, both in terms of desi gn an d marketing," says Bian chi in reaction to the bold blue Yam ah a thu mpers. 'This has bee n very important for the indus try , as for in th e futu re the tw ostroke will eventua lly be finis hed ." As for combating the mid-size com- ...Cagiva pu rch ased Hus qvarna in late 1986. Production was moved from Sw ed e n to Varese in 1988 , an d the 1988 Hus qvar na was basica lly a Cagiva in Hus qvama colors. The 1989 model was the first forma lly new Husq va rna . ...According to Martino Bia nch i, Husqvarna ha s no plans to develop a twin-cylinder en gine . ...Husqvarna will have some 22 individua l models on disp lay at the Milan Motorcycle Show in ltaly'in September. New model s inc lude a SM610R super-rnotard racer developed from the TE610 (not TE610E like the existing Super Motard), and a new WRE50 enduro (yes, 50cc) for European countries. ... KTM continues to be Husqvarna's archrival in most international markets . This year KTM reportedly produced around 26 ,000 units , compared to Husqvarna's 15 ,000 units . Husqvarna 's production and supply woes of two-three years ago allowed KTM to ga in a major advantage in the marketplace. petitio n Yam a h a head-o n , Bia n ch i ad mits Husqv arna has a new 400cc fourstroke mo tocrosser on th e drawing boards, but cla ims it will on ly see the ligh t of day if the FIM restructures the World Motocross championship classes. "Husqvarna has asked the FIM for new rules for world motocross," Bianchi explains, "in w hich up-to-400cc fou rstrokes ra ce 250cc two-stro kes , a nd over-450cc fou r-strokes race 500cc twostro kes . "If these classes ar e approved , th en yes, we are read y with a new bike for the smaller class." In the sho rter term, however, expect Hus qvama to maintain its prominen ce aboa rd the thu nd er in g TC6 IO in next year's World SOOcc Mo tocross Cha mp ions h ip , w h ile also launching a brand new team in the World 250cc Motocross cham p io ns hip aboa rd Husk y' s C R250 tw o- stroke . O n th e o ther side o f th e fe n ce , H usqvarn a ' s sizea b le World Enduro champ ions hip squad will , once agai n, be h ead ed n ext yea r by wo rld cham p Anders Ericksson and Kiwi Stefan Merriman . RACING IMPROVES THE BREED A bra nd with a rich compe tition pedigree, Husqvarna sees lifting its cornpetilion profile in th e United States as a means of regaining lost business in what should be its most lu crative of markets worldwide. Today Husq varna moves only 1000 or so units in th e Un ited States, well d own from the 2500 units so ld in Germany and France - its lead ing markets each year. "Husqvarna has a very serio us intention to in vest in the sport in the USA in coming y ea rs, " Bian ch i e m p hasise s, "starting with a th ree-rider 125cc national team in mo tocro ss a n d su percross next vea r, as well as a two- or th reerider ~ff-road team in the GNCCs. "We will a lso be s tre ng the ni ng ou r rela tio ns h ip with EraIdo Ferra cci. Of co u rse h e is ve ry s tro ng in th e ro ad scene, so we will be helping him to learn about off-road and provid ing him with m uch informa tion, as well as Husqvarna staff from Italy, wh o will spend four or five mon ths in Am erica ne xt year to ass ist the new race teams. "Our goal in the USA is to lift Husqva rna sales ov er three ye a rs to 300 0 units, a n d th en eve n t ua lly to 5000 units." CItI 33

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