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/128177
Intermat 2002, Part" friendly, and the ensuing adoption of the feature on so many high-end automotive products, from MercedesBenz to Jaguar, Cadillac to BMW. Without any of the drawbacks of turbocharging - no extra heat, no throttle lag, very little extra weight or bulk - but offering a significant increase in performance at almost zero weight penalty, it seems ironic that it should have taken a scooter manufacturer to show motorcycle companies the way - but then, of course, Peugeot is owned by a car company! Now let's see which is the first bike builder to get the message. At the other end of the scooter scale is Italy's Malaguti, which appeared at Intermot with an expanded range of Madison maxi-scooters and a pair of DOCC two-stroke (but Eur02-compliant) Supermotard and Enduro models, hleh at least recognized the company's need to expand beyond its scooter franchise, if not into a market sector of any interest to markets outside Italy or Iberia. No sign of the firm's acclaimed Yamahapowered Cafe Racer and Supermoto prototype 600cc four-s rake singles commissioned from Engines Engineering which appeared on year ago - pity. But another compan;)" with a more realistic view of what's qeeded is Korea's Hyosung, which two xears ago at Intermot served notice of its potential to do a Hyundai on two wheels with the launch of its own range of 90-degree V-twin, liquidcooled, dohc, eight-valve engin~s in 250cc and 600cc guise. Korea's largest manufacturer returned to Munich with an expanded range of customs and roadsters, including its Comet GT600, sporting a good-looking neo-Ducati trellis frame design, and reportedly has a 1000cc version under development. It was only a matter of time. Germany's Sachs also has its own V-twin one-liter motor on the drawing board, to power the radical-looking Target Design-penned Beast street- 28 OCTOBER 23, 2002' II: U II: fighter which, even four years after its launch and fitted with the Folan 60degree V-twin 950cc dirtbike-derived motor, still looks the business and will surely sell out once they get it into production sometime in the present millennium. One company that has decided to go with the Folan is fellow-Swedish concern Highland, which after Husaberg's forthcoming transplantation to Austria will remarkably enough be the only remaining Swedish off-road manufacturer, in a country whose products for so long ruled the dirt worldwide. Highland founder Mats Malmberg has succeeded in resurrecting the company after its brief flirtation with liquidation, and appeared at Intermot with two new Folan-powered models - the 950 V2 Outback enduro and its 950 V2 Motard streettired Supermoto equivalent, each now fitted with Marelli EFI controlled by a Swedish EC(J. Highland now claims an output of 85 bhp at 6000 rpm from what is said to be a smoother and more reliable engine than before, which is lighter and more compact even than KTM's LC8 motor, resulting in a claimed dry weight of 363 pounds for the V2 950 Enduro model. Fitted with WP suspension and Brembo brakes, the new Highland models are due to enter production in November, and yes, Highland is working on beating KTM into production with a V-twin sportrod derived from its present enduro range expect to see a street version of the 950 V2 Motard launched next spring. Among the huge array of showbikes and specials on display in Intermot's 12 different halls was one especially calculated to attract widespread attention - Italian Ducati specialist NCR's DSI000 Super Twin, powered by the new desmodue twin-spark full one-liter air-cooled V-twin engine slotted into a lightweight, minimalist composite spaceframe chassis into which any air-cooled desmodue motor will fit. The Millona, as it's been christened inside the Italian ducatista fraternity, has been coococted in conjunction with parts specialists Poggipolini, and though shown at Munich on the ultralightweight (247 pounds with oil, no fue!!) BoTT race guise in which it will compete at Daytona next March, will also be available as a street-legal sportbike replete with as many of Poggipolini's range of goodies as the customer wants - or can afford. Which leaves one historic marque whose display by general acclaim was the hit of Intermot 2002 - certainly among the European manufacturers, at least. That was Moto Guzzi, bought by ApriJia over two years ago, and whose stand was juxtaposed to its parent's in a self-evident message to the marketplace: Aprilia is weaVing its own brand of magic over Guzzi, which is on track - and on schedule to be reborn for real at Milan 2003. intermot, however, provided not only a taster of how this will be accomplished, but also the first step in the complete overhaul of the range of models offered by Italy's oldest existant bike manufacturer, with an array of three new models on display, each very different one from the other. Smallest in capacity but destined for immediate production is the STR750 Breva, an entry-level roadster based on the Nevada custom, but with its fuel-injected pushrod V-twin engine completely overhauled and refined, and fitted with the firm's new sixspeed gearbox, with its vastly superior action to the old five-speed cement-mixer. A three-way catalyst exhaust is standard on the Breva, which with a single 320mm Brembo front disc, conventional Marzocchi suspension and twin-shock rear, and a simple nose faiTing derived from that on the firm's Vl1 Sport, weighs 400 pounds dry, and produces 46 bhp at 6600 rpm. Production of the Breva will start early in the New Year - but it'll be longer before we see the other two showbikes in the shops, powered by the eight-valve Daytona engine currently out of production while Guzzi/Aprilia completely reengineer it - though their general acclaim at Intermot ensured both bikes will indeed make it to production, says Aprilia owner Ivana Beggio. One of these was the latest product of designer Luciano Marabese, whose CentauTo musclebike evidently gave rise to t1:le aggressive-looking new Griso 'Technocustom' streetrod launched at intermot as a Guzzi with attitude, the other the much more aesthetically beautiful MGS/Ol sportbike constructed on behalf of Mota Guzzi by nearby marque specialists Ghezzi & Brian, on the basis of their acclaimed existing Supertwin model. Fitted with Ohlins suspension, this exquisitely detailed design from what amounts to the Guzzi equivalent of Bu.ell was a guaranteed showstopper, as evidenced by the plastic fence Guzzi management had to build around it in order to afford showgoers a proper view of the bike without a line of fans - not by any means all of them guzzisti - clustered all over it waiting to climb aboard. Over on Ghezzi & Brian's own adjacent stand, alongside the lightweight OZ forged wheels specially developed for all Mota Guzzi models and for which they are exclusive distributors, was the next of their models Guzzi is likely to adopt, the Furia streetrod. It's only a matter of time... But in the meanti e, Intermot 2002 delivered proof that, with Aprilia's help and as a potent counter to slumping scooter sales, the wings of the eagle on the Guzzi tank badge are starting to flap a bi harder. No, make that a lot harder. CN