New Husky street bike engine, more pics and info here... http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/news/husqvarna-900cc-street-bike-motor/
CLOSE COOPERATION RESULTS IN EXCITING NEW HUSQVARNA 900CC PROJECT Husqvarna has reached a significant milestone in its long history by developing a street bike that will create an innovative new riding concept. This will focus on a unique combination of performance and versatility, with the pleasure and fun of riding the machine. For this ambitious project to be successful, selecting the best engine set-up had to be of primary importance. The joint decision taken with BMW's engine development team in Munich was to go for the highly reliable and technologically advanced BMW F 800 R's 800cc twin-cylinder engine. This would then be adapted to the specific needs of Husqvarna's new bike concept. The development has been driven by an appreciation for the quality of the 800cc BMW engine, together with a need for the sporty characteristics Husqvarna stands for. The engine capacity has therefore been upgraded to 900cc and many of the main components have been reworked to meet specific needs. This allows a reasonable increase in power and torque, which translates into an outstanding and fun riding experience. The air-box and exhaust layouts have been designed to create the optimum balance of performance and functionality in terms of weight reduction and mass distribution. The result is remarkable in terms of engine characteristics, because the power delivery is linear and smooth at low rpm, but strong and outstanding at high revs. This means that the bike is easy to ride, giving immediate confidence to less experienced riders, while also delivering a great riding experience for more accomplished and experienced motorcyclists. The engine project is a result of the close cooperation between Husqvarna's and BMW Motorrad's engine development departments from the very first sketch. It brought together the know-how from both companies, as well as some added value from the expertise of former F1 engineers. The same kind of cooperation has been achieved with the development of the bike itself – this will be the first Husqvarna street bike to combine BMW Motorrad technology with Husqvarna genes in terms of design and riding experience. This is one of the first steps that demonstrates the synergy between BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna for the development of street bikes.
Not sure of anything about these engines but it says Husqvarna on the side cases on day 1 of its pics ...
So what is that in the pics? Another close copy? The article says it is based off the 800 ... That is a little ambiguous ...
Usually Rotax builds these motors to manufacturer specifications. I would guess that us a modified F800 motor and will still be built by Rotax (which is a good thing IMHO) Type 804 here... http://www.rotax.com/en/Engine/2004/Motorcycle/Engine.Models.htm you will notice the 2 strokes at the bottom of the page says Aprilia.
I thought this was a good site on Rotax History. I believe the 800cc is the '804' model. Now the question is will they use a 'real' Rotax or a china copycat.
The BRP-Rotax plant in Gunskirchen, Upper Austria BRP-Rotax, a subsidiary of Bombardier Recreational Products Inc., is an international market leader in the development and production of 4-stroke and advanced 2-stroke ROTAX engines for motorized recreational products like Ski-Doo and Lynx snowmobiles, Can-Am ATVs (all-terrain vehicles or quads), Sea-Doo personal watercraft and sport boats, scooters, motorcycles, karts and aircraft. Bear with me here ... I'm just trying to understand this process here ... Rotax makes engines, correct? Husky or whoever can purchase this engine and drop it unchanged into it's frame, correct? Now in the case here, the Rotax engine is modified. Who makes the modification to the engine? Rotax or does Husky make the changes? Seems a little complex here ... If Rotax makes the changes that Husky desires, how does Husky know what they want to MOD to get what they want out of an engine? lol .... any engine engineers out there?
Like i said, similar to the Taiwanese built 449/511 the manufacturer (BMW) designs the motor, I'm sure with input and collaborations with the manufacturer and then gets built. I'm guessing BMW decided the design changes, did the bulk of the CAD drawings and Rotax will build to those specifications. Rotax has been doing this for a LONG time. ATK had many 4 and 2 stroke engines, as does Aprillia Buell and many others. The new Buell motor was all new but unfortunately the Buell carpet got pulled out from under that right after the rave reviews.
That's pretty much the process on all things today I guess ...most cases it is not needed to go back to a clean slate and start truly inventing something new... Intel did just invent some new transistors but do we really, really need them? we'll find out in a few yrs ... The design work is real brainwork ... They probably have mock up built first, maybe even on the computer, that will indicate what effects the changes will be ... bmw has the proven history here ... Street bikes are a good idea ... More advertising for Husky dirt bikes ... More $$ in the right pockets maybe to keep pushing the brand ...
husky built street only bikes in the past and almost every other manufacturer has them, will be good for market share. Huskys needs to be big for BMW or it might get kicked to the curb again.
That is what I have been afraid of from the beginning ... bmw is big enough to eat the Husky brand in the same style buell was eaten by Harley ... A BIL $ company can loose MILs and keep stepping ... Big for bmw is pretty big probably ... The ADV bike area is another place some growth might can happen ... Limited players there and customers with $$ ..
