The F5 Bivouac (rallye raid news) and W2RC - World cross country rally championship

I'll seriously doubt they'll resurrect the G450. One can never tell what they're going to do, but you can tell some things they'll never do.

That would make sense, but would the team be called BMW SpeedBrain again? And would BMW allow it / want exposure like that? (I doubt BMW will ever try and associate itsself with the Dakar again on 2 wheels, MInis are doing just fine )

So if BMW is out of the question, what do they do with the Kymco engines? Put Kymco on the livery? And for what return, in what market

Sounds like a nightmare scenario for Wolfgang

On the other hand, If Peirer lends support, or even contracts the whole team as a pure blood "Husqvarna" assault on the Dakar, they might be tempted to omit the "SpeedBrain" part of their moniker and come under the wings of a 100% Factory Husqvarna brand.

Interesting stuff

Or maybe Mr. Peirer knows something about global warming that we don't

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kUnj65cL6iU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

450 waterheaded twin


I hate calling it a waterhead

This is currently where all the spare Kymco/G450X engines are going:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=857243

Jx

Yep - or just lop off one of the cylinders and create a 'flat single', with a fuel tank on the other side... that'd work...

Jx

The latest is that Stephen has/will sell his 12% interest in KTM to Bajaj, putting them firmly in charge. Figuring that this has been in the works for some time it's no wonder that KTM has not finalized contracts and plans for the 2014 Dakar rally.

Edit
The historically interesting bit is that it looked for a while like Husaberg and Husqvarna might be merged back together under KTM after a 26 year separation. Now with Husaberg staying with KTM and Husky heading off with Stephen the divorce continues.

Here we go, looks legit:

Pierer Industrie AG acquires Husqvarna Motorcycles

Hmmm. Good for Husky, but maybe bad for KTM? :huh

KTM has plenty of good people in place, (DeCoster and Everts for MX/SX, Burleson running the US program) but will they still be able to push without that (local) support? At first I read Beirer (Pit) which is the driving force behind the racing scene so it's good to know that he's not disappearing but this will be an interesting shake up nonetheless...

I must know more what is in stefans mind !!!!! Rajiv Bajaj

http://videos.moneycontrol.com/web18/mc-vods/2013Jan/ibh_rajivbajaj_31jan.mp4

copy paste VLC

Code:

 
http://videos.moneycontrol.com/web18/mc-vods/2013Jan/ibh_rajivbajaj_31jan.mp4 
 
 

Baja sells now kawasaki ninja.
they stop with that?
Kawasaki is not for sale,...................

nice video find, the chick really knows her bikes

So, according to that email, Husky will remain part of the larger KTM org. So the idea of Pierer Industries doing their own thing with the brand is lost? If I heard the Bajaj fellow correctly, it sounds like they want to position KTM/Husaberg as the premium brands and Husky as the VW equivalent. "The People's Bike"!!!

I guess time will tell how that goes...

The plot thickens:

Interview with Peirer

Nieuwsmotor: Why Husqvarna when, with Husaberg, you already have a similar marque?

Stefan Pierer: “We think that with Husqvarna, there’s a specific niche to tackle. With this brand, we want to focus on competing with Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki. We’d like to move the brand to selling 10,000 units per year, then continue watching. For that, Husqvarna needs to go back to it’s roots, it’s strayed too far.”

“The brand has a wonderful history, but a completely wrong model lineup and is on completely the wrong track. The dealer network was not ready to sell two-cylinder street models.”

“We will work with Husqvarna to go back to its origins. We’ll soon be back in motocross and then in supermoto, both sports in which Husqvarna previously dominated. Within the next year, we will make an appropriate motorcycle developed with the specifications and character Husqvarna needs.”

So at first I thought that Peirer would leave KTM and resurrect Husky, seems that was wrong and KTM are indeed buying the Swedish brand. Did I hear someone say homogenization of offroad bikes?
Bummer.

And of course that leaves SpeedBrain out in the cold, it sounds like Peirer wants Husky to focus on MX and supermoto :huh

HAHA! Good catch! I meant video... email = video... LOL!

Or did the KTM factory team just get a whole lot bigger ?

Coma, Despres, Barreda, Speedy, Quinn, etc......

A big FU to HRC ?