BMW plans on entering their new off-roader, the HP2, in different championships to prove its mettle, including the Baja series in Mexico.
In the first edition of my column in MCUSA, I mentioned that BMW were likely to be launching a sort of M series range of bikes under the HP tag. The High Performance bikes have now just broken cover with the emergence of a hot-rodded R12000GS called the HP2. Its styling is similar to the F650GS, with the body panels being plastic colour-impregnated items. Its all-new chassis has been put on an extreme diet, helping the HP2 boast a claimed dry weight of just 386 pounds. Instead of the Telelever, a conventional inverted telescopic fork will be used. The rear end uses BMW's Paralever damped by an air shock. Wheels are 21 inches at the front with a 17-inch rear so that dirt tyres can easily be fitted. The handlebars are fully adjustable, as are some of the foot-operated controls for optimum riding positions when seated or standing.
To justify the High Performance tag, the engine balancer has been removed trading smoothness for performance, and a new exhaust helps lose weight as well as aiding the extra grunt. The bikes will be hand-built; therefore they will carry a premium price tag. The factory themselves will enter bikes in various championships to prove the bike's capabilities. One of the first will be the Baja series in Mexico as well as a German domestic championship. (The HP2 recently won the prologue stage of the Austrian Erzberg Race with rider Simo Korssi. American Jimmy Lewis finished third on another HP2 –Ed.) Production of what BMW says is "the most powerful and by far the best off-road Boxer of all times" is expected to begin this fall.
In the BMW rumour department, the latest one says the K1200LT luxo-tourer could have its heart replaced with a V-6 motor in a couple of years!
In Italy, MV Augusta's future now seems assured after the recent takeover by Proton. The Malaysian giant, who also own the British car firm Lotus, recently injected fifty million pounds into the historic Italian firm in exchange for a 57.75 % majority holding. Claudio Castiglioni remains as president/CEO and still has 37.25 % of the shares, while legendary designer Massimo Tamburini, now holds 2% of the restructured company. A recent long-term planning meeting has now established the company's direction for the next ten years. It is believed that this will include at least three new models to compliment the current two-model line-up.
However, there are no plans to move into volume production, as Castiglioni still sees MV as the Ferrari of motorcycles and therefore exclusive. While it seems there are many people queuing up to by them (6000 produced in 2004), he prefers to keep levels whereby quality control can easily be maintained. Not surprising then that there is a tie-up in the engine department with Ferrari Engineering run by Piero Ferrari, the son of 'Il Commendatore' who is a personal friend of Castiglioni!
A new 910cc engine is rumoured to become standard on all Brutales later this year.
Thanks to the financial stability ensured by the cash injection, racing will be back on MV's agenda, probably with a 2006 entry in the World Superbike class with a new F4 1000 Corsa likely to be launched at this year's Milan Show. A race and development department has been set up in San Marino to deal with this side of the business. To celebrate they have launched an F4 Corse based on the 166 bhp F4. Special paint and lots of carbon fibre, along with a Castiglioni-signed plate on the headstock justify a premium price tag of this 300-unit limited edition. Joining it is the Gladio, a special edition of the 750cc Brutale that is expected to get the new 910cc engine rumoured to become standard on all Brutales later this year!
As for MV's dirt bike brand, Husqvarna, 12,000 units were sold in 2004, and 2005 production is expected to reach 15,000. Castiglioni has said he wants to keep Husky production numbers below 20,000 so it can remain an exclusive-type brand.
Over in Bologna, Ducati is rumoured to be looking at producing an 1100cc V-Twin to help keep it in touch with Japanese sports bikes on the road. Obviously if it is true, it could not be used in WSB racing as per the current rules.
Bimota's new
Ducati-engined DB5 was seen testing at Misano recently, albeit in naked form. Due to various suppliers no longer helping, the bike is thought to have changed appearance radically from the one shown at Intermot last year. This could mean the naked DB6 could hit the streets first!
Fantic Motor who rose to fame when it won three world trials championships in the mid-'80s is making a comeback.
who rose to fame when it won three world trials championships in the mid-'80s is making a comeback. The company has been acquired by an industrialist by the name of Frederico Fregnan, who has booked two places on this year's 250 GP grid with the organisers Dorna.
Registered as Fantic Motor Scuderia, the team has already been testing their brand-new motor that was built in-house by their technical partner CRP Technology. The bikes will be ridden by former world champion Frenchman Arnaud Vincent and Italian Gabriele Ferro, painted in a black and white colour scheme. To capitalise on what they hope will be a successful season, a new factory is being constructed near the Aprilia plant in Northern Italy to produce three road-going bikes, but these will be traditional small-capacity machines powered by Minarelli engines.
It was Fantic's tiddlers that were so successful in Europe and the USA in the '70s before they moved to the world of off-road sport in the '80s. They were very successful with their enduro bikes as well as the trials irons, taking many wins and championships. However, a gradual decline in the market left them bankrupt in 1995, finally shutting their doors 27 years after they were founded in 1968 in Barzago, near Como. While they might not have the history of some of Italy's older brands like Moto Guzzi, they deserve another chance to bid for world championship glory. But, as Benelli have found out, it is not going to be easy.
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Spanish giant Telefonica Movistar, well known sponsors of MotoGP, recently filmed their 2005 advert using several of their sponsored riders. Sete Gibernau and 250 World Champion Dani Pedrosa were filmed racing at the Albacete circuit, which the vast telecommunications firm hired for a week. Other footage was filmed in Madrid, and fans as well as actors were used to make the race scenes look authentic. Strange that one of the biggest backers of world class racing did not use its clout to film the real thing!
A former
employee has returned to MZ as Director of Sales and Marketing. Christoph Baumgartner, a graduate of Munich Technical University, who also holds doctorate in automotive research at Cambridge University England, previously worked for the company in 1995/6 on engine development. This was prior to the Hong Leong takeover and the current range of bikes.
In Great Britain, a threat to off-road motorcycle sport has come from Europe. Currently, farmers can claim a subsidy for land used permanently as pasture or for crop production. This payment under the European Common Agricultural policy can be as high as £210 per acre. Under new rules it specifically excludes any land used for motorsport or golf. Previously they could allow up to 28 days of motorsport and still claim the payments. Most grass-roots events will not be able to match the subsidy figures, meaning that many minor local events will stop and riders will have to travel further to compete. Representations are being made from the ACU, the sports ruling body, to overturn this new ruling. Land for motorsport in the UK is already scarce and this new threat poses a serious problem.
In a more distant place, two-stroke bike owners in Thailand are being given the equivalent £100 by the Government to help purchase four-strokes in a move to cut pollution. Cheap finance deals are also being offered especially in Bangkok where the smog problem is particularly bad.
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