The straw vote in the A&R office is that the jury is still out on the recently unveiled Husqvarna Nusa 900R. We like that BMW is setting up Husqvarna to be the more edgy on-street brand in its two-wheeled house, and the maxi-motard is a safe street entry for the otherwise dirt-based company. A narrow, fairly light, and peppy twin should be fun to blast from stoplight to stoplight, lane-split between traffic-packed cars, and generally just hoon about town. Price of course will be an issue for the Nuda 900R, as its components don’t suggest a cheap price tag, of course we don’t think Husqvarna (read BMW) is too concerned with that issue, as they’re likely focusing on the more exclusive side of the market continuum.
Speaking of select target markets, the looks are not the most generally palatable, with our office’s spectrum of reception ranging from drool-worthy praise to motions of people hanging themselves with their belt (and not in that good auto-erotica asphyxiation sort of way). One thing we can agree on, as far as promo videos go…this one doesn’t really achieve any of the goals we’d think Husqvarna would set out for its first street bike.
Imagine a rider lazily riding around (read: hopped-up on enough Valim to kill a small elephant) on what looks like a homey supermoto road course that’s in desperate need of some landscaping. Bored, tired, and perhaps miffed that he can’t take this undulating course at full-tilt, he stuffs the Nuda 900R into third gear and just let’s the bike putt along at the 15 mph or so it looks like this director filmed the sequence at. About ready to off himself, or join Teach for America, our protagonist lofts the front wheel purely for a change of scenery, or perhaps forgetting that this isn’t a KTM commercial. The Husqvarna Nuda 900R obliges with pleasure, which of course only embeds further our rider’s disappointment at what could have been a fast-paced, no-holds-barred, wheel-spinning torque monster of doom video.
If Husqvarna really wants to offer bikes that differ from the BMW code of conduct (and go after a certain Austrian company that’s already about 5-years into this process), it’s going to have to start making videos that break away from the German look and feel. For a Swedish brand that’s owned by a German company with an Italian HQ, we need less Hans and more Luccio…and maybe a little bit more cowbell from Husqvarna.
Source: Husqvarna
Yawn.
it wasnt that bad but shit, a motard and no backing it in? They pull plenty of wheelies but they also make the bike look like it dosent turn, that must be in part 2 I guess.
Probably a fairly accurate portrayal of how they’ll actually be ridden.
Interesting reactionss of BMW’s first official sneak peek.
Has everyone become so used to Chris Pfeiffer or ‘Teach’ balanciing the F800 on the edge of sky scrapers or the blades of a moving helicopter that seeing a bike being ridden in a pure, unshowy way now just seems dull?
I know I’ll never ride a bike like the Chris’s and seeing what they can do with the F800 doesn’t make me want one, it just makes me feel unworthy. I found this first look vid to be very appealing, showing the bike being ridden in a way I can relate to, and it is also the first bike since the Megamoto that has me twitching the corners of my wallet.
I’d want to see it in person to be sure. The Daivel for instance is stunning in the flesh, but doesn’t photograph so well. This thing looks great in pictures, but will it look as good in reality? I think it’ll be a hard sell against the Daivel or the Hypermotard if they price it at 15 or higher, but at say $13,500 or so I’d be a buyer.
Tough crowd! Here’s an modern, individual looking, not silly, but usefully powerful bike and you are complaining… about what, exactly? If only someone slapped a Ducati or Triumph badge on the same bike you’d be wetting your pants – and the proof of that lies no further than the next item on the front page, about Radical Ducati!
blablabla. poor written article…
husky really just needs to find some celebrity stunt or s-moto rider, give them 2 bikes, let them beat on them w/ plenty of cameras on + around the bikes. aesthetics will have to grow on me, not a bad first taste, though.
A&R
I think your missing the point,
This bike is not built to be a racer motard; where a racer commercial would be appropriate
If someone wants a performance motard they will go out and buy the thoroughbred SM husky.
This bike is built primarily to be a commuter and for a blast in the hills, it will mostly be ridden by those wanting a sportier BMW 800 to commute on, wannabe street supermoto squids and people wanting an something a little different to ride to work and on weekends.
I think the commercial represented a perfect display of balance… they sneaked in a little bit of hooliganism while keeping the bike looking composed which appeals to the broader commuter market.
I fear this bike is just the first sign of BMW’s destruction of the Husqvarna brand.
Husqvarna is and has always been about dirtbikes. They’ve been making excellent enduro machines since long before the first R80G/S was a gleam in BMW’s corporate eye. And suddenly BMW wants to turn them into an edgy street brand? That’s the last thing we need, as there are already plenty of them. They should let Husqvarna concentrate on doing what they do best: building great dirtbikes and dual sports. Let them build a mid-sized ADV bike that has significantly more dirt focus than the F800GS, not a stripped-down, bored-out F800R.
Still, it’s a freakin cool bike for ‘Husky’ (uhhhh, BMW)… 6 months ago if you asked me whether or not I would ever think about buying a Husqvarna, I would have thought you were completely nuts….. after seeing the Nuda 900 (worst bike name ever, by the way), I actually want one!
Amazing … people think that a boring video teaser will negatively affect a bike launch or sale???
Must be really slow in the news desk ….
There’s nothing about this video that says “this is a fun bike to ride” which is exactly what the Nuda 900R is supposed to be about. I don’t suggest a trackday video sequence, or a Chris Pfeiffer montage, but something more than riding gingerly on a closed circuit would have been nice.
I like the concept of the bike. I think it fits a viable niche.
Let’s see about the price.
If all they did was bore it out to 900cc, will that make the motor snappy enough?
Personally, I don’t like searching the stratosphere for the powerband.
I think the vid shows the bike in realistic use. (non jailable offense riding).
We shall see.
Cool looking bike but a so- so video.I want to see some backing it in shots,and some dirt action would be nice.Scotty Parker,totally sideways,at 100mph,on a Utah gravel road.Now that would be fantastic….Tyler.The worst name ever.Hodaka Road Toad.
“There’s nothing about this video that says “this is a fun bike to ride” which is exactly what the Nuda 900R is supposed to be about. I don’t suggest a trackday video sequence, or a Chris Pfeiffer montage, but something more than riding gingerly on a closed circuit would have been nice.”
Give them time it will come I am sure. Not that I need to see someone wheeling it or backing it in to like the machine, but perhaps others will do ….
KTM had quite a few “fun” videos for 690SMC, but it didn’t lead to massive sales, did it? My point is that the people who are into these kind of bikes don’t need to see a fun video teaser.
Show me specs, price it well and let me demo ride it … is all I need to speak with my banker.
I don’t get all the haters here.
This bike fills the same niche as the Triumph Bonneville, only better as it has more power and will probably weigh less. It is a sporty, yet comfortable bike for commuting, having fun with on the weekend, and doing just about anything else that you want to with it. Throw on some soft saddlebags and it’s a sport tourer. The bike will probably be light enough to do some light dirt road riding.
I agree that a lot will depend on the price. But the projected power will be right in the proper range, and barring a screw-up (like how heavy Triumph made the Bonnie) this bike could appeal to just about everyone from beginners to baby boomers and everyone in-between.