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Confirmed: 2012 Husqvarna Street Bike to Debut at EICMA

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Husky fans are going to have something to talk about for the next 8 months as BMW Motorrad VP Hermann Bohrer has confirmed that the Husqvarna brand would be dipping its toe into the street bike waters with a new bike launching at EICMA later this year. Said to have German technology with Italian design, the new Husky will be a middleweight adventure bike that features a BMW F800GS parallel-twin motor that’s been increased to 900cc in displacement, which makes it not too dissimilar from the Husqvarna Mille 3 concept (shown above) we saw last year at the Italian trade show.

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Racing

2011 Dakar Rally Starts Tomorrow

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Making its third start from South America, the 33rd Dakar Rally officially kicks off on New Year’s Day tomorrow in Buneos Aires. Making a quick trip to Victoria, Argentina (174 mils as the crow flies), the 2011 Dakar Rally competitors will have to contest with what is being considered a more difficult and technical course than last year’s route. In total there are 445 competitors (180 motorcycles, 140 cars, 67 trucks, & 32 ATVs) entering the race, but history tells us a smaller number will finish the course.

KTM’s Cyril Despres is favored in the motorcycle category, after winning the 2010 rally, but he will have to contend with fellow KTM rider Marc Coma and Francisco Lopez Contardo, whose Aprilia has been extensively improved upon over last year’s debut model, and could be a real contender this year in the Dakar. Of course rally purists will still lament the fact the race isn’t taking place in Africa, but the Dakar is getting back to its roots a bit, and has limited the use of global positioning satellites. Photos and video after the jump.

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Bikes

Zero Expands Lineup With Zero DS Dual Sport

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Zero Motorcycles recently introduced a 4th model to their electric motorcycle line up. The Zero DS is a dual-sport bike built on the Zero S supermoto platform. The front suspension of the DS gains 2″ of travel over the S for a total of 10”, while rear travel remains unchanged at 9”. A 50/50 street/dirt tire is fitted to the 17″ front rim and a 90/10 street/dirt tire is fitted to the 16″ rear. This is an unusual tire combination for a production dual sport but the semi-aggressive front is a welcomed change from the tires found on most dual-sports, which are more suited to street than dirt use.

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Bikes

Ducati Enduro Spotted Road Testing in Italy

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Ducati certainly has been taking its time in releasing details on its alleged BMW GS killer enduro bike. So until we get official reports, we’ll have to suffice with spy shots from Italy that seem to keep pouring in. This time around a pair of bikes was spotted in Costa of Rovigo, in between Padova (near Venice) and Bologna, by Andrea Böhm.

While far-away, this photo does reveal more about the bike than we have previously seen. For starters the front is more exposed, with less tape hiding the lines of the front fairings and fender. The effect is an almost sinister view from the side, with the headlights just coming above the bulge that is supposedly a part of the ram-air tubing

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Bikes

BMW HP2 Enduro Recall

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Recalls appear to be the order of the weekend. This does give us the opportunity to examine the ways in which different bike manufacturers take it upon themselves to make this sport just that much more interesting for us. Ducati, always being the fashion-minded, chose death by fire, which of course would match perfectly the red and white livery they adorn their bikes in. Buell, thought it fit to decapitate its riders, which is also fitting since must have lost your mind to ever purchase the baby Harley in the first place. Not to be shown up, BMW in a very German fashion is going with just instant death in no particular fashion. This does bring up interesting thoughts of graphic video footage of wheels coming undone and bodies flying over hay bails, but that’s just my imagination. Check after the jump for full details on this expedited suicide.

 

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