Nuda Launch Rapid - Husqvarna

idden-bike LaunchNUDEPommie headsnorth to sample theHusqvarna Nudaand comes backimpressed…TEST: Tony ‘Pommie’ Wildingphotography: iKaptureIt’s always nice to be asked to go to a launch and is a privilege to be one of the first people inAustralia to ride a new bike release – especially when it’s Husqvarna’s first real road bike since the’60s. The Husqvarna Nuda is actually based on the BMW F 800 parallel twin, of whom it shares theengine and chassis – all be it in a heavily modified way. This is far from a bad thing as the BMW is acracker of a bike to start with and super reliable – Husky have just remade the bike from the groundup into a very exciting, steroid feed street weapon…After a brief presentation, I get suited up and throw a leg over the very sharply ‘Italian’ styledNuda 900R. The first thing that strikes me is it looks and feels nothing like the F 800 BMW that Ihad previously tested. The bike is extremely narrow and has some very sharp angles, all of which I’mtold provided a function, from the wide vent panels on the tank area that force air into the airbox,to the front guard that looks more like some sort of diffuser from an F1 car. The actual 13 litre fueltank is located under the seat to keep the centre of gravity down low, while it’s accessed in a moreconventional manner from the flat tank area. The seat height is pretty tall on the R, at 875mm to895mm, depending on where you have the ride height set on the fully adjustable Ohlins shock.Although, the standard 900 model is a bit lower at 870mm and has a softer seat as a bonus – the900 seat is also stepped up on the rear to aid with passenger comfort when two-up. Talking aboutthe rear, it has to be one of the sleekest in the business and is fitted standard with an LED taillightand indicators. Opposite to that, the 'bars are very wide so you get that instant ‘motard feel’ whenyou stretch your arms out. One thing I do like is the dash layout, it has everything you need to let youknow what’s going on, such as a gear shift indicator, rev counter, digital speedo and clock and its veryeasy to read – extra info can be gained by a small toggle button on the dash.THE FUN PARTPoking at the start button the parallel twin sparks to life and sounds like a beast with a deep raspygrowl – how they got it through our tough ADR rules is beyond me but I’m glad they did. The Rmodel has a slightly different muffler that has a carbon-fibre guard and tail cap but booth soundequally as menacing, as all nine Husky Nuda’s all fire up at the same time and I get that tinglingfeeling down the back of my neck.As we head out of the city to the Gold Coast hinterland, the urban environment is the perfectplace to try out the commuting capabilities of the Nuda. The cable-operated clutch is reasonably lightand the gearbox is precise and slick. The 900R has one tooth less on the frontsprocket so it has a bit more poke away from the lights. However, the engine hasthat much torque that it’s really not needed and I find myself in third and fourthmost of the time at speeds of 50km/h and less, as its far smoother than the firstand second gear instant wheelie punching throttle response, and the fantasticgrunt of the engine is more than happy to abridge. With the bike being sonarrow, any sort of lane splitting shenanigans is only a thought process and thebike has a fantastic steering lock if you really want to get creative in your trafficcarving...I have a bit of a play with the two map modes the Nuda comes with; one isthe standard full power map, the other is a rain map [mode 2]. The rain mapreally just alters the ignition curve and fuelling making the throttle more doughyand less snappy – perfect for riding in any sort of slippy conditions. I would ratherthe mode button be accessed on the handlebar rather than the dash, as it can betricky to change on the move with gloves on, but this is only a small gripe really.Getting into the mountains is where the fun is and if this were my bike, thisis exactly the sort of place I’d be heading for to get my jollies. The engine isthe same on the 900 and 900R and is just a thing of beauty; it feels like a crossbetween a V-twin and a triple by the way it delivers its 105hp. From the momentI twist the throttle that 105hp, which may not sound like much to your1000cc sports bike rider, feels like it’s there instantly.This is probably because it also has 100Nm of torque, which has the feelof being available from tick over all the way to the 8500rpm redline – perfect40 RB issue #73