HUSQVARNA NUDA 900 (2011 - 2012) Review

The 2011-2012 Husqvarna Nuda 900 was the first new road bike to be produced by Husqvarna since BMW took over the company in 2007. In essence it’s a re-badged, re-styled parallel twin-cylinder BMW F800 with a 100cc bigger motor. The Nuda mixes typical Husqvarna supemoto thrills with a comfier riding position and a nod to practicality, if you go for the optional touring extras, which include panniers and taller screen. Although the motor is very frugal, a small 13-litre fuel tank hampers practicality.

Husqvarna Nuda 900R also available

There was also a Husqvarna Nuda 900R version (costing £9250 new), which came with Brembo monobloc brakes, a sportier seat, a one-tooth smaller front sprocket for better acceleration and fully-adjustable Sachs forks and an Ohlins rear shock.

Supermotos are usually hard, wafer-thin things that you can’t wait to get off, after a few miles. The Nuda 900 was roomy, comfortable and up to 80-90mph has acceptable wind protection. The base-model’s basic suspension was set well to deliver comfort and control in the corners. It gave good feedback for what the standard equipment Metzler Sportec M5 Interact tyres were doing, too.

• Related: How to ride your bike off road

Brembos were well up to the job of anything you could throw at them on the road. The higher-spec R model rode the same but with a slightly taller seat. Suspension and braking was far more suited to track work. Fit a set of sticky tyres and it would be untouchable on a twisty B-road.

In November 2012 optional ABS was added to the Husqvarna Nuda 900 lineup.

The engine was based on the BMW F800 parallel twin but had been boosted in capacity from 798cc to 898 thanks to a 2mm larger bore of 84mm and a longer stroke of 81mm; up 5.4mm over the BMW motor. The compression ratio had been raised with modified pistons, camshafts and conrods.

With a bigger bore and stroke, the reworked BMW F800 engines produced 105bhp and 74ftlb of torque. It also had a new crankshaft with a new offset, which Husqvarna said gave a throatier engine note, a snappier response and fewer vibes. The firing order of the F800 motor was changed thanks to an alteration of the crankshaft offset angle to 315 degrees from zero.

The Nuda was fast, punchy and smooth and the motor was more than enough for this type of bike. But the big parallel twin-cylinder engine wasn’t as exciting, or as involving as an equivalent V-twin.

Until this bike, Husqvarna hadn’t made pure road bikes since back in the 1930s: all of their models were enduro, motocross and supermotos.

But they’ve always been robust machines. BMW introduced strict quality control measures into Husky’s factory in Varese and provided a lot of electronic knowhow.

Our Husqvarna Nuda 900 owners' reviews show nothing concerning from a reliability perspective.

It's difficult to complain about the Husqvarna Nuda 900 price point. It was a few hundred quid more than its closest competition: the Ducati Hypermotoard 796 and Aprilia Dorsoduro 750, but a couple of grand cheaper than the KTM 990 SMT. The standard model was better value than the R, but it wasn't practical enough to be a strong tourer or sporty enough to sell your sportsbike for.

We pitted the new Husqvarna against its closest competition - the Aprilia Dorsoduro 750 Factory, Ducati Hypermotard 796 and KTM 990 SMT - on British roads to find the king of the 'street moto' category.

Despite a common theme, each manufacturer has approached it in a different way and the only thing that really links these four bikes is the use of flat bars and long-travel suspension.

The Dorsoduro Factory is the most 'supermoto' and aggresive in its looks, but despite the clean rear end with its neat underseat pipes and smart red frame, the carbon panels let the bike down.

Engine	Liquid-cooled, 898cc, 8v, DOHC parallel twin	Liquid-cooled, 749cc, 8v, DOHC V-twin	Air-cooled, 803cc, 4v, Desmo V-twin	Liquid-cooled, 999cc, 8v, DOHC V-twin
Power (claimed)	105bhp	90bhp	81bhp	114bhp
Torque (claimed)	73ftlb	60.4ftlb	55.7ftlb	71.5bhp
Chassis	Tubular steel trellis frame	Tubular steel trellis, aluminium side panels	Tubular steel trellis frame	Tubular steel trellis frame
Suspension	48mm Sachs USD forks. Sachs monoshock, adjustable for preload and rebound	43mm USD forks, fully-adjustable. Mono shock fully-adjustable	43mm Marzocchi USD forks. Sachs monoshock adjustable for spring preload only	WP USD forks, fully-adjustable. WP monoshock, fully-adjustable
Weight	174kg	206kg	167kg	194kg
Brakes	Front: Twin 2x320mm discs with Brembo foru-piston radial calipers. Rear: Single 265mm disc with single-piston caliper	Front: Twin 320mm wave discs with Brembo four-piston radial calipers. Rear: Single 240mm wave disc with single-piston caliper	Front: Twin 305mm discs with Brembo four-piston radial calipers. Rear: Single 245mm disc with twin-piston caliper	Front: Twin 305mm discs with Brembo four-piston radial calipers, Bosch ABS. Rear: Single 240mm disc with twin-piston caliper, Bosch ABS
Tyres	Front: 120/70x17 Rear: 180/55x17	Front: 120/70x17 Rear: 180/55x17	Front: 120/70x17 Rear: 180/55x17	Front: 120/70x17 Rear: 190/55x17
Fuel capacity	13 litres	12 litres	12.4 litres	19 litres
Seat height	870mm	870mm	825mm	855mm

The Hypermotard look has been around for a while now and Pierre Terblanche's take on a supermoto has been considerably better received than his idea of a sportsbike (the 999).

The Husqvarna is the newest bike in the test and as such you would expect a fresh look, but the Nuda is completely unique.

Having moved the SMT more towards touring than supermoto, it is no surprise that the 990 looks bulky in comparison to the other bikes on test.

Out of the box, the standard Nuda 900 was basic, but you did get a two-stage riding map, adjustable with a button on the dash. An obvious influence of BMW was that you could buy a vast array of optional extras. There were touring items like heated grips and panniers. Racy bits, like exhausts and carbon fibre panels and clothing, from leathers to casual and all-weather gear.

You're also able to purchase a number of aftermarket accessories for the Nuda from an array of companies.