Sachs Beast going into production

Sachs is going to make a production version of its Beast, as seen at September’s Munich Show.

The 1000cc V-twin weighs just 145kg and comes complete with sensational styling designed by Target – the creators of Suzuki’s Katana.

Unfortunately the bike won’t feature the Folan V-twin engine that the firm had originally planned to use.

Sachs’ development chief Harmut Hahn said ” After the positive response we received at Munich, we’ve just got to try everything to get this bike on the road.

” One is to create our own engine and the other has necessitated us talking to Japanese manufacturers. ”

The Folan engine would have to have been extensively re-designed to handle the extra strain of being a stressed chassis member. Sachs were due to split these development costs with Highland, but the recent bankruptcy of both the Swedish bike manufacturer and Folan has forced Sachs to look for another partner.

This isn’t all doom and gloom though. ” A new engine, especially one of our own, would allow us to pursue both a streetbike and a sportsbike, ” said Hahn.

So is the Beast a streetbike? ” It will be! The only change I want to see when it rides on the road is a numberplate holder and some mirrors. ”

It’s likely to be priced at the more exclusive end of the market.

Despite the bankruptcy of Highland last year, the Folan motor has continued to be developed – and a reborn and relocated Highland company is now promising to launch a new model using that engine as soon as June.