Husqvarna Builds World's Lightest Single-Cylinder Motorcycle Engine
Not long ago I was waxing poetic over the lure of lightweight bikes.* On another note, I sure hoped BMW would do cool things when they acquired Husqvarna just over a year ago... but a BMW-owned company building the self-proclaimed world's lightest single-cylinder engine? I wouldn't have seen that one coming, especially back when certain Bimmers were coined "Flying Bricks" and other ponderous sounding pseudonyms.
A new single-cylinder, 250cc four-stroke powerplant, which will appear in the 2009 Husqvarna TC250 motocross bike, boasts titanium radial valves, occupies 13% less space than the competition, and weighs a mere 48.5 pounds. It will be built at Husqvarna headquarters near Varese Lake, Italy, and is expected to give the competition plenty to worry about when and if it competes in the 2009 MX2 Motocross World Championship. With a dry weight of just over 202 pounds, the consumer version of the TC250 should attract plenty of buyers interested in getting as close to a trials bike's weight as possible while offering enough zoom for serious motocrossing. Sound like fun? You betcha! Who said corporate mergers only benefit corporations?
* And what's the point of an argument without an equal and opposite counterargument?
Photo © Husqvarna
Comments
48 lbs. is “The world’s lightest single cylinder engine”???? You might want to re-think that statement as the single cylinger engine in my Weed Eater weighs way less than 48 lbs. and the one in my R.C. airplane weighs just a few ounces!
I never heard of anyone using an RC plane engine in a motorcycle. You might want to re-read the statement to include the word “motorcycle”
Second sentence, first paragraph;
but a BMW-owned company building the self-proclaimed world’s lightest single-cylinder engine?… A direct quote. I don’t see the word “motorcycle” do you?
I think that the Yamaha SR500 single is larger than 250, but i may be wrong.