Leading Spanish off-road motorcycle manufacturer Gas Gas has bought a package of engine technology from Moto Italia, the legacy parts and warehousing operation left behind in Italy after BMW sold the Husqvarna bike marque to KTM early last year.
This transaction has taken place with approval of the Austrian KTM group and covers transfer of rights to various four-stroke and two-stroke engine designs produced by Husqvarna under successive MV Agusta and BMW ownerships. But it will presumably not include the twin-cylinder motors employed by latter-day Husqvarna road bikes, which were sourced from BMW Motorrad.
A statement from Gas Gas claims that the deal “proves the interest of KTM to reinforce the European motorcycle manufacturing environment”. KTM abandoned existing Husqvarna output when it moved production to Austria and basically re-badged its Husaberg sub-brand dirt bikes as Huskies.
Once it has been integrated into the R&D department at Gas Gas, the company says Husqvarna technology will enable the manufacture of engines for new applications in its factory at Salt, near Girona in the Spanish province of Catalonia, leading to further expansion of the Gas Gas model range.
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