Curious there has really been no official word. Seems like a bad business move, I really do not understand it. I am certain we have all gotten excited about new bike season before, and in one fell swoop KTM NA could have promoted all three brands for next season. The news of the purchase was alot of free press wasted. Of course alot of the brand awareness of Husky has been wasted over the years. The name has to be one of the most iconic in riding. So rather than be stoked for new Huskys, or Husabergs for that matter, potential customers are wondering if there is even a future for either brand. Of course the no official word yet seems like a terribly bad sign. Like it really doesn't matter if potential customers care about the strength or health of the brand. Another in a long line of mishandlings of the Husqvarna brand. Shame.
I need 2 new 450,i started looking for 2014 colors If the new husky don't deliver competitive bikes I will move on,so far they didn't say much and Now giving away the bikes we bought full price If they don't change anything on the new generation 449 i will be so pissed off they won't sale me shit!
I can't ride due to surgeries and my daughter keeps crashing. Ive stripped parts from mine to keep hers pretty.
Husaberg is ” state of the art”???? Nice bikes built with lots of expensive top shelf parts, maybe. Looks like we are going to take a big step backwards ladies and gentlemen. Our current 449/511 platform will surely be axed in light off this ” technology”.
To me the 449 platform is a bit of a pig and I won't be sorry to see it go. I had a 530 prior to it that felt powerful, agile, and very confidence inspiring. It was easier to work on, too. Unless KTM has really screwed up the new motor, I don't see this as a step backwards.
Nah, sticker's never been close to that and I don't pay MSRP anyway. Unless they change the bikes dramatically, I'd just go orange again. The dealer network is larger and more competition means better pricing. It's a lot harder to find deals on 'bergs and the bikes really aren't that much different. It'll be interesting to see what they come up with in October.
Sorry off topic but ....I want to start collecting parts for the wr300 ..what years are the motors 250/300 interchange...occasionally I see some local bikes that I consider a possible parts bike but would like to know for sure ...99 and up? The plan is to keep the the Italian built husky alive as long as possible, like a Cuban with a Desoto... Would just like to have a spare motor/wheels etc...
Yeah, from '99 up you can swap parts. And actually, there are a lot of parts that you can swap back to '92. We'll probable be binding against each other on ebay soon.
So, Husquaberg? Hope SP comes through with a different power plant for them, by that, I mean more durable and reliable.
in a german forum i have read "husqvarna ceased to exist, and husaberg received a new better-selling brand name". i think that hits the nail on the head. to me, this means a huge loss for the motorcycle world. i do not mean the discussions about whether and how much husky will lose or change its "identity", and that 240 passionate and competent people will lose their job. those discussions were and are discussed more than extendedly. as much as i like/adore the new fantic bikes, in the end they are nothing more than "gas gas kit bikes". in zschopau, east germany, some people are just starting to build "retro enduro bikes". they claim to "bring back the good old days of mz" and "the spritit of zwschopau motorcycle building". well, may be. but they are using a 450cc gas gas engine, which in my eyes ruins everything. of course, for very small companies it's the only possibility to actually get a bike to market. but their specific interpretation of the motorcycle topic. the world would be boring without bimota, or borile, or cr&s... but generally, i wish for more engines from more companies. by bringing husky to mattighofen, the motorcycle world will lose another spice, will be more boring. you could hire totally new people for husky, have separate teams, in "separete" companies and buildings, it does not matter. those two companies and people will be all alike, and so will be the bike (mattighofen is a tiny village of ~6000 people). one might argue whether this is "good" or "bad". if new-husky's winning races, a lot of people will be happy, of course. but from a technical-emotional point of view, it surely is a bad thing. ktm did a great move with the 70-degrees husaberg engine. even though many parts were taken from the ktm shelf, this engine is reeeeeally different. a great concept, very well done. but then, for cost reasons, they stopped this diversity. even when the bike geometry and suspension are different, they're "ktm kit bikes" now. they even unified their own 450cc engines... "cost reduction efforts" and "geographical neighborhood" together will not have benefitial effects onto the diversity of the motorcycle world. what this means can be seen in onroad grand prix racing. there, they now even have a "prototype" class where everybody's using the very same mass-production derived engine. damn, how exciting is that? in my opinion, apart from the riders' skills and the tracks, motorsports' essential question deals with "what did you bring? and, is it faster than what i built?". it's a competition of riders just as well as of bikes and engines and the multitude of "how to do things". a competition of concepts and "bike philosophies". to me, the technical diversity is an essential thing about passion for motorcycles. hardly anyone needs a motorcycle, but we all want them. to me, this manufacturer consolidation and parts unification go hand in hand with less and less people interested in motorcycles and buying motorcycles. it has nothing in common, bytheway, with the "volkswagen philosophy". the 70-degress berg engine, that was volkswagen-like. everything after that isn't. sad sad sad... r
Rasputin:True. Having owned Huskys since the 80's I have mixed emotions, glad to see husky live with leadership who love bikes, disappointed it was Ktm because of what they will do with it. Ktm didn't merge 2 companies they eliminated 2 bike builders each whom formerly had their own bikes,flavors or "spice"..husaberg was once an exotic boutique builder, husqvarna although mismanaged was a unique Italian spin on a classic namesake. I have ridden orange, and yes no bad time can be had riding a dirtbike, it was a bad experience as an owner,parts,prices elitist dealers,product failures and overall cost of ownership financially /physically. This isn't the case for everybody a friend has an old 400exc that won't die, most my friends have drank orange cool aid....some love 'em ....some will never ride ktm again. Having the choices is what breeds competiton for consumers $.. it appears Ktm will continue the trend of buying up the competition....by that rational hope everyone likes canned bud,miller,coors...I want a microbrew Ktm = Wallmart sorry...but someday you all will have to shop there because there is no choice. I hold out for all hope that the new husky will be truly unique, taking the best from both product lines, keeping an identity solely unique to husqvarna, with pricing,engineering, reliability and support the namesake deserves. Having the unveiling in Sweden is smart, a way to promote the roots and distance them selves from Austria.
