Well said, my experience with the U.S.A. motocycle buying public is they are very hard to please in any regard unless there is plenty off bling offered. We have such a varied set of conditions when it comes to riding off road and racing that one size fits all is a tough sell. Italian and British small shops still amaze when it comes to products worthy of praise but then you factor in the American magazine crowd and the balance is set by politics and cronyism it is difficult for their magic to appear in any meaningful way. My point is that KTM has been the master into making billy-burmshot think that linkage is better than PDS as an example when in pure physics terms there is no difference,where as when the Husky was tested with CTS it was scorned because it didn't fit the mold of an clone product. So i would say that you will get a KTM with red paint and Husky emblems attached and Dirt Rider will tell you it's the greatest, even B.S. old Chilly into adding a point or two. It has come down to this, the appearance of choice. Me; i'm traveling on a Sherco.......P.S. No disrespect intended for the Chill'ster.
Real Husqvarna's are two strokes and have left hand kick, steel tanks, Ohlins shocks and 34mm forks. Everything else are just posers. The Italian bikes are just Cagiva's with Husqvarna badges slapped on the side. Hey, you know what, griping over inconsequential stuff you have no control over is kind of fun...
I thought you were going to say the only real Husqvarnas are the ones sitting out in front of Lowes with mower decks on them.
Small displacement, yes (for now), but destined for the world market. The Bajaj manufactured 125, 200, & 390 Dukes are currently available in Europe and the 390 will be in North America next year. We can expect street legal race-replica versions of the 390 soon http://www.motorcycledaily.com/2013/07/ktm-announces-rc390-sportbike-coming-to-america/ SP has mentioned "enduro" bikes based on the same 44hp 390 engine that could be branded as a Husky or KTM. That could mean a dirt road type bike similar to the Terra or something more dirt capable like a DRZ or WRR. I guess we'll see.
in mid-2008, the german "motorrad" magazine was showing some "confidential sketches" that "accidentally" appeared in a pdf file that was on ktm.com, together with a "confidential sketch" of a 690-engined rc4. apparently, those sketches were on their website for only a few hours, what a fatefull moment that the "motorrad" editors were researching the ktm website "out of general interest" during that time. (the "motorrad" is a bi-weekly magazine, so "11/2008" should be may/june.) here's the complete article, with a nice sketch of a potential rc4... r
That's a little interesting ... 2008 is a few yrs back now and maybe new plastic has been added to get rid of the clunky look in all those pics ... Not sure about that frame either ....
I think that'd be great for KTM. The 390 enduro would be nice for both brands. A reliable maintenance free bike would give people options. Not everyone wants a race bike and would rather focus on riding. There really isn't many options in that area too so it'd be an easy sell
rc3 ...rc4 ... Too confusing for me already and the boat has not even docked yet ... -- Looking at that bike with all the decals... confirms that I'm a dirt bike rider ... And that link had 'first time buyers' jargon again ... That has been one of the constants of my life ...Everyone wants to ride a motorcycle but many too afraid so the 3 \ 4 wheelers took hold ... Now the new angle is BIL($) of new riders around the world to target. (Except CA who wants to block bikes) Maybe more like 'Wasting away in HusqvarnaVille" , Looking for a CR250cc 2st Husky ... -- As shown above, some of us old guys might be in big trouble here with respect to the Husqvarna brand ..
I'm thinking some of us should get together and buy the Varese factory and continue to build nicely priced, well engineered and beautiful motorcycles. I'm ready to move out of the US since it's gone to hell anyways. We could hire back the better performing Italian workers and off we go. I'm half serious. I'm sure the Italian government would float us a nice zero interest loan to get some people back to work. We would have to establish a new dealer network, which would be the hardest part. We could just purchase a license to the Cagiva name and off we go. Better yet we could call it Vor and probably not have to pay anyone for a license. Who's with me?
