KTM/Husqvarna... now how will this play out?

I hade forgotten that SM was the thing that Husqvarna did best. Sorry

Reliable as long as they change the engine !

Well l've done my bit and couldn't resist emailing cross industrie ag:
Dear Mr. Pierer,

Firstly, congratulations for the purchase of HVA from BMW whom, in agreeing, had lost its direction on where the Husqvarna brand was heading for example the 2t division which now lay stagnant and has been surpassed by many manufacturers. More importantly, the lack of dealer support in many countries especially in the US and Australia where the warranty issues plague both country's, are the number one factor in the current tarnishing of the brand.
Your desire to bring Husqvarna back to its racing history may not too far away considering the CH Racing team dominated EWC in 2011, Supermoto S2 (2008-09) and S1 (2009) but yes, recent MX history a missing piece in this marquee’s rich history.
Many owners of this wonderful brand have many questions like: What will happen to the TR650 and support, the Nuda or will the WR 2t or TE 4t range become KTM/Husaberg in red and white clothing?
I understand that you are a busy person and would not be offended if you do not respond to my email but it would be nice if yourself or a spokesperson to come to the Cafehusky.com forum and answer some of the owners question, maybe do some research of the current Husqvarna model’s in the real world and understand the owners of this brand, as this website is what KTMTalk.com is to KTM.
Lastly, although your passion will still be with KTM, what you will find is that the loyalty of Husqvarna owners are second to none from Malcolm Smith to the average person, we passionately and fiercely love this brand.

Regards

http://www.nieuwsmotor.nl/motornieu...iew-stefan-pierer-over-aankoop-husqvarna.html

Different wording for sure, but I think the message remains the same.

Does every one understand here that ktm is a non-player in all this? They are pretty much owned by the Indian company bajaj and can't purchase anything unless their daddy bajaj tells them what they can or cannot do ... They have zero to do with the Husqvarna Company as it stands today ... Other than what SP wants to make happen ...

Pinkin patch denial or just don't get it? ktm was sold out a long time ago and it continues to be pimped till India has one in every garage

Best or not but there seems to be many here that are not aware of much of anything about Huskies other than they have a nice pretty one in their garage ...

Huskies do everything when a top rider is riding them ... Mr. SP is gonna prove these words correct ...

PS -- Husky won SM championships on 2 totally different 450 machines ... Winning on the 449 confirmed the bike, suspension, and engine were legit ..

Many wish that was the case but as the carpet unfolds it would appear existing KTM distributorships are going to assume all distributorship of HSQ parts and bikes, additionally managing the dealer body. What is going to happen to the dealer body will be tricky as there is significantly less demand for HSQ then KTM and putting HSQ in every KTM dealer and abandoning the existing passionate dealers would be a dire mistake. We'll have to see where the chips fall but KTM is already actively arranging to take over distribution,...if Pierer wanted to have an exit strategy, involving KTM taking over distributorship and involving it's resources would be the absolutely wrong way to go. So what we have here is a play to get around EU anti-trust laws by Pierer Ind purchasing the brand instead of KTM directly and then forging a very strong symmetry of sorts with KTM.

All that maybe true but it does not change the facts of the owner ship ... Ignorance might be bliss but it makes for bad reading ..

SP has already mentioned an exit strategy ... Sell to bajaj and again, ktm is powerless because they were sold out yrs ago...... We might see 3 yrs of Husky racing and an exit to baja where ktm is already ...

I'd rather buy my Huskies from a KTM dealer that had guys who race and understand racing and off-road riding, than from a BMW dealer whose impression of "off road" is sipping a latte whilst riding a 600 pound land barge on a perfectly graded dirt road.

As long as the good Husky dealers like Motoxotica, Halls, etc stick around, it's not a big deal.

I ride in more Hare scrambles and enduros then most of the owners/staff of "offroad only" shops in my area and we have a shop full of BMW and Ducati's! Blanket statements like that are always a bit shallow,.........and I've only drank coffee once in my life, give me a Crown and Coke if you're going to make me drink something dark

Also it takes alot more skill to ride a 600lb barge successfully on many of the fun fire service roads then racing a GNCC with 400+ folks on the course,....I'll stick to racing because I'm not that committed to "adventuring" lol

Now Ducati folks,.........they're the ones who immediatly go for the espresso machine at our shop, hehehe (your signature )

There'll be some changes in those regards once the EU Anti-trust approves the ink, until then it's just speculation

Also the press release from the BMW communications mgr that everyone was reading into with the phrase "cease to supply engine and parts" means exactly that. When the EU anti-trust approves the deal, BMW will cease to be involved in any distribution. HSQ NA is a subsidary of BMW NA, everyone of the employees has a BMW car or motorcycle as their company perk. So when BMW "ceases distribution" that means all BMW held distributorships will no longer be involved is my speculation,...this is in press release and what I'm hearing from the other side of the deal. BMW will not be involved in any fashion once the deal is approved, until then it's business as usual with a big cloud looming overhead, particularly here in the states. Now in other countries where BMW does not handle distribution, there may be very little ripple effect and it will also depend on those country's laws.

Its not in the sites ....but in the bore....Its Racing season.......I say we shoot him now......Doc...you don't have to shoot him now, wait til you get home....Shoot him now! Shoot him now! (sorry a bugs bunny rant and tirade)

Bobby the KTM side has been absolutly silent. In fact sales reps were told to make no comments whatsoever. I will keep you guys in the loop if and when KTM North America says anything to dealers.

I don't understand the KTM unreliability thing. I've had 4 KTM's since 2004, 1 smoker & 3 tractors (2004 EXC 250, a 2007 XC-W 400, a 2010 XC-W 400 & this fine little 2009 XC-F 250). Neither I or any of my friends have had any issues with the Orange brand. Now when I go to my mechanics shop & see a bike that the owner never cleaned an air filter, or the air filter wasn't seated properly or the oil was never check or changed & the engine seized because it didn't have enough oil in it I never think it's the bikes fault. It's the owners fault, maintenance is required on all brands of bike. If you go to a test ride & ride an Orange bike & it sputter, isn't as smooth as your bike or its seems harsh in the suspension wouldn't that be a set-up issue? I get my bikes & they have to be jetted, the sag needs to be set for my weight, I have to find the correct fork springs, put tires on that I like & trust..... a plethora of crap to get it where I like it. One ride on a different bike doesn't give you a very good impression of a motorcycle (When I first got that 2010 400 I hated it, but with a little time & massaging she was a race winner). I'm interested to see what happens to HVA in the future, but I don't think the sky is falling because a KTM company has purchased Husky.

Thanks!!! I have been wondering this myself... I do enjoy reading all this stuff and while the picture is very muddy, I also have a good deal of optimism.

One thing I'd add [and why, for me, this is a great development] is the reason I bought my KTM [instead of Husky] wasn't for any lack of brand loyalty or anything. I am a Husky guy. That being said, for me -- I ride dirt bikes as my primary hobby. I have a wife, kids, career, etc. [like most of you]. So I have time to ride, but I don't have a TON of time. I am also a 1 bike guy -- so I need a bike that works in the desert and in the mountains. Last thing -- I am a 2-stroke guy. So WR or XC -- and the KTM is just more sorted than the WR. Aftermarket parts are coming out the ass for KTMs, you can find them for Huskys but its a hunt a bit.

In the end I bought my KTM because I perceived that it would be easier to own one, get it sorted out and ride it the max time. I didn't want to take time to replace carbs, deal with radiator shrouds, etc.. [Ironically I now spend my time dealing with e-start issues, but enough said] For me [and I only speak for myself] there is some comfort in numbers [especially when shelling out $8000]. This move -- even if it transitions into KTM designed Husky addresses my concerns. Will the bikes be perfect? No. But they WILL be supported. For me -- that is important.

In the end, I'll have to wait and see. If things go well and there is a new two stroke, I'll have one of the first. I'm ready. What I really hope is that the move won't alienate the folks on this site. I'll be pissed if this forum dies off as soon as I get my Husky. I can't wait to post pictures of the build and the ride reports and show up at the gatherings with my Husky. For me, that is also why I am looking at Husky.

They all have their quirks, I've spent my share of money keeping a couple of RFS gen bikes on the trail let alone if I had been racing those and I've fixed more Italian engineering oversight then I care to admit. What it comes down to is I like the handling of the HSQ and every single one of my buddy's who ride orange that take one of my HSQ's for a spin say the Husky's handle great irregardless of sag/set-up for an individual rider. While the new KYB's are getting close to race ready for me personally, I haven't been on a single bike the past several years that was 100% right as it sits on the dealer floor. With the KTM's there have been seal issues (ala BMW anyone?) and continue to be to this day along with PDS bushings and wheel bearings being replaced at a very short interval. With the Husky it's knowing the nuances before you rely on it like checking little things like torque on starter gear nut or water pump nut or shimming the tank to provide clearance for the water pump hose,....or who remembers replacing the radiator cross-over hoses on legacy DOHC redheads? I'm looking forward to a broader offroad model line up, but not at the cost of a rebranded KTM with HSQ geometry, hopefully that's not what it's reduced to.

There sure seems to be a lot of emotional statements, good and bad. I'm still trying to understand the 'corporate' reasoning. I'm guessing for the short term (next 9 months) we will notice no changes. I really wish we had fantastic dealers that you have described in numerous threads (along Cali, Oregon & WA). That's where the rest of us feel the misdirection of the brand. (We had Ross Rocher Sales up here and sadly Scotty is missed). I will add, that at my local shop, the young guy I've been speaking with also loves the brand. I just don't feel he has enough clout to promote husky any better than he is currently doing.

You have to remember, Bajaj and SP are corporate individuals and profits are they're only goal. To them it doesn't matter if its red, blue, yellow or green. Their largest investment on 2 wheels is orange. That's where profits must increase. How our beloved husky fits in I can't imagine. I'm guessing its trying to steal market share from the Japanese brands. How that will happen without loss to KTM is what SP has to figure out. Perhaps the VW/ Audi statement refers to a similar role within KTM/ Husaberg/ Husqvarna. Now which is the R8, and which is the Golf from the 3 motorcycle groups is unknown. I'd hate to see husky be 'entry level', just as much as it would suck if it were to become the elite brand (higher $$).

I liked the idea of sending SP a letter from us consumers. Perhaps with enough input from all countries he can see what type of owners we are. This is all about profits and emotional decisions play no part in that.