Northwest Fall Gathering Round 2 China Hat Bend Oregon Oct 2011 - HVNA impressions?

Thank you Kris and Jason for all your hard work and information you provided. Many questions were answered

If you were at the Gathering, what impressions did you get from Husqvarna North America?

We had a NW gathering, it was COOL. Bills brought out some amazing bikes for us to sample at will. 2012 TXC310 with PC pipe, TCi 250, 2012 CR150 (rips), 2011 TXC511 with 2012 suspension overnighted and installed by NW rep Jason. Great people great time and amazing bikes.

2012 TXC310 with PC pipe - Amazing bike. pulls hard, has great handling and suspension. excellent bike.

TCi 250 - Maybe my forvorit bike there. Needs 2 more gears

TXC511 with 2012 suspension - Jason had just installed it and I got to dial it in. Felt great, handled great, pulls HARD.

2012 CR150, rips and the new ducati ignition seems to be the goods. No flat spot, no lag in response at all, rips from the bottom to top. Great bike.

The x-lights rule in any config or displacement. GREAT platform. I already knew this owning several in the past and still owning a 2010 TC250 but they have really built some fantastic bikes based on that platform.

Huge thanks to Bills and crew and Husky NA Prez Kris Odwarka and Jason (NW rep) for being there, providing bikes and answering questions. Kris was a real cool guy, took a bunch of time to answer questions and was real interested in feedback on how to make Husky USA better. What an experience to sit around the fire and ask questions over a beer to the pres of husky USA. GREAT team of people there that obviously care about the customers. Was insightful to hear some candid responses and honest answers even though they might not be exactly what we wanted to hear at times.

Happy news:

Lots of effort and energy around making husky USA much stronger

WAY better parts supply and parts delivery times (Bills already confirmed this)

Way more dealer support (already happening)

Taller gear sets coming and retrofitable.

Big tanks always in the works / discussions

Sad:

Nuda might not even make it to USA

DFI 2 strokes probably 2015 when everyone else has them. An entire Europe industry of under 125CC 2strokes is at stake here. The DFI has to work or many companies are not going to survive in Europe. Issue is emissions. All manufacturer struggling to build an DFI that is simple and cost effective. DFI takes huge fuel pressure and fancy injectors and a lot of things to function. We were expecting cool EFI, they are working on it because they have to. This will be interesting to see if the new euro regs and more complex and expensive 2 strokes will survive. Interesting info here.

Minis will not make it to USA - liability issues

MX/SX not going to happen any time soon - to much money

Kris had some really insightful info and it makes a lot more sense now knowing how many bikes are sold in the USA (not as many as you would think) and why we can't have top race teams and allot the stuff we scream for on these forums. Makes a lot of sense when you hear the global story and situation. There is so much more to this than we understand and the direction and things that are and are not possible are much more clear now. In the end it seems Husky NA is doing a fantastic job, really care what we the customer want and are fighting daily to provide that. What we took from this and what we all need to understand is there is a lot more to this than meets the eye and IMHO they are doing a fantastic job and have our interests at hand. They all want the same things we do but have piles of research and global understanding to get there. I feel much more at ease and understand the situation far better now. It all makes sense, we are in good hands.

Both Jason and Kris were personable, available and responsive. In my capacity as OMRA officer I asked them about getting Oregon Motorcycle Riders Association events on the contingency program. By Monday Jason had contacted corporate and the other OMRA officers and had the ball rolling on this for 2012. In addition he checked in with me seeking more information about Husqvarna riders in the OMRA. Great follow through, and I have little doubt that this will continue.

Wow...that is awesome news, oregonsage!

I, too, enjoyed talking with Jason and Kris at the gathering. I got the feeling that they (meaning Husqvarna NA as a whole) really are interested about what we loyal Husky enthusiasts care about, and not in a shallow "lip service" sort of way. The response you got from Jason just solidifies that feeling. Thanks for letting us know about it!

Great people who are working hard and doing a great job. The simple fact that they would bother to come out to a local gathering, set up bikes, be totally candid and full of great info is amazing. I personally could not be more happy by their efforts on this gig. I can't see how a group could be much more dedicated and committed to satisfying the customer than that!!! These guy flew out on a weekend to do this. Hats off to husky USA.

As CH has become the standard for husky forums and has a GREAT group of people it would be cool if there was some sort of suggestion box here for husky USA (and abroad) to gain feedback on what we the hard core husky enthusiast needs and wants from the brand. This would give them real world input and data moving forward. Not sure an actual forum for them would be necessary or good (not a place to bitch a place to suggest for the future kind of thing) but more of a sounding board for us to post on that gets forwarded to Husky USA or ??? Just a thought. We are here, and active, they might as well get some real world feedback and input.

Great event. Look forward to it next year.

Already set up. For those that want to have public feedback to Husqvarna NA, or even to Husqvarna Italy, start up a thread in this section of Cafehusky.com. I've got a hunch that cafehusky is read by 'many'.

For private feedback, it is also already set up: LINK

For the reasons already stated, that will probably not happen. Though we should be grateful and appreciative for those who do post - such as one of Ty's racers who was posting here at one time.

Thats great but does it report back or dump it in a folder at someones desk at husky USA? if not how are they getting our messages?

At the moment:
A message is sent to that account, a notification email is sent, and eventually someone logs in to read it. I've no idea what is done with the input but knowing the people in HVNA it would be copied/pasted then emailed to the appropriate people that should see it.

At some point in the not too distant future:
The notification email stating there is a new message will contain the actual content of what was typed in the message, then it would most probably be forwarded it to the appropriate people (no need to log in and copy/paste).

The account specifically has 'No Reply' in the title, so people know not to expect a reply - though they could reply.

There needs to be a 'disconnect' between cafe husky and HVNA, and Husqvarna Italy - while allowing feedback to the company. The way things are set up achieves that.

You could send a message titled "Please have ___ call me, I have an idea, (xxx) xxx-xxxx" in the title, and you may get a call from them.

Another method is to use the contact information that is sent out on press releases. Those at one time had contact information for a key member at HVNA (not sure if they still do).

After seeing and dealing with the outright CRAP that goes on at other sites this is such a breath of fresh air. Thanks for the site, the involvement and the connection to Husky NA. Together we can use positive feedback and constructive criticism to further that brand we love. Thank you.

No...thank you, Kelly...and all the other members here. You guys are really the magic ingredient that makes this site the cool place that it is

You are welcome

But as mentioned, it was not me as much as everyone else. It is nice that everyone is pulling in the same direction.

With out this site it would not have happened and I get the feeling you are the reason Bills and Husky NA showed up.

Sure, but Bill is in this loop because of people like you, Kelly and his other customers who led him here. This a place where grown ups, dealers and even factory reps can feel safe being associated with. Dean has set that tone and I add my vote to those who greatly appreciate it. It has gotten to the point that anyone who raises a point because they saw it on Thumpertalk or ktmtalk is laughed down at the meetings I attend.