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Hi everyone,
As you all know, Coffee (Dean) passed away a couple of years ago. I am Dean's ex-wife's husband and happen to have spent my career in tech. Over the years, I occasionally helped Dean with various tech issues.
When he passed, I worked with his kids to gather the necessary credentials to keep this site running. Since then (and for however long they worked with Coffee), Woodschick and Dirtdame have been maintaining the site and covering the costs. Without their hard work and financial support, CafeHusky would have been lost.
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been working to migrate the site to a free cloud compute instance so that Woodschick and Dirtdame no longer have to fund it. At the same time, I’ve updated the site to a current version of XenForo (the discussion software it runs on). The previous version was outdated and no longer supported.
Unfortunately, the new software version doesn’t support importing the old site’s styles, so for now, you’ll see the XenForo default style. This may change over time.
Coffee didn’t document the work he did on the site, so I’ve been digging through the old setup to understand how everything was running. There may still be things I’ve missed. One known issue is that email functionality is not yet working on the new site, but I hope to resolve this over time.
Thanks for your patience and support!
Actual news on the KTM purchase of Husqvarna
- Thread starter Howard V
- Start date
Short drive to Salem...Stradas on the floor...Terras??? maybe more, maybe not...tell Bill I sent you.
At least the French are still there, borders more or less where they were. I will be surprised if our Italians in Varese have a similar comeback....after all the USMC arent coming to save them.
dartyppyt
Husqvarna
Pro Class
We could just get an air cooled, twin shock, ohlin Maico.
http://www.maicoonly.co.uk/maico-enduro-es1-350.html
Actually, not sure if it stops good with the drum brakes, but do like the simplicity of it.
http://www.maicoonly.co.uk/maico-enduro-es1-350.html
Actually, not sure if it stops good with the drum brakes, but do like the simplicity of it.
Mike-AK
Husqvarna
Pro Class
Stop? What's that?
CCP
Husqvarna
AA Class
who cares.
If the tooling at the factory was left behind the motors and frames are gone for sure. If they moved it there may be hope.
I need to get this done...
This is NOT a derailment but intermission time entertainment while we wait for more news on how the new stickers will look on the Bergs.
ray_ray
Mini-Sponsor
That was pretty much my sentiment way back when Husky was initially sold ... 'Raced to glory' was what I expected from this race loving CEO\Owner ... Maybe SP and bajaj are not as lovey-dovey as portrayed here ...Not alot of difference in 49% ownership and 51% for controlling ktms resources ...Seems like they are rubbing up awfully close to his racing\bike selling world. I'm sure he does like the revenues the bajaj angle brings in but probably does not want much input on the racing world he now dominates pretty much worldwide.
SP is the man in charge of this relationship ($$$) between the bajaj company, the company that holds 51% interest in that ktm group, and SP's own company. He sits where he can totally leverage the resources of all involved and can put as much or as little into his own companys' motorcycles which today happens to be Husqvarna .
--
These new owners have said over and over the bikes lines will be different in the future ... And that for this 1st yr, they have nothing to really work with really, other than just killing off the ITL models some of us ride now ... So it will take at least a yr to see what they are cooking up ... On this note, I have a dream .... A dream that one day bajaj\ktm and SP\Husqvarna will have a fat line drawn between the 3 companies they even most of you guys will be able to see.
Tinken
Husqvarna
Pro Class
I started to see this fat line when I saw the signed memo that disallowed Husqvarna racers to pit under KTM tents. My feeling at the time was; alright... It's on!
ray_ray
Mini-Sponsor
I like that memo! That Ocrush crowd is feeling that hot Husky exhaust already ... The racing we are watching now is gonna have a entirely different face with some Huskies tossed into it ...
EDIT: We need just a touch of bad-blood between the two makers\designers\crews\riders of this 2 closely netted machines ... Like real racing ... Your OK with the competition but job #1 is to kick their butts ...
Tinken
Husqvarna
Pro Class
These motorcycle companies run on over-sized egos. And there is enough rivalry between Husqvarna and KTM to start World War Three.
ray_ray
Mini-Sponsor
I'm OK with that and hope Husqvarnas' General SP is sly enough to get Husky back to its rightly deserving spot on top where they rightly belong before I go belly-up.
icebergstu
Husqvarna
AA Class
Some news that came to hand on August 1st from SP:
Sorry if its a re-post but I checked the last 5 pages and didnt see anything:
Website for full story:
http://blog.ktm.com/uncategorized/deutsch-exklusiv-interview-mit-stefan-pierer-teil-1/
http://blog.ktm.com/riding/exclusive-stefan-pierer-interview-part-two/
http://blog.ktm.com/bikes/exclusive-stefan-pierer-interview-part-three/
Here is the Husqvarna bit:
What is the background to the Husqvarna deal and how did you feel about it?
Husqvarna was always the benchmark at the beginning. It was a competitor but one that was getting better year-by-year. In the mid-90s we took over Husaberg, which was a spin-off from the former Husqvarna engineers when they left the company as it moved down to Castiglioni and Cagiva. We got some experience and in 2003 we closed down the facility in Sweden and brought the operation done to Austria and it worked out very well. We were very impressed. Maybe Husaberg was partly the killer of Husqvarna because last year they sold 6000 units, more than Husqvarna for off-road because you have to discount some of their on-road models.
The experience with Husaberg as a second brand that was based on overlapping the main brand was useful and so was adapting the platform strategy from the car industry. In other words sharing engine and chassis components as much as possible. You don’t need addition R&D, purchasing and production. All is the same. After ten years I was 100% we could handle a second brand and then the possibility came up with Husqvarna.
Husaberg has one weakness. In Europe it is a brand and it is strong, but outside of the continent nobody really knows it. In the States it is unknown but that is not the same for Husqvarna. That brand brought the sport over to America and is one of the pioneers of motocross. It has a long history in the States and everywhere around the globe it is recognised. It is the second oldest motorcycle brand.
So the situation came at BMW where the company recognised they needed to focus with on-road through the crisis and they wanted rid of off-road. We always had a clear plan with what we would need to do and that would be to create a single brand so Husaberg will be merged and will disappear and Husqvarna will be the strong global brand for the future. With the platform we will redo some things on the Husaberg model and convert it to Husqvarna with the colours, graphics and technical improvements. For motocross we will use the KTM platform and you will see at the 2013 EICMA show that we will have a very strong competition line from Enduro and every displacement for motocross, meaning 250, 350 and 450, two-stroke 125 and 250 and all the models that Husaberg had for Enduro. Including a bike with the 690 single cylinder. It is a perfect model line, so the dealer can survive in the off-road segment. That gives us the chance to have a second distribution line against the Japanese. Husqvarna is strong on a global base to be able to attack the Japanese or to lift the Europeans against the Japanese; that is the concept.
Can you understand why some people might think ‘well, how can KTM succeed where BMW couldn’t?’
We can because of twenty years experience in the off-road niche market and industry. It is a very specific one and you need experienced people: the former racer, the skilled and knowledgeable technicians. Every small detail with hard and consistent work creates the right product. Secondly you have to understand the off-road community. It is a closed community and if you are not part of it then you are making a mistake.
Italy as an industrial base is one of the most difficult aside from France in Europe, because of the labour regulations. They are not competitive any more. First of all you need to pay a lot of money to have a nice Italian company and brand. Then you need to pay a lot of money to get rid of that company and that was the background with how I came to meet BMW. We have a close relationship because I appreciate BMW as a competitor and they are the closest in Europe. We have a big respect and different relationship. They were asking me if I was interested because they wanted to focus on on-road and I said ‘why not? Let’s sit together’. It was as simple as that. It sounds easy and it was easy. We are very excited now, especially when we think about the new model programme. For us in Mattighofen that means 15,000 additional bikes based on the same platforms. It is like the car industry with Volkswagen and Seat, Audi, Skoda. In the market the brands are separate but behind there are synergies and that is the only way to survive on a small scale and in that competitive industry.
What about the two brands racing against each other?
For sure! Competition keeps you alive. Sometimes you have success over so many years and it can become saturated and you start to lose ground. I think a nice, steered amount of internal competition is good.
So if Husqvarna run the right technology what do you then do with the brand? Especially to differentiate it from the ‘Orange’?
You have to have the brand content separate to KTM. KTM is perhaps a bit more ‘to the edge’ a bit more race-orientated. Husqvarna will come out as more historic, more Scandinavian, a little bit smoother. The design, as you will see in the future, will be a bit softer than the KTMs. They are focussing on the Supermoto type for on-road. There are a lot of niches that Husqvarna can occupy and become a serious player again.
_______________________________________________
SALES...its what its all about!
Stu
Sorry if its a re-post but I checked the last 5 pages and didnt see anything:
Website for full story:
http://blog.ktm.com/uncategorized/deutsch-exklusiv-interview-mit-stefan-pierer-teil-1/
http://blog.ktm.com/riding/exclusive-stefan-pierer-interview-part-two/
http://blog.ktm.com/bikes/exclusive-stefan-pierer-interview-part-three/
Here is the Husqvarna bit:
What is the background to the Husqvarna deal and how did you feel about it?
Husqvarna was always the benchmark at the beginning. It was a competitor but one that was getting better year-by-year. In the mid-90s we took over Husaberg, which was a spin-off from the former Husqvarna engineers when they left the company as it moved down to Castiglioni and Cagiva. We got some experience and in 2003 we closed down the facility in Sweden and brought the operation done to Austria and it worked out very well. We were very impressed. Maybe Husaberg was partly the killer of Husqvarna because last year they sold 6000 units, more than Husqvarna for off-road because you have to discount some of their on-road models.
The experience with Husaberg as a second brand that was based on overlapping the main brand was useful and so was adapting the platform strategy from the car industry. In other words sharing engine and chassis components as much as possible. You don’t need addition R&D, purchasing and production. All is the same. After ten years I was 100% we could handle a second brand and then the possibility came up with Husqvarna.
Husaberg has one weakness. In Europe it is a brand and it is strong, but outside of the continent nobody really knows it. In the States it is unknown but that is not the same for Husqvarna. That brand brought the sport over to America and is one of the pioneers of motocross. It has a long history in the States and everywhere around the globe it is recognised. It is the second oldest motorcycle brand.
So the situation came at BMW where the company recognised they needed to focus with on-road through the crisis and they wanted rid of off-road. We always had a clear plan with what we would need to do and that would be to create a single brand so Husaberg will be merged and will disappear and Husqvarna will be the strong global brand for the future. With the platform we will redo some things on the Husaberg model and convert it to Husqvarna with the colours, graphics and technical improvements. For motocross we will use the KTM platform and you will see at the 2013 EICMA show that we will have a very strong competition line from Enduro and every displacement for motocross, meaning 250, 350 and 450, two-stroke 125 and 250 and all the models that Husaberg had for Enduro. Including a bike with the 690 single cylinder. It is a perfect model line, so the dealer can survive in the off-road segment. That gives us the chance to have a second distribution line against the Japanese. Husqvarna is strong on a global base to be able to attack the Japanese or to lift the Europeans against the Japanese; that is the concept.
Can you understand why some people might think ‘well, how can KTM succeed where BMW couldn’t?’
We can because of twenty years experience in the off-road niche market and industry. It is a very specific one and you need experienced people: the former racer, the skilled and knowledgeable technicians. Every small detail with hard and consistent work creates the right product. Secondly you have to understand the off-road community. It is a closed community and if you are not part of it then you are making a mistake.
Italy as an industrial base is one of the most difficult aside from France in Europe, because of the labour regulations. They are not competitive any more. First of all you need to pay a lot of money to have a nice Italian company and brand. Then you need to pay a lot of money to get rid of that company and that was the background with how I came to meet BMW. We have a close relationship because I appreciate BMW as a competitor and they are the closest in Europe. We have a big respect and different relationship. They were asking me if I was interested because they wanted to focus on on-road and I said ‘why not? Let’s sit together’. It was as simple as that. It sounds easy and it was easy. We are very excited now, especially when we think about the new model programme. For us in Mattighofen that means 15,000 additional bikes based on the same platforms. It is like the car industry with Volkswagen and Seat, Audi, Skoda. In the market the brands are separate but behind there are synergies and that is the only way to survive on a small scale and in that competitive industry.
What about the two brands racing against each other?
For sure! Competition keeps you alive. Sometimes you have success over so many years and it can become saturated and you start to lose ground. I think a nice, steered amount of internal competition is good.
So if Husqvarna run the right technology what do you then do with the brand? Especially to differentiate it from the ‘Orange’?
You have to have the brand content separate to KTM. KTM is perhaps a bit more ‘to the edge’ a bit more race-orientated. Husqvarna will come out as more historic, more Scandinavian, a little bit smoother. The design, as you will see in the future, will be a bit softer than the KTMs. They are focussing on the Supermoto type for on-road. There are a lot of niches that Husqvarna can occupy and become a serious player again.
_______________________________________________
SALES...its what its all about!
Stu
Boogie
Husqvarna
Pro Class
I've heard SP say in an interview that Husaberg is not known outside Europe. I think "outside Europe" = USA. The brand "Husqvarna" has a much better chance of becoming mainstream (again) in the USA and selling bigger numbers than what "Husaberg" was capable of.
Of course more sales is what is all about...
Of course more sales is what is all about...
ray_ray
Mini-Sponsor
I'd toss in the emerging markets also ... A few here know the Husqvarna brand ... Bergs are an almost unknown element ...
Sells will always be at the front in most capitalist lands ...