Actual news on the KTM purchase of Husqvarna

[wallybean]

I would really expect any manufacturer to have storage for at least a years supply. I still have minor doubts that we will ever see those bikes. If SP expects Husky dealers to take Husabergs as a stop gap then he might not ever release any of those bikes. Many converted back to parts, destroy what doesn't have an immediate home. It is all about making a demand for new Huskies and then introducing re-badged Husabergs present and future. You don't create a demand for new bikes by flooding a market with the old bikes that are very good. He has nothing invested in those bikes. I hope they are available and there are a couple of thousand 125's. I might buy two.

 

[Motosportz]

The hysteria is already starting and i am getting lots of Emails from customers like this...

regarding A te511...

"Stabilizer is working great, I gave it a good workout on some rocky climbs. Just wondering if you had any inside info on the future of husqvarna. In my area they are selling new 2013 te449's for $5995.00 and it seems there just trying to dump them. I hope there not going to dump the 449/511 platform and leave us with the red headed step child. I have a buddy who wants to pick one up but he's afraid of buying something that might not have much support the near future. Any thoughts? Thanks again for a quality product and great customer support."

 

[DG Harv Serv]

I have stayed away from this as there has been little facts , but if there are 11 to 12,000 bikes in storage thats a good years worth ?

Where are they all ? What models / years ? Why build them ? So many unanswered questions !

I think there will be nothing new for 2014 (hence dealers offered Husaberg) and 2015 will see Red KTM / Bergs with only the Husky name in common with what we have now ! Very, very sad IMHO.

I think nothing good will come from this, for us the Husky Rider it is a bad time !

 

[mrblah]

just look at what the big discount was on, and guess what the warehouse has

 

[DG Harv Serv]

just look at what the big discount was on, and guess what the warehouse has

No discounts been advertised here (yet !). I keep reading the US Warehouse is almost empty ? Makes little sense !

 

[silverpilen]

I have stayed away from this as there has been little facts , but if there are 11 to 12,000 bikes in storage thats a good years worth ?

Where are they all ? What models / years ? Why build them ? So many unanswered questions !

I think there will be nothing new for 2014 (hence dealers offered Husaberg) and 2015 will see Red KTM / Bergs with only the Husky name in common with what we have now ! Very, very sad IMHO.

I think nothing good will come from this, for us the Husky Rider it is a bad time !

Correct assessment. Stop production for a year, pay everyone off at the factory and close the doors, clear the backlog of bikes in the warehouse, keep dealers interested by being told o push Husabergs and clear the backlog. Then take the rest of the year to sort out marketing plans and future direction and rebuild the brand in the image of KTM. The end of an era is unfolding before us.

 

[7point62]

No discounts been advertised here (yet !). I keep reading the US Warehouse is almost empty ? Makes little sense !

Yeah, I know. Sucks, doesn't it? Huskysport had a half price sale on all genuine parts at the end of last year - they must have known that something was coming, because in thirty years I've never known a dealer (and Huskysport are more than just a dealer - they are Husky in the UK) do that.

I wonder how many of those 11,000 surplus bikes are 250 / 300 strokers? I bet none of them make it out of the warehouses in one piece 'cos they would eat the Katooms for breakfast.

 

[fletchman45]

Wow. All this drama playing over and over and yes of course I am part of it. A headache from all this crap. I hope they are not killing a cub like was talked about.......................... I'm not even sure What the hec is happening anymore. Again from a business standpoint if I were Ski Doo and bought Artic Cat I would most certainly shut them down. Gone? Reborn? Cloned? A new Cagiva who the heck knows but this is the worst roller coaster ride I have ever seen. It makes no sense to clone a KTM into a Husqvarna. They are not even similar bikes. My god it may only be 5 PM but I think I will start drinking. Some wheres I can only imagine there are some Italians contemplating suicide or something bad I'am not sure which. Sadly this all goes back to planning. If you told me twenty years ago KTM would own Husqvarna someday I would have punched you straight in the face without hesitation (then picked you up and offered you a beer!) now I am sick to the stomach......................

 

[DTX915]

Note to all......"up to $2,500 off MSRP"
dealers cant do this with what already was on floor without taking a big wack
the 2500 applied to what they ordered to clear us wharehouse as BMW was charging new company storage fees of a wild rate
about the only thing I saw get the 2500 off was TC's and 449s
No dice on a 144 for 3799!
looked hard for that smoking deal and did not find......must be behind the gnome on the unicorn?

Saw two at that price. One was on hold with down payment and the other should be sold after the crowd around mine at the trail head this past weekend.

 

[XLEnduroMan]

I want to stay hopeful for Husqvarna. It is getting difficult with the recent actual news of the factory shutting down...for how long?

I was on my TE 630 yesterday at a stop light and a truck with a new orange bike in the back drove through the intersection. Right then I had a crappy feeling come over me like the guy was thinking HA! you may be on a better bike but my brand owns your ass now, get used to it. I then understood fleshman45 fully.

God I hope Husqvarna lives on as it's own brand!

 

[Chaz955i]

I want to stay hopeful for Husqvarna. It is getting difficult with the recent actual news of the factory shutting down...for how long?

I was on my TE 630 yesterday at a stop light and a truck with a new orange bike in the back drove through the intersection. Right then I had a crappy feeling come over me like the guy was thinking HA! you may be on a better bike but my brand owns your ass now, get used to it. I then understood fleshman45 fully.

God I hope Husqvarna lives on as it's own brand!

I doubt many Lamborghini owners worried that Dodge Omni owners somehow felt superior when Chrysler owned Lamborghini. Don't wrap your self esteem in the brand of bike you own. Nobody cares, really. Dont let this nonsense stop you from enjoying the cool bike you have.

 

[fletchman45]

I want to stay hopeful for Husqvarna. It is getting difficult with the recent actual news of the factory shutting down...for how long?

I was on my TE 630 yesterday at a stop light and a truck with a new orange bike in the back drove through the intersection. Right then I had a crappy feeling come over me like the guy was thinking HA! you may be on a better bike but my brand owns your ass now, get used to it. I then understood fleshman45 fully.

God I hope Husqvarna lives on as it's own brand!

Chaz says it right. What you are driving is better then and not affiliated with the SP buyout. There seems to be a differences in some opinions and warranted. The above comparison is not quite the same. And again Husqvarna and Cagiva were NEVER ARCH RIVAL"S where as both KTM and Husqvarna have ALWAYS competed against one another and in this case unfortunately the one who should have lost won. They have always been arch rivals. Lets all be patient and see what happens. If it all fails and they do not let Husky continue as is. The good thing is I can buy a new Husky 144 and grab 1 piston kit and one crank kit and lets see. Thats 10 years worth of hard pounding worth**************************************** equivalent to a KTM smallbores 4 clutch sets, 3 cylinders, 6 piston(S) ring set,3 crank bearing sets. ETC................ So yes ride your bike with pride. Maybe a snicker or to. Knowing you have a superior bike and in a world of term oil and questionable economy happens and sometimes what should come out on top doesn't. Yes so enjoy the COOL bike you have****************************************

 

[motomaniac]

Since the current crop of dirt bikes are already fuel injected, and have EFI's, sensors, and fuel pumps, isn't the innovative leap about getting the higher fuel pressure and computational power to facilitate DFI? Wouldn't a DFI 2 stroke still be easier to work on and lighter than a four stroke? I would love to be able to do a top end rebuild in an afternoon like carbureted 2 stroke guys do now. Even if they aren't clean enough for dual sport use, they may hold the keys to keeping two strokes from being legislated out of existence.

If KTM/Husky were to come out with a clean, street legal two stroke that produces the same amount of power as my 610, in a lighter, less complicated package, I'm there dude.

The high pressure fuel pump would have to run of the crankshaft.

 

[sabortooth]

Just keep the parts rollin in for ten years more...

 

[Joe Chod]

Not to stir the pot but all this talk about rebadged somethings in red and white.....who says they will be red and white?

 

[Mike-AK]

Not to stir the pot but all this talk about rebadged somethings in red and white.....who says they will be red and white?

Anything but refrigerator white.

 

[rasputin]

i found this in another threat, but since that one's closed, i'll comment here:

If they close the Italian plant down i will be inclined to go to Sherco or Gas Gas but until then i'm husky 100%. My brothers and sisters in Italy deserve better.

in my humble opinion, it is about time that the husky enthusiasts realize that they can actually have a lot of influence on the husky future. after all, you are the customers, you pay for everything! you are husqvarna! without you guys, there's nothing.

i see the husky enthusiasts as the strongest fanbase in the dirtbike world. if you guys speak out, pierer has to listen. he's surely not willing to give up the fanbase that bought 11000 bikes last year, and try to find 11000+ new customers instead.

one comment about the closure of the italian husky factory/company really caught my attention, speaking about "drama" from husky employees and their workers unions. of course it's "drama", those people are fighting for their jobs and reputation and heritage. only a few years after bmw, the next gang of "conquistadors" are walking the sacred grounds, telling them "inferior savages" how to do a proper job. fact is that "italian husky" won a lot of championships in the past 25 years, and did a great job even when times were hard. so yes, they have every right to fight being no "collateral damage" in a company takeover. after all, they are husqvarna!

"husqvarna" is not about some image shaped by some marketing guys. it's about the people who build these great bikes, and the people who enjoy these great bikes. without those people, husqvarna is nothing but a logo.

r

 

[Norman Foley]

A full 3/4 of Husqvarna's World Championships were won by Italian Huskys, not Swedish ones.....

 

[rxcrider]

I would really expect any manufacturer to have storage for at least a years supply.

If they were operating that way, it would explain one way they were losing money. You can't sit on that much finished goods inventory.

I'd like to hear someone from the other side of the pond chime in with what discounts and availability are like in Europe. If BMW screwed up their forecasting, it is possible that there truly are 11000 units in a warehouse that are all Euro spec and can't be imported to the USA, hence the lack of availability here.

 

[7point62]

If they were operating that way, it would explain one way they were losing money. You can't sit on that much finished goods inventory.

I'd like to hear someone from the other side of the pond chime in with what discounts and availability are like in Europe. If BMW screwed up their forecasting, it is possible that there truly are 11000 units in a warehouse that are all Euro spec and can't be imported to the USA, hence the lack of availability here.

Here's the UK's Huskysport "new bikes for sale" page:

http://www.huskysport.co.uk/husqvarna-Locator-new.aspx

Last week they were having a £500 off promo (which is about $763), but now I see they've upped the discount to around 20 -26%. I haven't checked all 24 bikes in the current lineup and a few are previous year's models, but it looks like there's a big discount on everything - road and dirt.

When discounts get to us here in "rip off Britain" then you know something's happening.^

*Edit: btw, that's not a dig at Huskysport - they are top people. It's just that if something's cheap in the UK then it's usually either stolen or about to catch fire.