• 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 The previous version was outdated and no longer supported.

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    Thanks for your patience and support!

Actual news on the KTM purchase of Husqvarna

organ donor said:
The interview sounds good. BMW definitely was on the wrong ("adventure bike") track and if the new bloke concentrates his energy on Husky, all will be good.
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Yeah, now that the BMW era is behind us I think it's safe to say that they had a vision of becoming a factor in the off road sector when they purchased Husqvarna
but realized after a few years that it just wasn't their cup of tea. It's kinda sad given the fact that they've got deep pockets and had they dipped in those pockets
a little deeper and maybe done things different it might have worked. Then again this could have just been a little side project for them that didn't work so they'll
just shrug it off and move on.
I know that there's some people who think the 449/511 platform was a failure or didn't live up to whatever.... although I don't race my 511, (just a weekend warrior)
I do think it's a very good off road bike. I don't know that the TE450's and 510's that came before the 449/511's were race bikes either. Anything can be used for
racing if that's what you own and you want to race.
 
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WORKING​

The BMW does not respond to the ministry on the sale of Husqvarna

The German multinational does not clarify the conditions of sale of the company Biandronno to Ktm. Increase the suspicions of the union: "It was not an industrial operation»

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When in March and it emerged the closure ofHusqvarna by Pierer Industries (Group Ktm), Fiom CGIL and CISL Fim immediately spoke of "looting industrial ' , or a closure that had nothing to do with the crisis or with an industrial restructuring . For the union it was an operation that was aimed at clearingthe company of Biandronno, prestigious brand in the field of motorcycles , of each activity and know-how in favor of the competitor Ktm . The unions went much further, also talking about a figure which the assignor Bmw would leave the Austrians to complete the acquisition and closure of the company.The element that immediately suspicious unions were the times of operation: because Pierer Industries (KTM) would have to buy a company from BMW to close only a month after the purchase? A clever maneuver illogical but because the social costs of the operation were made ​​to fall on the Italian social security system that was to bear the extraordinary layoff for cessation of operations of the 212 employees of Husqvarna .
Bmw Now with the refusal to respond to the Ministry of Economic Development of such were the conditions of transfer of Biandronno the Austrian KTM, that hypothesis began to have feedback. In industrial relations is in fact good policy to respond to the social partners and the institutions providing the necessary information on the operations carried out or which are to be performed. Fiom CGIL and CISL Fim considered serious and therefore not agree with the attitude of BMW which also presents itself as a company ethically advanced and socially responsible. "After having failed to social partners and trade unions preliminary information about the current operation Husqvarna - wrote in a noteFiom and Fim - now refuses to communicate to the Italian Government the terms of the transaction after its conclusion, and in spite of this transfer the origin of a major industrial and social situation. "
"The reticence Bmw - continues the union - indirectly confirms the concerns we have fed on the nature of the sale of Husqvarna KTM group: if the operation had character industry, because to conceal the conditions under which it was made? we are led to believe that the reluctance of Bmw can be explained only by the nature of an operation that clearly, from the beginning, was designed with no prospect for the industrial site Husqvarna Cassinetta di Biandronno. "
Fim Fiom CGIL, CISL and announce a mobilization against the behavior of BMW that will be presented and discussed in the next few days with the workers. Read all articles on Husqvarna

...basically BMW and Stefan Pierer are RAPIST! ... I am all about saving Husky,but slapping a KTM motor into a Husky frame or throwing Some BNG's of Husqvarna on a Husaberg just ain't gonna cut it for me...there's a helluva a lot of deception going on here and that just doesn't sit right with me...
 
I wonder what becomes of all the old Italian husky tooling? Ktm get it ? Send it to India? Just wishing somehow some of it survives somewhere building motors... It's a really sad chapter,business can be ruthless, looks like nobody want to be stuck with the social aspect of the welfare for Italian plant workers.ktm/BMW/Italian government will just point fingers at each other it is sad..waste of talent...just to get the prestige name brand..BMW helped did what they could and couldn't do what they should have...has a yard sale ...at least the husky brand survived it all. It's really the end for 2 distinct brands husaberg and Husqvarna...two less choices..Ktm will be the Walmart of bikes someday.
 
panhandlebars said:
It's really the end for 2 distinct brands husaberg and Husqvarna...two less choices..Ktm will be the Walmart of bikes someday.
Click to expand...

Yeah, whichever way you look at it the gene pool has just gotten smaller and that can only mean less competition and innovation. This may sound like heresy, but if the Husky name had just disappeared (rather that been bought by Pierer) then perhaps "the little guys" like TM and all might have seen a few extra sales and been able to move things along a little. And perhaps after a few years a more healthy and competitive offroad scene might have allowed a resurrection of the Husky name with some unique technology to back up the history.

I loved my old GSXR750F, but I'm not sure I'd like to be racing one now, nearly thirty years on - I'd probably get lapped by a stock CB500, but the way things are going the 2040 range of dirtbikes will be indistinguishable from the ones we have now - apart from the graphics...
 
INSIDE THE HUSQVARNA MERGER: WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE ICONIC BRAND AND IT’S NEW OWNERS

The first official statement regarding the transition period, dealer network, product lineup and infrastructure from two KTM power brokers

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KTM North America President Jon-Erik Burleson with Roger DeCoster.

KTM’s Jon-Erik Burleson and Werner Kastenauer recently talked about KTM’s plans for the immediate future of Husqvarna in the in-house “Husqvarna Motorcycle Journal” newsletter. Here is the what they said.

It’s the question that has been on everyone’s lips after the sale of Husqvarna to Pierer Industry AG. We’re getting close to having answers to all the burning questions, but the first order of business – and one Husqvarna and KTM are still in the midst of – is getting through the transition period. People like KTM North America’s CFO Werner Kastenauer and president Jon-Erik Burleson have been charged with the task of ensuring the U.S. transition is a smooth one, and both have been working diligently behind the scenes so that business has not – and will not – be interrupted during the ownership change.

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KTM race team manager Pit Beier has the KTM team all sewn up for 2014, so he has turned his attention to the new Husqvarna Grand Prix motocross team for 2014. Plus, there will be an American offroad team.

As they near the tail end of the initial transition period, Kastenauer and Burleson shed some light on the critical steps being taken at the core of Husqvarna’s transition, and talk about what changes have already taken place, what is yet to be decided and what we can rest assured will not change.

“WHO WILL THE NEW PRESIDENT BE? WHERE WILL THE HEADQUARTERS BE? WHAT WILL THE NEW MODEL LINE LOOK LIKE?” IT MAY SEEM LIKE NOT MUCH HAS HAPPENED YET. BUT FROM THE INSIDE, A LOT HAS ALREADY TAKEN PLACE.

To those on the outside awaiting answers to questions such as, “Who will the new president be? Where will the headquarters be? What will the new model line look like?” it may seem like not much has happened yet. But from the inside, a lot has already taken place. There are many bodies working diligently behind the scenes to usher the Husqvarna transition along, foremost being KTM’s Werner Kastenauer, who has been on the job since day one.

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The collateral damage of the KTM/Husqvarna merge is Husaberg. It will be folded into Husqvarna, which is kind of fitting, since it was a spin-off from Husky when they were sold to the Italians decades ago.

“A lot has already taken place,” Kastenauer said. “We’ve been handed a lot in such a short period of time. The first phase of our transition back in February was to make sure the guys at the Husqvarna Motorcycles North America office were able to come to the office, open the doors, power up the computers and get emails. We had to make everything work within a two-week period of time so we could keep the shop alive.

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Romain Febvre will most likely be signed to race for the all-new Husqvarna team in the 250 GPs. He currently races for the Jacky Martens KTM team (and Martens has been given control of the 2014 Husky team, while the 450 team will be handed over to Kimi Raikonnen's ICEone team).

“We then knew that we needed to send a strong signal to the dealer network to show that the Husqvarna brand is alive – and that’s what we did when we launched the Spring Fever sales promotion. That has helped the dealers, and helped the consumer see that there should be confidence in the brand, that we are here and things are moving forward.

“THE THIRD STEP RIGHT NOW IS WE ARE MOVING EVERYTHING FROM A BMW INFRASTRUCTURE TO AN INDEPENDENT HUSQVARNA INFRASTRUCTURE...”

“The third step right now is we are moving everything from a BMW infrastructure to an independent Husqvarna infrastructure meaning we are moving the parts center, we’re moving all the parts, we’re moving the bikes so we can ship and provide these items out of the KTM infrastructure at the moment.”

Husqvarna’s interim reliance on KTM infrastructure is a necessary step, as Burleson pointed out, “You can’t really look at Husqvarna North America as a true standalone subsidiary with its own distribution center and its own accounting center because all of that was provided by BMW. In order to make business work on day one without BMW, yeah, we’re going to have to step in.”

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KTM wants to utilize as many pure Husqvarna parts as possible, while weeding out the BMW items. The TC250 engine is the newest motocross engine in the previous Husky lineup.

It is logical enough to assume that manufacturers under common ownership will share a number of resources, but Burleson clarified some specifics on how exactly Husqvarna will retain its autonomy from KTM in North America.

“WE WILL DRIFT AWAY FROM THE BMW-INFLUENCED PRODUCT DESIGNS – IT’S ONLY LOGICAL. BUT ARE WE GOING TO SUPPORT THEM THROUGHOUT THE USEFUL LIFE THAT A CONSUMER HAS? ABSOLUTELY.”

“Customer service, racing and marketing – those are the three most important to have separate from an internal staff perspective. It also makes good business sense to have a separate sales staff and a separate dealer network. We may be doing some hybrid approaches to the salesmanship that would be aimed at just being easy to do business with from a dealer perspective. But when you talk about racing and marketing and customer service, that’s gotta be standalone.”

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Yet to be answered is how much of the Husqvarna flavor will remain in the 2015 lineup, versus how many KTM parts. It should be noted that over time, Husaberg went from a unique product to a KTM clone. The price structure benefits from as much parts sharing as feasible in terms of wheels, brakes, suspension components, levers, sprocket and other easily translated parts.

Once the transition period is complete, the new chapter will be well on its way. Husqvarna is cleaning the slate by offering incredibly low prices on remaining inventory, but that shouldn’t suggest that the brand is planning to clear out parts and support for existing models.

“For sure there will be support,” Jon-Erik said. “The current product isn’t going to be something that’s shelved and put out of life. That’s not a fair way to look at it. We will drift away from the BMW-influenced product designs – it’s only logical. But are we going to support them throughout the useful life that a consumer has? Absolutely.”

This particular initiative has also kept people like Kastenauer quite busy behind the scenes, or as Burleson puts it, “at an overload capacity” focused on making sure systems work, spare parts have been delivered and motorcycles get shipped.

“WE ARE 100% DEDICATED TO SUPPORTING THE CURRENT HUSQVARNA LINEUP AS WELL AS ALL THE BIKES THAT ARE IN THE FIELD,”

“We are 100% dedicated to supporting the current Husqvarna lineup as well as all the bikes that are in the field,” Kastenauer commented. “There will be technical expertise and we will fully support the whole lineup with spare parts and accessories.”

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If MXA wanted to bet, we think that Pit Beier would be looking at former KTM rider (and current Pro Circuit 450 rider), Tyla Rattray for a spot on the new Husky 450 team.

As for the big announcements the outside world is still waiting for, Kastenauer talked about how soon we might expect to hear. “We are pretty close to making some official announcements. For now we just want to make sure that we can give the customer and dealers support they need. In a second step we will think about our organization structure, who is in charge of what and logistics of where the headquarters is going to be.”
 
Little lol. I like the mention of them using as much of the true Husky components as they can part. Maybe the x-lights will just be improved upon. I'm sure it will get WP suspensions but if the frame stays the same we should be good.
 
john01 said:
Well now did we get a little "Actual news on the KTM purchase" ?
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Not really. Though it was excellent that they said something.

LandofMotards said:
“WE WILL DRIFT AWAY FROM THE BMW-INFLUENCED PRODUCT DESIGNS – IT’S ONLY LOGICAL. BUT ARE WE GOING TO SUPPORT THEM THROUGHOUT THE USEFUL LIFE THAT A CONSUMER HAS? ABSOLUTELY.”

“Customer service...

“WE ARE 100% DEDICATED TO SUPPORTING THE CURRENT HUSQVARNA LINEUP AS WELL AS ALL THE BIKES THAT ARE IN THE FIELD,”

“We are 100% dedicated to supporting the current Husqvarna lineup as well as all the bikes that are in the field,” Kastenauer commented. “There will be technical expertise and we will fully support the whole lineup with spare parts and accessories.”
Click to expand...
If that is the case, then it would be excellent if they could help this guy out with a completely broken 2013 bike who was left many miles from his home weeks ago.
http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/sos.33683/

For the record, I understand 1000% that they are working extremely hard making the transitions, and some things are going to be far more difficult than others.

On a side note: It was interesting day in Simi Valley CA yesterday, from where I have just returned..
 
rasputin said:
castiglioni would like to buy back husqvarna (german article):
http://wirtschaftsblatt.at/home/nachrichten/europa/1433275/Wuerde-gerne-Husqvarna-zurueckkaufen

r
Click to expand...

Maybe it would have been too embarassing for BMW to sell it back to Castiglioni. So they asked SP to buy and later sell it. As far as I understand a company of SP bought Husky and not KTM. So he could pocket some dough for that, more or less privately. So it's only a question of of Euros...

The unions and the local goverment are pretty upset about the fact that the factory should be closed. The last chance is that Castiglioni is taken over. But it seems he's not an idiot, he is dropping the price for the factory which has state of the art facilities for testing etc. The BMW Motorrad guys have spent a lot of money. He only wants to have 30 workers of that factory (definitely not the quality management department which has not been able to sort out problems with the parts for the xlite engine...)
In the end room for lot's of speculations:oldman:

Anyway, within the BMW Group the clever guys tend to go building cars and the idiots motorcycles. I have no words how they handled the Husky deal.
 
Here is what it means: Castiglioni wants to buy it, Peirer knows it, Castiglioni is aware that Peirer is likely not interested...
As mentioned above...no news...just an Italian dude day dreaming.
 
I believe that Castiglioni wants to get his hands on the new factory more so than the husqvarna brand. Even though the old husky factory has been updated by porche to focus on producing mv-augusta, the new BMW factory would be a better option if he got it at the right price. In my opinion it would be a win-win for SP and Castiglioni in that SP would be able to walk away from all of the industrial problems in Italy, Castiglioni would get a cheap new factory and perhaps get to re-employ some of the old employees. The only loser in the whole deal being BMW. It is more likely we would see a re-launched Cagiva than for Husky to ever return to Italy.
 
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