• 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 The previous version was outdated and no longer supported.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!

ALL this KTM BS What are the Italian's really going to do????

fletchman45

fletchman45

Husqvarna
Pro Class
OK. Haven't been on in awhile. But while my son and I just drove 15 hours to Garden City Kansas to work. Husqvarna/KTM was a topic discussed for a bit of the drive! While we sit and wait and whine or go along with. Do you all think the Italians will just roll over and allow this to happen? Let's see. But like we speculate on the KTM/SP buyout. I speculate on the Italians not putting it to rest! We already know they have the skill to produce excellent premium bikes! With the buy out. Why couldn't they get together, find new funding and either revive the Cagiva name or just simply start a new line and call it CH Husky or Husky?????? I spent 2 years in Italy(Italians are very stubborn! And if you beat them at Foosball lookout!) and do not believe if KTM trys to completely run the show that they will allow it. Someone give us a professional view on what they think will happen. In my heart I do not think you will really have to buy a rebadged KTM unless your a goofball or really like KTM. I bet you will be able to buy a rebadged Husky! AKA Cagiva or something? Am I crazy or is it possible? If this does happen Bet your :censored: that is what I will be sporting! What do you think?????????????
 
I hope your wrong, but does make a little sense. Not sure if I have been dreaming about this or what is going on. Still in shock about the whole mess. Who gets the factory? What about patents? Name ETC............ Guess we all have to wait..................
 
Its big business and needs big cash to get it going with a roi hopefully, years down the road.

Its called consolidating and that's all business.

Mom and pop shops go to a bank and can't get a loan. If they do, the bank is usually in there business.

A big corporation, usually has an unlimited credit line. First you become a growth/acquisition company then become an operating company.

Hardly any more small farms left. Now it is thousands of acres with high tech high dollar equipment.

So who wants to get in the dirt bike business with constant land closures, import regulations, product liabilty, gov regs, and epa stuff?

It is some company that knows what they are doing and can consolidate businesses and make a buck.

I think the strategy will be: good, better and best.

Market will be, outdoing your competition and growth. They didn't buy this thing to let it sit idle. They bought it to make money.

Consolidate resources, use raw material buying power to get your per unit cost down.

We just bought another business. They were getting wire @ $50 dollars a 50 foot roll. I just bought a semi load, twice the length for $30 dollars a roll. But I have also doubled our production and product lines. Company that owned it barely made payroll. Its rolling now, because we have money to invest in it and have a vision.

Guy in town has two suit stores. You go in store #1 and try on a suit for xyz dollars. You go in store number #2. Try on a suit that looks like the other suit for $50 bux less. You buy it. Well the guy sells a suit but he laughs, cause he owns both stores. But you might have bought from store #1 thinking the $50 dollar suit more was a better suit.

In this case, he owns all three stores.

Just think of the growth potential you can do in US?

Minis

Quads

Side x sides

Dual sports

Supermoto

Motocross

Enduro

Electric

Jet skis

Marine

Well, think he is safe as long as it is powersports.

Now just think of what you can do in developing countries? But what if you own all 3 bike companies?

As a kid, I pushed toy John Deere tractors around. Guess what? I own all John Deeres.

I would be shocked if this guy throws his existing customers away? Why he is going to keep us and grow baby grow! You don't invest those kinds of funds without a return.

He messes with us existing consumers and it will drag him down real fast. Last thing posted was taking care of dealers/customers.

Look where he took KTM. Plus, he learned from his mistakes along the way, so he knows the short cuts that work.

Wanna go to a smaller bike company? Well they can fall at any time and good luck getting parts when they do.

Suzuki, at first refused to go aluminum frames. They had to because their sales shifted to Honda and Kawi with aluminum frames.

BMW dug them a hole that they couldn't get out from day one. They would be allright if they would of focused on the bus like they did in the last couple years.

If they would have popped those 449/511 from get go, new 2 strokes and expanded the line. They would be ok. We finally started seeing good stuff. I think the money pit was too deep.

It all started pushing BMW stuff into the mix and street thinking.

Hey, enjoy your existing ride and if you don't like what you see. We can always go to the next town over, to get our suits. Costs more money to get a customer and far less to keep one.

Just me 2 cents.
 
You guys have some good ideas on the surface but selling hundreds of thousands of small bikes, with no end in sight of growth for the same places, trumps any of these ideas ...

What this might do is generate so much cash flow that it does allow some of the stuff\fluff you guys mentioned (A.K.A growth) .. But without the revenues generated by the thousands and thousands of small bike sales ... It ain't gonna happen ...

--
There are only ~10,000 Huskies sold a yr ....That ain't much of a customer base really ... Look at this Husky (Only?) site ...The 2-3 yrs I've been here, the site has steady grown out of Husky talk and into talk on other brands and how great they are ... It's pretty much a ~ktm wannabee site now .. And that is OK because the site still supports how to work on a Husky ... Some of us just need to get a life and stay off the web so much (ESP me) ...

--
SP and these guys are shooting alot bigger gun than just the usa ... Get used to it ...
 
im no historian but id just like to see husky with one company for more than a handful of years...whoever that may be so long as its not asian. if it ends up being a camaro vs firebird type deal i can handle that as long as both are given equal options etc and the same quality control.
 
WHITEROCKET5.9 said:
im no historian but id just like to see husky with one company for more than a handful of years...whoever that may be so long as its not asian. if it ends up being a camaro vs firebird type deal i can handle that as long as both are given equal options etc and the same quality control.
Click to expand...

You should be able to do that.
 
We can look at it this way.... In the Biblical tale of Husky and spin offs, there were 3..... Husaberg, Vertemati and VOR. Husaberg of course is the first, with Thomas Gustavsson (The father of the modern Husky 4 stroke) and others staying in Sweden, when Husky went to Italy. Some might argue about Vertemati and VOR, but they are Husaberg spin offs, so also fruit of the vine.

Lets look at what happened.... Husaberg gets going and has great success racing in a short time, but win on Sunday doesn't translate into big sales. 5 years later, they are purchased by KTM to jump start their 4 stroke program. After another 5 years they are absorbed into KTM with R&D and production moving to Austria. Another 5 years + passes and we get the radical 70 degree engine bikes. These will be the last of the unique Husabergs. A couple of years later the first Husaberg 2 strokes appear, rebadged KTM's, but a blend of parts from KTM's models and Husaberg only parts that make the Husaberg unique. A few more years and all Husaberg models follow this pattern, so it looks like Husaberg is fully absorbed into KTM.

Vertemati was the Italian Husky distributor before the Cagiva purchase and then became the Husaberg distributor and tuner. Their work was instrumental in Husaberg's and Joel Smets' success in MX GP. A few years after the KTM purchase of Husaberg, that relationship ended and the Vertemati motorcycle was born. Low numbers and progressive downturn in the World economy has hurt them.... hard to tell if they are in business or not.

VOR started when some engineers tried to take the Vertemati concept from low volume to higher volume, but once again the economy and other factors held them back. Interesting that the frame on the '09 up 70 degree Husabergs seemed to be pure '02 up VOR. They tried to get a foothold in the US, but that only lasted a few years. Hard to tell if they are still in business.

I asked a a former Husky Italy engineer, if there was an engineer at Husky who coud play the driving role, that Thomas Gustavsson played in spinninig off Husaberg. He said there were engineers of equal passion and experience, but doubted one would take on the task of trying to spin a company off as Husaberg was back when.
 
For those who want a real Italian bike, Beta, TM and Fantic (GasGas engined), and if you like, there's HM Honda which is a full enduro mod Italian style Honda, on that note even Valenti Suzuki builds an Italian market RMZ-X enduro version. Beta and TM are readily available here.
TM are initial cost expensive, but if you do the math they need nothing but personal suspension settings.

I think Beta will continue to see a rise in sales here.
 
robertaccio said:
For those who want a real Italian bike, Beta, TM and Fantic (GasGas engined), and if you like, there's HM Honda which is a full enduro mod Italian style Honda, on that note even Valenti Suzuki builds an Italian market RMZ-X enduro version. Beta and TM are readily available here.
TM are initial cost expensive, but if you do the math they need nothing but personal suspension settings.

I think Beta will continue to see a rise in sales here.
Click to expand...

For many of us that were drawn to the uniqueness and exotic feel of the husky the Beta or TM is probably the next move. I like KTM's OK but just seem like driving a Camery, everyone has one. I want to get excited, have something semi exotic, passionate and interesting. 1-2 year old TM's can be had for nothing. I used to get a new bike every year or so, not any more, the economy just does not support it for me and after spending a year massaging my bike to perfection to sell it and then start over does not make near as much sense as it used to. I also am really into these 125/150/165 bikes and right now am riding a decked out 04. Seems silly but it is a great bike, very sustainable and satisfies my needs. My point is many of us might not make the switch to KTM based bikes for multiple reasons. Many more might be on board as they always liked Huskys but not the exotic parts supply and feel of them. This ongoing saga is interesting and I think you are right, there are other options and some will go that route.

Coffee, I think you might need to start thinking of adding these exotic brands to CH so these good people still have a home and do the great contributing they do now. A Beta or TM is probably in my future at some point too.
 
I bought the Husky because it satisfied a set of internal requirements. Street legal, light weight, six speed tranny, durable and reliable. The rest is gravy.

The last two requirements, durable and reliable, are what separate me from KTM. Presently, I can afford to buy a KTM, but I cannot afford to own one. Further, I would not want to be the poor sap stuck 40 miles from the nearest paved road, think Afton Canyon, waiting for the next Husky driver to tow him out.

I remember a ride in Baja where there was a KTM group riding separately from our own that would pull up to the same restaurants and hotels as we. They would immediately reach for their tool bags while we would go in and eat. On one level, it looked kind of cool, as they dismounted the bike, they would reach for their tools in one smooth motion, often before the bike stopped moving. My first thought was "wow those guys are really experienced riders", the second was, " I think I want to reserve my muscle memory for something else.". I also noticed that our group was much more relaxed and seemed to be enjoying the trip more, while the KTM guys were tense, and appeared pre occupied about being ready for the next day's ride. This left a powerful impression on me.

My point is, everyone has an internal list of some sort. That list is primarily shaped by the type of riding one does. For those who engage in track based riding, the switch to a rebadged KTM may not be such a big deal. When something breaks down, one can just push the bike to the truck. For those of us who ride further afield, durability and reliablity is more valuable than outright performance. When it comes time to replace my 610, I'll look for the best bike that fills my internal list, whether it's made by KTM/Husky, Cagiva, or someone else.
 
Good point. I am constantly lost in a sea of orange on any trail or dualsport ride. My Husky is the bike without the radiator boiling at the top of the long uphill, etc. It's the one that turns heads at the hamburger stand on the mountain. I like it because it's exotic, but it is also economical and reliable. I like it because I think that it handles better than a KTM, and it looks better too. I had a KTM EXC250 once, and it was an okay bike....but it's gone now. It may seem a bit strange, but I chose to keep my KDX220 that I owned at the same time.
 
doom and gloom in the husky world so Im selling my 2011 TE310.....

just kidding I love her but my new red head wants her to find a new home.
 
I'm really not concerned. Worst case scenario we get ktm motors but if they keep the genius Italian engineers they have now they'll turn it into something great. Look what they did with the BMW motors like the 449 and 650. The bikes are amazing. I think they'll have no trouble with ktm motors. If nothing else the bikes create horsepower. Husky detuned them a little and can make them more torquey and reliable. This news sucks but it doesn't mean the outcome will. Could work out in our favor and for the brand itself.

Back to the original topic. Who knows. The Italians may start their own company with MV. Piggybacking on another company would be the most realistic. I really can't believe this guy took over and didn't get into detail yet. I think it has more to do with other investors. They all needed to discuss opinions before they could say much
 
All making sense. Can you blame a guy who LOVES Husqvarna. Yes no offence to KTM, but I am sorry, they simply are not as reliable as a Husky. A long time ago a dealer I know who sold both quit selling Husky's. I asked why? He said and I am sure would never admit it if asked again. Pretty simple, I make double the profit on the bike. (So lets say $850.00 a unit instead of $425.00) And I make more on parts and sell more parts. I am pretty sure the KTM guys are to KTM like to let the Italians tweak there sad engine............. Boogie has the right idea and a darn carryover 13 Husky is looking better then and ex girlfriend that a guy wishes he never lost.:p Beta it may have to be!!
 
I had a local ktm dealer say about the same. He had just sold his last smr 2 weeks prior to me calling. Husky had just been dropped. It went on a tangent about how new ownership of husky sucked because they wanted him to get "x" amount of new models even though he had a lot of leftovers. Basically I told him sorry to hear that but I still wanted a husky. I asked him about parts availability and he said "oil filters are easy to come by" because that's all they needed. He told me he wished they could make it work out but couldn't and that the bikes are top notch with reliability. That pretty much made Husky my goal ever since. Someone was that angry and still couldn't say anything bad about the bikes. He didn't even try to sell me a KTM but instead recommended me to other "great dealers"
 
LONG LIVE THE ITALIANS****************************************!!:cheers: Yea. That 2-stroke may be dated and heavy and lacking a Hydro clutch. But sorry. In a torture test. The Husky would win. And that I KNOW IS A FACT**************************************** So if you think KTM/Husky with a KTM engine is going to be :awww:then you should be:busted: for your thoughts!:naughty: Let those Italians alone**************************************** Where is the:popcorn: Just another saga to the never ending Husqvarna roller coaster ride! It ain't over to the phat lady sings:cool:......................................................
 
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