Husqvarna

Swedish make sold by the Italians to the Germans, who sell it to the Austrians who are owned by the Indians. With the 2013 model year, each bike is going to come with honorary membership to the United Nations.

For those of you who aren't aware.

(Reuters) - The owner of offroad motorbike maker KTM (KTMP.VI) acquired rival brand Husqvarna from Germany's BMW (BMWG.DE) on Thursday in a consolidation move that helps shave costs as the industry copes with a slump in Europe. Entrepreneur Stefan Pierer, who owns a majority stake in KTM, told Reuters he was taking a page out of Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) book by buying the Italian-based company, whose one-cylinder enduros and motocross bikes are dubbed "Huskies" by their fans. "Almost ten years ago we started a small platform strategy just like what Volkswagen does on a far larger level," he said in a telephone interview after the deal, declining to provide financial details. "Even though this is a niche business, you have the same problem as in the car industry. Development costs for modern, sporty motorcycles are so high - especially for engines - that a small brand (like Husqvarna) can no longer shoulder them on its own." Pierer's KTM also owns the Husaberg, a Swedish brand founded by two engineers in 1988 after Husqvarna motorcycle moved its operations to Italy from its Scandinavian home. "I want to see Husqvarna sales double in five years time to 20,000 motorbikes," he said, adding that his immediate focus would be on rejuvenating the ageing line-up of offroad models. Instead of fully integrating both companies, Husqvarna and KTM will be managed separately, while reaping the benefits of using common components. "This way we can use common engineering platforms to develop a variety of models that have completely different characteristics for each brand," Pierer said. Husqvarna generated roughly 65 million euros selling roughly 10,000 bikes, he said, while KTM sold 107,000 motorcycles with revenue of 612 million euros. In a rare acquisition, BMW scooped up Husqvarna at the peak of the market in 2007 to improve its position in the field of light, sporty motorbikes and extend the range to include younger customer groups as well as the entire off-road and supermoto sector. The market in Europe, however, has shrunk almost by half since the deal, and BMW never attained sustained growth of the business in the face of such harsh headwinds. BMW said it was selling the brand as part of a strategic realignment of its motorcycle business to focus on urban and electric mobility "in the context of changing motorcycle markets, demographic trends and increasing environmental demands." KTM by comparison has a strong position in the segment in which Husqvarna competes, with roughly 30 percent of the global market share in motocross and 50 percent in enduro, according to Pierer. When asked whether he was concerned the two brands might cannibalize each other's sales, he admitted there would be a slight effect. Overall, however, the Husqvarna brand would help it take share away from Honda (7267.T), Yamaha (7272.T), Kawasaki (7012.T) and Suzuki (7269.T). "It's never 1 plus 1 equals 3, but it's certainly 2.7, and there are still four Japanese brands from which there's plenty to grab."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/31/us-bmw-husqvarna-idUSBRE90U18E20130131

I remember when Cagiva bought the motorcycle division, we called those the Huskagiva days. IIRC when Cagiva sold Husky they sold the engine tooling for their two and four stroke singles along with the brand.

Also, the brand used to belong to Electrolux. Yeah, the vacuum cleaner manufacturer.

I didn't even know that Huskie was still around

Husky builds some pretty competitive off road bikes. Their woods bikes are probably only behind KTM in popularity here, and they've won a number of world championships in motocross, enduro and supermoto recently.

The Italian bikes are as competitive as they are sexy. I hope they don't change that.

I was racing hare scrambles when the husaberg came out I think as a result of two husky engineers jumping ship. It was the first 4 stroke that weighed close to what the 2 strokes did and everyone wanted one.

I was racing hare scrambles when the husaberg came out I think as a result of two husky engineers jumping ship. It was the first 4 stroke that weighed close to what the 2 strokes did and everyone wanted one.

The TE 449/511 models make my heart go pitty-patter.

I hope they continue to make them, perhaps with the wider ratio trans-gears of the KTM EXCs.

In reply to bearmtnmartin:

Husaberg is now owned by KTM.

Who knows what they'll do with Husky, but I hope they stay cheap. I suspect they may become the KTM entry level bikes, as the current ones are a little on the pricey side.

bearmtnmartin wrote: I was racing hare scrambles when the husaberg came out I think as a result of two husky engineers jumping ship. It was the first 4 stroke that weighed close to what the 2 strokes did and everyone wanted one.

KTM bought Husaberg several years ago and it's a separate line entirely. http://www.husaberg.com/us.html

The 'Bergs were the first of the truly high performance 4 strokes. I was still riding enduros and hare scrambles when they came out and I rode one then, it amazed me how a four stroke could be so light and powerful. Husqvarna poineered the reed valve top end oiling system but it was Folan who really pulled the stops out on that design. The engine had no oil pump! That turned out to be a problem, in long distance wheelies the top end could run out of oil but it shows how far they pushed the envelope at the time.

I really like the new Huskys. I hear they are working on a fuelie two stroke....would love to see that.

Husky was always seen as 'the' high end Euro bike here in the Great Satan. I bet KTM keeps them positioned there from a sales perspective.

Speaking of the higher end Euro bikes: for a while Gas Gas was really looking strong, it seems they have scaled back their US dealerships and sales. Those are some really nicely put together bikes, I rode a 300 2 smoker a few years ago and liked it better than the 300 KTM.

That is KTM, and to a lesser extent, Gasgas and Beta up here. Husky is seen as a value bike, and one of the best kept secrets in mx and woods. It was only a few years ago you could buy a brand new Husky CR125 for $3995, while a new YZ was $6500. Even my 2011 was at least $1000 cheaper than a comparable Japanese bike, including factory 144 kit, and IMO, is a better bike out of the box

If you go to a a HS or enduro here, it's predominantly Euro bikes, with KTM being the most popular, followed by Husky, then Gasgas. Before I bought the Husky, I was very close to either buying a Husky WR 300, or Gasgas EC 300, but thought it might be too much bike for me..

Nobody knows what's going to happen, but there are 41 pages of speculation already on the Husky forum