Husqvarna-Husaberg Motorcycles
This was a bitter sweet moment for me. I’ve had a few KTM’s and they were some of my favorite motorcycles. Last year I bought a Husaberg, which is owned by KTM. To this date, my Husaberg FE 390 has been my favorite motorcycle. It is fuel injected, has incredible suspension and the “70 degree” engine design really puts the power to the ground. It is an awesome motorcycle to ride on the tight singletrack trails and it excels in the woods.
When KTM bought Husqvarna earlier this year, I had mixed feelings at first. They announced that they would be merging the Husaberg brand with Husqvarna. In actuality, Husaberg motorcycles was born from Husqvarna. In 1987, after Husqvarna motorcycles was bought by Cagiva, some of its engineers, led by Thomas Gustavsson, stayed in Sweden and founded Husaberg Motor AB in 1988.
KTM is making the right decision. Husqvarna was started in 1903 and clearly has the history, name recognition and brand power. It was a simple marketing decisions and running 3 brands was not in the cards for KTM. I also have a soft place in my heart for Husqvarna. My Dad rode them growing up and I still remember the red tank with the chrome oval design on the sides. I am excited for the 2014 models, which are essentially Husaberg motorcycles rebranded Husqvarna, but boy do they look sweet. Somehow they knew that I love white motorcycles!
