Husqvarna Motorcycles

About Husqvarna

Husqvarna Motorcycles, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pierer Industrie AG, designs, engineers, manufactures and distributes motocross, enduro and supermoto motorcycles. Husqvarna company started in 1689 in the town of Huskvarna, making weapons.

As with many motorcycle manufacturers, Husqvarna first began producing bicycles in the late 19th century. In 1903, they made the jump to motorcycle manufacturing. The first "Husky" motorcycles used imported engines, and it wasn't until 1918 that Husqvarna began producing machines built entirely in-house.

In 1920, Husqvarna established its own engine factory and the first engine to be designed was a 550 cc four-stroke 50-degree side-valve V-twin engine, similar to those made by companies like Harley-Davidson and Indian.

Husqvarna was Sweden's largest motorcycle manufacturer by 1939.

Motorcyclists had to be 18-years-old to ride, but bikes under 75 kilos (165 pounds) were deemed appropriate for riders aged 16 and up. Husqvarna first targeted the lightweight motorcycle realm with a 98cc moped, inadvertently starting down a path that would change off-road racing. In 1955, the “Silverpilen,” or “Silver Arrow” was introduced in Sweden with a 175cc motor and three-speed transmission. Consumers immediately began modifying the 2-stroke for off-road use, and by 1959 the factory produced five special machines for its racers which featured an enlarged 250cc engine and 4-speed tranny.

In the 1960s, their lightweight, two-stroke engined off-road bikes helped make the once dominant British four-stroke motorcycles obsolete. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Husqvarna was a dominant force in the motocross world, winning 14 Motocross world championships in the 125 cc, 250 cc and 500 cc divisions, 24 enduro world championships and 11 Baja 1000 victories.

In 1987, the Husqvarna motorcycle division (not the other arms of the brand such as chainsaw production) was sold to Italian motorcycle manufacturer Cagiva and became part of MV Agusta Motor S.p.A. The motorcycles, widely known as "Huskies"/ "Husky", are now produced in Varese. In July 2007, Husqvarna motorcycles was purchased by BMW.

Moto blog

First Look: 2018 Husqvarna Vitpilen 701

Husqvarna presented the production version of its Vitpilen 701 at EICMA alongside a concept version of its sibling, the Svartpilen 701. We’ll have more on the flat track-inspired Svartpilen 701 in a separate post, but here’s what we know about the “White Arrow” Vitpilen. Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Husqvarna upgraded supermoto FS 450

For the 2018 model year, the looks of the Husk has remained virtually unchanged, with the exception of slightly different color graphics. There are some technical metamorphoses, and one of the main ones is a new reverse slip clutch from the Swiss company Suter Industries. But still, it's a familiar fighter with a 449cc single-barreled 63bhp, WP monoshock rear, 16.5" front and 17" rear wheels on Bridgestone slicks.

2018 Husqvarna Svartpilen 701 and Vitpilen 701 Spied

Credit: Photos by BMH-Images When Husqvarna introduced the production models of the Svartpilen 401 street-scrambler and Vitpilen 401 café racer last November, which are based on KTM’s 390 powertrain, we figured it was only a matter of time before we saw larger versions using Husky’s 701 engine. Husqvarna had already presented a Vitpilen 701 in concept form a year earlier, so we were not entirely shocked when we received spy photos of a near-production version (above right) alongside its sibling, a Svartpilen 701. The Vitpilen 701 being tested doesn’t stray too far from the original concept.

Husqvarna 701 gets new engine

At the last year’s presentation of the model in Portugal, none of the Husqvarna fans could really answer the question why the old 690 cc Kateem LC4 engine is used on the 701st Husk, while the 690 Duke has an already upgraded one. It took only a year to correct the mistake. The new engine of both versions of the Husqvarna 701 is absolutely identical to what is being installed on the 690 Duke from this year.

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Husqvarna has expanded its family of “black and white arrows” with the 701 Vitpilen, which, as it turns out, is not the last in the company's line-up. The Swedish brand is also preparing to release a 125cc Vitpilen 401 model. And given that the KTM Duke range also has a 200cc variant, we can assume that the family, which has not yet entered the assembly line, will soon grow to five models.

Webb Wins Salt Lake City EnduroCross

From an EnduroCross press release: Factory Beta and Stillwell Performance-backed Cody Webb took a decisive win tonight in Salt Lake City’s inaugural AMA GEICO EnduroCross event. The win was Webb’s second after taking the first round victory in Las Vegas and puts him and his Beta two-stroke 300 into the points lead. The race fans in attendance at the Energy Solutions Arena saw a night go almost perfectly for GEICO-supported Webb.

2015 Husqvarna FS 450 Supermoto Announced

One result of KTM‘s acquisition of Husqvarna is the crossover of models, with KTM motorcycles swapping orange for Swedish blue and yellow. That is, more or less, what happened with Husaberg, so it’s no surprise to see that continue with Husky. Another side-effect is we get to see more from KTM’s awesome photography department, as exemplified here with the press photos of the new 2015 Husqvarna FS 450 supermoto.

2014 LA Calendar Motorcycle Show Concourse d’ Elegance Report

The 2014 edition of the LA Calendar Motorcycle Show continued its now 23-year tradition as the premier outdoor streetbike event in America with producer photographer Jim Gianatsis moving the show this year to the beautiful green lawns of the Malibu Golf Course among the twisty canyon roads in the Santa Monica Mountains alongside the Pacific Ocean. Highlighting this year’s exciting activities was the emergence of another new and soon to be renown custom bike builder to the sport for which the Calendar Show is known for cultivating. Taking Best of Show in this year’s Calendar Bike Building Championship was Calin Senciac’s Imagine Vehicles International / ImagineVehicles.com motorsports fabrication shop with an incredible custom billet aluminum designed chassis built by Terry Ward and the shop crew, housing a legendary 1979 Honda CBX 1047cc air-cooled in-line 6-cylinder engine.

2015 Husqvarna Off-Road Lineup Revealed

Husqvarna Motorcycles revealed its 2015 dirtbike model lineup with a number of upgrades, most noticeably the use of WP Suspension’s 4 chamber fork across the entire motocross line. Many of the updates are similar to those introduced on the 2015 KTM lineup, which should be no surprise after Husqvarna was acquired by KTM’s Chief Executive Officer Stefan Pierer. The 2015 motocross lineup includes the four-stroke FC250, FC350, FC450 and TC85 and the two-stroke TC125 and TC250.

For Sale: Steve McQueen’s Husqvarna 250

If you’re one of the many fans of On Any Sunday, then you must immediately recognize this bike. The Husqvarna 250 Cross was perhaps made iconic, thanks to none other than Steve McQueen. Now, the very bike he rode in the film, and raced many times, is up for auction on eBay.