bmw / husky throws down the gauntlet

Husaberg

Help Support Husaberg:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
T

tm-enduro

Joined
Dec 1, 2001
Messages
798
Location
Bellingham, WA
BMW has announced that R&D of the BMW 450 is halted and all resources go to developement of the Husqvarna line, in an effort to take KTM head on. What that that mean? Well, BMW has lots of bucks and will surely start hiring top level racers for the 2008 season for sure. Marketing, shipping, financing, etc just got easier for a Husky. The name of the bikes is still in question, but the parts and financer are not.

So what will KTM do to respond? Can KTM throw enough money at the 2008 Husaberg models to get them street legal in time for summer 2008 sales (to boost overall KTM volume)? What about the gifted, but quirky child known as Husaberg, is it time to make it clearly known that KTM won't take this lying down and finally introduce the revolutionary 2009 Hbg model early?
 
Huskys and Husabergs are allready better then then orange plow pulling farm tractors.
 
Well, if KTM calls up the "gifted but quirky child", and releases the HBG 09's, you could bet it would be HBG wolf in KTM sheeps clothing (orange).

May as well paint it red and call it a clitoris, cos it'll look the same as the one every other c.... has!

Azza.
 
Word has it that KTM is starting to take the HSB brand very seriously. Expect big things in the future from HSB.
 
Actually, I suspect that BMW will be the "high-end" for the Husky / BMW team and Husaberg will be the high-end KTM / Hbg. I suspect that the new Hbg will be a tool for WEC type competition, designed with stability for fast grass tracks as well as nimbleness for the extreme tests (extreme enduro).
 
tm-enduro got this from thumoer talk and the link to the spanish mag article i'm guessing.
i spent an hour combing the interweb this morning and can't find any other info on this, plus some of the mags other bmw related reports have been proved wrong by the passage of time.
anyone got any further info on this?
 
I am a Husky dealer and from what the guys at Husky USA are telling me, it is true.
 
I think that BMW buying Husqvarna will end up being a good thing for Husaberg actually. KTM and BMW are going to get into the mother of all pissing contests to see who is #1. KTM is going to dump a bunch of money into their bikes as well as HSB to get the #1 spot.

KTM knows that they have too many bikes in their line up and they need HSB to take some of the burden off the KTM dealers. I wont be surprised if KTM loses a few models in the near future that re-appear as Bergs.
 
Scott said:
I think that BMW buying Husqvarna will end up being a good thing for Husaberg actually. KTM and BMW are going to get into the mother of all pissing contests to see who is #1. KTM is going to dump a bunch of money into their bikes as well as HSB to get the #1 spot.

KTM knows that they have too many bikes in their line up and they need HSB to take some of the burden off the KTM dealers. I wont be surprised if KTM loses a few models in the near future that re-appear as Bergs.
Click to expand...

I agree. KTM will be forced to sell quads to compete head to head with BMW/Husky (who will undoubtedly make a quad asap in order to get more market), as result KTM dealers will use up LOTS of floor space with quads. Due to quads traction (with 2 big fat gooey tires) the motor will have to be a bit sturdier. I can see the competition bikes, enduro for sure and possibiliy the mx/sx bikes and maybe an adventure bike or two being Hbgs.

I wonder if the BMW 450 will actually go to production, or if it was merely a publicity stunt for BMW to show how big a unit (opps, I mean bank account) they have.
 
nice if the predictions come true.
re the quads didn't ktm have a 525 engined quad on display at one of the recent gncc's?
think bmw are a bit pissed at no longer being the no.1 teutonic motorcycle company.


can't find the pic of that quad but it looked different to the current polaris quad.
 
Howdy. I know that Polaris have a KTM 525 powerplant in their new quad. It would be sad to think that branching into 4 wheels is the only way that KTM will cope with a BMW onslaught?
I have been trying to 'squeeze' info out of my source at Ktm Aus about the '09 Bergs, and he can only confirm that the new model is a ground up rethink. Lower centre of gravity is the main focus, so the whole bike will be totally different from previous models. One thing he did mention is that the gearbox is higher and behind the forward facing cylinder??
Anyway, we all know KTM brought 'Berg to 'utilize' their technology which was miles ahead of anyone and still is.
 
I don't think BMW is serious about the dirt bike market. It is a different image. There are many road and street bike riders out there who do not think that dirt bikes are real bikes, or that they are that hard to ride and that they're for the little kiddies and those grown up weirdos who dress like clowns.

My neighbor has a Dakar 650, he calls that an enduro. When I told him it was a dual sport and showed him my Berg and told that THAT was an enduro, he shrugged and told me it's a dirt bike, emphasis on dirt as in "not serious, for kids and dirty".

His bike is definitely a nice thing but it would not be so nice if he fell only once, even in the dirt.

Well, I saw hiw ride in the dirt and the dude does not even stand up, so I guess it's not the same market at all.
 
LeFrog said:
I don't think BMW is serious about the dirt bike market. It is a different image. There are many road and street bike riders out there who do not think that dirt bikes are real bikes, or that they are that hard to ride and that they're for the little kiddies and those grown up weirdos who dress like clowns.

My neighbor has a Dakar 650, he calls that an enduro. When I told him it was a dual sport and showed him my Berg and told that THAT was an enduro, he shrugged and told me it's a dirt bike, emphasis on dirt as in "not serious, for kids and dirty".

His bike is definitely a nice thing but it would not be so nice if he fell only once, even in the dirt.

Well, I saw hiw ride in the dirt and the dude does not even stand up, so I guess it's not the same market at all.
Click to expand...

Frog,
The bike TMenduro refers to in the first post is no foo-foo, dakar-stickered up bike. It is a serious 450 off-road race bike.

BMW hired a fellow named Joel Smets, you may of heard of him, to develop and race the bike. It's already been raced in Spain and I don't where else in Europe so far.

If they aren't serious about a true dirt bike, they have a funny way of showing it.
 
I agree, That just the fact that BMW have hired Smets and brought him out of retirement?? proves they are ready to throd down.

It's starting to read like a movie script - I feel a little reserved about KTM using HBG tecnology only to further is self in a 'pissing match', if KTM has HBG for its unique technology, it is a shame that they may cloak HBG development (the 250 thumper concept has been tabled here before) in the interests of making sure that KTM has the most advanced bikes on the market.

Azza.
 
the folks at TT claim an announcement will be made at 10am Milan time friday (which apparantly is 1am here?)
 
What about HBG and Husky under the same roof again?

Naaaawwww. Never happen.
 
LeFrog said:
I don't think BMW is serious about the dirt bike market.
Click to expand...

I think you may have forgotten about the BMW Dakar pedigree. If that isn't proper dirt, then I wonder what is. Before they pulled out of it KTM didn't even get a look in...........

BMW also run an offroad school in Wales and their instructors use the GS1150 doing things on those most people would never dream of on their puny 250 thumper cross.

BMW are an offroad force to be reckoned with particularly since their 650 was and is the only single you can take across a desert and ride every day of the week to and from work in the suburbs. And everyone who I know who has owned one absolutely loves it. Says it all me thinks.

All the best,
Simon
 

Similar threads

H
Buying a new FE570? Known issues, problems & common mods
3 4 5
Replies
82
Views
64K
linnell
L
J
Rode a new KTM 690 today. Compared to a Husa it is...
Replies
4
Views
2K
jfjong
J
D
Dale E O's 2009 Idaho City 100 ride report
Replies
13
Views
3K
kzoo
K
L
Oreana 100
Replies
1
Views
1K
cypher
cypher

Register CTA

Register on Husaberg Forum! This sidebar will go away, and you will see fewer ads.

Recent Discussions

Recent Discussions

Back
Top