Husaberg is Dirt Rider 2009 Bike of the Year

That is so good news!!!!

I was talking to a few guys the other day about Dirt Rider, and the new concept bikes that are on the market today. Getting accolades such as this really, shows how good the bike is. And, what really makes the task of taking a completely new concept, building it, developing it and producing it so the consumer finds it successful, more monumental, is how BMW is doing with their bike. Classic example of proper execution and a missed target.

I kinda feel a little embarrassed by teh verbal slaughter they took in Dirt Rider, but then again, the axe, could have well been swung by Husaberg, so I guess its ok.

Well done Husaberg.

lets not jinx ourselves. remember dirt rider are the same guys who named the Cannondale "bike of the year".
sincerely,
Johhny Raincloud

And if you remember, DR hadn't even ridden the cannondale yet as it was not available. They gave it bike of the year just by looking at it. I'm sure Ken Faught learned many new recipes for Crow after that.

And quite frankly it's about TIME Husaberg won a shoot out, or at least something. We all know that in the past Husaberg's not only should have won a shootout, but should have gotten way more accolades then they have. I mean c'mon, everyone raving about the CRF450X???!!! And little more than a side note about the 450, 550, or 650 Husaberg?? The 650 Husaberg weighs less than the 450X, puts out incredibly more power and torque, usable I might add, and is so much more capable of a bike than the 450X it's not even funny.

So it's quite outstanding that Husaberg hit a grand slam and won both.

I have a few minor complaints about my FE570, but this is by far and away the best enduro/trail bike I have ever ridden. As background I have bought/sold 7 new bikes over the past 10 years because all I could see and feel was the engineering deficiencies. The most impressive thing is that they did this well in the first year of production! How many bikes/models can we all name that have been out for 3-5 years (or more) that still have numerous problems?

Unlike most people, I am not that happy that KTM now owns Husaberg. I find KTM to be a lazy/inefficient company. I have owned many KTM's and they just don't seem to be interested in fixing design problems, they allow design problems to be passed on year after year after year. The same could probably be said about many manufacturers, however my experience has been with KTM, and on the whole it hasn't been a good experience.

In my humble opinion, it means as much as it did to me when these magazines were judging it to be an inferior bike. The 15 minutes of fame is nice, but it doesn't mean they hold any more credibility than they did before. If you throw enough darts, you'll eventually hit the target.

thanks,
json

Unlike most people, I am not that happy that KTM now owns Husaberg. I find KTM to be a lazy/inefficient company. I have owned many KTM's and they just don't seem to be interested in fixing design problems, they allow design problems to be passed on year after year after year. The same could probably be said about many manufacturers, however my experience has been with KTM, and on the whole it hasn't been a good experience.[/quote]

I agree with you Mrpwr, i dont think they are lazy in their manufacturing as their attention to detail is still very good compared with others but they have definitely gotten too big for their boots in the last few years.
I remember when i took the gamble of buying a 400exc off them in 2001 and they bent over backwards to help with any problems.
Now they think they are doing you a favour if they even respond.

hope we dont end up with egg on face here...its dream start for the new berg which deservedly so,,,bmer are having a ***** time,but dnt forget they got DK ridieng for them,dnt be surprised if hes holding that no1 trophy at the end of the day!

Yes, if a major motor problem crops up we could have egg on our face, other than that I'm willing to say it's the best first year enduro/dirt bike ever.

I didn't know Knight was riding for BMW, I would be surprised if he still doesn't win. The factory teams have the money, equipment and resources to fix even a turd like the BMW. If he had to ride that turd in stock form that would be really telling.

I have advocated that is the way all motorcycle racing SHOULD be, all factory race teams should be required to ride the bikes 100% stock, the only changes they could make is a shock spring(for weight), sprockets, suspension clickers, and jetting for altitude. This would force the manufacurers to innovate as well as produce exceptional reliability. If the race teams were forced to ride stock the factory would spend more time testing to make certain the motorcycle performed in every aspect. They would know that if they produced a turd then their riders would be bitching publicly that they couldn't win because of the bike. Even the best riders can and would be handicapped by a bad bike, doesn't mean he still couldn't win, but overall we the public would benefit from the real world performance and testing, that would enable us to spend our money on what really performs, as it stands now racing tells us absolutely NOTHING about the motorcycle, that's the whole purpose of the race team is to fix what is wrong in the production model and tailor the bike to the individual rider.

The way it is now, it MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENCE what brand the motorcycle is, all you need is the best rider and enough money and mechanical talent to fix what ever turd you signed on to ride.

Mrpwr,
You know thats never gonna happen as long as racing is racing.
BMW wont sit back and let their flagship remain a turd if they can help it, they want there name and riders on that podium.
Look at this guy selling a new berg up the road from me, hes got enough factory parts to almost buy a second bike!

Click link & scroll down to see:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HUSABERG-TRAIL-BI ... 240%3A1318

Nick

UR right, never gonna happen because the manufacturers control racing, we the fans and the buying public have no control because we elect to roll over for the status quo.

So it should be - just ride one - end of story