Milk Toast

BMG only imports about 400 units a year. World wide sales are about 3500 units.

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OK,so I got that part right!! Honda does sell more XR50's in LA.

Where have you been hiding? The new bergs still have their problems.

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Not mine, and the stuff that I read about VOR and Vert sounds very different than my experience with Husaberg.
I can get anything I need, I can even call that other company (KTM) in a pinch, try that with your (fill in name of any other brand here)!

Which brings me to my last question for those touting the merits of the older Bergs, Have you actually ridden a brand new 04-06 Berg?

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Yes

That one was called a "rhetorical" question, obviously most or all of the UHE membersride Bergs. Read it as if I'm excited about my new bike. Know what I mean? oops, there's another one.

OK so maybe the new "milk-toast" Husabergs aren't 100% pure race bikes anymore, but what would most of us do with a pure race bike?

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Ride it.

Believe me, my bikes get ridden. The point was that I don't race, don't want to. Should I still be riding a CRF or a YZ? I want my starter button please. If adding the magic starter button was wrong, then I don't want to be right. I bought my Bergs because they have great components, a button and you don't see one every time you turn around. It would probably kill Hsb to make a 100% pure race bike (again), Honda seems to get away with it on their CRF, but I think people are a little freaked that their HONDA blows up twice a year, or needs a new piston every xx hrs.

Yes, they are getting more dependable, bu they are still a decade behind other brands in regards to dependability. BMG has no interest in making Huasberg a mainstream brand. Their sales goals are to keep numbers relatively low (under 1000 units/year) and maintain the boutique image; with its quirks.

Here I said BMG, meant Husaberg, sorry. And I have to agree with the others that thought that "a decade behind" was less than accurate. If it IS true, then KTM were chumps to buy Hsb!! Maybe they meant to buy MZ, they're a bit more modern than our crappy old things!

As for "being in it for personal gain, too obvious" not sure what you meant by that, what is "it"? And what's too obvious? If by personal gain, you mean fun, then yup.

As for "fishy" yea, sushi gives me gas, sorry about that Aspen. ffffffffffttt!! There it is again.

Notice how I've taken to responding to each little thing, seems like that's how you guys like to do it here!

Member Allupinya:

Sorry if I have offended your intestines. Not my intention.
You have entered a controversial thread, hidden in a cloak of anonymity, making statements suggesting you have a stake in this.

Misunderstandings are inevitable.

My apologies.
/Peter

A Husaberg probably isn't an out of the crate race bike for the desert, but some susspension work would get it in the hunt. I would think an FE450 would work rather well out of the box in an Eastern environment though.
dan

Hi Aspen,
You are a class act and a true gentleman.
Good job regarding hitting the brakes and not being sucked in.

Sincerely,
Dale

dsducati said:

A Husaberg probably isn't an out of the crate race bike for the desert, but some susspension work would get it in the hunt. I would think an FE450 would work rather well out of the box in an Eastern environment though.
dan

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Hi Dan,
Once some basic cooling issues have been addressed a new Husaberg will indeed make for a fine woods / open terrain competition motorcycle.

Sincerely,
Dale

What is in a name: Racing Motorcycle

Wow, lot of info in this thread. I feel compelled to share a couple of things from my point of view.
1. The early Hbg's did not deserve the hindenburg title. They were race bikes that happened to be 4T. The people buying them were 250 2T riders that thrashed them. The same folks are breaking Japanese 4T models, it's just that it is accepted as normal for a 4T 450 that weights 10 lbs more than a 2T 250 to break. The other guys that broke them were xr owners that didn't had no idea why you would need to adjust a valve.
2. The early Hbgs were pure racers. I don't think that Hbg had a benchmark to measure the bike against, they just built a bike that worked (but I would guess that they spent many laps on the track and time in the woods comparing it to 250 to 400cc 2T's. I felt that when I pulled up to the line at any race, I was giving up nothing on the competition, and actually had an advantage at times. That goes for racing against 4T's and 2T's. My old fe501 weighed the same as a Suzy RMX250. The only disadvantage was in deep whoops.
3. I'm not a marketing guys, so I'm not sure why the change in focus (more user friendly rather than race). The bike does apeal to the 35 to 55 thick wallet crowd, but I think it is because it gives us an advantage over our buddies. Selling pure race bikes is tough. The guys that buy racer bikes are racers. Racers want discounts, often causing the dealer to loose money on the bike and race program. If you sell 12 hbgs in a season, likely half were discounted to racers, and the other half were sold at the end of the season after they were raced by a support rider. This is what killed TM in the USA, you just don't make money off the "bib mousse" crowd. The current philosopht of making user friendly bikes makes financial sense. Now a dealer can sell 12 bikes and support 1 or 2 racers and make money. The current bikes work well for play riding or racing, but can be made into no nonsense race bikes pretty easily.
4. Race bikes. I would hazard a guess that if most guys got ahold a a pure race bike, such as the WEC bikes, they would pee their pants! For the folks that want racers, I would like to see a special order race model.
5. Racing forums, such as GNCC. Back in item #2, I mentioned that the early Hbg models gave up nothing on the competition. Things have changed since then. The 2T models with advances in tuning (espeically power valves) have become very smooth and still very light. The 4T models (Hbg at least) have gained weight. KTM builds an incredible bike in the 2006 300 xc-w. I rode on last weekend and cannot beleive how good it is. It's doesn't feel any heavier than my Husky 125, but pulls from an idle all the way to the rev limiter without a hickup or hit, that's 125 handling with a 4T power delivery, and it's fast. That is the GNCC / enduro benchmark that Hbg needs to go after, the orange 200/250/300's were everywhere.

Dale,
I once ask Peter how he kept his and Smets race bikes cool. He said he has a friend in Sweden who is a master machinest and is also close with the Husaberg Sweden people. He had made them some higher flow billet aluminum impellers. Peter said the blades were much taller and did take care of their heating problems. Said he could contact him about making another, but be warned that he was building them one off and the price would be rather high.
dan

Hi TM,
Great insight and as always easy on the eyes.
Thank you.
Dale

Who says user- friendly/reliable and race ready are mutually exclusive? I don't understand the lament that just because the new Husabergs are getting more popular that they are less of a race bike.

An old RMX weighed over 250 pounds. Even in its day, the RMX was such a pig that Suzuki's own race team wouldn't touch them. They raced converted RM motocrossers. So, a new Husaberg is still about the same weight. Husaberg's current line up of off road bikes are as race ready as any current bike sold, Japanese or European, I think. They are as light or lighter than the other four stroke bikes. Yes, the new two strokes are better than ever, but not everyone is faster on them. I'll line up on my Husaberg anyday. It's what I am fastest on.

Johnf3 said:

Who says user- friendly/reliable and race ready are mutually exclusive? I don't understand the lament that just because the new Husabergs are getting more popular that they are less of a race bike.

An old RMX weighed over 250 pounds. So, a new Husaberg is still about the same weight. Husaberg's current line up of off road bikes are as race ready as any current bike sold, Japanese or European, I think.

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I agree with your thinking. If you still need to shave weight you can go without the user friendly e-start & battery.

Some might think that if you don't need to rebuild the motor every few races it must not be a competent race motor.

Honda CRF450's race motors put out big power for their size but I've seen those motors blowup on a fairly frequent basis. My friends who race CRF's simply sell their bike after a season and buy a new bike to skip the chore of doing motor rebuilds before they blow.

Hi Johnf3,
Love your passion!

Ever tried to race AX or SX on a Husaberg?

The big "5" have readily available, purpose built motorcycles for most every discipline. Husaberg does not.

Such is neither good nor bad, just is.

Dale

dsducati said:

Dale,
I once ask Peter how he kept his and Smets race bikes cool. He said he has a friend in Sweden who is a master machinest and is also close with the Husaberg Sweden people. He had made them some higher flow billet aluminum impellers. Peter said the blades were much taller and did take care of their heating problems. Said he could contact him about making another, but be warned that he was building them one off and the price would be rather high.
dan

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Hi Dan,
The early engines had several cooling issues which went undetected until a sustained high load was applied. (ie Paris / Dakar, roadrace and mile dirttrack)

To name a few:
Low system pressure
Undetectable leaking head gaskets
Hot spots near the exhaust ports
A water pump which created a vacuum near the hottest areas
improperly routed coolant flow
Etc.

Sincerely,
Dale

PS
My best to Peter.

Dale I'm going to drop in on Peter in early May on the way to my daughters graduation in Nebraska. Will give him your regards. If anyone has some used parts requests let me know. He's probably got it. Have you seen the V-Twin Husabergs? He has one engine and one complete bike. Pretty neat and tiny engine for 1000cc.
dan

LINEAWEAVER said:

Hi Johnf3,
Love your passion!

Ever tried to race AX or SX on a Husaberg?

The big "5" have readily available, purpose built motorcycles for most every discipline. Husaberg does not.

Such is neither good nor bad, just is.

Dale

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Well,
I started to qualify my statement. I knew someone would bring up AX, MX, etc. Husaberg didn't have all the bases covered back during the nostalgic days of yore either. I was speaking for myself as far as what is best for me. I race enduros, Grand Prix, out here in West Texas. That is what the FE 'bergs seem to be suited to.

As far as GNCC racing, a case could be made that no four strokes are competitive there, irregardless of brand, as two strokes dominate the podium there.

You certainly are correct that the big 5 (weird, less than 5 years ago it was the big 4) has Husaberg covered as far as variety. But, KTM has had trouble breaking into the motocross/supercross scene in a big way (remember the McGrath debacle) and for Husaberg it would take a miracle. Like you said Dale, it is what it is. I bet you can/do tune a new 'berg as well as an old one, though.

"I bet you can/do tune a new 'berg as well as an old one"

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Thank you for the vote of confidence.

For the record:
I do build and / or tune @ least a couple post 2000 Husaberg engines each month. Most recently a 2005 550 and 650.

Such does not include the worldwide weekly shipment of post 2000 engine performance parts and constant technical support regarding the latest beast.

All of the above and I am no longer even "officially" recognized by BMG and / or Husaberg Austria. :lol: LOL

I am certain Smokey to have experienced the same a time or two. :wink:

Best Regards,
Dale

LINEAWEAVER said:

I am certain Smokey to have experienced the same a time or two. :wink:

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From the Smokey Wiki:

"Smokey ran "Smokey's Best Damn Garage in Town" ..... until 1987 when he closed it, claiming that there were no more good mechanics."


Dale, why do you work alone?

"Dale, why do you work alone?"

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Hi Peter,
I know, that you know, that I know you already know the answer. :lol: LOL

I am good @ what I do and as such afforded the luxury of being independent.

Indeed, I could make more money if I played by corporate rules. However, money is not everything.


Sincerely,
Dale

LINEAWEAVER said:

However, money is not everything.


Sincerely,
Dale

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Have I got the country for you!! :lol:

Have I got the country for you!! :lol:

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Hi Grok,
Your country is beautiful! However, is not BMG / Husaberg NA located somewhere in Canada? Unfortunately said organization is relative to my point.

"I could make more money if I played by corporate rules"

Hope you are well.

Sincerely,
Dale

LINEAWEAVER said:

Hi Grok,
Your country is beautiful! However, is not BMG / Husaberg NA located somewhere in Canada? Unfortunately said organization is relative to my point.

"I could make more money if I played by corporate rules"

Hope you are well.

Sincerely,
Dale

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I am well thank you, just busy getting our house to market.

You're right, BMG is in Canada.....somewhere! But that makes it perfect, you go on our excellent welfare program, get goverment funding to develop your products and to create jobs, and BOOM! BMG is paying you!! :twisted:

You see, government rules trump corporate rules! (usually) :roll: