Please allow me to introduce myself :)

Hi:

My name is Brett Saunders, and I'll be representing Husaberg N.A. in the western US - California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, and more . I'm active in supporting the Husaberg AMA Pro Supermoto effort that Barrett Marketing Group is helping with. If you have any questions regarding our race efforts, please feel free to email me directly - [email:1wjamw4q][email protected][/email:1wjamw4q]

Our race effort at Copper Mountain was assisted greatly by Dan @ MotoXotica in Vacaville (thanks for the wisdom, Dan), by Fay Meyers in Denver, by Eric Sum out of Canada, and of course, by Josh Barrett.

At Copper, Cheney crashed at the start of his heat race and sustained a pretty severe concussion. The kind of concussion where I was standing there in the medic trailer talking to him, and he had no idea who I was - he thought we were in a pub getting some beers ! He went to the hospital in nearby Frisco CO, where they did an MRI on him and found, as they do with most motorcycle racers, that he had absolutely nothing inside his skull. Nada But thankfully that meant nothing to damage either. Unfortunately, the doctor would not clear him to race on Sunday. Dave Arnold was another story - I did not see his crash happen, as I was attending to Cheney, but he got severely messed up on the Urban Cross metal tabletop. In the medic trailer, he was crying like a baby, he was in so much pain.

So neither of our pro racers got to race on Sunday, but all was not lost. Scott Hoffman, a good friend and my boss at SuperMotoRacer magazine, gave into my (and Josh's) arm-twisting and agreed to race the 2005 FS650 for us. Here's what we did to the bike:

Heat cycle on Saturday, change oil and filters.
Safety wire requisite fasteners.
Jet (With massive help from Eric Sum, and Darrick Lucchesi from West Coast Supermoto School - Doug Chandler's better half) to the 10,000 foot elevation.
Check tire pressure.

That's it.
Scott is a super fierce competitor, and he was determined to do well on the bike. He worked as hard as he could, having to go through the semi and all, but he made the show. I wasn't expecting him to podium or anything, we were just hoping that he'd finish the race. And he did

We're working on a complete bike review for the next issue of SMR, as well as a detailed race report from Scott. And yes, it will be good

After Copper Mountain, Cheney went on to Nashville - I did not accompany. But he placed seventh in the main, after tangling with Mickey Dymond on the first lap and going down. He had to work his way up from last place, so seventh is a respectable result in my book.

This coming weekend, Graham will be racing at South Boston Virginia. Our budget does not provide for me to fly cross-country to attend the races, but I'll be there with him in spirit. Graham is driving the transporter for fellow Aussie Mark Avard's Husqvarna team, in order to get his bikes from race to race. No, we do not have a large budget. Rather, we have a shoestring budget. Cheney paid his own way to the states in order to race in the AMA Supermoto series, and we are making due the best we can. Cheney is a true-blue Husaberg guy, and for both of us, it's all about representing the best way we can.

I'm certain that I'll meet up with many of you Husaberg afficionados in my travels around the western states - last week, I visited Ron Bishop's, Z-Racing, and Eric's Motorcycle Co. Today, I spent the day with Dave from D-H Cycles at the Supermoto track in Stockton CA. We had a blast !

Two new dealers will be joining us within the next week or so, one in Bakersfield CA, and one in San Francisco. I'm looking for motivated and enthusiastic shops to sell our beloved products, so if you have a recommendation for me, please don't be shy. Oh, and don't be shy about visiting our new website either - Husaberg-USA - It's not much right now, but I'm working on it

I hope to hear from many of you soon.

Best regards,

Brett Saunders

logjump said:

Welcome Brett, and thanks for joining the site! I wish you and the Racers the best of luck after a somewhat shakey start. I'll check the schedule to see if you will be coming to Oregon. (Hope so).

Logjump

(Rick Norrander)

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Rick:

Thanks for the reply - I'll be visiting the Pacific Northwest at the end of October. I'll be bringing my demo bikes with me, so if you'd like to meet up for a ride, let me know. I'm slow on the Supermoto track, and even slower in the dirt :lol: :lol: :lol:

Best regards,

Brett Saunders

Welcome aboard. My name is Dale Lineaweaver, to the best of my recollection we have not met, however, I do indeed know who you are.

What exactly is http://www.husaberg-usa.com/ ?
(ie Privately funded Husaberg race effort, Husaberg NA performance marketing, independent accessories outlet, etc.)

Who comprises http://www.husaberg-usa.com/ ?
(ie You, Husaberg NA, Husaberg dealers, etc.)

Why did http://www.husaberg-usa.com/ enter a motorcycle in a premiere event without prior preparation?

Hi Dale:

No, I don't think that we've met, but I'm looking forward to it

Husaberg-USA is a corporate ID site for right now, and as I have more time (and hopefully, resources), it will be developed as an interactive web location where consumers will be able to learn more about the product line and about where to purchase Husaberg products. I am developing the site in conjunction with BMG. I work for BMG

Who comprises husaberg-usa.com ? Well, you do My job is to represent the Husaberg product line, to increase public awareness, and (bottom line) to sell motorcycles. I think that the very first, and most efficient way to get our brand in front of the consumer is with a US-based site. The site is aimed at supporting dealers in every way I know how.

Why did we put an out-of-the-box 2005 FS650 on the grid at an AMA Pro Supermoto event ? Because we can We wanted to show that the Husaberg product is of a high enough caliber that anyone can walk into their local dealer, plop down the requisite currency, and walk out with a bike that's top quality. And I think that we proved that beyond the shadow of a doubt.

I anticipate that your response will be "Why did you do that, how can you put a stock bike up against all of those orange bikes, etc." Well, we were not trying to put the bike on the podium. That was not a realistic goal. What we were trying to do was to illustrate to the public, and to an enthusiastic magazine editor, that our product is top notch. And as I state above, I do not think that there's any question that we did that.

In the interest of getting the bikes on the box however - I'll have two bikes back in the Bay Area a week from tomorrow, and if you'd like to contribute to our race effort by having a look at them, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks for your response, and I look forward to meeting you.

Best regards,

Brett Saunders

Dale:

Cheney was third fastest in practice on Saturday on the '04 bike that I picked up from Dan Blum the week before the race. Bike preparation was the least of our worries. Lest we forget however, Cheney was out with a concussion on Sunday. His race-ready bike was stitting in our paddock area, and we chose to race the 2005 instead. Scott Hoffman, though a tough guy and a good racer, is not a top level competitor. Rather, he's a magazine editor. I'd venture to say that, were he on race-winner Jurgen Kunzel's factory KTM, he would have placed perhaps four or five spots higher than he did. With our two pro racers out with injuries, I'd say that we did the absolute best we could have possibly done with the resources that we had on hand. I was quite proud of our result.

Best regards,

Brett Saunders

Re: Pacific NW

BD said:

Welcome Mr. Saunders. I will be very interested in learning where you will be visiting when you come to Oregon in late October, and where you are planning a dirt demo ride at that time. I'll certainly try to make that one! Best ergards, BD (Brad Hanna)

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Build it and they will come, I guess
Please let me get in contact with a local dealer or two, and we'll try to set something up. Any suggestions on date / place ?

Thanks a lot for your interest.

Best regards,

Brett Saunders

PowerFiend said:

It's great to have you here Brett. I know you have much to offer the Husaberg community.

P.S. We have met before at Chris' old shop, the same day that the girl at Mesa was "picking a winner". :wink:

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Oh man, my only claim to fame :lol:

Thanks for the positive feedback. Does one of those bikes back there belong to you ? If so, please hit me up on the PM.

Also - you can be confident that you'll have a good, strong dealer in town very soon.

Thanks again, and best regards,

Brett Saunders

Re: RE: smug? we don't need no stinking smug!

schwim said:

@sfo: nobody's being smug, just testing the waters. The honorable Mr. Saunders and our resident guru are on fine speaking terms now. Just because it doesn't happen on the forum doesn't mean that it's not happening.

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:wink:

Odds are that someday in the future, all good things will come to fruition.

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Thank you for your positive outlook - I share that sentiment.

And I have no idea where you got the misguided impression that I'm honorable, but I'm not going to confirm or deny anything at this point :lol:

Best regards,

Brett Saunders

Magazine Tests.

husabutt said:

Welcome Mr. Saunders!!!

Congratulations on your association with Husaberg and BMG. I wish you much success whether it be on the podium or just enhancing the forward progression the marque. Since you are assigned to the West will you be able to get some 05's to Dirt Bike Magazine for testing?

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Thanks for the welcome !
Getting bikes to the magazines is one of my primary short-term goals.
If you have industry contacts, please PM me.
In the next issue of SupermotoRacer mag, there will be a five page bike review / test / race report on the 2005 FS650 - I'll update this forum with additional information as it becomes available.

Thanks again, and best regards,

Brett Saunders