THUMBS down to KTM

Thumbs down to KTM
For Plugging the plug on the 70* engine
.In 2009 the new Husaberg was introduce, no update no improvements nothing in 2010/2011 and the bike was still miles ahead of other manufactures and received BEST bike awards yearly.
YES you had to be able to THINK out of the box to get the most out of the Husaberg, if you could barely maintain you other old designed bikes and had to wear slip on shoes because you could not keep you shoe laces tight then the new Husaberg is not for you!!
If you want new technology that works great, the new the Husaberg IS for you.
Maintenance is very easy.
The handling is the best of any of the bikes I have owned.
I have CHECKED the Valves twice with a slight change at 5000 miles. I have well over thirteen thousand miles of gnarly trail and desert and the bike just keeps getting better.

Have a great ride
Haskell in Idaho

I fully agree. Rode the EXC 500, liked my Husa 390 much better. The grip on the rear is also better with the Husa

I completely agree with the facts and the sentiment.

However, I do not believe that any number of letters from any number of continents will have any effect. It is absolutely normal for one company to buy another for the purpose of eliminating competition, and I belive that this was KTM's strategy all along.

What are we talking about here?

I think it disgusting what KTM is going to do with Husaberg, I go riding with 5 or 6 friends with KTM's and they have all try,d my bike and said they prefer it over there KTM and would get a Husaberg if they changed there bike. If in a couple of years i decide i want to up grade my bike i will not go over to KTM if that's what they think, I will keep my Husaberg because i have come to love her quirks, But for something newer i will prefer to buy Jap then give my money to ktm. :angry:

i had never even heard of Husaberg until about a week before i got mine. And to me honest I was going to buy a new 350 exc KTM but the 2011 Husa's were discounted $3000 less so i bought a FE450. I like my bike for sure, on climbs it i'm still amazed how it just grips, but when i fall or stop this thing is heavy...real heavy.
Seeing how it is aleady 80%+ KTM saying your going to go Jap if KTM kills Husa is silly.

To me KTM kind of had a good think going, test new innovations on a relativly obscur brand name, it if flops then you only piss off <1% of your total sales and you main stream orange line doesn't suffer the internet cannon fodder from one bad review regurgitated by a million others.

I was looking forward to getting a new Husaberg this year or next. But I too am not happy about the
choice between a blue or an orange KTM. And no big bores.
I was hoping KTM was going to be refining the Husaberg.
I will not be selling my old school 2005 Husaberg's either. I like them a lot.
And as for shopping for a new bike. When that time comes, I may be taking a closer
look at the Beta since the 70 degree won't be around.
pollo

Guys - I own one of the KTM/Berg clone bikes. I can assure you that it is the best of everything. The husaberg tweaks improve an already stellar bike, and it is nice to not just be a part of the sea of orange.

I'm sure husaberg will tweak their bikes to how they want them setup and it will be awesome. This is very good.

cleoent said:

Guys - I own one of the KTM/Berg clone bikes. I can assure you that it is the best of everything. The husaberg tweaks improve an already stellar bike, and it is nice to not just be a part of the sea of orange.

I'm sure husaberg will tweak their bikes to how they want them setup and it will be awesome. This is very good.

Click to expand...

You own a bike that is not in production yet? 8O

The people here are talking about the not-yet-released 2013 model Bergs that will use the same engine as the KTM500, i.e., there will be no 570 and none of the engines will be of the slanty 70 degree type as per the current 2012 models.

I guess he owns the 2 stroke

Noppy said:

I guess he owns the 2 stroke

Click to expand...

Winner winner chicken dinner. Who would have thought the most simple answer was the right one lol.

moto said:

cleoent said:

Guys - I own one of the KTM/Berg clone bikes. I can assure you that it is the best of everything. The husaberg tweaks improve an already stellar bike, and it is nice to not just be a part of the sea of orange.

I'm sure husaberg will tweak their bikes to how they want them setup and it will be awesome. This is very good.

Click to expand...

You own a bike that is not in production yet? 8O

The people here are talking about the not-yet-released 2013 model Bergs that will use the same engine as the KTM500, i.e., there will be no 570 and none of the engines will be of the slanty 70 degree type as per the current 2012 models.

Click to expand...

Definitely understood (although, to be fair, the original post was more of a mindless rant that makes neither of those points very clear LOL). The idea behind the slant motor was very important when the motors were as heavy as they were. The new motors are between 6-8 pounds lighter and provide the same benefit without the compromises in design that were needed with the slant.

Ever tried bleeding the clutch? How about checking/adjusting valves? Removing the gast tank? There are other flaws in the design of the 70 degree motor that we can talk about. If ktm has found a way to give the same effect without those flaws, i for one am very interested.

Noppy said:

I guess he owns the 2 stroke

Click to expand...

I guessed that too. However, since the original thread was mumbling about the slanty motor only found on a 4 stroke and further references to a 350, 500 and 570 and none of a 2t nature it would be a fair assumption that the thread was aimed at the 4 stroke bikes.

Though as Cleoent suggests later, the ramblimgs do seem to be mindless in nature

I am familiar with Haskell (the OP) from his other posts. He knows his stuff and has taken his 570 apart a couple times and I learned from his posts. Most importantly, to soak the clutch plates for a good long time before installing!

I would love to see an updated 70 degree engine and frame. Honestly, I think the gas tank and subframe could use a rethink. The bikes are sound though, they grab traction like nothing else and are nimble for what they are. I just love my FE450.

moto said:

Noppy said:

I guess he owns the 2 stroke

Click to expand...

I guessed that too. However, since the original thread was mumbling about the slanty motor only found on a 4 stroke and further references to a 350, 500 and 570 and none of a 2t nature it would be a fair assumption that the thread was aimed at the 4 stroke bikes.

Though as Cleoent suggests later, the ramblimgs do seem to be mindless in nature

Click to expand...

:cheers:

canuck_fe said:

Seeing how it is aleady 80%+ KTM saying your going to go Jap if KTM kills Husa is silly.

Click to expand...

No offense, but you can tell you never heard of Husaberg until a week before you bought one. The 70 degree engine design, although built with KTM parts, was 100% a Husaberg design--designed and tested in Sweden originally.

Go back and do a bit of studying on Husaberg, and learn about the brand and how and why KTM came to own Husaberg. Perhaps you will see that other people's opinions are not so silly after all.

Johnf3 said:

No offense, but you can tell you never heard of Husaberg until a week before you bought one. The 70 degree engine design, although built with KTM parts, was 100% a Husaberg design--designed and tested in Sweden originally.

Go back and do a bit of studying on Husaberg, and learn about the brand and how and why KTM came to own Husaberg. Perhaps you will see that other people's opinions are not so silly after all.

Click to expand...

trust me i did plenty of research including the history before buying.

Im in engineering so i get why Husa did what they did with the 70deg, but if the blue bikes weren't 80% orange parts that are proven how many people would really go drop more $ then a KTM on a completely unproven concept? not many. do you really think Husa would be as good as it is today or as popular without all those proven orange parts?
I like my bike, but 70deg isn't a game changer, just like anything else in engineering it has good and bad points. it is just a good idea that has probably run out of support at corporate KTM.

it is always a double edged sword, just like bands, some get a loyal cult following then when they go mainstream the cult gets all pissy saying they sold out, changed their tune just to sell records...blah blah blah..
fact is the only reason any company really exists is to make product, and you have to make money to keep doing that. for all we know Husabergs cost more to make then they sold for, especailly considering all the left overs kicking around.

maybe what was a niche market isn't worth supporting, or maybe it is, either way why switch to a 100% different product out of spite when you only have to adapt to something known and only 20% different. that was my point about being silly.

Good post.

Duken4evr said:

I think the gas tank and subframe could use a rethink. The bikes are sound though, they grab traction like nothing else and are nimble for what they are. I just love my FE450.

Click to expand...

yep, the small gas tank and plastic subframe didn't work out so well particularly on the 570 which is proving popular as a light weight adventure bike. just thought i better saying something to keep the rantish nature of the thread going.

just wondering why the traction is so good though? only had the berg for a few weeks but been in plenty of mud and we are all surprised that it is hooking up far more than the katos, even though they have aggressive knobbies and the berg has a mitas E09. is it this mass centralization thing? or just the nice flat nature of the power curve?