RIDING IMPRESSION
2014 HUSQVARNAS
bar mounts, black D.I.D rims and
hand guards, yes, even the motocrossers.
Despite the big gathering in
Sweden, the new-generation
production Huskys will be built
alongside the orange bikes at
the KTM factory in Mattighofen,
Austria, so it came as no surprise
to us that these Husky's felt quite
familiar – very KTM-like - once
rolling. Heck, maybe even more
Husaberg-like because of the
4SC fork.
Our day was spent almost entirely on the off-road models, as
steady but light rain left the Uddevalla motocross track all but
un-rideable. By my scheduled
time on the Uddevalla track, it
was nothing but a soupy mess
and nearly as challenging to navigate as the technical "Enduro"
loop that the Swedes (who will,
by the way, remain very much
involved with the Husqvarna
brand, including one of Husaberg's original founders Thomas
Gusthafsson) had laid out for
us. They didn't cut us any slack
on the enduro loop. Luckily, the
new Husky's are simply phenomenal machines and very capable
of handling the sloppy mud, wet
rocks, slippery roots and steep
hill climbs (often times all at
once) that Gustafsson (I'm presuming) threw at us. No wonder
the Swedes are such amazing
off-road riders. I guess I would be
too if this was all I ever rode on.
Squeezing in 10 quality rides
on 10 bikes – while swapping
machines among about 15 other
journalists - in one short day was
P74
