2014 HUSQVARNA FC 450
RIDING IMPRESSION
P54
ever, came to its rescue, but the
Germans quickly lost interest in
producing small-bore dirt bikes
and sold the brand in late 2012
to, of all companies, KTM, one
of Husky's biggest off-road rivals
over the past few decades. Yes,
it seems strange that KTM would
want to buy and save one of its
fiercest enemies, but things like
this happen all the time these
days, especially in the automo-
tive industry and even now in
the motorcycle industry. Case
in point, Victory's purchase of
Indian. Also, the scenario isn't
much different than when major
companies branch off into two,
like Honda and Acura, Toyota
and Lexus, and Yamaha and Star.
Evidently, it must work or they
wouldn't be doing it.
KTM Clone?
To get the Husqvarna name back
on the map quickly, KTM had to
work fast, and the most efficient
way to do that was to take many
of its own models and give them a
different look, a few minor chang-
es and… ta-da, instant Husqvar-
nas! We don't expect this to be
KTM/Husky's game plan every
year, though.
Husqvarna now has its own
group of people, engineers
and technicians helping run the
show, and it even has its own
building in the U.S. and will, for
all intents and purposes, eventu-
ally become its own company. At
least that's how it will seem. Last
year, we traveled to Sweden and
saw with our own eyes the new
Husky crew, which was made
up partially of famous Husqvarna
and Husaberg racers and some
of the original Husqvarna employ-
ees. Down the road, we'll prob-
ably forget that KTM has anything
One thing hasn't changed, though — Husky's still look sexy.
Look familiar? It should,
it's the exact same motor
as the KTM 450
SX-F's, but the Husky has
a handlebar-mounted
mapping switch.
