Husqvarna Motorcycles

1912 Moto-Reve advertisement of G. Magnani in Bucharest

Husqvarna was founded near the town of Huskvarna in Sweden in 1689. The company started out as a maker of muskets, and the Husqvarna logo still depicts a gun sight viewed from the end of the barrel.[2]

As with many motorcycle manufacturers, Husqvarna first began producing bicycles in the late 19th century. In 1903, they made the jump to motorcycle manufacturing. The first "Husky" motorcycles used imported engines, and it was not until 1918 that Husqvarna began producing machines built entirely in-house. Around that time they secured a contract with the Swedish Army, and also began entering cross-country and long-distance motorcycle races.[1] In 1920, Husqvarna established its own engine factory and the first engine to be designed was a 550 cc four-stroke 50-degree side-valve V-twin engine, similar to those made by companies like Harley-Davidson and Indian.

Husqvarna competed in Grand Prix road racing in the 350cc and 500cc classes during the 1930s and was Sweden's largest motorcycle manufacturer by 1939. All of the racing bikes were based on a 50-degree V-twin prototype built by Folke Mannerstedt in 1931. The company team beat the Norton works team at the Swedish GP in 1931 with a 1–2 finish by Ragnar Sundqvist and Gunnar Kalen. This and the next year's success led to a full commitment to the GP tracks with Stanley Woods and Ernie Nott joining the Husqvarna riding team. That year, Nott finished third in the 350cc Junior TT and Woods ran out of gas eight miles before the finish of the Senior TT. In 1935 the company withdraw racing support, but new bikes were still produced and raced privately,[3] while the company focused on producing a new two-stroke, two-speed commuter bike.[1] That year, Woods won the Swedish GP (marking the fourth year in a row that a "Husky" had won) on a 500cc Husqvarna motorcycle that weighted 279 pounds (127 kilograms).[4]

With the rise of motocross as a sport Husqvarna focused on producing light weight racing bikes. They adapted their lightweight single cylinder bike to racing and delivered the "Silverpilen" meaning silver arrow. At 75 kg and designed for racing it gained widespread popularity. Sporting many innovations like telescoping front forks and hydraulic dampened suspension it became an international success.[5] The 1959 motocross championship went to Rolf Tibblin and his 250 cc Husqvarna.[6] The 1960 world 500 cc motocross championship was won by Bill Nilsson on a four-stroke Husqvarna.[6] In the 1960s, their lightweight, two-stroke-engined off-road bikes helped make the once-dominant British four-stroke motorcycles obsolete. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Husqvarna was a dominant force in the motocross world, winning 14 motocross world championships in the 125 cc, 250 cc and 500 cc divisions, 24 enduro world championships and 11 Baja 1000 victories.

1983 saw Husqvarna innovate again with the introduction of a 500 cc bike that set new standards for competition four-strokes. It was lightweight, air-cooled, easy-handling and changed the future of off-road racing motorcycles.[5] It was the predecessor of the Husaberg brand.

In 1987, the Husqvarna motorcycle division (not the other arms of the brand such as chainsaw production) was sold to Italian motorcycle manufacturer Cagiva and became part of MV Agusta Motor S.p.A. A group of the company's managers and engineers were not willing to move to Italy and therefore founded Husaberg AB – which was acquired by KTM AG in 1995.[7] Husqvarna motorcycles were then produced in Varese, Italy.

In July 2007, Husqvarna motorcycles was purchased by BMW for a reported €93.000.000. BMW Motorrad planned to continue operating Husqvarna Motorcycles as a separate enterprise. All development, sales and production activities, as well as the workforce, remained at the Varese location.[8] BMW intended to position Husqvarna as "the two-wheeled version of what Mini is to the BMW's car division".[9]

On 31 January 2013 BMW Group announced that Pierer Industrie AG has bought full stake in Husqvarna AG for an undisclosed amount.[10] Pierer Industrie AG CEO Stefan Pierer[11] was also the CEO of Cross Industries AG, then the main shareholder of KTM-Sportmotorcycle AG parent KTM AG, and the CEO of KTM AG.[12] Later in 2013, direct ownership of the Husqvarna company was transferred and license rights were sold from Pierer Industrie AG to KTM AG, making the newly established Husqvarna Motorcycle GmbH part of the KTM Group.[12][13] Husqvarna motorcycle production at Mattighofen in Austria started on 7 October 2013.[14] At the same time, Husqvarna spin-off Husaberg was re-united with Husqvarna, terminating the existence of the Husaberg brand.[15]

Recently, Husqvarna Motorcycles has been preparing its re-entry into the street motorcycle market. In 2014, the company presented prototypes of the newly developed 401 Vitpilen and 401 Svartpilen at the EICMA in Milan, Italy.[16] Production ready versions were shown in 2016.[17] Together with the 701 Vitpilen, which was first revealed in 2015,[18] these motorcycles became publicly available in 2018.[19]

In 2017, Husqvarna Motorcycles introduced a new range of enduro motorcycles with a self-developed two-stroke fuel injection system (Transfer Port Injection - TPI).[20] The new fuel efficient, sensor-controlled technology conforms with the Euro 4 regulations for emission management.

• 1903 - Subsidiary of Husqvarna Armament
• 1987 - Motorcycle division sold to Cagiva
• 1988 - Husaberg Motor AB brand spinoff
• 2007 - Husqvarna motorcycles purchased by BMW
• 2013 - Husqvarna AG purchased by Pierer Industrie
• 2013 - Transfer to KTM AG, establishing Husqvarna Motorcycle GmbH and reuniting with Husaberg

Husqvarna names many of their motorcycles according to a nomenclature of engine cycle ("F" for four-stroke, "T" for two-stroke), application or type ("E" for enduro motorcycles, "C" for motocross machines, "S" for supermotos), and engine displacement. Additionally, some models of two-stroke machines have the suffix "i" included to indicate that these models have electronic fuel injection, rather than carburetors. For example:

• FS 450 - a four-stroke supermoto with 450 cc engine displacement
• TE 300i - a two-stroke enduro motorcycle with 300 cc engine displacement and fuel injection
• TC 125 - a two-stroke motocross machine with 125 cc engine displacement and carburetor

Some newer models (particularly of larger displacement) include a numbered designation of _01. These designations are not direct references to the engine displacement, but approximate values. For example:

• 401 designates a 373 cc engine, derived from the KTM 390 series of street bikes
• 501 designates a 510 cc engine, derived from the KTM 500 series of enduro bikes
• 701 designates a 690 cc engine, derived from the KTM 690 series of enduro, supermoto, and street bikes

Husqvarna also use the names "Vitpilen" and "Svartpilen" for their range of naked street bikes, which are Swedish for "white arrow" and "black arrow", respectively. [27]

After being acquired by KTM in 2013, Husqvarna entered the Moto3 World Championship in 2014 and 2015 as a unique constructor using their KTM-based FR250GP.[31] The team re-entered Moto3 beginning with the 2020 season.[32]

Year	Rider	QAT	AME	ARG	ESP	FRA	ITA	CAT	NED	GER	IND	CZE	GBR	RSM	ARA	JPN	AUS	MAL	VAL	Pts	Position	Cons
2014	Danny Kent	13	8	9	11	13	15	17	8	5	12	3	9	12	3	6	20	4	4	129	8th	4th
	Niklas Ajo	26	14	8	10	Ret	5	8	Ret		Ret	12	10	Ret	25	Ret	9	Ret	Ret	52	15th
2015	Isaac Viñales	6	9	3	11	7	8	7	Ret	18										115	9th	4th
	Lorenzo Dalla Porta										28	19	8	11	24	24	Ret	16	22	13	25th
	María Herrera	22	17	Ret	Ret	19	21	15	Ret	Ret	24	23	Ret	24	13	26	11	18	21	9	29th

Toward the end of World War II, a team comprising Bengt Magnusson (head of R&D), Stig Tham (engineer), Calle Heimdal (engine designer) and Birger Johansson investigated manufacture of a small, simple, inexpensive car. The design looked similar to the Saab 92, but with three wheels (two front, one back), and an unusual split rear window. According to some sources, the similarities with the Saab 92 may have had something to do with Sixten Sason working as designer at Husqvarna. A prototype was built in 1943, powered by a 20 hp (15 kW) two-cylinder 500 cc DKW motorcycle engine with chain drive to the rear wheel. The wheels came from a Fiat 500. The project was cancelled in 1944, and the prototype was scrapped at the end of the 1950s.

Husqvarna coaster brake

Husqvarna is also prominent in Swedish bicycle history.[33] They have been one of the Swedish military bicycle manufacturers. Husqvarna's Novo hub competed well with imports, but bicycle manufacturing was discontinued in the early 1960s.[34]