That hurt my head. I'm really confused now. So it seems the Husky will be a test ground for KTM's, yes?
IMHO they are grabbing at straws to describe it when it really is just another way to market KTMs. Which is completely fine, they bought it, just seems like a spin machine.
Humm it wasn't a bad read and he made it sound as though Husky will be different eventually. I think I'll try a Sherco as I wait and hope for the best.
He basically said they are going to use marketing to make huskys different. He is very good at marketing so it could be a very big hit ! He also said KTM is the pure motorcycle which sounds like KTM views husky as a step child.
Clearly it's all about KTM. Create a buzz though and race them. Same back end and Husky gets to be marketed as unique but not pure in his mind. Well sure, since a cosmetic makeover and marketing plan that includes the racing doesn't make for a distinctive bike the Husky name deserves.
A very long way to say 'We can sell you a white KTM if you don't like orange'..... Hope for the Husky brand that they become more than different fork springs & a linkage, I've got quite attached to mine now.
It was a nothing interview .. Why bother? Only read the article twice and saw 3 points of interest so far ... This will part 1 of a 3 part answer, expanding on what I read. Going riding again today (unless the weather continues to worsen) in the mud and light rain and slick conditions caused by a low-pressure system to the NE (?) of Cebu...I've got a new favorite trail ... Its miles from my home over in the center of the island. So it is a big deal for me to ride over in this type of conditions. -- (Part 1) Ultimately, that means you have to differentiate yourself more at the front end. So we’ve started to develop a separate leadership team for the Husqvarna brand. The front-end? The front-end on computer software is what you see currently as you look at the monitor... The back end is the coding part that is compiled and runs the computer;you never see it from the consumer side unless you call this crap web coding stuff, coding... How does that apply to a bike? Not sure but I hope he means more than just different colors, which would pretty much be the front-end. You guys can talk about the different engine performances between the 2 brands in question here but as long as that frame is the same, the front-end of the bike looks the same ... A new frame is the starting point for separation. Separate leadership? Sounds good but who is in charge? I was in the Army 10 yrs after coming off the farm in AR due to the glorious times of the 80s... Always have a leader in the service, 24\7. Problem was, many many of your 'leaders' we just 'Yes' men. They were gonna say yes to their leader or go ask him what to do, ~every time. Ten yrs at Microsoft was a little different. Lots more intelligent people, lots more education, as I'm sure the ktm leadership is all about. At a M$ meeting, ~almost anyone could trump ~almost any design or direction. Those guys seemed like that ~wanted that type of behavior from its employees. But you had to have the balls and brain power to have a better design and present it in an intelligent or you were just looked past. So the question will be, Who's in charge with this new leadership and is he a Yes man? ... Not sure who appoints who to the leadership positions at ktm, but I, for one, hope it is not a run-of-mill Yes man. This angle may not even matter because, who is at KTM other than ktm-thinking-people? That's the reality on the ground. Think I'm cursed with a memory sometimes and would like to get up each day in a new world, as so many appear to. Not the case and I do get up in the same world each day and I do remember the block diagram of this KTM-Sportmotorcycle AG (?) company and Husqvarna sits at the same level as KTM. So the power (and $) is there for Husky. BERGS never had it that way in the company from what I saw on paper. So it is not a BERG world for Husky till that block diagram changes. And Hope lives. - KTM will sell lots of these Husky bikes around thew world I feel; No matter what we do or say here. They are the studs and have the numbers to prove it today. (Sorry guys for the long replies here but us folks who do not have to go to a specific place and do what we are told to do, can spend all day here or where ever, writing, reading, or doing whatever we feel like doing, 24\7. This is not a life or life-style for everyone. Myself, after ~6 yrs and counting, I'm OK with it and it seems like it is gonna work out AOK.)
I can't wait to see the sales figures come in for the year, there will be a lot of awkward questions asked if sales are not a hellava lots better than they were with BMW/husky or if they stayed with the original husaberg lineup. I can hear the excuses already...."rebuilding year"......."product positioning"......spin....spin....
Talk, talk, talk. And KTM clutching at straws. I´m not putting any hope on an independent Husky as long as they´ve got hold of it.
I actually think sales will be very good, product is moving nicely, racers winning. They are doing fine with it but I agree, there will not be any real deviation to the KTM line as it is not needed. Unless the japanese decide to go big in off road racing I think it is all KTM and some Beta from here on out. Both great bikes. I think the husky name is in good hands and will live on but the simple fact is we are left with one less choice with Italian huskys gone and the new ones virtually KTMs.
The Japanese are pretty much clones of each other ? I just want a good product that meets my needs. I could care less what it is called or what color it is. " I dream of a day that bikes will not be judged by the color of their plastic or national origin,but on their ability to produce fun! "
So without reading anything but these posts on the matter...Husky is just the new Husaberg? I'm shocked!
I wish we could see all the bikes that were under wraps. 450 xlite and DI 2 stroke. Really I'd like to see the direction they planned to take the looks. I don't even care if the motors show up elsewhere. Want to see what BMW/Italian vision was next
There is no way on God's green earth the current Husqvarna existence is going to last. First off, they need to appoint a new president of Husqvarna that does not report to Jon-Erik. That president needs to have an understanding about the history of Husqvarna and form their own opinions on what the company needs, not someone who is going to suck-ass up to the Jon-Erik/FMF clique. If they are going to keep Andy Jefferson as a team captain, put him in charge of Motocross, not desert racing. This was a serious blunder on KTM's part if you ask me. Seriously, no one in their right mind would of made this decision. Lastly, in a word, communication. There needs to be clear and decisive communication between company, representatives, dealers and the Husqvarna community. This is so ass-backward at KTM North America, they all sit in the same building and cannot form basic communication with each other.
If they think they can make it work, they should buy the New York Yankees and combine them with the Redsox.
