WORDS : Peter Elliot PHOTOS : Geoff Osborne
VITPILEN 701
This is , quite possibly , the future of motorcycling .
Fast , furious and ... a lot of fun . ow . This bike has destroyed a lot of ideas I have developed about bikes over my decades of riding , on and off road . But before I explain how this bike broke my brain , we need a little context . To say that Husqvarna ’ s journey over the last 135 years of bike production has “ been interesting ”, is equivalent to saying that brain surgery is a “ job ”. That is to say , it ’ s true , but not the whole picture . So , a little potted Husky history . Following a decree from the Swedish King in 1689 , a forge was established in the town of Husqvarna to supply weaponry for the country ’ s army . Originally it produced rifles . The Husqvarna logo is often mistaken for a crown atop an H , when in fact it represents the rifle-sight picture . Husqvarna , over the decades and centuries , has developed into an enormous organisation delivering hundreds of household names ; Husqvarna sewing machines , Flymo mowers , McCulloch , Poulan and Jonsered chainsaws , Weed-eater , and Gardena , to name but a few . However , Husqvarna entered the motorcycle business in 1903 , pre-dating Harley Davidson in the U . S of A for producing motorcycles . All through the years up to the birth of motocross in the 1950s , Husqvarna ’ s name and reputation as a winner grew , with names like Rolf
Tibblin and Bill Nilsson taking out world titles in the 250 and 500cc classes in 1959 . Throughout the 60s and 70s the ‘ Husky ’ rep expanded further , with wins in Baja and many other major events . Then , in 1977 Husqvarna was purchased by Electrolux , and it rolled along for a few years until in 1987 the company was bought once more , this time by Italian bikemaker Cagiva . These big changes saw internal problems arise , as the factory was relocated to Italy , and the design team didn ’ t want to leave the north to live there . They elected to split off , stay in Sweden and continue their own work , and the motorcycle offshoot , Husaberg , was born . In 2007 was purchased once again , by BMW , and in 2013 Husaberg ’ s owner Pierer AG which holds the majority shareholding in KTM , bought Husqvarna back , and reunited the company at last , moving operations to their base in Mattighofen , Austria . This is ‘ once-over-lightly ’ in the history department , of course , but enough for a glimpse of the maker ’ s journey , I hope . Husqvarna Motorcycles has always led the way in development and technology , and in winning races . In fact when KTM bought Husaberg they also bought the Husaberg marketing slogan , “ Ready to Race ”, which is now used for all KTM machines .
KIWI RIDER 45