Husqvarna Dirt Bikes - History And The Race LineupIn 1920 the company opened their first engine factory producing a 550cc four stroke V twin. It was also around this time that Husqvarna started developing racing motorcycles and had considerable success through the 20's and 30's, winning races in Sweden and then throughout Europe. Race wins included the International Six Days as well as GP and the Isle of Man TT road races. The Husqvarna racing machines were renowned for their light weight, due mainly to the then revolutionary work of designer Folke Mannerstedt who used various alloys in the bikes manufacture to decrease weight. The company stopped racing in the mid 30's when demand for bigger motorcycles slowed and their production became non-profitable however their engines were later modified and used in the production of army motorcycles. In 1935 the first two stroke machine was produced. It had a 98cc engine and the bike could be pedalled as well. Riders didn't need a motorbike license and the bike proved to be very popular throughout Sweden. 1946 heralded the release of the 'Svartkvarna' and it was a huge success due to its light weight and reliability. Husqvarna sold thousands of these machines after the second World War as the civilian population had to deal with widespread petrol shortages. In 1957 Husqvarna released the 'Silver Arrow', bringing with it a brand new design, a 175cc engine and a weight of less than 75 kilograms to comply with Swedens classification of a 'light motorcycle'. Both the Silver Arrow and the Golden Arrow (a 200cc machine that was released after the Silver Arrow) marked the start of serious development into the Husqvarna dirt bikes range. As the machines became more specialised for off road Husqvarna again started winning national and international championships. '09 Husqvarna Dirt BikesThere's quite a few updates for the CR125 for '09, there's a new frame which is based on the four stroke models, there's also new bodywork, a new fuel tank and new air box.
The footpegs on the new frame are 15mm forward and the seat height has been reduced by 10mm. The swingarm has been revised, it features a new extruded aluminium box centre section and tubular spars.
The TC250 has had extensive work done on the engine/transmission to reduce overall height, weight and length. The four stroke 250 also has a new aluminium swingarm and the frame is new for all the '09 models.
The TC450 and TC510 have a new titanium exhaust system and both the 450 and 510 have new gearbox components aimed at improving gear changes. All the models in the Husqvarna dirt bikes range have new wave style brake rotors.
All the '09 models have new red and white graphics which do look pretty good, the Husqvarna's have quite odd looking bodywork but with the graphics it all comes together well. Check out all the Husqvarna dirt bikes on the Australian site or on the US site here. Have a look at the '08 motocross range here You can check out the 07 range of bikes here Please note that to protect our younger visitors to Motocross 101, SafeSearch is turned on in these search results.
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