News from KTM and Husqvarna

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News from KTM and Husqvarna
Schumann

News from KTM and Husqvarna

News from KTM and Husqvarna

News from KTM and Husqvarna

News from KTM and Husqvarna

17th pictures

News from KTM and Husqvarna
bmh-images

1/17
At least one facelift is due for the KTM 1190 Adventure.

News from KTM and Husqvarna
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2/17
In addition to the new models, KTM is of course not forgetting the existing range.

News from KTM and Husqvarna
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3/17
In any case, there is still a lot of work to be done on the Erlkonig.

News from KTM and Husqvarna
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4/17
The market launch is likely planned for 2018.

News from KTM and Husqvarna
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5/17
We will probably only get to see the series-ready Vitpilen at EICMA 2017.

News from KTM and Husqvarna
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6/17
To what extent the production bike then corresponds to the design of the study cannot yet be read from the Erlkonig.

News from KTM and Husqvarna
Schumann

7/17
This is how Husqvarna introduced the new Vitpilen 701.

News from KTM and Husqvarna
bmh-images

8/17
The window gets higher, the headlight different.

News from KTM and Husqvarna
KTM

9/17
The KTM 790 Duke as Erlkonig and as a computer retouch.

News from KTM and Husqvarna
KTM

10/17
The KTM 790 Duke as Erlkonig and as a computer retouch.

News from KTM and Husqvarna
KTM

11/17
The KTM 790 Duke as Erlkonig and as a computer retouch.

News from KTM and Husqvarna
KTM

12/17
The KTM 790 Duke as Erlkonig and as a computer retouch.

News from KTM and Husqvarna
KTM

13/17
The KTM 790 Duke as Erlkonig and as a computer retouch.

News from KTM and Husqvarna
KTM

14/17
The KTM 790 Duke as Erlkonig and as a computer retouch.

News from KTM and Husqvarna
KTM

15/17
The KTM 790 Duke as Erlkonig and as a computer retouch.

News from KTM and Husqvarna
KTM

16/17
The KTM 790 Duke as Erlkonig and as a computer retouch.

News from KTM and Husqvarna
KTM

17/17
The KTM 790 Duke as Erlkonig and as a computer retouch.

motorcycles

News from KTM and Husqvarna

News from KTM and Husqvarna
One and one is more than two

KTM and Husqvarna, angular look and flowing lines, company boss Pierer and design boss Kiska: In Austria everything is connected with everything and results in a mixture in which not only motorcycles, but even brands are currently being produced.

Stefan Kaschel, Gert Thole

02/18/2016

One is “just” a new motorcycle, the other is more. It is nothing less than the daring attempt to use the current technology of one brand to give another name a new radiance. Husqvarna! Anyone who thinks that this is not a problem should ask in Munich.

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KTM still dares to do it. What else? Just to show your favorite opponent. Under the direction of Mattighofen, the label, on which BMW despaired, is also to awaken to its old greatness on the street (see interview). The plan: to put the well-known KTM technology in a new guise. Can that work?

Who the two prototypes of the most important novelties from KTM and Husqvarna side by side, it is hard to believe at first glance. In the matt black, forms and structures sink into an undefined uniformity. Identical lamp masks do the rest to blur differences. And when a test rider in a KTM station wagon sits on the Husqvarna, it becomes almost funny. The aha effect only sets in when you compare the show bike Husqvarna Vitpilen 701 and the MOTORRAD computer retouching of the expected mid-range twin: Both design lines, the so-called “Edge Design” of the KTM with its rough edges and flowing lines the Husqvarna, are distinctly different from each other – and yet come from the same design team. From Kiska-Design in Anif near Salzburg.

Husqvarna Vitpilen will not come until 2018

The differentiation succeeds – at least visually. Nobody would suspect that the big Vitpilen 701 – there will also still be the little sisters with the 390 engine – contains the well-known technology of the 690 series, and that in its entirety. Even the tubular space frame seems to come one-to-one from the parts shelf of the KTM 690 Duke. And yet the Vitpilen literally shouts it out into the world: Look, everyone, this is how a modern Husqvarna should look!

You can do that with the brand identity at Kiska, no question about it. And they will pull it off as well as “Ready to race” at KTM. Pour the long Husqvarna tradition (see interplay) into a new, unmistakable form and technically use everything that is current and good – that is the task. The visual comparison between the Husqvarna show bike and the prototype shows how difficult and complex this can be. There is still a lot of KTM design involved. But Mattighofen gives the all-clear: The Vitpilen 701, which weighs only around 160 kilograms and which is now up to 73 hp strong, will only enrich the motorcycle scene in 2018. There is still time for detailed work.

But back to the harmonious coexistence of the two very different brands with the same technical basis. Much more advanced than the 701 is the development of KTM’s most important project, the new mid-range two-cylinder engine with around 800 cubic centimeters, which will appear to make its debut in the autumn of 2016, initially in the Duke. If the Austrians follow their ready-to-race approach here, too, the KTM dealers can be happy: The new middle class would then have to be light (around 190 kilograms) and strong (around 110 hp), with further variants coming later consequences. And then – a little later – we will encounter this engine again. Probably not as a 790 in the KTM, but as an 801 in several Husqvarnas. And you will recognize that immediately.

Husqvarna


News from KTM and Husqvarna


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Successful times: A works GP racing machine from the 1930s.

Today Husqvarna is widely regarded as an off-road specialist, but before the Second World War the Swedes built large-volume road machines and even won GP races.

The Husqvarna company was founded in 1689, initially producing muskets. Hence the company logo, which is not a crown, as is often believed, but a gun barrel with a rear sight and front sight. In 1903 the Swedes built their first motorcycle with a 1.25 hp FN engine. This makes Husqvarna one of the oldest brands still in existence today.

Up to the end of the First World War, engines were bought from various suppliers. The first completely own machine was the model 150 with a 12 hp 550 V2 in 1918. In 1928, however, the expensive in-house production was over again, the Swedes then used engines from Sturmey Archer and Jap. At the same time, engineer Folke Mannerstedt developed motors for racing. From 1930, the small factory entered the GP sport. With success: The works riders won about all home races in Saxtorp from 1932 to 1935. The most famous driver was the Briton Stanley Woods.

From 1938 onwards, Husqvarna concentrated on small, cheap two-stroke machines for series machines, as the big four-stroke engines were selling less and less. The famous Silverpilen from 1955 was based on these. A small 175 that was converted by many drivers for the terrain. Their robust construction formed the basis for the extremely successful off-road machines of the 1950s and 1960s. The crisis came in the 1980s when the small company couldn’t keep up with the Japanese technically. This was followed by the sale to Cagiva and then an eventful odyssey that came to an end at KTM in 2013.

Interview with Gerald Kiska


News from KTM and Husqvarna


KTM

Gerald Kiska is the founder and head of Kiska GmbH in Anif near Salzburg.

Gerald Kiska on the close relationship between KTM and Kiska, scarce resources and the curse and blessing of a clearly defined brand identity

? Mr. Kiska, how would you describe the Kiska / KTM constellation?

! For many it is inconceivable that two companies work so closely with each other and that the two bosses of the two companies get along so well after 23 years – our women are really jealous of us.

? So you also see yourself as part of KTM?

! I think it goes both ways. The engagement with and pride in the other company is great. We see ourselves as multipliers. As a nice example that one and one can be more than two.

? And which of the two then invented KTM in its current form??

! One person cannot do it alone, it takes both sides. There is also a lot of brainstorming together, it goes back and forth. And in the end you don’t know who actually had which idea.

? Okay, let’s put it closer. “Ready to race” – who did it come from??

! To be completely honest, we’ve stolen that a bit. When KTM took over Husaberg, Husaberg played with this claim in press releases, and we then simply made it KTM’s claim.

? When was it?

! I mean, 1996. In the end, the four-stroke off-road engine was also a booty from this takeover. A very interesting approach at the time, but flawed. That was then made steadfast under KTM and ushered in a new era in off-road sport.

? And since then you have had to live with “Ready to race”. Have you cursed that before??

! That was questioned again and again because KTM has grown enormously. We have often asked ourselves whether it is still possible to position yourself so sharply and pointedly. My answer to that is always the same. I look curiously at Ferrari. When at some point they no longer build two-seater sports cars and no longer paint their cars red, then it will be time for us to think about doing something else. But there are tons of great brands in all kinds of areas that nurture their legacy. It’s not about worshiping the ashes, but about preserving the fire, and I believe that KTM is broad enough to ensure one or two surprises to the left and right of today’s offer in the future.

? Surely there is also a discussion in your company about how far one can go without watering down this motto?

! Fortunately, the scarce resources in every direction – i.e. production, logistics, space, manpower – are still the much greater limiting factor for KTM’s growth than its positioning. In other words: For 22 years we have been very close to what is feasible, and what is feasible is not dictated by the market, but by our own capacities.

? Okay, let’s take the new Super Duke GT. Have you not discussed how far KTM can venture into this touring area with this model??

! That’s the same discussion we had at Adventure. I believe that there are many types of motorcycle where KTM can come up with surprising results with its very own approach. But that also means that there has to be a rider who appreciates this KTM approach. Who wants to have a motorbike that is active and as lightweight as possible, one that delivers a level of superiority, especially in everyday life, that cannot be found anywhere else. A Super Duke – regardless of whether it is an R or GT – drives despite all its power and sovereignty like a 350er elsewhere. Therefore, even with this ready-to-race approach, we always have enough space for a surprising chapter.

? Are there no limits? KTM head of development Phillip Habsburg has said that there is not a single one in his entire squad who wants to develop a cruiser.

! Yes, that’s probably true. But of course you can also look to the left and to the right. I don’t think anyone at Ducati believed a few years ago that they would develop a cruiser. I think that in the future there will be a lot more under the KTM brand than we are showing today. How far does that go? I dont know. As I said: Fortunately, we currently have other limiting factors.


News from KTM and Husqvarna


bmh-images

In the beginning: the KTM 1290 Super Duke R..

? What about the typical, angular “edge design” from KTM? Is that a factor that also restricts here and there?

! Not really. In my opinion, every type of motorcycle can also be expressed in this format. We could even make a cruiser with the same tools. But that would be a very aggressive, very dynamic cruiser. That also corresponds to the KTM guideline. You can see in our work with Husqvarna what character changes can be brought about with a different formal repertoire. We try to give each brand the expression that essentially embodies the spirit and esprit of that brand.

? Was the decision in favor of the smooth, two-dimensional Husqvarna design a conscious counterpoint to the angular KTM outfit?

! You know, unlike KTM, Husqvarna has a miserably long history that goes back more than a hundred years. During this time there were all types of motorcycles, very different from KTM, where the past was largely off-road. We found the big, heavy, great motorcycle in the Husqvarna past, and in principle that is the starting point for us, where we are now continuing with the street range. We’re going back to where Husqvarna pioneered and created real milestones.

? What is your favorite design at KTM?

! There is one every year, so to speak (laughs). I can not say it. You should have looked into my garage for the past 25 years. Whatever was in there at that time – that was probably my favorite design. And there was a lot in there. Right now the first Super Duke GT that was available. It’s so much fun …

? Another topic: If you could choose a different brand of motorcycle – who would you like to work for??

! We actually already fulfill our wishes, but we can’t talk about them. We have been in the automotive sector for many, many years, have a few great Germans right on our doorstep, Italy is not too far either. We did some nice things there, in the four-wheeler area we fulfilled our wishes very well. We make motor boats, other brands of two-wheelers, we did a lot for Triumph. There are also friendly companies around the topic of KTM, be it Bajaj in India or CF Moto in China, the KTM importer there.

Mr. Kiska, thank you for talking to us.

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