Hudson
Well-known member
A bit of surprising news, given that BMW only purchased Husky five years ago.
"Pierer Industrie AG, the holding company of Austrian investor Stefan Pierer, which also owns a 51 percent stake of motorcycle maker KTM AG, signed an agreement to buy the brand for an undisclosed sum, the Munich-based manufacturer said today in a statement."
Here in WA, Husky has been a bit confusing. South Sound BMW was the only BMW dealer to pick up the brand, but sold very few bikes and dropped the line pretty quickly. Ride Motorsports now has the line, but it's a bit lost amongst all the other brands they carry in their crowded store. Tasky's, the long time Husky dealer in Everett, carries the full dirt bike line, but not the road-going dual sports, as the investment in those models was supposedly a very huge commitment.
BMW dropped a ton of dough into Husky, doubling the parts inventory and marketing, and launched a number of new dual sport models plus some street versions like the Nuda 900. When I visited Husky's N. American HQ's in Corona last year to chat with their marketing manager, the place was a hive of activity and full of optimism. The recent 650 Terra seems like a great bike for $7k (about the same as a KLR) and it got a nice write up in several recent mags. Although dirt bikes are tough sell these days, Husky's sales were up 10-15% each of the past few years, though annually they still only sold under 11k bikes worldwide. They also had a respectable top 10 showing in the recent Dakar rally, with 2 bikes among the top 20 finishers.
Perhaps BMW realized that dirt bikes would never sell in the volume that Adventure bikes sold, and decided to get out before they sunk more dollars. Either that, or there was confusing overlap b.t Husky's new direction and the 650 BMW models like the Sertao or their 650 GS.
I've thoroughly enjoyed my TE310, an 09 which was one of the last models before BMW launched their new 4 stroke engines. It's been a great trails bike, and far exceeds my riding capabilities. It carried me 350 trouble free off road miles in 3 days over WA backcountry last summer. Let's hope the new owners have sufficient stamina to stay with Husky. It's a terrific brand, a well-designed bike, and a committed (if sparse) dealer network. I'd love to see them succeed.
"Pierer Industrie AG, the holding company of Austrian investor Stefan Pierer, which also owns a 51 percent stake of motorcycle maker KTM AG, signed an agreement to buy the brand for an undisclosed sum, the Munich-based manufacturer said today in a statement."
Here in WA, Husky has been a bit confusing. South Sound BMW was the only BMW dealer to pick up the brand, but sold very few bikes and dropped the line pretty quickly. Ride Motorsports now has the line, but it's a bit lost amongst all the other brands they carry in their crowded store. Tasky's, the long time Husky dealer in Everett, carries the full dirt bike line, but not the road-going dual sports, as the investment in those models was supposedly a very huge commitment.
BMW dropped a ton of dough into Husky, doubling the parts inventory and marketing, and launched a number of new dual sport models plus some street versions like the Nuda 900. When I visited Husky's N. American HQ's in Corona last year to chat with their marketing manager, the place was a hive of activity and full of optimism. The recent 650 Terra seems like a great bike for $7k (about the same as a KLR) and it got a nice write up in several recent mags. Although dirt bikes are tough sell these days, Husky's sales were up 10-15% each of the past few years, though annually they still only sold under 11k bikes worldwide. They also had a respectable top 10 showing in the recent Dakar rally, with 2 bikes among the top 20 finishers.
Perhaps BMW realized that dirt bikes would never sell in the volume that Adventure bikes sold, and decided to get out before they sunk more dollars. Either that, or there was confusing overlap b.t Husky's new direction and the 650 BMW models like the Sertao or their 650 GS.
I've thoroughly enjoyed my TE310, an 09 which was one of the last models before BMW launched their new 4 stroke engines. It's been a great trails bike, and far exceeds my riding capabilities. It carried me 350 trouble free off road miles in 3 days over WA backcountry last summer. Let's hope the new owners have sufficient stamina to stay with Husky. It's a terrific brand, a well-designed bike, and a committed (if sparse) dealer network. I'd love to see them succeed.
Last edited by a moderator:
