August 2020 -- Vol 4 -- Issue 8 August 2020 | Page 210

On The Pegs 210
HUSQVARNA SPEAKS VOLUMES
By Kenneth Olausson
GOOD OLD TIMES BLOG Photos: Husqvarna
Between 1969 and 1970 the Swedes doubled both production and sales over a
period of only one year. There were two main reasons for this success – the growing
American market and a surge in demand for offroad and desert machines, which
represented a huge market. By now, Husqvarna had won their first Baja 1000 and
Mint 400 races and, after two motocross world titles by Bengt Aberg, the brand
name was highly respected in Europe and all over the globe.
There is a wonderful story from 1974 when the Husqvarna factory rider Hans
Hansson was to ride the famous ‘Onkel Toms Hütte’ enduro race in West Germany.
“For the first time, I was to compete with the automatic gearbox 360-machine,
which interested the technically minded Germans who wanted to know more
about our concept,” Hansson said with a smile on his face. “They looked with astonishment
as there was no clutch lever on the handlebars. Despite my poor German,