On The Pegs September 2019 - Volume 4 - Issue 9 | Page 118

On The Pegs
118
1921-30: ROARING DECADENCE
GOOD OLD TIMES BLOG
B y K enneth O lausson
P hotos : H usqvarna
Peace upon the world changed everything. Good Old Times had arrived, and
people were drinking and dancing. The beginning of the 20s was a decade full
of joy and laughter. On the streets you could see motorcycles and other vehicles
moving freely. Husqvarna had just introduced their first in-house manufactured
two-wheel machine, driven by a nice 550cc V-engine. But the most popular mo-
torcycles were the affordable 250cc bikes, which sold like hot cakes…
The background actually came from the war when it was decided that Sweden,
as far as possible, should fabricate its own products. Deliveries from abroad could
be a drain as raw materials were scarce in these days. So, everybody looked after
their barns in order to stash and fill them up with adequate goods. Here is some
more background to the evolution of Husqvarna’s first own motorcycle. Engineer
Gustaf Göthe was partly responsible for R&D, research and developments…
“Riding comfort was a neglected factor in the beginning of the 20th century,”
said Gustaf Göthe. “One of my missions included improving the riding charac-