Tag Archives: husqvarna

what’s it like? don’t ask – just watch

 if you have to ask…

Next to “What came first?” the most difficult question asked by non-riders is what’s it like to ride a motorcycle. It’s a question that’s given rise to countless variations of the same t-shirt, all to the point that if you have to ask you’ll never understand.

Which brings me to this wonderfully expressive short by motojournalism. Two guys, reflecting on a lifetime of deep friendship and mutual respect, made possible by a jointly shared love of offroad riding.

I’m still not sure if it explains what riding’s like to someone who doesn’t. But it sure worked to raise my pulse a couple of notches.

harden leaves husqvarna

harden announces resignation

In a major head turner in the world of off-road, Scot Harden, long time former marketing director at KTM, announced his departure after a short-lived reunion with his original and current employer Husqvarna.

Harden said it, “…was certainly a tough decision,” but left plenty for others to speculate on as far as where he’ll land next by saying that, “… there is some exciting new terrain for me to explore.”

His departure signals what in all likelihood will be his last involvement with the BMW owned Italian manufacturer of originally Swedish off road rides. The Southern California rider began his career as a factory rider for Husqvarna when it was still a Swedish owned company, a position he’d hold for over a decade before moving on to other OEMs.

During his time with KTM Harden scored major successes on the world rally stage, most notably his Red Bull sponsored Dakar and Baja teams, before returning to Husqvarna in 2008.

us highland execs die in plane crash

US Highland Motorcycles COO Chase Bales, company President Mats Malmberg and CFO Damian Riddoch died in a plane wreck Saturday, July 10. According to initial news reports, their twin-engine aircraft, registered to and piloted by Mr. Bales, apparantly ran out of fuel and crashed short of the runway while attempting to land at Tulsa International Airport as they returned from a Pontiac, Michigan business trip.

us highland is an american motorcycle manufacturer

US Highland had just opened a new manufacturing facility in Tulsa for their critically acclaimed build-to-order motocross, supermoto, quad, enduro and dual sport high performance motorcycles. The May 30th open house drew international coverage, much of it focused on the innovative stainless frame and engine combinations offered by the Husqvarna inspired effort originally launched in Sweden.

US Highland is a genuine American manufacturer of high performance street and offroad motorcycles. Their proprietary four-stroke multi-valve engine design, available in either single or v-twin versions with displacements ranging from 250cc to an on the drawing board 1050cc, captured the attention of the trade in large part because of the significant advancement in EFI development by the Oklahoma startup.

harden to husqvarna

Powersports industry headliner Scot Harden moves from KTM back to Husqvarna, where his corporate involvement with off road riding first got its start.

After charting KTM’s performance course for the past 20 years, a stint that includes significant Baja and Dakar marketing coups that linked the orange and black mark with energy drink apex predator Red Bull, Harden will now split his time between his West Coast home in Temucula and Husqvarna’s New Jersey headquarters.