The Offroad Motorcycle That Started A Revolution For Trail Adventure From Husqvarna Racer

© 2009 Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum.

Pass somebody's point of view and this machine so American motocross has got the triumph. It all started in 1963, when Harley-Davidsons and Triumphs and BSAs ruled the roads, and a man named Edison Dye took a motorcycle tour of Europe. For U.S. riders back then, offroad bikes were not far removed from road bikes, and Dye was instantly enthralled with the European sport of motocross, and the new breed of lightweight two-stroke bikes favored by its competitors. He was particularly taken with the machines from Swedish maker Husqvarna. In ’63, Husqvarna built a works production two-stroke motocrosser.

Before then, Husky’s two-stroke motocrossers were prototype or one-off machines built from the 175cc Silver Pilen, which was a street bike. With their glistening red-and-chrome tanks, alloy heads and cylinders, and distinctive two-stroke exhaust notes, the works Husqvarnas were quickly making their mark in the then-new 250cc class of world motocross racing, and Dye could not help but notice.

A few years later, Dye put a Husqvarna motocrosser in the hands of a rider named Malcolm Smith for evaluation. When it got the thumbs up, Dye became the U.S. Husqvarna importer in 1966. Shortly thereafter, John Penton became Husqvarna’s Eastern U.S. distributor. To help spread the Husky gospel, Dye orchestrated visits by Torsten Hallman, the Swedish world motocross champion, and later, entire teams of European motocross racers. Dye’s goal was to sell Husqvarnas, but those exhibitions also showed Americans a new style of motorcycle racing. The rest, as they say, is history. See also at Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum
source :http://trail-adventurer.blogspot.com