Indian motorcycle manufacturer Bajaj and Austrian motorcycle manufacturer KTM started their association 10 years back when Bajaj bought 14.5% stake in KTM. The Bajaj-KTM partnership has launched a number of motorcycles in India in last 10 years which have transformed the entry-level performance motorcycle segment. This has started the influx of performance motorcycles and big brands in Indian market and now both the companies are planning to take this partnership to the next level.
On the tenth anniversary of their partnership; Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director of Bajaj Auto and Stefan Pierer, CEO of KTM, have announced that they would take the Husqvarna Motorcycles brand global and start production in India. This announcement is giving Indian motorcycling enthusiasts a reason to rejoice.
Owing to the Bajaj-KTM relationship, Indian motorcycling enthusiasts will soon be able to purchase Husqvarna motorcycles with nearly 115 years of experience in manufacturing motorcycles. The companies say that the Vitpilen 401 and Svartpilen 401 from the Husqvarna series will be produced in India, so it is expected that these motorcycles will be launched here first. Bajaj currently produces the KTM DUKE 125 – 390 and RC 125 – 390
The Husqvarna siblings will have much lesser body work compared to the 390 Duke. However, they would be using more aluminium body parts instead of plastic and fibre; hence the weight is expected to be around the same with Duke, and power-to-weight ratio would also be close.
Both the siblings will cater to two different sets of buyers. The Svartpilen will have a rugged, off-road friendly design, which is further highlighted by the use of aluminium rack on the tank, and the aluminium engine guard.
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Vitpilen, on the other hand, maintains a clean, urban cafe racer/scrambler style design, customized for city rides.
Husqvarna uses many aluminium body parts in comparison to its KTM predecessors which use plastic and fibre to adorn their structure. The use of aluminium is expected to make the Husqvarna motorcycles a little more expensive than the 390 Duke.
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