This is a Swedish scooter from 1959 that I didn't know of until now.
It's origin is a Swedish 50 cc scooter-moped from Husqvarna, penned by the Saab-designer Sixten Sason. It had 1 hp strong Husqvarna-engine and pedals according to Swedish law.
In an attempt to conquer the US market this Husqvarna Glider was developed. The front shield was extended with floor boards, a kick pedal and a foot brake replaced the pedals. Still a 50 cc but enlarged to produce 2,5 hp.
At least a 100 of them were built and they occasionally show up for sale or in forums in the USA.
To me it's much cooler than the Husqvarna Parilla!
This is pretty cool, I like it. It is an interesting moped/scooter hybrid. I hope it is light, since the mighty 2.5 hp sure doesn't seem like much. Then again, a 1959 Vespa 150 probably had only around 6.5 hp, and was much heavier than this thing probably was. I can not imagine that many of them survived here in the US, most were probably just thrown away when something went wrong. I doubt the local Husquvarna dealer had any parts for them, nor could they get any parts. The people who walked into a Husquvarna shop here were looking for tough dirt-bikes, not for mopeds... which probably explains the low sales numbers.
ReplyDelete-Paul