Wednesday, 10 April 2013

Husqvarna Glider - got one?


Life is full of surprises, la vita è piena di sorprese!
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!

1 comment:

  1. 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.

    -Paul

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