Husqvarna 125

HUSQVARNA 125

PREVIEW

Series Production Will Begin In Time For The 1972 Season

ALTHOUGH STILL a prototype, Husqvarna's 125-cc Motocrosser is already a proven competitor. After lying 2nd during a recent Swedish motocross meet, 18-year-old Tomas Stalebrink dropped back, and finished 3rd with a collapsing front wheel. Still, this is an impressive performance for a new machine. As stated, the 125 Husky is strictly a prototype. Series production

will begin just in time for the 1972 season, if all goes according to schedule. With an entirely new engine, seemingly free from teething troubles, why shouldn’t it? Husky's 125 uses a singlecylinder two-stroke engine with a 55-mm bore and a 52-mm stroke. A claimed 20 blip is transmitted through a six-speed gearbox and a 32-mm Amal concentric carburetor is fitted. Carbure-

tion may be changed, though, probably to 30mm and possibly to another make. At present, a Motoplat ignition system is used. The frame is relatively heavy for a 125 and resembles that of the 250. Wheelbase is 52.5 in., 4/5 in. shorter than the 250 unit. Intended primarily for the American market, the final product should be a bit lighter than the 200-lb. prototype.

Kangaroos don't bow to popular overseas misconception by hopping down city streets, but they certainly hop on roads, and are a real menace. Early morning and dusk are their favorite times to eat, and even late at night big mobs of them may gather on or near outback roads. A few miles’ ride by day will show how common they are, lying dead on the side of the road, killed by speeding cars and trucks.

They range from wallabies about three feet tall to the giant boomers standing over six feet. One of the finest sights on my first trip into the outback around Laverton was a giant red boomer bounding beside me along a red gravel road, glowing in the rising sun. Oblivious of my trespass, he stayed with me moving at about 20 mph before wheeling off into the scrub. It was my first such experience—an experience to make one realize how little men mean in that vast land.

But. the kangaroo is as dangerous to motorcyclists and car drivers as he is impressive to watch. Bounding across roads, they can badly damage car bodywork and knock motorcyclists off their machines.

Australia's strange ostrich-like emu is common too, especially in parts of Western Australia. They wander in scattered mobs but usually shy away from the roadside, as they are scared off by engine noise.

Wild goats and even an occasional camel, running wild after escaping from the herds of Afghan traders who plied the outback in pioneer days, are found in some areas.

Few sights in the world can compare with waking to see an ocean of wild flowers stretching to the horizon after an overnight rain in the outback. Their seeds lie dormant, and blossom briefly after rains that might fall only every other year.

Their appearance is as fleeting as the land from which they spring is long-lasting. Australia is a huge land, a motorcycle tourer’s paradise hardly touchedeven by local riders.