Husqvarna V1000 Gran Turismo

Husqvarna V1000 Gran Turismo

Mining Husky’s past for a hint at a possible future

BEING SWEDISH, CARLSSON DECIDED HIS first concept would be his idea of what the country’s most famous bike factory would be selling if it still built road bikes. The V1000 shown here, finished in the summer of 2007, is based on a Suzuki TL1000S, because Husqvarna once made lOOOcc V-Twins. If anything, the bodywork is more radical than that of the FI Tracker, but as it looks like a full fairing, it’s more palatable to the sometimes-conservative bike community.

“I wanted a strong centerline that looked as if a milling machine had cut a line through the middle of the bodywork,” the designer explains.

He made the bodywork himself and incorporated “floating” triangular lower fairing sections and fork protectors because he didn’t want the fender-free fork to dominate the front end. He also made the two exhaust end cans with their trapezoidal exits. He even milled a rear light lens from a block of clear polycar-

bonate and tinted it red.

Gary Inman