Select images to enlarge
Hakan Andersson (left), Torsten Hallman, Christer Hammargren, Arne Kring, Bengt Aberg, Lars Larsson and Gunnar Lindstrom were the strength elite in 1971.
By Jean Turner
YOU WERE THE FIRST GRAND PRIX RACER TO RELOCATE TO AMERICA. HOW DID THAT CAN COME ABOUT? At first I actually didn’t know anything about Husqvarna’s plans. My buddies kept informing me, “Hey, I heard you’re going to America. ” I didn’t know what they were talking about, so I requested where they heard that rumor. They said, “Torsten Hallman told us. ” So , at the next circular of the Swedish Championship, I walked up to Torsten and said, “Excuse me, but they’re saying that I’m going to America. ” Torsten appeared shocked and said, “Oh the, I guess I forgot to tell a person! ”
TORSTEN HAD COME TO THE USA EARLIER THAT WILL YEAR? Torsten acquired come to America in 1966, plus Husqvarna importer Edison Dye acquired asked Torsten if he understood somebody that would come to the United States to represent the brand. Torsten suggested me. Eventually, Husqvarna asked myself if I was interested and I mentioned, “Oh, sure. ” I fulfilled Edison Dye, Rubin Helmin and Bror Jauren at a fancy restaurant just north of Husqvarna plus signed a one-year contract. Someone said that I would go straight to America after being on the Swedish Trophy Team at the 1966 ISDT in Poland. In the time between the meeting and the ISDT, they put myself in the factory for a couple weeks to teach me everything about servicing Husqvarnas. Then, when I was in Poland, Edison Dye came up to me plus said, “Hello, Lars. Here’s the key. There’s the car. Take it to Brussels and fly to Chicago. Ill meet you there. ” I said, “Okay. ” I thought Chi town was a suburb of San Diego [laughs]. That proved to be wrong.
Lars autograph sheet when he was a manufacturing plant Husqvarna racer.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR FIRST RACE IN AMERICA? Edison Coloring picked me up and he mentioned, “We’re going to go racing. We are going to the Indiana State TT Tournament. ” I didn’t know what the TT was. At the race I signed up as “Larry Lawson, ” because under FIM rules We couldn’t take part in any racing that will wasn’t sanctioned by the FIM. My Husky was still in its crate, and when we pulled this Swedish two-stroke with Trelleborg knobbies on it out, people gathered around to check out it. People had never seen knobby tires at a dirt-track competition. They said, “Hey, what is that? Exactly what are you doing? You won’t endure a chance with those kind of auto tires. You need dirt-track tires. ” Edison told them, “Oh, it’s okay. This is called a motocross bicycle, and we just want him to ride it to show what it can perform. ” I whipped them with these tires, and after the race the particular fans gathered around to talk to me personally, but I didn’t speak English. All I could say was: “Husqvarna … very good-quality Swedish … very good motorcycle. ” Edison repeated this story many times over the years, and always laughed, because the spectators shook their heads and said, “Them California boys sure talk humorous. ”
AT THE TIME, WERE YOU THE ONLY MOTOCROSS SPEED IN THE COUNTRY? Oh, certainly. The people had never seen the motocross race or an actual motocross bike. I went around to many dealers and many places. One evening outside Kansas City I saw a good airplane up in the air, and I just started bawling; I was so homesick I cried. But , I overcame that.
DID THE AMERICANS KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT MOTOCROSS? It was funny, because many of the dealerships said, “Hey, come back Sunday. We’ll teach you how to ride the motorcycle. We have an enduro. ” I just came to America directly from racing the International Six Day Trials and they were going to show me how to ride in the woods. The man who won the race had been docked 12 points for being past due. I was docked 28 points since I was too early to every checkpoint. At every check they would say, ‘You gotta slow down! You gotta slow down! ” And finally I asked, “You really want me to walk and push the bike? ” In some towns, after I beat them, they took the trophies away from me. These people didn’t like factory riders arriving at their town and “stealing the boys’ trophies. ”
Lars at his AMA Hall of Fame induction.
THE THING THAT WAS YOUR JOB FOR EDISON DYE? My job was to sell Husqvarna motorcycles to dealers. I might travel from city to town, win races and sign up dealers. The first town I went to was Dayton, Ohio. When I got right now there, I ripped a page out of the telephone book and drove to the 1st motorcycle shop in the yellow pages. The first bikes I sold were to Competition Accessories in Xenia, Ohio. They had a mom-and-pop shop in the cellar of their house. They came out to check out the bike. They had never heard about a Husqvarna, but it started for the first kick. And they went, “What? ” Back then, no motorcycle began on the first kick! I proceeded to go across the road to a big grass field and popped some wheelies and roosted dirt all over the place. They will bought three bikes. They were the very first Husqvarna dealership in America.
Lars was the West Coast Penton distributor. As before, Lars sold bicycles by winning races on them. Notice the Hallman visor, chest protection, leathers, gloves, boots and prototype Lexan face protector.
HOW DID THOR GET STARTED? I only had a one year contract with Husqvarna, but during that year I noticed that the American riders didn’t possess any motocross equipment. They didn’t have boots. They didn’t possess leathers. They didn’t have mitts. I told Torsten Hallman, “Hey, we should sell stuff over right here. ” I don’t think we would have ever opened Torsten Hallman Offroad Racing (THOR) if it weren’t for John Penton. I met David in Daytona and told your pet our plans. He said, “If you open a business, I’ll send a container of Penton motorcycles. ” Just like that we became the West Coast distributor of Penton Motorcycles. We opened the doors within August of 1968, and, exactly like with Husqvarna, I was back on the road selling Penton motorcycles. My English was a little better now, but the Penton deal kept the doors open up when we first started to import products. In my mind, I thought, ‘We can’t make a living selling motocross pants, boot styles and gloves. Who could accomplish that? ” That was the start of some fabulous years.
Lars raced the ISDT for 3 different Trophy teams—Sweden, United States plus Mexico. He was also on the Kawasaki factory ISDT team (above).
IS IT TRUE THAT YOU FORMED THE MEXICAN ISDT TEAM SO YOU COULD RACE? The reason Team Mexico came about is that they held some enduros down there, and I convinced them to form an ISDT team with the approval from the Mexican federation.
WERE THERE ANY MEXICAN RIDERS AT THE TEAM? No . The particular team was Fred Cameron from San Francisco, Jim Simmonds from Missouri and myself. That year’s ISDT was in Sweden. They had an opening ceremony where the teams marched down the main street holding their nationwide flags just like the Olympics. When our own turn came, we marched in wearing big sombreros, and I could hear the Swedish kids standing on the curb saying, “They do not look any different from us. ” I’m the only rider in the world that has been on three trophy groups for three different nations—Sweden, America and Mexico.
Lars Larsson’ s 1980 FIM Pro license.
WHAT MADE HUSQVARNA THE DOMINATING BIKE IN THE 1960s AND 1970s? Two people—Bror Jauren and Ruben Helmin. They were very enthusiastic about racing, and if it hadn’t been for them, I don’t think Husqvarna would have ever made a dirt bicycle. They basically built the first Husky motocross bikes without the approval of the big shots. Husqvarna made a little street bike called the Silverpilen 175, and Bror and Rubin modified it for racing. They were lucky to get people like Torsten Hallman to ride it. He beat everybody. But , it is because of Bror and Rubin that Husqvarna chose to build motocross bikes. They had the particular vision. There are many people like that; Holly Ford would be one. He had the passion. It’s that spirit that is the driving force.
Lars Larsson is a three-time World Vet Champion— 2001 Over-60 Expert champion and 2011-2012 Over-70 Expert champion.
WHAT LED TO HUSQVARNA’S DECLINE? Electrolux. They will didn’t have the spirit. They would rather sell lawnmowers and refrigerators. They bought Husqvarna and then sold this to the Italians. Husqvarna belongs to Sweden, just like Volvo. The workers at the Husky factory never obtained over it. They broke away and started up Husaberg. They made it happen because of their pride and the Swedish state of mind, and against all odds these people won the 500 World Competition. Today, under KTM ownership, Husqvarna is a proud brand once again—not Swedish, but close.
Lars Larsson traveling the fabled titanium Husky throughout the 1971 Inter-AMA series.
TELL US ABOUT THE LEGENDARY TITANIUM HUSKY? Summer time with the titanium bike was something else. A salesman came to us plus said, “Hey, I’m in the titanium business. I think there should be a bicycle made with titanium. ” Pro Ok in Orange County built the frame. It was so light. You took the start and never looked back. You were gone! It was a fantastic bicycle to ride, and we were very successful on that bike. Within 1971 I won four of the five Inter-Am 500cc support events on it. It was so successful the fact that AMA outlawed it. They held responsible it on the cost, but you can in no way convince me of anything like that. The AMA banned what they didn’t understand. They stood in the way of development.
Lars’ titanium Husqvarna was banned from the AMA after the 1971 season and now resides in a museum.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT MODERN MOTOCROSS? Supercross. What a success that was. It’s a different sport. I know many of the old bikers don’t think much of it, yet it’s a fantastic extension of motocross. To have been a small part of the sport’s evolution is a fantastic thing. I’ve seen the changes from the first time an American came to Europe to compete to Team USA dominating the Motocross des Nations 22 times. The whole thing has been an unbelievable experience. It’s like you dropped something in the water as well as the ripples grew bigger and larger. It’s nice to sit with a little glass of wine and believe, yea, I was a little part of that.
Lars today.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE LUONGO ERA OF GP RACING? I think that the World Championships don’t suggest squat today in the sense that everybody is not really welcome to compete. In the old days, each country was allowed to send riders to compete in the World Championship. That is not the case today. Each country’s best must be allowed to see where they stand against an additional country’s best riders. To me, in many ways, the AMA Nationals are the real-world Championship today. They are open to in any case from anywhere. But , at the same time, the AMA Nationals are not really the Entire world Championships. Where I come from, a World Champion has to compete around the world. He is gotta eat the food they give your pet, listen to the language they speak and adapt to the weather they have. I wish there have been more Americans competing in the World Championship. The biggest honor you can have is to represent your country. As a sportsman, as a rider, there is no higher calling.
Lars still races races as frequently as possible. Here, Lars (27) prospects archrival Jody Weisel (192) in the World Vet Championship.
YOU ARE STILL RACING AT 74 YEARS OLD. WHAT IS THE COMPETITION LIKE? Well, this doesn’t pay as well as the Pro class did. I’ve raced for 56 years, and there are moments once i know that I hit a corner really well. At the same time, I realize I’m going extremely slow. I still love to ride motorcycles, and the camaraderie of racing is very special. I’m honored to have been a part of the MXA wrecking crew for decades. I get to ride different bikes every week. Jody Weisel and I can still have the battles on the track. I can’t see myself in a sailboat, and I don’t like to golf. Motocross could it be for me. Those kids who are just turning 60, they’re hard to handle!
