On The Pegs April 2019 - Volume 4 - Issue 4 | Page 60

On The Pegs
60
days. Husqvarna’s breakthrough came in 1946 when the factory tooled up
and introduced Model 24 of the 118cc bike. Actually, it was also referred to
as the 120 Husqvarna although the engine had a true displacement of 118cc.
This was a high-quality machine with an engine that gave a performance of
three horsepower. The Model 24 was inexpensive and cost 960 Swedish kro-
nor at a time when many people were making about 12 kronor a day. Howev-
er, the machine was less for fun, but mostly used for going to work. It was not
for dignitaries, but rather affordable for daily travelers who had to commute
on a daily basis.
Still, there was a status to be able to afford a motorcycle in an economy that
hadn’t yet contributed to Sweden’s future welfare. The sales figures in just
three years were 30,000 units of the Model 24, now named the ‘Black-Mill’
(Svart-Qvarnan in Swedish). Details of the Black-Mill bike included parallelo-
gram front forks, a rigid rear frame, a manual shift lever on the right side of