title ”. Husqvarna now had their eight-speed military automatic prototype ; which Hans Hansson had helped develop . Now , he was racing this machine successfully and was automatically associated with Husqvarna . They hired him to develop the new eightspeed gearbox together with the technical engineers lead by Ruben Helmin . The four-speed was OK for motocross , but lacked speed range , revving too high in offroad competition .
The complex solution was a high and a low ratio gearbox where riders had to stop for shifting in between . The concept was a twospeed primary drive , controlled by a lever on the handlebars . Also , the installation of this kit was complicated and costly . The whole power plant had to be disassembled , which was time-consuming . With time , the pro ' s learned how to shift between high and low range at speed , but Husqvarna never acknowledged shifting in motion . However , the result was positive and using the eight-speed Husky was more flexible than ever . When Hans raced in the " Novemberkasan " in 1968 , he took an outright victory riding his newcomer with an unorthodox engine concept .
“ The difference between riding in motocross and enduro is the knowledge of the circuit layout ,” tells Hansson . “ In motocross you
ON THE PEGS // PAGE 176