On The Pegs January 2020 - Volume 5 - Issue 1 | Page 81

On The Pegs
VOL. 5 ISSUE 1 - JANUARY 2020
81
people to buy a motorcycle in the 1950s. The model reference consisted of the
three figures 282, which later had the extra tag of an “E” on refined export ver-
sions. It was equipped with a 3-speed 175 cc 2-stroke engine. According to the
Swedish law, the new machine should have a total weight just under 75 kilos,
which was the official formality for using a “Light-weight Machine”. Then the bike
became legal for 16-year-olds, teenagers with a riding license. Let’s look at the
technical facts of this little wonder. Maximum power from the engine was a “stun-
ning” 9 HP at 6,000 rpm. The cylinder was 60 mm in bore diameter and the stroke
was 61.5 mm giving exactly 173.8 cc. A German Bing twin port carburettor was in-
corporated in the engine design. This beast was capable of doing over 100 km/h,
which was a very good performance in the middle of the 1950s.
According to standards the light-weight tubular frame was a simple but elegant
stamped-steel product where the engine is part of the build-up and helped in
making the bike stable. The “rubber band” suspension was acceptable at the time,
which only gave little riding comfort. But demands were not so advanced in these
days. Streamlining was an ingredient of the styling concept and Husqvarna want-
ed no less. Both the front forks with leading and rubber-links and the headlamp
suited well into this up-to-date design. The 1955 price of a Silver Arrow was 1,890
Kronor (around 375 US dollars).
After some years on the market, it became clear that the existing 175 cc power
plant needed development in a complement version. Increasing the capacity to
200 cc the “Golden Arrow” had 15 HP under continuous load while the machine
was only 10 kilos heavier than its predecessor. This made a subtle advantage on
the market, but the bike - made between 1957 and 1959 - was never well accepted
as it weighed more than 75 kilos. Consequently, only 1,250 units were produced
before Husqvarna skipped the model.
But overall, the Silver Arrow was a tremendous success for the Swedish motor-
cycle industry. Husqvarna established an international name, although exports
were limited. In a decade and a half after WWII the sales figures were around
80,000 machines. And after half a century, Husqvarna had sold some 110,000 units
in total. But the big-time era would arrive in the sixties when the Swedish name
became a global best seller. n