SWEDEN isn’t a country normally associated with the manufacture of exotic road-racing hardware, but between 1931 and 1935 the country's largest road bike manufacturer, Husqvarna, built a total of 15 works 500cc V-twin Grand Prix racers and four 350s. With riders of the calibre of Stanley Woods and Ernie Nott aboard, as well as local stars Gunnar Kalén and Ragnar Sunnqvist, the Swedish bikes not only threatened the established Norton and Velocette teams, they also broke new ground in terms of materials and engine design.
While never ultimately as successful as they perhaps deserved to be, the works V-twin Husqvarnas were the first multis to challenge the supremacy of the British singles in 500cc and 350cc Grand Prix racing, laying the foundations of success enjoyed later in the 1930s by the Moto
