1970 Husqvarna 250 Cross - Torsten Hallman's 1970 Inter-Am Motocross race bike.

1970 Husqvarna 250Cross
*Torsten Hallman's 1970 Fall Inter-Am Series race bike*
The Opportunity:
Own a bike that was raced by a Living Legend - Torsten Hallman of Sweden. The bike is offered unrestored "as is" for $15,200 USD, r fully restored to showroom "as new" condition for $21,900 USD. The restoration would be performed by award-winning Vintage Moto Factory in Santa Barbara, A. This restoration shop has produced many high-end restorations for discreet private collectors and museums. Recent work includes a well received, ully restored Bengt Aberg Inter-Am bike that was also owned by Steve McQueen. A couple of pictures of the Aberg/McQueen 360 Cross are at the back of the photo gallery as reference only. I do not currently own the Aberg/McQueen Cross or have it for sale, lthough it is privately available from the current owner. Just contact me, nd I will put you in touch with them if you are a credible buyer.
It is unusual that I offer a bike for sale on Ebay. Most of my restorations are commissioned and sold privately, nd I expect that this bike will sell privately as well. Pricing is based on recent private sales of "celebrity" race bikes of this type. You generally will not see these bikes come available in a public marketplace like this. That said, have found that Ebay can occasionally be a good marketing channel for worldwide exposure to collectors I have not yet met or spoken with.
Do not hesitate to contact me if you are seriously interested in the bike.I am available by phone at(805) 708-1129or through the Ebay contact system.
More info on the bike, nd Vintage Moto Factory can be found at vintagemotofactory dot com, r on Facebook at Vintage Moto Factory.
History:
In 1966, he first U.S. distributorship of Husqvarna Motorcycles was established by a man named Edison Dye. His company was Med-International out of La Mesa, A near San Diego. Mr. Dye's business goal was to introduce, arket and sell Husqvarna motorcycles in the United States. At that time, heSwedish Husqvarna brand was a dominant bike in European motocross racing, ut had no real presence in U.S. dirt scrambles racing.As a way to promote and sell Husqvarna in the United States, dison decided to fly over the topEuropean motocross racers and introduce the sport of motocross to the United States. The first step was to bring over World Champion Torsten Hallman in 1966 to race against the best Americans. Torsten easily dominated and won all the races he entered. The following year Edison Dye established a series of motocross races called the Inter-Am. This series of races around the United States would pit the experienced European motocross racers against the upstart U.S.scrambles riders. In 1967, orsten returned again to the U.S. along with racers Arne Kring, oel Robert, oger DeCoster, ave Bickers, ars Larsson, engt Aberg and Ake Johnson.Edisonprovided a new production Husqvarna race bike for Hallman to use each year during his stay for the Inter-Am races. At the end of the Series, he bikes were sold by his company Med-International as used race bikes - usually to one of Edison Dye's independent Husqvarna dealers.The Inter-Am Series ran from 1967 to 1970 and wasphenomenallysuccessful. Edison Dye and his Inter-Am Series introduced the riders of Europe and the sport of motocross racing to the United States, nd this series evolved into the AMA sanctioned Trans-AMA Series starting in 1971. It only continued to grow from there.History of this bike:
Official paperwork from Med-International shows that this bike was given to Torsten Hallman for use in the Fall 1970 Inter-Am series. As itturned out, is 1970 Inter-Am bike is the last 250cc Husqvarna Torsten ever raced in competition, s he ended up racing for Yamaha the following year. As in previous years, his Husqvarna 250 was straight off the assembly line, nd raced by Torsten with essentially no modifications done. He used both the stock engine and suspension. After the Series was over, his bike was sold by the distributor Med-International to the Husqvarna dealership known as Tracys Motorcycles in Burbank, alifornia. The invoice to the dealer was for $895 USD.The bike was then sold by Tracys Motorcycles to a retail customer of the shop, nd by all appearances, he motorcycle seems to have led a very quiet life in Southern California. The motorcycle finally surfaced in 2011, nd was sold to a collector and prominent Husqvarna restorer on the East Coast - Rob Phillips. The paperwork identifying this bike as Torsten Hallman's race bike was found in 2014. Torsten himself has been contacted on two occasions regarding this particular bike, nd he remembers racing it. Since that time, he bike has been ondisplay back in California.
About Torsten Hallman:
Torsten was talented on any size machine, ut he was certainly dominating on a 250cc bike. By 1970, orsten had accumulated 37 Grand Prix victories in Europe, nd was a 4-time 250cc World Champion, inning the Title in 1962, 963, 966 and 1967, nd finishing 2nd in theChampionship in 1964 and 1968 - all with Husqvarna.This 1970 Inter-Am bike is actually the last 250cc Husqvarna Torsten ever raced. Starting in 1971 he was hired and rode for Yamaha in the 1971 WorldChampionship, nd he went on to help develop the bikesthat became the early YZ motocrossers. After he retired from racing, orsten established an apparel company called THOR (Torsten Hallman Original Racewear) which became one of the biggest off-road racing apparel companies in the world. To cap off his amazing career, orsten was inducted into the AMA Hall of Fame in the year 2000.The value of this bike has everything to do with Torsten Hallman's accomplishments as a racer and his stature in the industry.Although his personal DNA has probably long since been washed of this Husqvarna; he did go to the gate and race this bike in the 1970 Inter-Am Series, nd his documented ties and accomplishments with this machine will endure forever.
The Bike's Condition:
Mechanical - Prior to putting the 250 Cross on display, prepped the bike for a brief start-up and a test ride. I can report that the bike performed quite well. The engine starts readily, uns well, hifts correctly and the bike stops as it should. The bike appears to have very little time on it since it was raced by Torsten and I suspect that it spent many of it's years in storage. Of course there is no way to verify that other than by the overall condition and appearance.I installed a period-correct kill button and itremains connected to the electrical system, ut is now secured out of sight under the gas tank. I did this as I never intended to ride or race this bike, nd I like the clean appearance for display.The test ride revealed a few minor mechanical issues to report. The petcock on the gas tank weeps fuel when turned on, nd would need a rebuild or replacement should you intend to keep gas in the bike. Likewise, he primary cover weeped a little transmission oil when it was filled for the test ride. The bike currently has all fluids drained for display, ut the primary cover gasket would need refreshing orreplacement if you wanted to haveoil in the tranny and not have a drip there.The wheels are the original yellow-labelAkronts and have seen some wear and tear. Both rimshave minor flat spots from the Inter-Am series, nd it isevident that there were some tire changes between races. The rear rim ismissing one spoke, nd Ibelieve it broke at the nipple frommoisture seizing thenipple to the spoke. Other spokes may have seizednipples as well, ut I did not check them individually.The tires are original Trelleborgs and are decades old. I'm sure that the rear tire is not the first one on the bike, ut the front may be original. The tires are ok for display as an "as raced" bike but I would replace them for show, r for riding.Cables are original OEM gray colored with oilers, nd work fine. Crank seals are currently ok for limited use, ut they should be refreshed if there is going to be any significant time put on the engine. The original handlebars are straight, long with original Magura throttle and controls that work fine.
Cosmetic -I really recommend looking at the pictures and judge for yourself.This is an unrestored race bike from 1970, nd nothing is pristine anymore. That said, t is a prettyclean example of a 1970 250 Cross, nd the bike is very original and unmolested. All the hardware (bolts) that I saw - but possibly not all - are correctly stamped Bufobolts. I did not look at every one, o please don't hold me to a specific number.Some other items on the bikehave been changed over time. At some point, he original number plates - as used by Hallman - were removed from the bike (probably upon sale to Tracys Motorcycles). The green oval plates on the bike now are good reproductions of what came on the bike originally. It appears that the rear fender was also replaced at some point in time.The gas tank is very straight, ut there is acurious mix of old original paint and some hand applied touch-up paint. There is a very shallow dent on the top of the tank, nd some small dings andblemishes in the chrome and other areas as well. The chrome on the chain guard is blemished, s are the handlebars slightly blemished. The fork tubes are in very nice condition. All the aluminum bits and pieces on the bike such as the rims, ront hub, andlebar controls, tc aresomewhatoxidized from age and exposure. The black engine paint is dull andmissing in places.Overall, he bike looks pretty good for an unrestored example. And it is all there; and would respond wonderfully to a full restoration.
Shipping:
This bike is offered Worldwide, nd it is up to the buyer to make all arrangements and cover all costs. I willassist with the names of shippers I have used in the past, nd I can arrange to meet with your shipper at my location for pick-up.If you are overseas, lease be sure that the paperwork available for this transaction will allow you to export the bike to your location. The bike is sold with the documents that verify it was Torsten Hallman's race bike, nd with a Bill of Sale. No Title.If a Title is needed or desired, can arrange for that but there will be an additional cost that needs to be covered by the buyer. Contact me to discuss this option.
Payment:
PayPal for deposit only - $1000 Non-refundable. The balance is due in 7 days by bank wire or Cashiers check or cash on personal pick-up.

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