Cars And Track Staff
If you’re the kind of person who thinks a modern adventure bike is “too refined” and you’d rather spend your weekend vibrating your fillings loose while huffing premix, have we found the listing for you. Currently live on Bring a Trailer is a 1972 Husqvarna 360C Enduro—and this isn’t just any vintage Swedish dirt-slinger.
This specific Husky was delivered new to none other than the doctor of Gonzo himself, Hunter S. Thompson.
The Bike: A Swedish Chainsaw with Lights
The 360C (the “C” stands for Competition) was essentially Husqvarna’s middle finger to the burgeoning Japanese enduro market of the early ’70s. While Yamaha was making the friendly DT-1, the Swedes were taking their world-championship-winning motocross bikes, slapping on a headlight, a bigger gas tank, and telling riders “good luck.”
- The Engine: It’s a 360cc two-stroke single that breathes through a 32mm Bing carb. It doesn’t have a powerband; it has an “on” switch.
- The Gearbox: It features a wide-ratio five-speed.
- The Look: Finished in that iconic “Husky Red” powder coat with chrome knee panels on the tank. It looks less like a vehicle and more like a piece of mid-century industrial art that wants to wheelie into a cactus.
The Thompson Connection
Hunter S. Thompson’s love for speed and “unadulterated chaos” is well-documented. He once famously wrote about the Ducati 900SS, but his roots were in the dirt. This Husqvarna was his personal mount during his peak years in Woody Creek, Colorado.
Imagine, if you will, the author of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas screaming through the Rockies on a bike that produces more smoke than a Vegas casino, likely with a cigarette holder clenched between his teeth and a bottle of Wild Turkey in his rucksack. It’s the ultimate piece of literary and motorized provenance.
The Restoration
Don’t worry about decades of “Gonzo” neglect, though. It just finished a half-year, frame-off refurbishment in March 2024.
Should You Buy This?
Is it practical? Absolutely not. You have to mix the gas, the brakes are “suggestive” at best, and the right-side shifter will lead to at least three embarrassing stalls at your local Cars & Coffee when you accidentally stomp on the rear brake instead of upshifting.
But who cares? It’s a Husqvarna 360C. It represents a time when “Enduro” meant a race bike with a license plate. Add in the fact that it was owned by the man who defined the counter-culture 1970s, and you have a machine that is equal parts historical artifact and terrifying toy.
If you’re ready to buy the ticket and take the ride—and you have the constitution to handle a machine that vibrates with the frantic energy of a lizard on a hot plate—head over to BaT and get your checkbook ready. Just remember that you will want to leave the citrus and the “salt shaker full of cocaine” at home.
