#Vitpilen401

The Vitpilen and Svartpilen lineup has seen a bit of a tumultuous timeline at Husqvarna – at least the bigger variants have. The 401 models originally teased at EICMA in 2014 have been going strong since the production models hit dealers back in 2018, and perhaps it has its orange sibling, the 390 Duke to thank for that. As the 390 Duke received a substantial update, it was only logical that the 401 ’Pilens would follow, and they have, receiving a new engine, chassis, and more for 2024.

We saw it at EICMA in concept form but we can now confirm the Husqvarna Svartpilen 701 is heading for production as a 2019 model.

Husqvarna, a company better known for its off-road bikes – or chainsaws, depending on who you ask – made big waves in the motorcycle world three years ago when the Austrian-owned Swedish brand announced it would enter the street bike market with concepts of its Vitpilen and Svartpilen models. Fast forward to EICMA last November, and there they were, in the flesh and on the floor – real motorcycles.

Two years ago, Husqvarna presented two concept at EICMA, the scrambler-styled Svartpilen 401 and the Vitpilen 401 cafe racer, both based off of the KTM 390 Duke platform. Last year in Milan, Husqvarna presented a larger Vitpilen 701 concept based off the 690 Duke. It’s no surprise then that Husqvarna would choose EICMA once again to present the final production model.