Late last year at the EICMA 2014, Husqvarna announced and displayed concepts of three new street models, the 701 Supermoto, 401 Svartpilen and the 401 Vitpilen. All models where expected in the 2016 / 2017 model year, which means an official unveiling was due later this year. And now for sure it looks like Husqvarna is well on course for this. This motorcycle caught testing in Spain is none other than the Husqvarna 401 Vitpilen. The word Vitpilen means ‘white arrow’ in Swedish. Do not be surprised to see the huge resemblance to the KTM Duke’s. Since Husqvarna is owned by KTM, the road versions, at least for the lower capacity machines will use the same engine and chassis from the Duke series.
The Husqvarna 401 Vitpilen is expected to come with the 375cc engine doing duty on the Duke 390 and RC 390. It will also share the same chassis. On the bike we see here although the Duke headlight has been used, you can see that the overall shape of the motorcycle is pretty much spot on with that of the Husqvarna 401 Vitpilen concept. The design inspiration for the 401 Vitpilen is from the 1953 Silverpilen, a motorcycle that really brought great attention and sales to Husqvarna. The final production model will of course have a round headlight with LED’s and look like an ultra modern take on the old classic. There will also be a 125cc version of this motorcycle based on the, you got it, the Duke 125cc engine.
Along with the Husqvarna 401 Vitpilen, the 401 Svartpilen will also make an appearance soon enough. Again, the 401 Svartpilen will be based on the 390 and 125cc Duke engines. The 401 Svartpilen will be motorcyle that has a scrambler design. An interesting point to note is that, both the motorcycles in its concept form had a more or less regular exhaust design (side swung) but looks like it goes back below and behind the engine like on the Duke for the production models. Would be interesting to see the motorcycle in its final production form with the Husqvarna badging especially the scrambler themed 401 Svartpilen.
