HUSQVARNA SVARTPILEN 401

A Swedish remedy to the Orange fever

- BENJAMIN GRACIAS

HUSQVARNA SVARTPILEN 401 Engine: 399cc liquid-cooled single-cylinder Power: 46PS @ 9,000rpm Torque: 39Nm @ 7,000rpm Weight: 171.2kg Gearbox: 6-speed manual Price: ₹ 2.92 lakh ex-showroom

Did you know that Husqvarna has a colourful history spanning centuries? The Swedish bikemaker started as a gunsmith back in the 17th century! Thanks to a collaboration with Bajaj Auto, Husqvarna brought in smaller capacity motorcycles to our shores in the form of Svartpilen and Vitpilen. These were relatively affordable motorcycles thanks to platform sharing with KTM motorcycles and offered a striking unconventional design but there was a catch. While the bikemaker sold the spicier Svartpilen 401 and Vitpilen 401 overseas which shared its powertrain with the 390 Duke, we only got the smaller 250cc models. So while the motorcycles were a looker, they came up short in terms of expected performance. This has been made right atleast with the second generation Husqvarna Svartpilen for India that not just displaces higher cecces but is based on the newgeneration 390 Duke that offers more performance and electronics. Does that make the Husqvarna Svartpilen a worthy left-field alternative in a sea of formidable rivals, specifically the KTM 390 Duke?