All it took was for someone to say, ‘Sorry, which pilen?’ And then followed two days of suffixing ‘pilen’ to any hapless word that came to mind, appropriate and otherwise. However, any curious onlookers tended to ignore our simple-minded laughter and instead focus on the two striking motorcycles among us, and the new name on the shapely protrusions of their tanks — Husqvarna. New, that is, for India; that badge’s history goes back to 1689 (yup), a period when people’s idea of a good time was shooting at each other, and the Husqvarna logo is still a stylised gun sight. However, the Swedish company began making motorcycles in 1903 and 117 years later on a beach, instead of dodging bullets, we were sliding around on the first two-wheeled arrows for India, the Svartpilen 250 and the Vitpilen 250.
Despite the name’s positively archaic history, the bikes are anything but old-fashioned. Along with KTM and Gas Gas, Husqvarna is owned by Pierer Mobility AG; you could see it as the group’s ‘heritage brand’, and with different core philosophies split via shared architectures, you get three fun motorcycles instead of one — a Bajaj, a KTM and a Husqvarna, the latter two penned by Kiska Design, and all made in India by Bajaj, of course. Those crankcase covers probably suffer from multiple identity crises at once. But there’s no mistaking the neocool Svartpilen (Swedish for ‘black arrow’) and the Vitpilen (‘white arrow’) for anything else.
Denne historien er fra September 2020-utgaven av Motoring World.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra September 2020-utgaven av Motoring World.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Sedan Sensation
Volkswagen Virtus is India's definitive choice for sedan!
PLEASANT X-FACTOR
The X3 delivers a thrilling driving experience without sacrificing comfort, making it the ideal SUV for the discerning driver
ONWARDS AND UPWARDS
In the last two decades, India has seen unprecedented growth in public infrastructure. We set out to experience some of it first hand, in partnership with Mahindra and JK Tyre
THAT FAMILIAR FEELING
There's a new Swift in town. Is it a case of 'so what else is new?'
COFFEE CULTURE
Two friends head out to explore the coffee capital of India with the Nissan Magnite HRAO X-Tronic CVT
PLEASANT X-FACTOR
The X3 delivers a thrilling driving experience without sacrificing comfort, making it the ideal SUV for the discerning driver
P FOR VENDETTA
Makes sense considering that a V-Strom comes with a parallel-twin engine, right?
ONE FOR ALL
Pretty obvious thing to say about a scooter, right? Yet here we are...
GOOD COLD DAYS
Riding the new Himalayan in the new Himalayas (sort of)
A MOTHER'S EMBRACE
Volvo C40 Recharge: A safe and sustainable choice!