Just when you thought every conceivable corner of the middleweight streetbike landscape had been covered, along comes the Husqvarna Svartpilen 801. Part scrambler, part roadster, part commuter, part flat-tracker, part hi-tech hooligan and part eye-catching style statement, the Svartpilen gleefully refuses to slot into a single category.
Visually, there are plenty of nods to Husky's off-road heritage. There's the Pirelli MT 60 RS tyres, with their distinctive flat-track tread pattern. There's the wide, cross-braced handlebar. There's a single retro-style round headlight. And there's the high-rise exhaust, that silencer tucked up tight against the tail just like a dirt bike.
But the Svartpilen is no good-olddays rose-tinted throwback. Its lines and silhouette are modern to the point of bordering on sci-fi. That headlight is LED, as is all the bike's lighting. The dash is a colour TFT. Wheels are cast, brakes are radial, suspension is multi-adjustable - it's the chassis spec you'd expect of a cutting-edge streetfighter, not anything retro. At first it's hard to know what to make of it all.
Scratch beneath the surface and things feel more familiar. At its heart is a tightly packaged 799cc parallel twin with a completely contemporary design-four-valve heads, watercooling, ride-by-wire throttle. Its crankpins are separated by 75°, giving it the firing intervals, feel and sound of a narrow-angle V-twin. And if you think you've heard that all before, it's because the Svartpilen shares its engine with KTM's 790 Duke.
Denne historien er fra August 2024-utgaven av Motorcycle Sport & Leisure.
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Denne historien er fra August 2024-utgaven av Motorcycle Sport & Leisure.
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
Patagonia Expedition 2024
Following an invitational e-mail from Felix Billington, the owner of Magellan Motorcycle Tours, Chris and Dee Finch headed off on a 17-day trip on paved and gravel roads from Puerto Varas, Chile, going all the way down to Ushuaia before finishing in Punta Arenas
Hebridean Road Trip
With a new bike in his ownership, Willie decided a road trip was in order, and chose the Scottish Hebridean islands as his target
The Longest Day Teapot
Last month's write-up saw some jeopardy as the little Suzuki was neither running, nor had an MOT, with less than a week before the Longest Day Challenge...
Back in the Black MV Agusta Hubert Trunkenpolz interview
In November 2022 MV Agusta, wholly owned since 2019 by Russian entrepreneur Timur Sardarov and his family, and Pierer Mobility AG KTM’s parent company) reached an agreement on future strategic cooperation, as a result of which the Austrian firm headed by Stefan Pierer would acquire a 25.10% stake in MV Agusta via its KTM AG subsidiary.
Ready to race and 90% new
If there is one major manufacturer that looks out for a younger audience, it is KTM. For the Austrian factory, its entry-level machinery is every bit as important as its rangetopping flagships or adventure bikes. Remember big or small, a KTM has to be ‘Ready to Race'.
ADVENTURE OASIS
Deep in the heart of central Wales, high up in the Cambrian Mountains, there’s a place where adventure bikes reign supreme
Cardo Packtalk PRO
Those that know me will be all too aware of my inbuilt distrust of any technology that involves more than an on/off switch, and of my inability to deal with such technologies and, recently, I have become very aware of the fact that I need to join the 21st century by learning how to use these modern contrivances.
Scouting for everyone
For 2024, Indian Motorcycle not only launched a new version of their water-cooled Scout, developed over the last three-and-a-half years to replace the bike that was first launched in 2014, but presented no less than five versions, with the 101 Scout being the range-topper.
The Diavel's in the detail
With more power, less weight and better brakes than the previous brilliant V-twin version, It’s a winner
Superhero Sequel
Bigger engine, more power, less weight, and a new look for the 2024 BMW F 900 GS
