FE/FC Svartpilen 401

[Virginian]

***Apologies for the history of Husqvarna****
I thought I would share my thoughts on the Svart' and this is a copy and past from another forum that aren't as savvy with the brand. I hope this thread helps some folks.

So what’s the deal with Husqvarna? Here’s a brief history of this fabled company.

Husqvarna was founded near the town of Huskvarna in Sweden in 1689. The company started out as a maker of muskets, and the Husqvarna logo still depicts a gun sight viewed from the end of the barrel.



Pioneering since 1903 is their company motto and has been continuously been producing motorcycles since 1903. The speedo proudly depicts this when you first turn the bike on and the gauge spools up.


Husqvarna’s new street range references the classic Silverpilen (Silver Arrow), but that’s more about ideology than looks.


Rather than create a ‘modern retro,’ the now-Austrian marque has made a conscious effort to build a different type of contemporary motorcycle. These two bikes are Husqvarna’s attempt to reintroduce a street based bike into the market which they haven’t done in over 50 years.



Folks either love them or hate them from the minute you see one and I suspect most of you reading this have already made your mind up on this front. I am of Swedish heritage and Husqvarna’s have been a part of my life since the 70s.


The bikes feel significantly different to ride. I was surprised that the Vitpilen’s (White Arrow) café racer riding position didn’t put my body into knots; it did put a little strain on my wrists and back, but it was far less strenuous than I thought it would be.


So here's my latest bad decision... The Svartpilen (Black Arrow) hands down is my favorite by a country mile. Its upright, street tracker riding position is not only more comfortable than the Vitpilen, but it makes the bike easier to manhandle too. It could be that I just prefer that style of riding, but to me the Svartpilen 401 feels like a BMX with a motor, kind of a pint sized motard!

The Pirelli Scorpion Rally STRs do a good job of sticking to both slab and gravel, but I won’t be spending too much time on the latter. I’ll take Svartpilen on short jaunts on well-graded fire roads, but the overall package is still far too street biased for serious off-roading.


Both 401s are pure hooliganism in two-wheeled form. I slip through twisties and congested inner city traffic, took shortcuts, hopped curbs and just generally misbehaved all day long. Grab a handful of clutch and throttle and you’ll loft the front wheel in a hurry even with my 200 lbs. on board.

I have a few ideas of what I’ll do to my Svartpilen 401 in my garage, but most of it’s centered around performance upgrades. I will document my journey, build, success and failures in this thread. My only wish is to maybe open your eyes to a very small company that’s been making bikes for 116 years.

I have been feverishly churning out CL scoots and bike in disrepair to to foot the bill for this one, 6 to be exact. I was able to convert the fruits of my labor into this. Let the games begin!

The specs:

ENGINE

Type: Single cylinder
Displacement: 373cc
Bore x stroke: 89 x 60mm
Maximum power: 43 horsepower @ 9000 rpm
Maximum torque: 27.3 ft/lbs @ 7000 rpm
Compression ratio: 12.6:1
Valve train: DOCH, 4 valves
Fueling: Bosch EFI w/ 46mm throttle body
Cooling: Liquid
Transmission: 6 gears
Clutch: Multi-disc slipper clutch
Final drive: X-Ring chain

CHASSIS

Frame: Chromoly trellis
Handlebar: Aluminum forged
Front suspension; travel: Non-adjustable inverted 43mm WP fork; 5.6 inches
Rear suspension; travel: Non-adjustable WP shock; 5.9 inches
Wheels: Wire-spoked w/ aluminum rims
Front wheel: 3.00 x 17
Rear wheel: 4.00 x 17
Tires: Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR
Front tire: 110/70 x 17
Rear tire: 150/60 x 17
Front brake: 300mm disc w/ 4-piston Bybre caliper
Rear brake: 230mm disc w/ single-piston floating Bybre caliper
ABS: Bosch 9.1MB Two Channel

DIMENSIONS and CAPACITIES

Wheelbase: 53.4 inches
Rake: 25 degrees
Triple clamp offset: 1.3 inches
Trail: 3.7 inches
Steering head angle: 25°
Trail: 95 mm
Seat height: 32.9 inches
Tank capacity: 2.5 gallons
Curb weight: 330 pounds (dry)

 

[Virginian]

Husqvarna set the interwebs on fire when they announced their Vitpilen and Svartpilen 401 concepts over three years ago. Then the good news came: these bikes would actually go into production. But would the factory machines be as cool as the concepts? The answer came last year at EICMA, when Husqvarna revealed the production ready 401s (and 701). I never before have we seen production motorcycles stay so true to the original designs.

It appears that Husqvarna had their gun-sites set on me. After years of anticipation and waiting for the initial bikes to appear I purchased one from my local dealer; Wayne's Cycle Shop in Waynesboro, VA, about 70 miles away from home. Wayne's Cycle Shop is family owned and have been in business since the '70s. If you're passing through the Old Dominion stop by for a visit to these good folks. I cannot say enough good things about this shop. The sales folks are not commission and are low pressure and they all ride. I dealt with all 3 of their sales staff, Zing, Jennifer and Greg. They are conveniently located just off the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive. https://www.waynecycle.com/



Why didn't I purchase the 701 variant? The older I get the more minimalist I have become so I have to ask myself a question, "how much is enough?" Believe it or not the 701 Svart' and Vit' only weigh 20 lbs. more than the little brother 401. I'm a huge fan of the 'motard' robust black spoked rims over the 701s cast wheels and I just didn't want to drop 12k on a new bike. I really enjoy wringing the neck of all the power-band vs. using only a small portion of it 90% of the time.


In summery:

- Minimalist
- Ascetics
- I'm cheap
- Polarizing looks

Svart and Vit share the same bodywork; a four-piece design that hides the fuel tank and subframe, creating an almost monocoque-like effect. In fact, the two bikes are virtually identical, save for their color schemes and a handful of parts which I will point out.

The biggest difference is their individual riding positions, and that’s really just down to the handlebars. The Vitpilen has clip-ons mounted directly to its top triple clamp, while the Svartpilen gets higher scrambler-style bars. As for their foot control positions and seat heights (35 inches), those are identical. This bike is tiny! I mean scooter tiny yet the seating position at 35" means vertically challenged riders will have issues flat footing this bike. It's very difficult for me to share in words how bizarre the geometry is on this bike, but it works nicely. Small, tiny, and tall, kind of oxymoronic no?

Price:

The price of admission is $6,299. About the price of a new Vespa 300 these days. I have heard many friends say crikey that's expensive! I guess my answer would be how much is a Ducati Scrambler? 10, 11 maybe a skosh under 12 thousand. Heck, when I was in the store walking around the showroom there was a Honda Monkey for $3,999 +++ the normal fertilizer fees. There are a plethora of really good bikes out there that you can purchase for quite a bit less than the Svartpilen that will serve you well. Pick your poison and don't look back!

I have also read a comment that Husqvarna is the Lexus and KTM is the Toyota in the Austrian marque. This bike is a revamped Superduke 390 and is priced $1,000 more at $5,449, throw in a year or two older leftover and you can get a hella deal on one of these bikes. This begs the question is the 'Pilen worth the extra doubloons? I won't answer that but maybe when I get through with this thread you will be more prepared to answer that question yourself.

I think the driving force for the price point and horsepower of the SD390 and the 401s falls clearly on how the licensing structure works in the UK and other parts of the world. This particular bike requires an A2 licence.

Here's a brief summary: https://www.visordown.com/features/learner/understand-january-19th-changes
Age 19-20 - 47 bhp max: the A2 licence. This is where the rules become slightly complex. From the age of 19, you are permitted to take an A2 test (which must be taken on a bike of at least 395cc, with a power output of between 25kW/33bhp and 35kW/47bhp). If you don't already hold an A1 licence you will need to do a CBT beforehand, as always, and pass a theory test, before you take the practical test.

Upon passing, the rider is restricted to bikes with a limit of 35kW/47bhp and a power-to-weight ratio of no more than 0.2kW/0.26bhp per kg, for two years. The power-to-weight ratio is an important qualification because it makes drawing a distinction between 'can ride' and 'can't ride' more nuanced than a simple bhp cap. In real terms, it imposes a minimum weight of 175kg for any bike using the full 47bhp, dashing hopes of super-lightweight 250s making a mockery of the bhp limit.

It's relatively straightforward to restrict a bike, meaning you are not necessarily ruled out of riding the bike of your dreams - unless you are dreaming of anything 'more than twice' as powerful. Any bike originally making more than 94 bhp is still out of reach of the A2 licence.

You will need to hold the A2 licence for two years before you can move on to a full A licence. Examples of A2 permissable bikes include: Honda NC700, Kawasaki Z800e, BMW G650GS.

Take my Vespa 946 that came to North America with a 155cc engine (thankfully) and the UK got a 125cc engine to conform to A1 licensing. You get the idea... The point is there are many factors that drive the HP, engine size at a price point that will sell.

That's it for this installment, I have loads to share on my perspective of this bike while I patiently wait for the weather to get a little warmer. I hope it was worth a read on a cold January day for folks this winter.

Life is short, enjoy the ride.

Eric

 

[BILLF]

 

[Virginian]

View attachment 93547

Hmmm... guessing a Vitpilen with new body panels and clipons?

 

[BILLF]

Hmmm... guessing a Vitpilen with new body panels and clipons?

We just took a white one made it black and did our tail mod with Svartpilen black muffler.

 

[Darkside]

I gave up street bikes a few years ago. Now just dirt bikes and a dualsports to connect trails. If I were to dip my toe back into the street pond, I would start with one of these

 

[fletchman45]

I really like the fact of husqvarna coming out with these fine motards...i was quoted 8100 out the door with tax title and license and doc fee on the ducati scrambler..not a bad deal (I ended up buying a 750 aprilia dorsoduro instead) I rode a ktm duke 390 last summer for 2 m onthes before grabbing a triumph thruxton(hated it) the 390 duke was super fun..lightweight and powerful..was a hoot..even ride two up and did ok..wife said was comfortable...i thought about the 401 but the price of admission is a tish steep..although cool...ultimately for me I wasn't sure I would want to buzz that little engine on 150-200 mile Sunday jaunts..im sure they will hold value..hec people want as much for there used duke as u can get a new carryover for. ..i liked the Italian nuda but have never seen one.. ktm has been very innovative in making Husqvarna a household name..something I like in one way and horribly dislike in another...anyways..yep the duke felt like a light toy that u could burn around on and was surprisingly fast for a single banger 390! My wife liked the duke much better then the 15 thruxton...and so did i....

 

[LandofMotards]

Really hoping the 390 ADV bike rumors are true.

 

[Dirtdame]

I would like to be able to like these bikes, but they are ugly, and I sat on both of them at the local dealership, and they are not comfortable either.

 

[Darkside]

I would like to be able to like these bikes, but they are ugly

So ugly, they're cool. (in an ugly kind of way)

 

[fletchman45]

Ha..beauty is in the eyes of the beholder..i think they look innovative and refined..the duke 390 I at least thought was pretty comfortable for its intended purpose..if I were buying new the duke is so much less money it would be a little difficult to justify the husqvarna...except for loyalty to the name...a small engine like this is fine for beating around town and 20 miles with 5 of those twisty dirt roads and a cut thru the ditch to a bar for a beer but for extended cruises I think would be a flop. I probably put a thousand or so miles on the duke 390 and I will say it d idnt miss a beat and was fun. But they can be had for 4k with little to no miles and 4500 new carryover..local dealer has 8 18s....where the husky..i saw a used one with 1100 miles they wanted 5800...4k to 5800 is almost a third more..worth about a third more??? You tell me...

 

[Darkside]

yeah, hard to say. truth is, it would probably wind up being a garage queen where I go out and look at it more than ride it. I could park it next to my Aprilia SXV which I also don't ride anymore. But some bikes are a work of art

 

[Scott Howard]

Now that KTM owns the brand, is Husqvarna connected in any way to Sweden? EG do they still have a design team located there?

 

[XLEnduroMan]

Now that KTM owns the brand, is Husqvarna connected in any way to Sweden? EG do they still have a design team located there?

KISKA is their design team, from what has been reported. Not Swede.