Husqvarna Svartpilen 801 Revealed Globally

The new Husqvarna Svartpilen 801 is finally here, the first Svart to be powered by a parallel-twin engine. Also despite being built around the same platform that also underpins the KTM 790 Duke, the different stylings try to speak of a different story. 

So, both the KTM and the new Husky Svartpilen share the trellis chassis architecture with an aluminium subframe and swingarm. The fully-adjustable WP Apex-sourced USD front fork and rear shock absorber, and the J.Juan brakes (dual 300 mm rotors with four-piston calipers, 240 mm rear disc with a single-piston caliper) are also the same. But in appeal, the Husqvarna Svartpilen 801 looks more reserved, practical, and in some instances rugged as well.  

Let’s not kid anyone, though, this ain’t a scrambler. The suspension travel of the Svartpilen 801 is the same – 140 mm at the front and 150 mm at the rear – as the road-going KTM 790 Duke. The ground clearance and seat height are also 12 mm and 5 mm lower than the 790 Duke at 174 mm and 820 mm, respectively. 

As for the 799 cc, parallel twin, it produces 105 bhp in the Svartpilen 801, which almost equals the Norden 901’s 889 cc engine output. And the latter is an adventure motorcycle. Tipping the scales at 181 kg (dry), Husqvarna claims that the power-to-weight ratio of the Svartpilen 801 is “perfectly balanced”. 

It is loaded to the gills with modern electronic rider aids. In addition to four selectable ride modes (Street, Rain, Sport, Dynamic), it also gets 10 levels of slip adjustment (balancing throttle application during downshifts in case of high engine drag torque) and five levels of anti-wheelie control. The latter two are available with a Dynamic Pack option, though. Lean-sensitive traction control, cornering ABS, and slipper clutch are available as standard. The 5-inch TFT dashboard is shared with the KTM and it gets phone connectivity connected via the Husqvarna Motorcycle app through Bluetooth. This unit also displays turn-by-turn navigation, call alerts, and music control options as standard. 

The Svartpilen 801 mimics the same characteristics and strategy as a product that we saw with the Svartpilen 401 that launched earlier. Built around the same trellis architecture and sharing the engine and features as the KTM 390 Duke, the smaller Svartpilen 401 enjoys the benefit of a slightly more affordable sticker price in our country. Now the Svartpilen 801 is not launching in our country anytime soon. Heck, we don’t even have the KTM 790 Duke. So, if you want to know how the smaller Svartpilen 401 delivers on the same strategy and fits in our two-wheeler landscape, check out our review of the same below.