It’s been over six months since Husqvarna pulled the covers off the new Svartpilen 801. Since then, we’ve been wondering when its sibling, the Husqvarna Vitpilen 801, would drop, and what it would look like. Well, it’s here now—and we are decidedly underwhelmed.
The new Vitpilen 801 might have knocked our socks off if Husqvarna had released it before the Svartpilen 801. But they’ve made us wait six months for a look at what is essentially a lightly fettled version of the Svartpilen. And that’s left us very little to sink our teeth into.
When Husqvarna first released their neo-reto street bike range six years ago, the differences between the Svart- and Vitpilen variants were far more pronounced. The Svartpilen 401 and 701 were clearly styled after flat track bikes, while the Vitpilen 401 and 701 were committed to café racer style, clip-on handlebars and all. Sure, they shared a lot—but they were different enough that each had a distinct personality.
Conversely, we can count the differences between the new Husqvarna Vitpilen 701 and Svartpilen 701 (other than the color schemes on offer) on one hand. The biggest difference is the Vitpilen’s new halo-esque LED headlight. Set at an angle—much like the designs of Husqvarna’s parent company, KTM—it’s one feature that hits the mark.
The Vitpilen also sports a unique front fender, radiator shrouds, and belly trim, and wears slightly lower handlebars than the Svartpilen. But every other inch of it appears to be a direct carry-over from its stablemate. The tank plastics and tail section are identical, as are the exhaust and five-spoke alloy wheels.
We don’t hate the aesthetic of the new twin-cylinder ‘Pilens, even if they are bulkier than their single-cylinder predecessors. But the Vitpilen was always the sleeker of the two, and that sleekness has now all but disappeared. We also miss the Vitpilen’s clip-ons—although we’re sure this new arrangement is infinitely more comfortable.
Looks aside, the Husqvarna Vitpilen 701’s spec sheet is a familiar read. You get a chromium-molybdenum steel frame that uses the engine as a stressed member, propped up by adjustable WP Suspension components that provide 140 mm and 150 mm of travel, front and rear. An open lattice aluminum swingarm does duty out back.
The 17” wheels are wrapped in Michelin Road 6 tires, with J.Juan brakes and Bosch ABS to slow the bike down.
We’re guessing that the chassis and engine are borrowed from the KTM 790 Duke—but we far prefer the look of the Vitpilen over the geometrically aggressive Duke. The motor is a brilliant 799 cc parallel-twin unit, good for 105 hp at 9,250 rpm and 87 Nm at 8,000 rpm. Tech highlights include cornering traction control, switchable rider modes, a ‘supermoto’ mode for the onboard ABS, a TFT display, and an optional quick-shifter.
Pitched as a 2025 model, the Vitpilen 801 will be available from next month, in silver or yellow, but not in white. (If you didn’t know, ‘vit’ is Swedish for white.)
Even though the Vitpilen 801 looks pretty cool and is probably a hoot to hoon around on, we can’t help but feel a little disappointed that Husqvarna didn’t go the whole hog and maintain its radical café racer vibe. Since it’s within a hair’s breadth of the Svartpilen, we’re left wondering if the 801 range really needs two versions.
If it was up to us, we’d pick the best features of each bike, roll them into one, and call it the Gulpilen.
Source: Husqvarna
