Next Husqvarna Svartpilen Spotted

[Hugh Janus]

Spy shots show a prototype Husqvarna Svartpilen powered by a small-displacement single—most likely this is the next Svartpilen 401. (S. Baldauf/SB-Medien/)

It’s been more than seven years since Husqvarna’s Svartpilen scrambler and Vitpilen cafe racer first appeared as concept bikes back at the 2014 EICMA show in Milan—setting the template for the styling that would be adopted across the brand’s road-going lineup in its then-new position as a sister company to KTM.

KTM’s parent firm, Pierer Industrie AG, bought Husqvarna from its previous custodian, BMW, in 2013 and the Svartpilen and Vitpilen 401 models are cleverly restyled versions of the KTM 390 Duke. As the bikes go into their next generation, the same logic will apply, and these pictures give the first clear look at a near final version of the Svartpilen’s replacement.

Although some of the key styling elements of the original bike remain, notably the oversized soup dish of a headlight and the chamfered-flat edges to the fuel tank, the next-gen machine takes the styling forward in several areas. Those shaved side sections are now much further forward than before, curling around the frame’s upper rails to nearly meet the fork legs instead of simply sitting on the flanks of the tank. Above them, a rectangular TFT dash sits behind the signature headlight design, and below are new panels to either side of the radiator. As on the current Svartpilen, a rack is mounted atop the tank to carry luggage, but it’s redesigned to integrate with the new bodywork.

Related: Top 5 Scramblers of 2021

Further back, where the old model’s tank section flowed straight into the seat unit, there’s a clear break ahead of the subframe, which is almost entirely free of bodywork in the new design. The result is a Tonka-toy ruggedness to the rear end, reminiscent of utilitarian machines like the Honda Ruckus with the white-painted steel subframe clearly on display.

At the very rear, a conventional licence plate hanger replaces the swingarm-mounted unit of the original Svartpilen; a move that’s practical and gives the bike more convincing, scrambler-like proportions.

However, it’s what’s underneath the styling that’s really intriguing, as almost every mechanical component is also new.

Chassis

While the frame is still a steel trellis design, it’s completely redesigned compared to the current model, and behind it hangs a braced swingarm that looks very much like the unit that appeared last year on Husky’s E-Pilen concept bike. KTM Duke prototypes have previously been spied sporting the same redesigned chassis and swingarm, so it’s no surprise that Husqvarna’s range is following suit. What’s more surprising is that the Husky appears to be nearer production readiness than the Duke models that will share its components—perhaps indicating that Husqvarna will be used to debut these machines, with KTM’s versions coming later, rather than the usual pattern that sees the Austrian firm’s models preceding their Husky equivalents. The same approach appears to be being applied to the battery-powered E-Pilen, which has been shown in advance of the E-Duke that will be coming after it.

At the front, the use of a WP Apex fork comes as no surprise, nor does the ByBre brake caliper; while the caliper is identical to the one used on the current Svartpilen the brackets it bolts to are a different design.

A round headlight and chamfered-edge fuel tank cover remain on this new Svartpilen. (S. Baldauf/SB-Medien/)

Engine

There’s more mystery when it comes to the engine, clearly a single-cylinder design of around the same physical size as the existing 373cc “390″ KTM engine that powers the Svartpilen 401. Despite that similarity, it appears to share no visible components with the current 373cc design—the rough casting of the covers and cylinder, and the highly polished, billet alloy look of the engine cases hint that this motor is still a prototype design. Its exact capacity is unknown, but a similar-looking prototype engine has previously been spotted in KTM Duke test bed bikes, suggesting this is a next-gen single that will replace the 390.

Unlike the current Svartpilen, which carries a fairly large muffler on the right-hand side, the new engine’s exhaust is entirely underneath it, exiting in a stubby pipe just ahead of the rear wheel.

The engine for this prototype is the same physical size as the current Husqvarna 401 powerplant, but it seems to be quite different from the current 373cc engine. (S. Baldauf/SB-Medien/)

From the look of this prototype, the next-gen Svartpilen’s production isn’t too far away. It’s likely to be ready in time for the 2023 model range, and no doubt there’s a road-tired, low-barred Vitpilen cafe racer variant out there somewhere piling on test miles as well.

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