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Husqvarna 401 Vitpilen and Svartpilen Concepts to Become Production Motorcycles

Remember the strangely beautiful Husqvarna 401 concepts we shot at EICMA 2014? The two sisters had been named Vitpilen and Svartpilen, which is Swedish for White Arrow and Black Arrow, respectively, but what’s even cooler than the very existence of these two is the fact that Husqvarna actually intends to build these bikes.
Husqvarna 401 Vitpilen 16 photos
Photo: Husqvarna
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At least this is what one of Husky’s Managing Directors, Reinhold Zens told Swedish magazine Bike. “I can tell you that they will as 2017 model year. They may not look the same, a concept is after all a design dream while a finished model must follow the laws and rules, but they will definitely have the same style,” said he.

KTM 390-series heritage

The 401 Svartpilen and 401 Vitpilen are derivatives of KTM’s 390-series. The White Arrow uses the RC390 as inspiration, while the Black one sets off from the 390 Duke. In fact, if you take a closer look at the 401 Svartpilen, it’s easy to recognize the Duke’s swingarm.

To what extent will the production motorcycles retain the rather avant-garde shape of the current concepts is a thing we’ll learn in the fall of 2016. If the bikes are to be marketed as 2017, the chances to see them at EICMA in early November, 2016 are quite high.

It looks like Husky will however not change the Arrows’ intended purpose, maintaining the modern café-racer attire of the white one, and the futuristic scrambler minimalism of the black version. Still, it’s hard to anticipate if KTM will keep the 390 engine unchanged, but it looks like the bikes will remain in the A2-compliant area. This means the bikes will remain in the 43 hp zone, with around 26 lb-ft (35 Nm) of torque.

Frankly, the best news is the fact that Husqvarna IS working on road going motorcycles and does not stick to the initial promise to focus on off-road and dirt competition bikes alone. This brings awesome prospects for KTM-owned Husqvarna, and might turn what was an early disappointment doubled by fear into a bright future for the manufacturer and countless hours of two-wheeled fun for the riders.
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