Photo: Purpose Built Moto
Both the Vitpilen and its close relative – the Svartpilen – are fantastic motorcycles, but a good bit of custom surgery can still dial things to eleven. Look no further than this modified 401 to see what we mean.
We've seen plenty of workshops trying their hand at customizing the acclaimed Husqvarna Vitpilen since it first broke cover. In all fairness, this shouldn’t come as a surprise given the bike’s fun-seeking nature and neo-retro looks, with both the 401 and its larger 701 sibling being ripe for custom wizardry. A great example of what can be done with these machines is The Apex 2.0 from Bad Winners – a Vitpilen 701 commissioned by none other than Charles Leclerc.
Now, the motorcycle we’ll be looking at today isn’t as wild as the aforementioned Husky, but it can certainly turn just as many heads! This unique street tracker comes courtesy of Purpose Built Moto (PBM) in Queensland, Australia, and their chosen donor was a Vitpilen 401 from Husqvarna’s lineup. Simple though it may appear, the shop’s transformation is undeniably effective.
Tom Gilroy and his team undertook this project in 2020, without aiming to radically change the Vitpilen’s overall aesthetic. For starters, PBM addressed the ergonomic side of things, which involved welding a pair of custom risers onto the top clamp and subsequently adding a motocross-style handlebar from Renthal’s inventory.
Next, the Aussies busied themselves with repositioning the motorcycle’s foot pegs, and these are now located about 40 millimeters (1.6 inches) further ahead. Once the hand and foot controls had been taken care of, Tom’s specialists moved on to the lighting. Although they’ve retained the Vitpilen’s original headlight, its front and rear turn signals were swapped with new LED units from PBM’s proprietary aftermarket catalog.
Unlike the factory headlamp, the taillight got ditched to make room for a handmade alternative, which was built in-house using sheet metal, acrylic, and LED componentry. The Husky’s swingarm-mounted license plate holder has been removed, as well, and a bare-bones substitute was then installed right beneath the tail. After trimming the front fender, Purpose Built Moto turned to the powertrain sector.
With the goal of improving airflow and throttle response, the guys fitted a Stage 2 intake kit supplied by DNA Filters, but this wouldn’t do very much without some fresh exhaust plumbing. As such, they wasted no time fashioning a stainless-steel setup from scratch, and the pipework snakes its way up to a tailor-made silencer on the right-hand side of the tail.
In close proximity to the exhaust muffler, one may also find a reshaped saddle wrapped in grippy MX-style fabric by Timeless Auto Trim. Then there’s that superb livery executed by Josh Farrell from Ride Design Co. – blending a tasteful mixture of grey and blue graphics over a white base. Lastly, this modified Vitpilen 401 didn’t come with a price tag, because it was given as a prize to the lucky winner of an online contest hosted by PBM some time ago.
Now, the motorcycle we’ll be looking at today isn’t as wild as the aforementioned Husky, but it can certainly turn just as many heads! This unique street tracker comes courtesy of Purpose Built Moto (PBM) in Queensland, Australia, and their chosen donor was a Vitpilen 401 from Husqvarna’s lineup. Simple though it may appear, the shop’s transformation is undeniably effective.
Tom Gilroy and his team undertook this project in 2020, without aiming to radically change the Vitpilen’s overall aesthetic. For starters, PBM addressed the ergonomic side of things, which involved welding a pair of custom risers onto the top clamp and subsequently adding a motocross-style handlebar from Renthal’s inventory.
Next, the Aussies busied themselves with repositioning the motorcycle’s foot pegs, and these are now located about 40 millimeters (1.6 inches) further ahead. Once the hand and foot controls had been taken care of, Tom’s specialists moved on to the lighting. Although they’ve retained the Vitpilen’s original headlight, its front and rear turn signals were swapped with new LED units from PBM’s proprietary aftermarket catalog.
Unlike the factory headlamp, the taillight got ditched to make room for a handmade alternative, which was built in-house using sheet metal, acrylic, and LED componentry. The Husky’s swingarm-mounted license plate holder has been removed, as well, and a bare-bones substitute was then installed right beneath the tail. After trimming the front fender, Purpose Built Moto turned to the powertrain sector.
With the goal of improving airflow and throttle response, the guys fitted a Stage 2 intake kit supplied by DNA Filters, but this wouldn’t do very much without some fresh exhaust plumbing. As such, they wasted no time fashioning a stainless-steel setup from scratch, and the pipework snakes its way up to a tailor-made silencer on the right-hand side of the tail.
In close proximity to the exhaust muffler, one may also find a reshaped saddle wrapped in grippy MX-style fabric by Timeless Auto Trim. Then there’s that superb livery executed by Josh Farrell from Ride Design Co. – blending a tasteful mixture of grey and blue graphics over a white base. Lastly, this modified Vitpilen 401 didn’t come with a price tag, because it was given as a prize to the lucky winner of an online contest hosted by PBM some time ago.
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