Husqvarna has taken the wraps off the Svartpilen 801 and this is the company’s largest-capacity street-oriented bike.
- Adjustable WP suspension, bidirectional quickshifter standard
- Design is clean, minimalist – typical Husqvarna
- Optional Dynamic pack brings in cruise control, wheelie control
Husqvarna Svartpilen 801 design, features, India launch
Powering the Svartpilen 801 is a liquid-cooled, 799cc, parallel-twin making 105hp and 87Nm of torque. If those numbers seem exactly the same as the KTM 790 Duke, that's because the Svartpilen uses the same engine. This familiar parallel-twin motor is mated to a 6-speed gearbox and a bidirectional quickshifter is standard.
The main frame is the same as the 790 Duke but here you get adjustable WP suspension, as opposed to the KTM’s non-adjustable units. Braking duties are handled by J.Juan 4-piston radially-mounted calipers clamping down upon twin 300mm discs and a single 240mm disc at the rear. Tank capacity at 14 litres is on the smaller side and the company hasn’t disclosed a kerb weight figure for the Husqvarna SVartpilen 801 yet.
Design is the biggest differentiator between corresponding KTM and Husqvarna bikes and the Svartpilen 801 has more of a minimalist scrambler aesthetic to the KTM 790’s aggressive streetfighter stance. To that end, the largest road-going Svartpilen also comes shod with dual-purpose Pirelli MT60RS rubber, although tyre sizes – 120/70-ZR17 (front) and 180/55-ZR17 (rear) – are pretty much the same as every other competitor.
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In terms of riding aids the Svartpilen 801 comes standard with 3 riding modes, Rain, Street and Sport, cornering ABS and traction control, both of which are switchable. Optioning the bike with the accessory Dynamic pack brings in cruise control, 5-step adjustable wheelie control and 10-step adjustable motor slip regulation. For the uninitiated, motor slip regulation is also referred to as back torque regulation its function is to feed a little power to the rear wheel to prevent it from locking.
All this tech is controlled via a new 5-inch TFT dash and switchgear, both of which look very similar to the new KTM 990 Duke, as well as the Gen 3 390 Duke and 2024 Svartpilen 401. Bluetooth connectivity is standard here – unlike most large-capacity KTM models – and you can get turn-by-turn navigation as well as notification alerts on the dash should you choose to pair your smartphone to it.
Currently, there are no plans to bring the Husqvarna Svartpilen 801 to our shores and since KTM discontinued the 790 Duke back in 2020, the Pierer group’s subsidiaries have been missing from the big-bike game in India.
Vishal Venugopal
Ved Janve
Stephen Raj Antony
