VOL. 53 ISSUE 30 AUGUST 2, 2016 P25
HUSQVARNA VITPILEN 701 AND
401 BREAKS COVER
T
he Husqvarna Vitpilen 701 and
401 has been spotted in test-
ing in Europe, in what appears to
be near-production format.
The Vitpilen 701 caused a sen-
sation when it was unveiled at
the 2015 EICMA Show in Milan
and uses the previous genera-
tion 73 horsepower KTM 690
Duke single-cylinder engine,
main chassis, suspension and
wheels, although the styling has
been dramatically altered to cre-
ate a futuristic café racer look.
Compared the 690 Duke,
the Vitpilen's bars have been
lowered, there's a new sharper
seat section, and the slim-line
tank helps to alter the ergonom-
ics substantially. There's also a
different headlight.
The Vitpilen was unveiled
alongside the Svartpilen, a
scrambler-style motorcycle using
the same componentry as the
Vitpilen but with knobby tires,
which should be debuting in
production guise very soon.
The smaller capacity Vitpilen
401 has also been spied in test-
ing and uses the KTM 390 Duke
motor, main chassis, suspension
and wheels, and you can expect
to this in finished production form
at the Intermot Show in Cologne,
Germany, this October. CN
The Vitpilen range
borrows heavily from
KTM's 690 and 390
Duke machines,
but the styling is
dramatically different.
The 390
Vitpilen will
be hugely
appealing to
new riders.
