2018 HUSQVARNA VITPILEN 701
FIRST TEST
P98
HUSQVARNA IS BACK IN THE STREET-BIKE GAME
WITH A MOTORCYCLE THAT'S BEEN TEASED FOR AN
AGE. FINALLY, AT LONG LAST, WE CAN WELCOME
THE VITPILEN 701 TO THE UNIVERSE.
T
his is the first street
bike to bear the famous
Husqvarna badge since
KTM took ownership of the
104-year-old company in 2013.
The Vitpilen and pending
Svartpilen range represent a
clean slate for Husqvarna, and
their importance should not be
underestimated.
This new Vitpilen 701 speaks
to the commuter, the speed
freak, cafe racer, scooter boy,
even the tatted-up hooligan. It's
a new gateway into motorcycle
culture that crushes stereotypes,
inviting everyone and excluding
no one.
Importantly, Husqvarna is
aiming at non-riders with this
machine to open the motorcycle
industry up and get more bums
on seats.
The Vitpilen 701 uses the
current generation KTM 690
Duke single-cylinder motor as its
heart, with a modified 690 Duke
frame wrapped around it. "It has
been reduced to the essence of
what a motorcycle used to be,
what it should be," the Husqvar-
na PR team told us at the intro.
It's a slick and minimalistic
design, coupled with the slogan
"Simple. Progressive," which is
exactly what this bike is about.
BY SHELINA MOREDA
POCKET
