TESTED: Husqvarna’s new Svartpilen 801

Distinctive design and dynamic dealing with for Husqvarna’s new Svartpilen 801. Martin Fitz-Gibbons tells us what we have to know:

Simply once you thought each conceivable nook of the middleweight avenue bike panorama had been coated, alongside comes the Husqvarna Svartpilen 801. Half scrambler, half roadster, half commuter, half flat-tracker, half hi-tech hooligan, and half eye-catching fashion assertion, the Svartpilen gleefully refuses to fit right into a single class.

Visually, there are many nods to Husky’s off-road heritage. There’s the Pirelli MT 60 RS tyres, with their distinctive flat-track tread sample. There’s the broad, cross-braced handlebar. There’s a single retro-style spherical headlight. And there’s the high-rise exhaust, that silencer tucked up tight towards the tail similar to a mud bike.

However the Svartpilen isn’t any good-old-days rose-tinted throwback. Its strains and silhouette are fashionable to the purpose of bordering on sci-fi. That headlight is LED, as is all of the bike’s lighting. The sprint is a color TFT. Wheels are forged, brakes are radial, suspension is multi-adjustable – it’s the chassis spec you’d count on of a cutting-edge streetfighter, not something retro. At first, it’s exhausting to know what to make of all of it.

On the highway, first impressions are of an enthralling, welcoming, relaxed roadster. The motor fuels impeccably, the throttle response clean and stylish in all its using modes. As commonplace there are three, intuitively named Rain, Avenue and Sport. A fourth mode, Dynamic, is unlocked by including an optionally available software program package deal (Dynamic Pack, £361.51), however even that is so measured at low revs and small throttle openings that you would be able to experience round in all of it day, from congested site visitors to walking-pace hairpins, and by no means really feel the slightest hiccup.

Above 7000rpm there’s a step up in urgency, with peak torque of 64lb·ft arriving at 8000rpm, shortly earlier than all 103bhp hits at 9250rpm. On paper that may sound like a revvy supply and a reasonably slim powerband, however in follow it doesn’t really feel it. There’s little doubt you get the sense that the Svartpilen offers again extra for those who put extra effort in as a rider, nevertheless it’s by no means demanding or irritating. While you need to cruise alongside, the motor delivers at midrange revs. While you need to rip, it matches your enthusiasm with a glowing, fiery top-end.

Suspension is by WP, with 43mm upside-down forks on the entrance and a linkage-free monoshock on the again. Forks have separate damping adjustment (rebound in the suitable leg, compression within the left), whereas the shock will be tweaked for preload and rebound. Each ends are a better spec degree than the 790 Duke, which affords no damping adjustment in any respect.

As commonplace it feels plush and compliant, a suspension that’s arrange for experience high quality at first. The quantity of wheel journey at each ends is barely greater than you’d discover on an everyday roadster (140mm entrance, 150mm rear), however nowhere close to long-legged sufficient for it to really feel something near an adventurer. No, this can be a pure highway arrange, one which holds the Svartpilen good and flat whereas absorbing uneven roads.

Brakes calipers bear Husqvarna logos however are made by J.Juan. The chunk from the entrance brakes is pretty light at first, however there’s respectable stopping energy to be discovered as soon as given a superb squeeze. ABS is lean-sensitive, whereas skid followers will probably be delighted to know that it may be set to a Supermoto mode, which disengages the anti-lock operate on the rear wheel.

The broad bars give a great deal of leverage, making it straightforward to fling it by way of tight, twisty, single-track mountain roads on the world launch, within the attractive Sainte-Baume Regional Pure Park within the South of France. Steering is mild with out being frisky or too giddy – it’s planted on its Pirellis, and impartial in the best way it rolls from upright to leant over. No scarcity of floor clearance at full lean, both.

You may discover a scarcity of vary, nevertheless. Gas tank quantity is simply 13.7 litres and, given our bike’s sprint displaying a mean 49.6mpg on the finish of the day’s experience, which works out to a most vary of lower than 150 miles. A minimum of the 5-inch color TFT show retains you knowledgeable, with a remaining vary countdown one of many myriad choices out there to view. There’s additionally Bluetooth connectivity as commonplace, which is designed to be paired with the Journey Husqvarna Bikes telephone app to supply the standard telephone and music controls from the switches, plus a route planner with turn-by-turn sat-nav directions displayed on the display. 

It’d be all too straightforward to dismiss the Husqvarna Svartpilen 801, assuming it’s both a) a superficial styling train, b) nothing greater than a badge-engineered 790 Duke, or c) each. Choose it by spec sheet alone and, truthful sufficient, it won’t leap off the web page, or stand out for any single particular trait – particularly not now it appears everyone has an 800cc-ish bare middleweight, with a lot powered by parallel twins. However to experience, it actually does knock most of your expectations down. It’s a genuinely usable, versatile, well-developed machine with loads of substance to again up its distinctive fashion. And it does really feel fairly totally different in character from a 790 Duke, the Svartpilen exuding a mellower, milder facet, and feeling barely extra subtle from the saddle. It’s much less single-minded, extra rounded, and extra full because of this.

Phrases: Martin Fitz-Gibbons Pictures: Sebas Romero & Marco Campelli