It ' s been nearly a decade since Husqvarna - then freshly bought from BMW ownership into the KTM family by Stefan Pierer - showed its first modern Svartpilen and Vitpilen concept bikes . They ' ve since become a mainstay of the brand in a variety of sizes , all using engines and frames borrowed from KTM ' s Duke range . With the Svartpilen 801 , Husqvarna ' s neo-retro street scrambler enters a new market segment by becoming the first two-cylinder bike in the Svartpilen line . The formula is unchanged . As with previous Svartpilen models in the modern era , Husqvarna has plucked a model from the KTM range - in this instance the 790 Duke - and wrapped it in distinctive styling including the signature oversized , circular headlight to create a bike with a very different appeal to the angular Duke it ' s based on . On previous Svartpilen and Vitpilen models ( the Vitpilen being a more street-biased , café racer-style version of the same styling theme ), Husqvarna ' s tweaks to the riding position - with new tanks , seats , bars and pegs - have given them |
distinctly different characters to the KTMs they ' re based on , and the Svartpilen 801 is likely to be no exception . The engine is the 799 cc version of KTM ' s LC8c parallel twin , as used in the 790 Duke and 790 Adventure . KTM has also created 889 cc ' 890 ' |
variants and , for 2024 , introduced a completely redesigned ' 990 ' twin , but Husqvarna is sticking with the tried and tested original . It ' s putting out 77 kW ( 103 hp ) at 9,250 rpm and 87 Nm ( 64 lb-ft ) at 8,000 rpm , exactly matching the current 790 Duke , which was reintroduced by KTM last year in |
Chinese-made form as a lower-cost alternative to the new 990 Duke . The engine might be shared , but the Svartpilen has higher-spec suspension and equipment than the 790 Duke . Its forks are fully adjustable WP Apex 43 mm upside-down units similar to those on the 890 Duke R , paired with a compression and preloadadjustable rear shock , and there ' s a WP steering damper to tame the front end . The brakes , meanwhile , are the same J . Juan four-piston front calipers used by KTM , but wearing Husqvarna branding . Like KTM ' s Duke models , there ' s cornering ABS from Bosch with a switchable Supermoto mode that allows the rear wheel to be intentionally skidded . An ' Easy Shift ' bidirectional quickshifter is standard , too , along with up to four riding modes . Without fuel , the Svartpilen 801 comes in at 181 kg . Pricing sits it directly between the Chinese-made 790 Duke and the new , much faster 990 Duke , making it a direct rival to Ducati ' s Scrambler Icon and Full Throttle models , though with a substantial performance advantage . |