Husqvarna, and sister company KTM, have about as much experience building single-cylinder engines as anyone in the industry. Of course, their off-road bikes are single-cylinders, as are their street legal Enduros. For 2024, Husqvarna, with KTM, has developed a new 399 cc single that powers the bike which is the subject of this test.
The Husqvarna Svartpilen 401 is essentially all new this year, including both chassis and engine. The styling, perhaps, is a little less quirky. I personally like the styling, including the traditional look of the round headlight.
The Svartpilen has an upright seating position, and the seat itself is quite comfortable. A new TFT display is bright, and navigating to the different functions is straightforward and intuitive, which is something KTM is known for.
This bike retails for less than $6,000, and competes with some other entry-level machines, but nevertheless features adjustable, high quality suspension. More about that later.
The engine features a relatively significant increase in displacement this year. The old bike was 373 cc, while the new bike has a full 399 cc. This is a 6% increase.
That engine is essentially all new, with a new air box, pistons, crank and cams. There are two ride modes available, including Street and Rain. This is a very healthy engine for its displacement. Husqvarna claims 44 hp at the crank. The throttle is now ride-by-wire. A quickshifter is standard.
The fork is adjustable for both compression and rebound with five clicks of adjustment on each fork leg. Brakes include a four-piston caliper squeezing a single 320 mm front disk, and a twin-piston caliper operating on a single 240 mm rear disc. ABS is standard, and a Supermoto mode allows you to disable ABS on the rear wheel. ABS is sensitive to cornering through the use of an IMU.
The six-speed transmission operates through the aforementioned quickshifter, and features a slipper clutch. Power is delivered to the ground through a pair of 17 inch spoke wheels with Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tires mounted. These tires are designed to offer grip both on road and off.
Pushing the Svartpilen 401 out of the garage, you can’t help but notice how small and light the bike feels. Husqvarna claims it weighs in at 350 pounds, which is entirely believable.
That small, light feel is immediately apparent when you ride the bike. Pulling away from a stop, the new engine provides excellent, predictable response to your throttle hand, and a surprising amount of torque. Complying with the latest European emission standards certainly hasn’t hurt performance.
Over 200 pounds with gear on, I added preload to the rear shock spring. Fortunately, with the adjustable suspension, I was also able to slow the rebound of the rear shock and dial in more compression and rebound damping on the fork. After doing so, the handling was quick and nimble, yet reasonably stable – even at high speeds.
The quickshifter on our test unit worked well, although it seemed to prefer use of the clutch between first and second gears. The torquey engine meant you had at least one gear available for any situation, and could leave corners a gear higher than normal, if you felt like a more relaxed ride.
Seat comfort was excellent for the first hour, or so, but then felt a bit stiff. Not too different from most bikes, frankly.
Undoubtedly aided by the light weight, the brakes worked well. The front brake, in particular, was plenty strong to haul down the 401.
The dual-sport Pirelli tires offered decent grip and feedback on the street, but the wheels are sized such that you could replace these with stickier sport rubber if preferred.
The Svartpilen 401 is simply a blast to ride. The engine performance is surprising, not just with the torquey midrange, but with a strong pull as the engine revs out. We didn’t specifically test top speed, but saw more than 90 mph. The bike is definitely fast enough to commute on.
What sets lightweight bikes like this apart is the nimble, flickable feel. This bike isn’t just 50 or 60 pounds lighter than some of the relatively light naked twins, it feels lighter still because of the rotating masses. Smaller wheels and tires and a lighter crank create much less inertia, and much less resistance when changing directions.
We did not take the 401 off-road, but the tires are surely up to navigating fire roads and moderate trails. We used it as a street bike, and can highly recommend it for that purpose.
At an U.S. MSRP of $5,899, we think the Husqvarna Svartpilen 401 is a bargain. A sophisticated, powerful engine and electronics package combined with attractive styling (in our opinion), comfort and practicality. Not to mention the adjustable suspension. Take a look at Husqvarna’s website for additional details and specifications.
