Husqvarna announces Vitpilen and Svartpilen 401 Concepts to see production for 2017

With this year's motorcycle show's in full swing, us moto-fans have had the privilege of seeing some pretty amazing concept bikes. Many people don't share my enthusiasm for concept bikes, as they seldom retain their more extreme style elements If said concept makes it into production, and that's a big "IF". Personally I'm happy just seeing some cool bikes, even if they will never see production, but from time to time we get the best of both worlds and thanks to Husqvarna, we're getting just that. This is a rare instance inwhich the concept vehicles look nearly identical to the production models hitting the streets later in 2017.

A few years ago I started seeing photos online of some new concept bikes from Husqvarna. They looked awesome, having a futuristic look while keeping some modern-vintage lines and style elements. Needless to say, these concepts were instantly a big hit, generating an unusual amount of buzz. Vitpilen 401 and Svartpilen 401 are two of these bikes. (Translating to "White Arrow" & "Black Arrow").

With the popularity surrounding these concepts, Husqvarna found a way to cost effectively build them in mass production and recently it was announced that both the Svartpilen and Vitpilen will be going into production.

While there was a cool 701 concept, with the entry level bike market doing better than ever, it's not hard to see why they went with two bikes with entry level displacement, without sacrificing looks. My favorite concept of theirs is for the "Vitpilen 401 Aero", a futuristic looking version of the concept, clearly heavily inspired by the classic Dunstall fairing and sporting what looks like a futuristic version of one. While there has not yet been any official word, the other two concepts going into production make me hopeful that the "Vitpilen 401 Aero" could see the light of day in the near future as well.

The two bikes have a 375cc, four valve DOHC single, producing 44hp and 27fp torque at 9,000rpms, a 2.5 gallon tank, a 6 speed gearbox with slipper clutch and both come stock with Bosche two channel ABS. While powered by the same engine and housed in the same frame, there are enough differences between the Svartpilen and Vitpilen to justify producing two separate models. The Vitpilen is a little more sport oriented with it's stock clip-ons and Metzeler M5 tryes. The Svartpilen is more utilitarian with its upright riding position, luggage rack on the tank and Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tryes.

while part of me is envious of today's new riders having a myriad of great looking entry level options in whatever style of bike you want, in contrast to the ninja 250 so many of us "had" to start on, more of me is happy that bikes like this will hopefully attract new riders and help the motorcycle industry grow. There are hundreds of pictures of Husqvarna's concept bikes floating around online for anyone who's interested. Will these bikes seeing production motivate other manufacturers to take a similar approach? Only time will tell. Ride safe.