EICMA 2016: India-bound Husqvarna Vitpilen 401 unveiled
Husqvarna's much-awaited all-new Vitpilen 401 has been unveiled at the EICMA 2016. The Husqvarna Vitpilen along with the Svartpilen concept was first showcased at the EICMA two years ago. The Vitpilen 401 will be made in India at Bajaj's Chakan plant near Pune. According to the company, the Vitpilen is expected to take the Husqvarna brand to new levels in Europe with respect to sales.
The motorcycle looks nearly the same as the concept and has a white paint shade with spoke wheels. The frame is a powder-coated steel trellis unit with 43mm USD forks (142mm travel) in the front and a WP monoshock (150mm travel) at the rear. Ground clearance is a decent 170mm while the seat height is 835mm. The tank capacity is pegged at 9.5 litres. Brakes at the front and rear are 320mm/230mm Bybre units respectively. In comparison, the current KTMs in India run 300mm front brakes, signalling that the 390 Duke might get an upgrade too. The overall weight of the motorcycle without fuel is 148kg.
Powering the Husqvarna Vitpilen 401 is the retuned version of the KTM 390 Duke's engine. While power and torque figures aren't out yet, expect the motorcycle to make a tad lower than the current 390's 43.5PS/352Nm. A 6-speed gearbox will be mated to this engine while the ECU will be a Bosch unit.
The Husqvarna Vitpilen 401 will be launched in India sometime next year, along with the global markets. The motorcycle will retail out of the existing KTM-Kawasaki-Bajaj showrooms. It is highly likely that the Husqvarna will be priced above the KTMs. The all-new 200 and 390 Dukes have electronic ride by wire throttle, and taking into consideration our relaxed emission norms, KTM may still continue to offer cable-operated units, reducing the costs. Our estimates say that the Husqvarnas will be priced around Rs 30,000-40,000 more than the KTMs.
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