The Roadster, Swedish-Style

By Michael Gougis

When the Husqvarna rep told us that the 2025 Vitpilen 801 was based on a “shared platform” with the KTM 790 Duke, I smiled a little inside. I’m a huge fan of the Duke. So yeah, when I learned that I’d be spending the day riding a bike a lot like a Duke, I was happy.

A day of ripping the new Vitpilen along the coast and up one of Southern California’s most well-known mountain roads delivered pretty much exactly what I’d expected. If you’re on a light, torquey, good-handling bike on a twisty back road in good weather and you’re not having fun, well, it’s not the bike!

In short: The Vitpilen is the biggest naked roadster in the Husqvarna lineup, and its first Twin. They say it’s designed for an urban environment, much like its redesigned smaller sibling, the 401 Vitpilen. But it’s more powerful, has a much better power-to-weight ratio, and is designed to deliver more performance in a broader range of uses while still remaining accessible and friendly.

Vitpilen Tech

Husqvarna’s Vitpilen 801 (and the scrambler-esque-styled Svartpilen 801) share the LC8c 799cc four-stroke, DOHC Parallel Twin engine with the 790 Duke. The company claims 105 bhp and 64.2 lbs.-ft. of torque for the Husqvarnas, right in line with the output of the last 790 Duke we had on the dyno. A pair of 46mm throttle bodies handles intake duties; a 2-1 stainless steel exhaust system gets rid of the burned gasses.

Standard, the bike comes with three ride modes, Sport, Street and Rain, each with a pre-set throttle response and traction control setting. Cornering ABS is standard, and the rider can engage Supermoto mode, which deactivates ABS at the rear wheel. The optional, extra-cost Dynamic Mode on the bike I rode makes the throttle response sharper and more responsive, and includes 10-position traction control; five-position wheelie control; and electronic engine braking. A clutchless up-and-down-shift system is available as an additional, separate option, and was also on the bike I rode. An assisted slipper clutch comes standard. 

The steel twin-spar frame is shared with the Duke, with a nearly flat handlebar and a 32.9-inch seat height. Four-piston, radial-mount J.Juan calipers clamp a pair of 300mm discs in the front, with a single-piston J.Juan caliper and a 240mm disc handling rear braking. With no fuel but with all other fluids, the bike weighs a claimed 396.8 pounds.

The biggest functional difference between the Vitpilen and the Duke is the suspension. The Vitpilen’s inverted WP forks add adjustable rebound and compression damping, and the WP monoshock has adjustable rebound damping and preload. The adjustments are simple and broad. Moving the adjusters one click makes a significant difference in suspension behavior.

Oh yes, the styling. Remember that Husqvarna’s roots are deeply Swedish, as is its name; Vitpilen translates into White Arrow (and Svartpilen into Black Arrow). The Vitpilen manages to look unique and attractive in its own way, with a minimalist, solid visage that conveys the emotional concept the designers sought to project. It looks mechanical, bulbous, and sleek all at once, with the silver (not white) color scheme, I think, emphasizing the feeling of something mechanized. I’ve seen this in neo-dystopian films. It can make a rider want to wear all-black leather gear to complete the look, and Mad Max-ish apparel wouldn’t appear out of place. But yes, I like it very much, thank you.

Riding The Vitpilen

Light weight and a narrow inseam make the Vitpilen confidence-inspiring for the newer rider coming off a stoplight. The throttle pull is light and the engine responsive (I rode in Dynamic Mode and Sport Mode all day), and the clutch lever is equally easy to operate when leaving a stop. The clutchless shifting system was enabled on our test units, and it operated well over a wide range of riding situations, so clutching is minimal anyway. My only complaint was that the clutchless shifting was a little clunky for low-rpm shifts.

The solution, of course, is to avoid low rpm situations (ahem). The compact Twin spins happily, with real thrust all the way through the rev range, and it’s one of those sweet spot motors that encourages getting aggressive with the throttle without worrying  about overdoing it. Like I said, I thoroughly enjoy this engine. It pulled hard out of corners, quickly whipped up to redline, the electronic shifts smooth and seamless.

Even with the upgraded forks, the suspension still feels unsophisticated. It’s either compliant or controlled, but never both, and with the damping dialed up to keep the chassis stable, response (at the rear in particular) can be a bit jarring. On smooth pavement, the stiff-enough chassis, swingarm, and forks allowed me to flick the bike around, confidently and almost effortlessly making mid-corner corrections when the road caught me off-guard. I could rip this thing around a tight, twisty circuit all day and be ready to do it again tomorrow. The brakes did everything I wanted them to on the street, and the chassis, suspension and geometry allowed me to trail-brake into corners without upsetting the bike.

It’s not uncommon for motorcycle manufacturers to offer similar platforms in a variety of styles. I’ve always liked the Duke platform the Vitpilen is based on. In restyling the machine into a Husqvarna, the designers have lost nothing of its functionality and fun, and created an entirely different aesthetic attractive to a different set of existing and potential riders. That’s a win on every front.

Suggested retail is $10,499.