2024 Husqvarna Svartpilen and Vitpilen 401 and 125

The Husqvarna roadster range might not be everyone’s cup of tea – but we’re very glad they exist. The quirky styling of the Svartpilen and Vitpilen (black arrow and white arrow, in Swedish) may bring the weirder aspects of Ikea design to mind, but in an age of sometimes-identikit adventure machines, they offer a pleasing alternative. You’ll know if they’re likely to float your boat we imagine…

For 2024, though, the 401 and 125 versions of the retroscrambler Svartpilen and café racer Vitpilen machines have had an update, which echoes the improvements on their KTM Duke powertrain and chassis foundations (KTM and Husqvarna share a parent company, PIerer, and the Huskies are all based on KTM machinery).

That means a tweaked SOHC 15bhp A1-compliant engine on the 125s, which now meets the extended Euro 5+ emissions regs. There’s better economy, too, thanks to a series of internal tweaks to piston, bore and fuel injection. On the chassis front, there’s the same basic mods as the Duke 125: a change to a side-mounted rear shock with no linkage, revised frame with hydroformed tubes, and more space for a bigger airbox. There’s WP suspension all round, with preload adjustment out back only, and ByBre brakes from Brembo’s Indian sub-brand. A ew 5” TFT dash, cornering ABS and optional Bluetooth and quickshifter preparation round off the tech side.

The main technical differences between the Svartpilen and Vitpilen are on the wheels/tyres and the riding position. The Svart gets Pirelli Scorpion tyres with wire-spoked rims, and the Vit has Michelin Power 6 rubber on cast aluminium wheels. RRP for both bikes is £4899.

Further up the capacity range comes the 401 versions of the bikes, with a similar programme of upgrades. This time it’s the 2024 version of the KTM Duke 390 that provides the mods, with the same uprated DOHC 399cc single cylinder engine, putting out 45bhp @ 8500rpm. It’s cleaner and uses less fuel than before, thanks to new cams and head, uprated piston and new coating on the bore, together with new airbox and tweaked fuelling. It lives in a new frame, with the off-centre rear monoshock mounting and curved rear swingarm to tuck the exhaust in further. The WP APEX suspension comes with damping and preload adjustment both ends, and there are ByBre brakes again, with a 320mm front disc.

The Svartpilen 401 weighs just 154.5kg dry and the Vitpilen a little more at 159kg, and the chassis differences between the models are the same as the 125s: wire-spoked wheels and dirt-styled tyres on the Svartpilen and cast aluminium wheels with road rubber on the Vitpilen. Both 401 models cost £5599.