2020 HUSQVARNA SVARTPILEN 401: First Impressions!

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The Husqvarna Svartpilen 401 is a bike that immediately caught my eye when it was initially introduced in 2018, and for 2020, it’s undergone a significant amount of changes.

So when the time came to buying a new bike after selling my Yamaha XSR700, it was the first and only bike I wanted to look into.

Now the Svartpilen has always stood out to me because of its futuristic yet urban scrambler styling.

I’ve always been into modern scramblers, and that’s probably thanks to that past 20 years of riding and racing motocross.

The off-road spec tyres, sleek design, upright riding style and quality components that come fitted on a Husqvarna were the key reasons I was instantly drawn to this motorcycle.

And more recently, there was one more reason, and that’s the price. This bike was initially released with a sky-high price tag considering its engine capacity, however it didn’t take long for Husqvarna to significantly reduce that.

In Australia, the 2020 Svartpilen 401 retails for around $7000, which is an incredibly attractive price tag for the bike you’re getting.

The 2020 model has quite a few difference compared to the 2018 and 2019 models, however it’s still very much the same platform.

The bike now comes in a very stylish multi-tone grey colour option, while the subframe has been extended and bikes comes standard with an up and down quickshifter, which is a really neat feature for a bike of this calibre.

The exhaust has also been rerouted, and the ABS system has to ability to select a road and supermoto mode, which is ideal if you plan on taking this bike off-road.

Aside from those few updates, the bike is very similar to the motorcycle that’s been on the market for a few years already.

Being a motocross rider, I’ve always gelled with the upright riding position of a street bike, and my previous motorcycle was set up exactly like that.

One thing I noticed while researching this bike is that looks like it’s on the smaller side, and that’s only amplified when a taller person in the bike.

Surprisingly, the Svartpilen has a relatively high seat height of 835mm, and being around 6ft tall, the bike is actually quite spacious and very comfortable when you’re seated and riding.

My only gripe with the ergonomics of the bike is the handlebars - they feel really narrow compared to what I’m used to, and I just think a wider bar will enhance my comfort and control of the bike.

If you’re on the smaller side, this probably isn’t necessary, but for someone of my height, it’s a change I’ll be looking at in the immediate future.

The Svartpilen comes with adjustable WP Suspension, which is some of the best kit you can get, plus ByBre brakes packages is very impressive and has plenty of stopping power.

This bike is incredibly nimble and easy to throw and manoeuvre, making for a really fun yet safe ride.

Now the power of the bike is one thing I have to say is something I was little underwhelmed with when first getting bike, but that comes from two things - I ride a 350 KTM motocross bike weekly which is 50kg lighter and has almost 20 more horsepower, plus my previous street bike was a 700.

The power didn’t deter me from getting it - I wanted something where I could use the power available and was going to be nice and easy to manoeuvre, and I knew there could be a few changes to really liven the bike up.

The 401 has a relatively strong mid to top end power - there’s still plenty of torque there, however down low, you tend to make a lot of noise and not really go anywhere.

It really depends on how you ride the bike - I’m someone who likes to lug the bike around and not rev it out, so something I’ll be changing the gearing to to give it some more legs between gear changes.

The throttle response in standard trim is definitely not where I want it either - I like a super sharp and responsive throttle, whereas the Svartpilen has a very mellow throttle, which is great if you’re new to motorcycling.

I’ve installed a slip-on muffler on this bike and removed the pre-muffler box, however I’ve retained the standard headers - that’s increased the throttle response and made this bike sound so much better.

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