Husqvarna Vitpilen 701 Is Modern Art On Wheels

Boasting of a rich pedigree of producing gorgeous off-road oriented motorcycles, Husqvarna has managed to crack the neo-retro formula as well with the Vitpilen 701 cafe racer. Shown as a concept in 2015, the Vitpilen 701 is one of the hottest pair of wheels in the market.

As is the case with most things Swedish nowadays, the Vitpilen 701 is a style icon. Every single detail on the motorcycle has been crafted to make sure it looks stunning from all angles. Despite the minimalistic design, the Vitpilen 701 has got all the right ingredients to qualify it as a cafe racer. Items like the round headlamp, clip-on bars, single seat and short front mudguard are all what you would associate from a cafe racer. Yet, the sleek flat fuel tank, floating rear tail section and lightweight 5-spoke alloys are what make it futuristic.

Nestled in the ChroMoly steel frame is a 692.7cc, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled motor that it shares with the KTM 690 Duke. However, the tuning has been modified to suit the bike as it makes 74.78PS of power and 72Nm of torque. That is 1.4PS more on power than its Austrian cousin but 2Nm lower on torque. The engine retains modern electronics such as Keihin EMS with ride-by-wire, hydraulically actuated APTC slipper clutch and a traction control system.

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The Vitpilen 701 gets the same cycle parts as the KTM 690 Duke. The 43mm WP USD forks as well as the WP monoshock are fully adjustable. You get a 320mm rotor at the front and a 240mm one at the rear which take care of the retardation duties. ABS is standard but also switchable.

Although the Vitpilen 701 is already on sale in the global markets, we do not expect the bike to make it to our shores any time soon. Husqvarna will be launching the younger sibling – the Vitpilen 401 – as well as the Svartpilen 401, its scrambler twin, sometime early 2019.