Husqvarna’s New Mid-Sized Adventure Motorcycle Spied

Husqvarna is well known for the off-road prowess of its enduro and motocross motorcycles. The brand likes to dabble in the middleweight category and lower, as is evident from its portfolio. Now that its parent company, KTM, has the 790 Adventure, the Swedes want to show how they would go about the middleweight adventure game.

The test mule has been spotted recently and going by the looks, the motorcycle is likely to be under development until EICMA next year. They have taken bits and bobs off the 701 range, like the headlamp, tail lamp and indicators, and have used it in the test mule. However, more important parts like the multifunctional TFT instrument console and underpinnings have been borrowed from the KTM 790 Adventure’s parts bin.

The swingarm, wheels (likely the same 21-inch front and 18-inch rear) and brakes seem to be borrowed from the Austrian ADV. The motorcycle rolls on block-pattern tyres, and should offer good off-road capability. We can see the forks have an adjustment knob on one of the arms, hinting at full adjustability. The rear monoshock looks the same as the one in the 790, and should offer adjustable preload. On the other hand, the subframe has been redesigned and is much flatter and boxier than the trellis unit in the 790. Consequently, the pillion seat is also much flatter, although the amount of cushioning looks abnormally excessive. Overall, the test mule looks quite crude but the end product is likely to be considerably different.

The Husky ADV shares its engine with the 790 Duke, but we do not know if it would have the same state of tune. To provide some form of clarity on the matter, the one on the KTM makes 95PS and 86Nm from the 799cc parallel twin liquid-cooled mill.

Since the Vitpilen and Svartpilen are named as 701’s, based on their engine capacities, we expect Husqvarna to use the ‘801’ moniker for this motorcycle. When launched, the 801 will compete with the Triumph Tiger 800 range, Yamaha Tracer 900 range, BMW F 850 GS and Ducati Multistrada 950. Stay tuned for more developments about this bike.

Image Credit: MCN