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Bought myself a Husqvarna Svartpilen: 7 pros & 6 cons post 500 km

1st May 2024, 16:37 by Ananth Iyer

Engine heat and vibes are not a con for me, its a single cylinder motorcycle and will have both which become part of riding or more manageable over time.

BHPian desi_motorhead recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Brought home the new 2024 Husqvarna Svartpilen 401 after checking out other options.

I've been riding motorcycles for over a decade now, both my previously owned ones being Royal Enfields', I wanted to get something different for a change especially since there are so many new launches happening this year.

Little background leading up to the decision to go for the 401, My first motorcycle was a Bullet 350 UCE(clocked 40k Kms) which I had for six years and later got the RE Continental GT 535(clocked over 1.8 lakh kms) in 2017

The Bullet was my first motorcycle, got it second hand and it thought me a lot in terms of riding a heavier bike in traffic, on the highway and also to deal with the issues that came with it in terms of quality, and repairs.

Then came the GT when RE launched the 535, I felt it a bit odd to bring back a retro concept and add modern equipment on it, but when I rode it for the first time I fell in Love with they way it handled itself and it was a huge difference from how the Bullet felt.

Which for me was a very fun motorcycle to ride and the fun part of riding was the most important aspect I was looking for while test riding the choices on offer.

Since I owned two RE's already, I checked out both the Continental GT 650 and the New Himalayan 450

The GT 650 has a great engine but the suspension felt disconnected and with RE now adding USD forks on the new models it would be worth the wait for the next variant of the GT650

The Himalayan is a huge step up from the previous generation with the showa suspension and a new engine, it was the closest contender and almost bought it but cancelled in the end when the Husky was launched.

Then came the 2024 KTM Duke 390, the biggest differentiating factor was how light it was in comparison to the RE's and has a lot of power on offer, test rode it four times over varying distances and it felt great but the design of the Duke is not something I can live with, its just too polarising for my taste.

Triumph speed 400, the bike looks great and finish qualities are top notch and its compact for all that it offers, test rode it two times but I felt it lacked the power at the top-end, I somehow felt my 535 was more powerful on highways.

HD 440X - This was another surprise for me, the motorcycle looks modern but has a retro feel while riding, it feels laid back and can do daily commutes really well and also light cruising which would fell very similar to touring on a Bullet or Classic but not what I was looking for.

Aprilia RS 457 - This is probably the most anticipated motorcycle and the only other twin cylinder engine apart from RE manufactured in India at a reasonable price.

Test ride was not available only the display bike at Marathahalli showroom, on paper and per reviews it’s a great bike but I’m not a fan of the faired motorcycle, but would definitely take a chance on something like the RS457, the biggest question was how would Aprilia handle the after sales service which is yet to be seen so did not want to get one now.

The Husky had launched in January but there was no news about the bike at the dealers till end of March, they kept saying RTO approval was pending, not sure what that was about but in the end of March I contacted the dealer just to check as I was going to pay for the Hmalayan 450 in April.

KTM Indiranagar dealer said that the bikes will be available from first week of April, so I decided to wait for another week.

Once I saw the bikes in the flesh, I felt this was what i would be getting, the design just grew on me - I like simple designs and prefer more functional elements.

Next thing I knew, cancelled the Himalayan and paid for the Svartpilen 401, there was no test ride bike but I had ridden the Duke so I had a good idea of how it felt - it was fun to ride and somehow knew this would be no different.

Delivery took another week after payment as I wanted to take the motorcycle with the number plates fixed at the showroom.

On-Road Cost (Bengaluru):

Ex-Showroom Price: ₹ 291737
RTO-LTT & Registration: ₹ 59351
Comprehensive Insurance: ₹ 32708
RSA: ₹ 1340
Total: ₹ 385139

Initial observations:

The bike is just as light as the Duke 390 and just as fun , major difference being the raised handle bars and how the ride feels due to the different tires. The power is great but the one thing that stands out is how light it feels, I've done about 250kms of riding, the engine feels smooth and does run hot - its new and peak summer - it should get better after the first service.
The quickshifter works as intended but its my first time using one so will need to get used to it, I did have trouble finding neutral couple of times though.
The motorcycle came with Apollo Tires, Dealer said they did not get approval for the Pirelli's, for me its not a huge thing, I would have changed them out once they wear out anyways - not planning on adding super expensive tyres.
But Husqvarna India/Bajaj should have made some announcements on this especially for prospective customers.
The Spoke Wheels - Yes fixing flats would be a pain but the dealer said I can change to alloys at the service center, I'm not in a hurry to do that as yet, I've dealt with punctures on a heavier motorcycles multiple times so not really worried about it.
One con I noticed from the start was how low the horn sounds, I was told its as per pollution regulations but on the highway its useless especially with all the wind and with large trucks.

Will share an update once the first service is done

Have done close to 500kms on the motorcycle,

Likes:

The lightweight feeling with all the power is really addictive
Quickshifter works well and really smooth once past 70KMPH
Compactness of the whole package, amazing to see how a small engine puts out ~46bhp
The chassis and engine is great combination in the corners, very responsive
Simple and useful dashboard layout it is easy to switch between switching off traction control and ABS(rear only)
The headlight has good throw both for low beam and high beam, I don't feel the need to add an auxiliary lights.
Comfortable seat, its long and has good cushioning- not too soft or too hard.

Dislikes:

There is lack of torque low down in the rev range, but since I've been used to motorcycles which have been the opposite, I'm still getting the hang of it.
The horn is too low, would need to change before I take it on highway runs
Spoke wheels - yes it can be changed but I feel Bajaj/Husqvarna could have given a choice to upgrade through a MYI type option from the showroom itself, anyways will change them in future
No Bluetooth connectivity, contacted the dealer to understand how to get this as an add-on as nothing was mentioned during delivery.
There is strangely only one mode - Street - not sure why they did not just remove and keep the Traction control and ABS options.

Engine heat and vibes are not a con for me, its a single cylinder motorcycle and will have both which become part of riding or more manageable over time.

Attaching a few images,

Cheers!

The first time I got to see the Motorcycle was at Delivery:

The engine has BAJAJ engraved on it, not sure if the KTM's have this as well..

The DRL is circular and unique in this class and looks really good

The Dash is nice and clean, displays all the required information and has option to choose different display modes(All info, info with favourites and reduced info)