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Husqvarna Svartpilen 401 “Black Arrow” Gets Green-Lit

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The Husqvarna Svartpilen 401 is the yin, the Husqvarna Vitpilen 401’s yang, with the Swedish “black arrow” providing a unique twist on the typical scrambler motorcycle.

Another model that is based off the KTM 390 Duke platform, the Husqvarna Svartpilen 401 is a bike we have seen for quite some time, and now it has finally been given the nod to become a production bike for the 2017 model year.

Like its “white arrow” compatriot, the Svartpilen 401 takes a modern approach to an old aesthetic, and creates something entirely new in the process.

Though Husqvarna is a name with deep off-road roots, we imagine the Svartpilen 401 is about as dual-sport capable as the next “scrambler” you’d find, though we should mention that the small-displacement machine does have some qualities that would lend to its success on down a fire road or two.

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Bikes

The Husqvarna Vitpilen 401 Aero Concept Is F’ing Gorgeous

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Anyone that reads enough Asphalt & Rubber should know that I don’t particularly shine to the café racer aesthetic. So knowing that upfront should add some gravitas to the statement that the Husqvarna Vitpilen 401 Aero is blowing my mind right now.

Based on the same unassuming 373cc single-cylinder platform as the Husavarna Vitpilen 401 and Husqvarna Svartpilen 401 motorcycles, the Husqvarna Vitpilen 401 Aero concept completes the post-authentic holy trinity of retro standards, scramblers, and café racers.

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Bikes

The Husqvarna Vitpilen 401 Is Finally a Production Model

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We have known for quite some time that the Husqvarna Vitpilen 401 would debut at the 2016 EICMA show, with the Swedish brand teasing us with the pre-production model at last year’s gathering in Milan.

Since that time, we have seen numerous confirmations that the Husqvarna Vitpilen 401 would debut as a production model in 2017, and today we can finally tick off the box on that launch.

Based on the KTM 390 Duke platform, the Husqvarna Vitpilen 401 (Swedish for white arrow) takes a drastically different tack from its orange-clad sibling, as you can readily see.

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Bikes

The Husqvarna 401 Vitpilen Readies Its EICMA Debut

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Husqvarna says that it will be debuting two new street bikes at the upcoming EICMA show, along with one new concept bike. We have known for some time that one of those machines would include the Husqvarna 401 Vitpilen, the Swedish brand’s neo-retro take on the KTM 390 Duke platform.

Teasing us now with a short video of this “white arrow”, we get our first obfuscated glimpses of the 2017 Husqvarna 401 Vitpilen, though we doubt the bike has changed much from its concept form.

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Opinion/Editorial

Motorcycle Dealers Take Note – This Is How You Sell Fun

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In writing this story, I probably tried on four or five different approaches to say that exact same thing: here is a video that makes me want to drop off a pile of cash at my local Husqvarna dealership, and brap off into the sunset with a new Husqvarna 701 Supermoto.

I had trouble articulating this thought though, not because I was at a loss of words for my inner-hooligan, but because what impressed me more was the fact that this high-octane video clip comes not from Husqvarna, but instead from one of the company’s Czech dealers: Dypree.

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Bikes

Two Enthusiasts Podcast – Episode 25 – Mur-Diddly-Urdler

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Episode 25 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is an omnibus episode that covers a number of topics (we even had to cut a couple out, since the show went waaaay long).

We start the show with a discussion about Indian’s upcoming flat track racing effort, which will see Jared Mees helping develop a new Indian motor that was recently teased. We also talk about the new Husqvarna FS 450 supermoto and its cool go-fast parts (traction control, launch control, air forks, etc).

Fresh off the Isle of Man TT, we also look at the TT-styled road race that Australians are trying to organize near the Sunshine Coast. Our last news item see us talk about what the VerticalScope hack means for motorcycle forum enthusiasts.

We finish the show by trading stories about racing in the Baja 500, and Quentin’s adventures endurance racing an old clapped-out vintage MX bike. Both conversations somehow involve the mentioning of coconut water, strangely enough.

As always, you can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

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Bikes

2017 Husqvarna FS 450 Puts the “Super” in Supermoto

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The 2017 Husqvarna FS 450 is the most advanced factory-built supermoto on the market, full stop.

That’s not exactly saying much, considering there are few factory-built supermotos on the market these days, but that doesn’t make the Husqvarna FS 450 any less impressive…nor does it make our desire to have one, any less.

A refinement to the machine we saw debut last year, the 2017 Husqvarna FS 450 sees the Swedish supermoto upgraded with air forks, proper traction control, and a list of other enhancements that will help you demolish your local kart track.

While not officially listed on Husqvarna North America’s website, American riders looking for some supermoto in their garage should be able to make arrangements at their local Husqvarna dealership.

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Bikes

Husqvarna Takes on the Ducati XDiavel with a Super Duke Based Power Cruiser of Its Own

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The Ducati XDiavel is making impressions everywhere, most notably with the competition. First, we got word that BMW Motorrad was looking to build its own power cruiser, likely based off the company’s six-cylinder platform.

Now, it seems that Husqvarna wants in on the game, with the Swedish brand build its own tarmac monster off of the KTM 1290 Super Duke R platform. At least, that’s what these spy photos suggest to us.

The working title on this new machines for now seems to be the Husqvarna Vitpilen 1301, as it will likely fit into the on-road segment that Husqvarna has been carving out with bikes like the Vitpilen 401 and Vitpilen 701.

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Bikes

More Electronic Rider Aids Comes to the Dirt – Husqvarna’s 2017 Motocross Line Features Traction Control

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The rise of electronic rider aids has come to consumer-level dirt bikes, with Husqvarna now offering traction control on all of its four-stroke motocross motorcycles for the 2017 model year.

Traction control on dirt bikes isn’t a new concept, with racing machines featuring the technology for almost a decade now (in some form or another, and depsite what the rules say), but Husqvarna’s foray into the use of electronics marks a new era for consumer dirt bikes.

As we see already in the on-road segments, traction control and other electronics are proving themselves to be the new horsepower. Their introduction into the off-road realm was all but assured (and started with the 2015 Kawasaki KX450F), and now that day has seemingly come for the masses.

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News

Ducati Tops Pied Piper Dealer Rankings, Yet Again

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Yet once again, Ducati has topped Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index (PSI) – showing the continued prowess of Ducati dealerships in the United States.

For those that aren’t familiar with Pied Piper, the company’s Prospect Satisfaction Index is sort of the Consumer Reports of dealership network experience, and acts as a bellwether as to how a brand is performing while facing the consumer.

As such, the PSI takes into account a mixture of “mystery shopper” experiences along with actual sales success for each brand, thus giving a mixture of subjective and objective measurement for a company’s dealer network.

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Bikes

Some Thoughts on the Husqvarna Vitpilen 701

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This story has no timely reason, other than I was working my way through Husqvarna’s media site for a different story, and noticed that there were finally some well-lit shots of the Husqvarna Vitpilen 701 concept available for download.

The Husqvarna Vitpilen 701, as you may remember, builds off KTM’s Husqvarna’s 690cc platform, but uses the “Vitpilen” neo-café racer aesthetic. The result is what you see here, and it blew the doors off the EICMA show in Milan when it debuted late last year.

With these high-resolution photos, that thankfully were not taken in the dark this time, we can finally see the details of the Husqvarna Vitpilen 701, which were such a highlight when it debuted.

More importantly though, we can get a greater appreciation of where KISKA is taking Husqvarna, both in terms of separating the brand visually from its sister company KTM, but also on how the brand will sit apart from the rest of the motorcycle industry as a whole.

While I have no doubt that we will continue to see more conservative shapes and graphics on Husqvarna’s going forward, especially from Husqvarna’s dirt bike offerings, the Vitpilen segment is very intriguing as it brings a completely fresh take on a very tired-out market segment.

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