Just saw some pics of the new Svartpilen 701
No one else out there is doing road legal concept bikes like Husqvarna. I know it’s just a re-skinned and marked up KTM 690 Duke...
but I don’t care. It makes the motorcycle hipster in me feel all funny inside.
Back before I bought my 701 Supermoto, I tried out the Vitpilen 701, which is a modern cafe racer and also just a re-skin of the 690 Duke.
My only real complaint about the Vitpilen, was comfort. The clipon handlebars are real low and would become tiring quickly on a long ride. The Svartpilen solves this complaint by adding higher handlebars and slightly more relaxed ergonomics to the Vitpilen. Thankfully for my wallet... they gave it an 18" front wheel which severely limits the availability of sticky tire compounds (17" is the standard of all sport bikes). Otherwise, I might have been tempted to trade the Triumph and the Supermoto for one bike that seemingly could fill both roles.
I still think $12k for a single cylinder is madness, but the LC4 motor is an absolute peach. I’m about 1500 miles into my 701 supermoto and they somehow managed to give it all the good characteristics of a single (responsiveness, torque, simplicity, lightness, TORQUE) without any of the downsides (vibration, lack of top end, short maintenance intervals).