As much as we loved the Svartpilen 701, its single-cylinder engine always left us wondering how good the bike could be with a twin in it. For 2024, Husqvarna has answered that question and delivered the Svartpilen 801, which is powered by the 799cc version of the LC8c borrowed from KTM’s 790 Duke.
But that still left one question remaining: Would this new model, with its dramatically upgraded engine, deliver the performance to put it onto a completely different playing field of competitors?
Check out the story at https://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle-reviews/husqvarna-svartpilen-801-first-ride-review/
Subscribe to Cycle World Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/c/cycleworld?sub_confirmation=1
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6CLI74xvMBFLDOC1tQaCOQ
Read more from Cycle World: https://www.cycleworld.com/
Buy Cycle World Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/cycleworld
But that still left one question remaining: Would this new model, with its dramatically upgraded engine, deliver the performance to put it onto a completely different playing field of competitors?
Check out the story at https://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle-reviews/husqvarna-svartpilen-801-first-ride-review/
Subscribe to Cycle World Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/c/cycleworld?sub_confirmation=1
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6CLI74xvMBFLDOC1tQaCOQ
Read more from Cycle World: https://www.cycleworld.com/
Buy Cycle World Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/cycleworld
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00We're here in the south of France to ride Husqvarna's brand new Svartpilen 801.
00:05The most exciting thing about this bike is that this bike has just adopted the LC8C engine
00:11that's also shared in the 790 KTM Duke.
00:14The big question is, why did it take Husqvarna so long to get this twin-cylinder engine in
00:19this awesome naked bike?
00:20So does adding that twin-cylinder engine completely make this a different motorcycle than the
00:25701 that came before it?
00:26And I think the answer is yes, so let's find out why.
00:38First let's talk about the engine, the 799cc LC8C engine, which like we said is the same
00:44engine that is shared in the 790 Duke.
00:46So this is the first time that Husqvarna has used a twin-cylinder engine in their naked
00:51bike line, which is really cool.
00:53Now the thing that you need to know about this engine is, it's not the bigger engine
00:56that's in the new 890s and stuff like that.
00:59This is the smaller engine, but in this format, it's a great choice.
01:03The engine makes 105 horsepower and 64 pound-feet of torque.
01:07And this bike only weighs 399 pounds, so the engine is a great choice.
01:11And compared to the 701, which we really, really liked, this engine is a completely
01:15different animal.
01:16It makes more power, it's just such a smooth, nice, balanced engine.
01:21Everything about this engine just fits into a naked bike, and it really brings this bike
01:26into different competition than this Husky's ever had before.
01:29In the past, the 701 really didn't have any other direct competitors.
01:33It was kind of a unicorn inside the class.
01:35It was a single-cylinder naked bike, it was a very unique motorcycle.
01:39But now, all of a sudden, by adding this twin-cylinder engine, this parallel twin, Husky has opened
01:44the door to a whole bunch of different competitors.
01:47So we're really curious to see how it stacks up against the other bikes in the class.
01:53Today on the road, we did all sorts of stuff.
01:55We started out in the morning riding some really tight second-gear, maybe third-gear
02:00corners, just on and on, just twisty, twisty, twisty roads, kind of narrow roads.
02:05And the engine's just awesome.
02:06It just snaps off the corner, and it comes with a standard quickshifter, which is an
02:11up-and-down quickshifter.
02:12And just, you know, rowing through the gears, flicking out of the corners, this engine just
02:17pulls hard.
02:18It's just a completely different engine than the bike that preceded it.
02:21And that's a good thing.
02:22This bike is really, really fun, and I think this bike now has just come to a completely
02:27different level in terms of who it can compete with.
02:29So we really enjoyed it.
02:30And then later in the afternoon, we were on some much faster-flowing roads, whereas the
02:34older bike maybe didn't have the top-end power, it didn't have the top-end performance.
02:39Because it was a single, this bike just keeps pulling and pulling and pulling.
02:42And as an overall package, we were super happy with the engine and super happy that Husqvarna
02:48made this decision.
02:49And like we said, we just wonder why they didn't do it earlier in the past.
02:53Now let's talk about the electronics.
02:55Because of course this bike has a full package of electronics, like all of the KTM and Husqvarna
03:00bikes do.
03:01So this bike has a six-axis IMU, has ride-by-wire throttle.
03:04This bike has four modes.
03:06It has a dynamic mode, it has a street mode, a sport mode, and a rain mode.
03:10And we played around with those a little bit today and went through the menus and ended
03:14up settling on the dynamic.
03:16The throttle response is super, super crisp and really fun to ride.
03:20And then we set it up with the supermoto mode on the brakes, which we'll get to more in
03:23a minute.
03:24But in that setup, the bike is just really, really fun.
03:27I mean, this bike has just become a complete hooligan bike.
03:30We had lots of little rises, the bike would wheelie off those.
03:33You can go into the pod here, which is a new pod on this motorcycle compared to the Adventure
03:38models.
03:39And the access to the menus is super easy to navigate, getting in and changing modes
03:44on the fly or changing settings on the fly, super, super easy.
03:49The screen is brand new, the TFT display is new and has an anti-glare coating on it.
03:54And accessing those menus and getting in there and making those changes was really easy.
03:59One of the other things that we like is those modes are sticky.
04:02So you would go in and set up your dynamic mode and have all your settings where you
04:06want it.
04:07And when you cycled the key, it would stay in that mode.
04:09So when you would turn the bike back on, you would be able to just be in the mode that
04:13you were on.
04:14The electronics have a lot of options.
04:15You can go in there and you can control your engine brake, you can control your TC settings
04:20and your anti-wheelie and your MTC and all those things.
04:23The ones that we rode today has the optional dynamic mode, which is about $250.
04:27And so that's an addition, like on most of the KTMs and Huskies now, you've got to pay
04:31for that.
04:32Our bike didn't have the cruise control, which is another option, which is about $490.
04:37And the cruise control not only comes with a setup, a different pod here, but it also
04:41has a cheater button that you can set up custom that you could cycle just to a mode
04:46or a particular TC setting, or you can customize that completely.
04:51But our bikes came with the dynamic mode, which I would highly recommend that anybody
04:54that buys this bike would do that.
04:56Now let's talk about the chassis a little bit.
04:58One of the advantages to this bike is it comes with the WP suspension, which is adjustable.
05:03So at the rear, you've got preload and rebound adjustment, and at the front, you've got compression
05:08and rebound, but no preload.
05:10But compared to the other competition that this bike is going up against, most of those
05:14bikes, like the new Suzuki GSX-8S, don't have adjustable suspension at all.
05:20They've got preload only on the rear.
05:21So this suspension is much higher end than some of the competition.
05:26And out on the roads that we were on today, we kind of hit a little bit of everything.
05:29There's nice, smooth stuff.
05:31There's a lot of bumps in the road, and the suspension was very good, and we didn't play
05:34with clickers or anything today because the standard base settings were really good, and
05:38we were totally happy with that.
05:40But overall, I think that the suspension package on this is really good.
05:43And then the brakes were totally good.
05:45They're the J-Juan brakes, which is a subsidiary of Brembo.
05:49You've got adjustable clutch and brake levers, really nice little features.
05:53Overall, the chassis is really nimble and fun, but yet it's still stable, but it's lively.
05:59Like today on some of the roads that we were on that were tight and twisty, you can just
06:03get into the corner, you have full confidence, come out of the corners, little wheelies and
06:07stuff, and it was just a total blast.
06:09Overall, chassis performance, I think that this engine and this chassis puts this bike
06:14into a completely different light than the bike that it replaces.
06:18And we love that about it.
06:21Now let's talk about ergonomics.
06:23This morning when I got on this bike, the very first thing I noticed when we pulled
06:26out of the parking lot was how comfortable the seating position is.
06:29There's a lot of leg room.
06:30The bar reach is super neutral.
06:32The seat is great.
06:34It's got a little kick up at the back here.
06:36I think it gives you plenty of support, but riding all day today, I never got cramped.
06:41I thought that the leg position was great, so over the long term, you can spend an entire
06:45day on this bike and it's a sporting riding position, but it never gets cramped.
06:49It never makes you feel like you need to take a break from it.
06:52Totally comfortable.
06:53You don't have much wind protection, but it's a naked bike.
06:55You know that, right?
06:56You've got a little windscreen.
06:57There's some options for that as well.
06:59But overall, I thought that the ergonomics were really nice.
07:02For a naked bike, it's really nice because around town, it's got a 32.4-inch seat height,
07:08so it's pretty easy to touch the ground.
07:10You've got control of the bike.
07:11You feel really comfortable, but then you get out on a sporting road and you can get
07:15into a really nice attack position and ride it like a sport bike, which is great.
07:21In the past, we loved the Svartpilen 701, but I think that this is a really big change
07:26for Husky, and I think bringing this bike into the twin-cylinder world has been a really
07:31good decision on their part.
07:32This bike comes in at $10,899, which is a little bit more.
07:37It's about $1,500 more than the 790 Duke, but Husky's got their distinct styling.
07:41I think this bike is really attractive.
07:44The finishes are great.
07:45Everything on this bike looks sharp, from the seat finishes to the subframe, which is
07:49an aluminum subframe, and everything just looks really top-notch.
07:53And so you're getting something for that $10,899.
07:56But like I said before, I think that this bike now has so many different competitors
08:01that people are going to be comparing it against, and I really liked how this bike
08:04performed overall today.
08:06Just had a great ride, and I think that anybody looking for a parallel twin naked bike has
08:11to look at this bike, because it's a really, really fun model.
08:13The change to twin power is the thing that makes this bike awesome, and so we're totally
08:18happy with that.
08:19So that's it here from the south of France, riding the Svartpilen 801, and if you like
08:24what you see, please comment, like, and subscribe, and we'll talk to you next time.
08:27Thanks for watching.