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/
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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
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SportsTranscript
00:00We're here in the south of France to ride Husqvarna's brand new Svartfilen 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 bike
00:51line which is really cool.
00:53Now the thing that you need to know about this engine is it's not the bigger engine that's
00:56in 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 and this bike only weighs 399
01:08pounds.
01:09So the engine is a great choice and compared to the 701, which we really, really liked,
01:14this engine is a completely different animal.
01:16It makes more power.
01:17It's just such a smooth, nice, balanced engine.
01:20Everything about this engine just fits into a naked bike and it really brings this bike
01:25into different competition than this Husky's ever had before.
01:28In the past, the 701 really didn't have any other direct competitors.
01:32It was kind of a unicorn inside the class.
01:35It was a single cylinder naked bike.
01:37It was a very unique motorcycle.
01:38But now, all of a sudden, by adding this twin cylinder engine, this parallel twin, Husky has
01:44opened the 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 corners,
02:01just on and on.
02:02Just twisty, twisty, twisty roads.
02:04And the engine's just awesome, it just snaps off the corner and it comes with a standard
02:10quick shifter, which is an up and down quick shifter.
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.
02:34Whereas the older bike maybe didn't have the top end power, didn't have the top end performance
02:39because it was a single.
02:40This 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.
03:01This 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's response is super, super crisp and really fun to ride.
03:20And then we set it up with the super moto mode on the brakes, which we'll get to more
03:23in a minute.
03:24And 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.
03:32The 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.
03:43Getting in and changing modes on the fly or changing settings on the fly, super, super easy.
03:48The screen is brand new.
03:50The 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 wanted.
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
04:12you were on.
04:13The electronics will have a lot of options.
04:15You can go in there and you can control your engine brake.
04:17You can control your TC settings and 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 or a
04:47particular TC setting or you can customize that completely.
04:51But our bikes came with the dynamic mode, which I would highly recommend that anybody that
04:55buys 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.
05:06And at the front, you've got compression and 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.
05:34We didn't play with clickers or anything today because the standard base settings were really
05:38good and we 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're 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.
06:08And it was just a total blast.
06:09But overall 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 out
06:26of the parking lot was how comfortable the seating position is.
06:29There's a lot of leg room, the bar reach is super neutral.
06:32The seat is great.
06:33It'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.
06:43So over the long term, you can spend an entire day on this bike and it's a sporting riding
06:47position, 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?
06:56It's got a little windscreen, there'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 into
07:15a really nice attack position and ride it like a sport bike, which is great.
07:19In the past, we loved the Svart Pillen 701, but I think that this is a really big change
07:26for Husky.
07:27And I think bringing this bike into the twin cylinder world has been a really good decision
07:31on their part.
07:32This bike comes in at $10,899, which is a little bit more.
07:36It's about $1,500 more than the 790 Duke, but Husky's got their distinct styling.
07:41I think this bike is really attractive.
07:43The finishes are great.
07:45Everything on this bike looks sharp from the seat finishes to the subframe, which is an
07:49aluminum 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 that
08:01people are going to be comparing it against.
08:03And I really liked how this bike performed overall today.
08:06Just had a great ride and think that anybody looking for a parallel twin naked bike has to
08:11look 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.
08:17And so we're totally happy with that.
08:19So that's it here from the south of France, riding the Svart Pillen 801.
08:23And if you like what you see, please comment, like, and subscribe, and we'll talk to you next
08:27time.
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