KTM Duke 390 Based Husqvarna 401s to Launch This Year in India

Husqvarna 401 Twins will derive many of its components from its Austrian cousin- KTM Duke 390

Husqvarna is set to launch the elder siblings of Svartpilen 250 and Vitpilen 250 in India. The Swedish bike manufacturer will now launch the Svartpilen 401 and Vitpilen 401 at the end of this year. Given that only three months are left in the year, we expect the 401 Twins to break covers sooner than later.

Husqvarna kickstarted their journey in India with the introduction of the 250 Twins– Svartpilen and Vitpilen. Like the 250 Twins which share their engine and platform with KTM Duke 250, the 401 Twins share their engine and platform with Duke 390. While the Svartpilen is an urban scrambler, the Vitpilen is more of a cafe racer.

Several functional components like the brakes, USD forks at front, mono-shock suspension at rear and trellis frame among many others have been borrowed from KTM for the Huskies 250 Twins. It is expected to be similar for Huskies 401 which is expected to borrow major parts from its KTM counterpart. While the Huskies serve as a more stylish option, the KTM Duke is a more racy motorcycle.

The same powertrain is expected to feature in the 401 Twins- a 373cc liquid-cooled DOHC motor single-cylinder engine which is meant for serious performance. This unit makes 44 PS of power and 37.5 Nm of torque. As usual, it will be paired with a 6-speed gearbox. This engine is known for its high compression ratio which results in such impressive output figures.

Features

However, the Indian spec Huskies 401 are likely to feature some changes in comparison to their European counterparts. For instance, the India-spec models are likely to ditch spoke wheels for alloy rims. Also the pillion grab rails are likely to be made standard.

When it comes to features, both the bikes will be equipped with standard features such as a fully-digital instrument cluster, an all-LED lighting setup and ABS from Bosch. Although it is hard to tell apart from their design, the Svartpilen will be an urban explorer equipped with dual-purpose tyres to support light off-roading. The Vitpilen 401, on the other hand, will be a cafe racer with road-biased tyres.

Sales and Price

Sales of Husqvarna motorcycles in India for July 2020 stood at about 725 units. In June 2020 it was about 428 units. Along with domestic sales of the 250s, they also make the 200s and the 401s in India. Including exports, cumulative sales of Husqvarna stood at 1,778 units in July 2020.

Currently, the Huskies 250 Twins have been priced at Rs 1.85 lakh, a full Rs 20,000 below KTM Duke 250, therefore, one can expect the 401s to be priced slightly below Duke 390. The Duke 390 is currently retailed at Rs 2.58 lakh. All prices are ex-showroom. Upon their launch, the Svartpilen 401 and Vitpilen 401 will rival the likes of Dominar, BMW G 310 and of course its KTM cousin.