The Husqvarna Svartpilen 401 is a scrambler motorcycle from Husqvarna. It was launched in 2018 and is still on sale. Scramblers blend retro styling with light off-road ability, usually with wide handlebars and dual-purpose tyres. With a 398.6 cc engine it sits in the 250–450 cc class.
Power comes from a 398.6 cc single-cylinder liquid-cooled engine that makes 46 PS at 9,000 rpm and 39 Nm of torque at 7,000 rpm. Its bore is wider than its stroke (89 mm x 64 mm), a short-stroke layout that generally favours higher revs. Divide power by kerb weight and it has about 269 PS per tonne; by that measure, it is genuinely fast, well beyond everyday traffic speeds. The claimed top speed is 160 km/h. It has electric start.
It has a 6-speed manual gearbox with a 1-down, 5-up shift pattern, and a chain carries drive to the rear wheel. Its slipper clutch lightens the lever and stops the rear wheel hopping when you downshift hard.
It is built around a new Steel-trellis fram and subframx frame. Suspension is by adjustable WP apex USD forks, 43 mm diameter at the front and WP apex monoshock preload adjustable at the rear. Braking is by a 320 mm disc at the front and a 240 mm disc at the rear, with dual-channel ABS. ABS on both wheels keeps either tyre from locking under hard braking. It rides on 17-inch spoke wheels with tubeless tyres — 110/70-17 at the front and 150/60-17 at the rear.
The seat is 820 mm off the ground, which is about average and suits most riders. It weighs 171.2 kg ready to ride, which is on the heavy side, so moving it by hand takes some effort. Ground clearance is 177 mm — enough for most speed breakers. The wheelbase is 1,368 mm. Its 13.5 L fuel tank and claimed mileage of 29 kmpl work out to roughly 392 km per tankful on paper; real-world range is usually lower.
Equipment includes a digital instrument console, an LED headlamp, turn-by-turn navigation, USB charging port, call and SMS alerts, distance-to-empty readout, gear position indicator, quickshifter, daytime running lamps and service due indicator. Safety equipment includes engine kill switch, hazard light switch, traction control, low fuel indicator and malfunction indicator. It has two riding modes: Rain and Street.
The manufacturer's warranty is 30,000 km or 2 years. It comes with 3 free services, the first due at 1000 km or 45 days. For the Husqvarna Svartpilen 401, Mechiee offers a fixed ₹2,199 doorstep service.
It is best suited to riders who want retro style as much as performance. With this much performance, it is better as a step-up bike than a first bike.
Recommended tyre pressures are 29 psi front and 29 psi rear riding alone, and 29 psi front and 32 psi rear with a pillion. The published service intervals are 1st service at 1000 km or 45 days, 2nd service at 7500 km or 150 days and 3rd service at 16000 km or 240 days. Its chain drive needs regular cleaning, lubrication and slack adjustment.
