2025 Husqvarna Svartpilen 801 Review

This is the 2025 Husqvarna Svartpilen 801, and for the last four days I’ve been testing it in a variety of different environments to try to get a feel of:

• What this bike really is,
• What its capabilities and pros and cons are, and
• Who its competitors really are, and whether or not this is the one that me and you should be spending our money on

Full disclosure: This video would not be possible without the help of Studio Cycle. They are Toronto’s Husqvarna dealer. I asked them if I could borrow a bike for a few days. They said, “Sure, take the 801.”

They will not be seeing this review before it goes live. They have no input on what I do or don’t say in this video. And don’t worry—in the areas where I think this bike sucks, I will definitely let you know, because tearing apart motorcycles is kind of what I do on my channel.

So let’s get into it.

What the Svartpilen 801 really is (and isn’t)

What it is, in my opinion, is a neo-retro motorcycle. Kind of a modern retro bike. You’ve got upright ergonomics, you have retro-inspired touches, you have a ton of modern tech. It’s lightweight, you’ve got a fun motor, and a lot of great little touches like fully adjustable front and back suspension, 5-inch TFT display, and, did I mention, a lot, a lot of tech?

It all comes together for a motorcycle that just oozes premium feel. I’m going to go into details on all those individual components a little bit later on.

Now let’s first talk about what the Svartpilen 801 isn’t, because I have two very strong opinions on that.

The first thing it isn’t is a tracker or a scrambler. I’ve seen people try and call it that because it has the tracker-style tires and it has the bar across the handlebars. That’s like if I took my Harley and I put, like, race slicks on it, and then I put a Monster Energy drink on the side and I told you it was a sport bike. You’d be like, “No, that’s not how it works.”

We don’t have the ground clearance. We don’t have the high-mount exhaust. It’s not a tracker. It’s not a scrambler. And that’s probably something that’s better for, honestly, 90% of us. This is better than that. Take this.

The other thing that the Svartpilen 801 isn’t (and this one kind of disappoints me) is it isn’t very transparent on what its pricing really is. Because parent company KTM, they like to put all of the little ingredients, all the hardware and stuff, into the motorcycle, and then keep certain features locked away. And you gotta pay them more money if you want to get those features out of your motorcycle, even though they’re already there.

This bothers me. Don’t worry, I will go into more detail on that in the pros and cons section of this video, which is coming up right now.

Svartpilen 801 Pros and Cons

For pros and cons, let’s talk about just how this motorcycle feels to sit on and to ride. Your knees are bent, but not too much, for a nice compromise between sporty feel and just all-day riding comfort. The handlebar is up high and wide, which means you won’t have to be bent in a fetal position to ride this thing and have good control at the same time. That’s a pro.

Side note for my short kings and queens: the seat height is around 32–32 1/2 in. Okay, now that’ll go down a little bit from the sag when you do sit on it, but you can do like a full inch lowering kit, and that is a factory OEM kit. It also includes a shorter kickstand, so Husqvarna has you covered. That’s a pro.

However, that kit is like $438, I want to say. That’s a lot of money for what is essentially two pieces of metal and a couple washers. That’s a con.

Back to controls, the first thing you notice when you first sit on the Svartpilen 801 is: “Damn, this thing feels light!” Wet, it’s about 400–420 lbs. Husqvarna keeps the weight down by using what seems to be a trellis frame up there, which maybe is borrowed from KTM.

And the motor is mounted really down low. In fact, part of the motor is beneath the swingarm, like substantially, which is kind of neat. Keeps the center of gravity down low. I like it.

And keep in mind, it’s not very often we get a motorcycle that makes over 100 horsepower and feels this light. That’s kind of awesome. So for newer riders, if this is maybe your second motorcycle or your first full big motorcycle, when you get on the Svartpilen 801 for the first time, you’re probably already going to feel like you already know how to ride it.

You can also put it in Rain mode just to simmer it down if you are really nervous. It’s a really easy bike to ride because of that low center of gravity and that low weight. So that’s a pro.

Brake feel, to me, feels great. I thought I read online that they were four-piston dual disc brakes up front, one in the rear. The back brake also really complements the work the front is doing really well, and I found myself definitely making use of it.

The brakes are Husqvarna-branded, so I don’t know what exactly they are. They’re definitely not Brembos, or they would be branded that. But let’s just put it this way: I did two emergency stops over the last couple days. The first one was for testing purposes so I could tell you guys how it felt, and the second one was out of necessity. Everything felt sturdy, controlled, pretty good amount of feedback. I have no complaints with these brakes. This is great. That’s a pro.

Shifting is super light and smooth. You get positive little clicks, but it feels very, very light. The clutch also feels very, very light. I had zero misshifts, zero false neutrals, zero any issues whatsoever. That’s a pro.

But I realize now I did not test out the quickshifter functionality. I don’t know if that’s something you gotta pay extra for, because I did a quickshifter-related option on the website. But since I don’t know what the deal with the quickshifter is, let’s just pretend it’s not there and keep going.

For the more experienced riders, when you put the Svartpilen 801 into Sport mode you will have fun, okay? If you’re looking to have fun, you will have fun on this bike. Trust me.

I ride a couple liter bikes. Let me just say that it’s been a few years since the last time I twisted the throttle really aggressively and my head actually went flying backwards. It’s not very often that happens, and the Husqvarna did that. I was not expecting that. That’s a pro.

And on the topic of switching ride modes, one thing I need to point out is not to be afraid of the menu on this motorcycle: Last week, I was going through the menu on a BMW F750GS. I could not understand the menu hierarchy that BMW uses, it’s way too complicated. This menu is just normal. If you can navigate a TV guide on your TV remote, you’ll have no issues with this menu. This menu is simple, simple, simple. So that’s a plus.

On the topic of the TFT display, it didn’t even occur to me that, given how phone screens are hard to read in sunlight, maybe the TFT screen would’ve been hard to read in sunlight. But that was not at all the case. Colors were bright, vibrant, high contrast, easy to see at any given point. I did a lot of riding around like 1:00–2:00 pm, where the sun is almost at its peak, and had no issues whatsoever with seeing the display. Super, super bright any time of day. That’s awesome. So that’s a pro.

But I have to admit, I am not a fan of TFTs. And it’s—it’s not this bike’s fault. It’s just, I come from the era of analogue gages. One for the speedo, sometimes one for the tach, everything easy to read, and everything analogue.

I like my gauges analog still. That’s where I’m at. And here are two more reasons why:

One, I’m an old fart on the inside. Two, those TFT screens on some motorcycles can cost up to $1,000 to replace in the event of an accident. If I want to replace an analogue speedometer, it’s about $29. I don’t need to have all the colors. A black and white, $29 analogue gage is good enough for me. TFT, unfortunately, that’s a con. I’m sorry.

And don’t get me wrong, the Husqvarna Svartpilen 801 is not a motorcycle I foresee you crashing on. If anything, it’s actually really easy and pleasant to ride. And those two are not always the same.

Sometimes you have motorcycles which are really high-strung, make a lot of power. As soon as you let out the clutch, those things want to take off on you, and you’re almost pulling back the reins. Then you have other motorcycles where they’re easy to ride, not hard, but they’re so freaking boring. You let out the clutch, nothing happens. You gotta really rip that throttle, push that “Go!” you know? “Wake up!”

The Husqvarna Svartpilen 801 is kind of in a sweet spot. Whatever they’ve done with this bike in Road mode is: job well done. That’s a pro.

So speaking of performance, we should talk about the Svartpilen 801’s performance numbers.

We are looking at 799cc’s, 105 hp of peak horsepower at 9,250 RPM, and 64 ft-lb of torque at 8,000 RPM. It’s got more than enough power for both city and highway, so that’s a pro.

Now, back in the day, parallel twins used to be my least favorite motor. They used to be like my old 2009 Triumph Bonneville I’ve done a bunch of videos on this channel on. It was like a 360° crank, and that was okay, but it was really plain. It was boring. It was vanilla.

There was nothing exciting. You took it on the highway and it was just a big lump of steel on wheels. There was no character. There’s no soul to it.

Husqvarna went a different direction with this parallel twin, as most manufacturers are these days. Rather than continuing with dull 360 degree cranks, they are doing 270° cranks.

This configuration gives the motorcycle a lot more character, and a bit of a V-Twin-like power delivery especially at lower RPM. It’s way more fun.

Overall, I’m going to say that this motor is fun, powerful, and intentionally good. That’s a pro.

And those are all features that make it really good either in the city or on backcountry roads. I particularly like the Husqvarna in the city just because it pairs really nicely with the lightness, the nimbleness, the really precise handling of the bike.

Having those upright ergonomics and that taller seat height just means that I can see over the traffic around me and find the little corners and places to dip through. On this motorcycle, I was doing the kind of stuff that normally I typically reserve for my own personal motorcycles only, and normally would never do on other people’s motorcycles, but on the Svartpilen 801 you just feel so good on it. You’re like “Yeah, I’m going to go there and do that.” and then you can just go do it, because the motorcycle is easily up to the task. That’s a pro.

However, and yes, I’m about to start nitpicking, it has to be said…

If you want to take full advantage of all the power, and all the performance, and all the gizmos, and all that crap—there is a $540 Canadian “Dynamic Pack.” There is also a “Motor Slip Regulation Pack” software upgrade for $125. And while you’re there spending money, for another $60 you may as well grab a USB charging cable that plugs into your factory OEM wiring harness.

That’s basically spending another $700 for stuff that Husqvarna could have given you for free.

I’m not sure how I feel about that, because every other time I buy something, the software is already in the product and the product comes with a USB-C cable. But here, I’m buying the product and you’re not giving me all the software, and you’re not giving me my USB cable. And I just want the software and the USB cable. Why do I have to pay $700 more for that? That’s a con.

Now, that being said, this is still a naked motorcycle. So if you want to do some highway blasts, you want to do some ripping, maybe even like some longer highway rides—as is, this is not perfectly set up for you. And that’s okay. You’re going to want a little bit more wind protection.

To be totally honest with you, I did find that up to about 120 km/h, I was okay. Maybe you’re going to be okay to 125, 130—I don’t know. For me, with the GoPro, 120 was as much as I was doing on the highway with this thing—until there’s some sort of bigger windscreen or something on there. So it’s a con, but like, you kind of know when you buy a naked bike what you’re getting into, and that’s part of why they’re beautiful, so it’s not really that big of a con.

Speaking of highway stuff—if you want to do cruise control on this motorcycle, you absolutely can. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that cruise control on the Svartpilen 801 is going to run you an extra $348 Canadian. And that’s just the cost for the part. I guess—I don’t know if there’s labor on top of that, because there is a physical hardware component, but there’s also like a software update component, so it might be more than 348 bucks for cruise control. And that’s kind of a… con.

However, on the good side, the last thing I’ll say about highway and touring and that kind of stuff is that Husqvarna makes a factory option front seat. They call it the “Ergo,” I guess. It’s supposed to be more comfortable.

They also offer a rear seat for your passenger. That’s pretty neat. I like the fact that you can buy them separately. You can buy just the one if you want; you don’t have to buy the rear one. Cool.

The rates also seemed okay—I think it was like $180 CAD ($130 USD) for just the rider seat, or about $320-330 CAD ($240 USD) if you buy both the rider and passenger seats. Considering what aftermarket seats cost from like anywhere else, that’s actually a great price. And the fact it’s made by the manufacturer—you can pick it up from your dealer, that’s a pro. I like that.

And there’s a bunch of little touches that aren’t necessary at all, but that Husqvarna has done them anyway. And you won’t even see these things until you buy the bike and bring it home and start really spending a lot of time with it. Maybe the first time you wash it is when you’ll start to notice stuff.

For example, this tail section is a piece of metal. Not plastic. Everyone else is using plastic. Plastic is cheap and light, but it’s going to be shaking and vibrating when you’re at a red light. It’s going to look goofy.

The metal tail section on the Husqvarna is totally stable. No shaking. It even gives you a great spot to mount an action camera or a 360 camera if you want to. Husqvarna didn’t have to do that. That’s just attention to detail.

The Svartpilen 801 gives you mirrors that work surprisingly well, even at highway speeds. Husqvarna could have cheaped out. They didn’t have to do that. They wanted to.

And then there’s under the rider seat. Normally when you take off the rider’s seat, you look under and there are wires and electrical components running all over the place in all directions. When you take the rider’s seat off on the Svartpilen, everything on this motorcycle is just so tidy, and organized, and neat. And it’s just so… Austrian.

As someone who thrives in chaos, that was very upsetting to me.

Anyway, the point is that Husqvarna does so many small touches that show a lot of care and attention to detail went into the Svartpilen 801. I’m sure if I had more time with this motorcycle, I would see even more. Those are the ones that popped out to me immediately, and those are definitely pros.

So before I wrap up this section—just a quick overview of some of those different components that come together to make this a really great motorcycle:

You have quality adjustable suspension, not cheap adjustable suspension like we see on other motorcycles from other brands. These ones actually feel good to ride. And that’s coming from a guy who does a lot of time on BMW adventure bikes, which have really plush suspension. I don’t get on this and feel sorry I’m on it. I know it’s sportier than my adventure bikes, but it still feels pretty good. I’m happy with it. So that’s a pro.

It also has great minimalist design that really hides the fact that there is so much going on. This bike brings so much to the table, but it doesn’t look like it’s bragging. It’s not braggadocious about how good it is. It’s just quietly, confidently good. And that’s kind of neat. I like that. So that’s a pro too.

This one is, I guess, kind of a pro, but maybe not: You have the ability to pair it with your phone, and then you can have your navigation right on that TFT display thing if you want to. I guess that’s cool. I didn’t really try it. I’m not really into all that stuff, but if you are, that’s a pro for you.

And then there are rider aids and all of the technology that comes with the bike… I understand that rider aids are a good thing. They probably save a lot of lives. It’s good for newer riders too. Great.

I really only took one issue with this, and that was a few blocks from my house. There’s a very steep downhill, like double S-curve, and it’s beautiful. Whenever I want to know how a bike really functions, I go down this hill and I really try and get a feel of the bike.

…but on the Svartpilen 801, something happened. And suddenly, the Svartpilen 801 felt like it was being autonomous. It felt like the motorcycle stopped doing what I was telling it to do, whispered “I got you,” and then just decided to do it’s own thing for me. And I didn’t really appreciate that.

I don’t know what happened. I don’t know maybe it thought we were crashing because of the weird angle that we were pitched at, being both pointed downward and always tilted sideways. It only lasted for a second or two, so by the time I acknowledged and confirmed that something weird was happening, it was already over.

I guess overall rider aides are still a pro, because you can always turn them off. Rider aids are good, just remember to turn them off if you don’t like them. I need to remember to turn them off next time.

And to be totally clear, I know I harped on the fact that you need to pay extra to unlock different features on this motorcycle, but you really do get a bunch of tech just standard with the motorcycle (as you should). You don’t have to pay extra to have ride modes, ABS, traction control, or cornering ABS. Oh, cornering ABS, I wonder if that’s what kicked in on the hill…

Anyway, the point is: There is still a ton of value and a ton of tech built into this bike. It’s not that if you don’t pay the extra $400 you’re not going to have a fun motorcycle. I had a bunch of fun on this bike. Don’t worry about not having fun on this bike if you don’t pay extra. You could pay the base price and still have a very fun, very competent, full-of-tech, good machine. Don’t worry about that.

Who are the Svartpilen 801’s competitors and should you buy one?

Finally, the big question: who are the competitors to the Husqvarna Svartpilen 801, and is this the motorcycle that me, or you, should be spending our money on?

The Husqvarna’s closest competitor is her sister bike, the Vitpilen 801. The Vitpilen is a bit more sport-oriented. The handlebar setup is a little different. The ergonomics are a little more sporty, as are the tires. Yada yada. But if you’re into the Svartpilen, you probably aren’t too interested in the sportier Vitpilen, so we’re going to put it aside for now.

The next closest competitor is going to be the Svartpilen’s cousin bike: the KTM Duke 790. The Duke is more sporty, more aggressive, more angular, and more orange. If you asked a 20-some-year-old rider which he prefers, he’d probably pick the orange motorcycle.

And then we get a little bit older, maybe more mature, maybe just grayer, maybe just fatter, maybe some combination of all of them… And the KTM next to the Svartpilen stops looking so sexy, and it looks more and more just like an orange highlighter. Round starts to look better than pointy. Upright and relaxed starts to feel far more enjoyable than being folded into a little pretzel. And comfort-tuned suspension starts to make you think that maybe life is still worth living in a world that isn’t so bad after all.

So no, the Svartpilen 801 doesn’t really compare to the Duke 790.

So what would I actually cross-shop this motorcycle with, if I was going to slap down some money this weekend?

The two motorcycles that honestly come to mind most for me would be the Kawasaki Z900RS and the Yamaha XSR900. I’ve had experiences with both of those motorcycles. Both are wonderful but not perfect machines.

Of the three, the Kawasaki Z900RS, in my opinion, is the most beautiful. However, it comes 80 lbs heavier than the Svartpilen. It also comes with a detuned inline-four, that is buzzy despite the fact it’s detuned. You’re essentially getting less power, while getting the same amount of engine buzz, and I don’t see why Kawasaki is punishing me like this.

And for this gift from Kawasaki, they are charging you a few thousand dollars more than what the Svartpilen costs, so that’s a No from me.

And then there’s the Yamaha XSR900. It also has a really fun motor, like the Svartpilen. The price point is actually also on par with the Svartpilen. But overall, as a package, you can tell where Yamaha cuts some corners: the suspension.

The XSR 900 has different ergonomics too. It’s definitely more sport-oriented, and more aggressive.

In my opinion, the XSR 900 is also less good-looking. Looks are subjective, I know, I know. Don’t shame the motorcycle, it’s not her fault…

But the suspension. The suspension is where you really notice the difference when you ride the Svartpilen 801 versus the XSR 900.

Here’s the thing. Our final option is the Husqvarna Svartpilen 801.

When you spend three or four days with this motorcycle and you ask yourself, “Where are the weaknesses?” They aren’t immediately obvious to you.

On the XSR 900, the suspension comes to mind right away. The ergonomics come to mind right away. You’ll discover the weakness of the Kawasaki within the first 30 seconds of turning the motorcycle on. On the Svartpilen you don’t feel like you’re making any sacrifices.

After four days with the Svartpilen 801, I only found three weaknesses, most of which are pretty forgiveable.

First, in all of motorcycling, the Svartpilen 801 has by far the worst horn. It’s probably a $12 horn, and we can replace it with a $13 horn that will sound much better. We can deal with that, we can accept that.

The second weakness I saw is this exhaust system. It looks like there’s a resonator eliminator in there, or something in the system that just takes all of the joy and soul out of this motor. I believe in this motor. I believe it has the capacity to sound wonderful. But it will never sound wonderful with this exhaust system. That has to go.

In part, that might be more a reflection of my own values than a reflection of the motorcycle. Looking around my garage I see six bikes, and the only one with a stock, unmodified exhaust system, is my little Vespa. I want my motorcycles to sound like music. Not annoyingly loud, but just like music. The Svartpilen 801 is being muzzled. And that’s not good.

Other than that, some riders will want to add a larger wind screen.

Everything else on the Svartpilen is fine. It’s great even.

I’d put out some kind of windscreen. I would change the exhaust. I’d change the $12 horn to a $13 horn. And life would be good. And I’d be done. And I’d have no more mods to do.

You guys who’ve watched my YouTube channel for a long time know how picky I can be. If those are the only problems I can find in four days, then that’s a great motorcycle.

So would I buy it with my own money? Yeah. Absolutely. I would buy it. If I was shopping for one—I would buy it.

It has all of the refinement of that Kawasaki, but none of the terrible motor that I didn’t like. It has all of the fun motor of the Yamaha, but none of the cheapening down of the parts when it comes to suspension and other little bits and bobs.

That’s a great motorcycle.

Should you buy one?

Different question, right? Because this is my Goldilocks. This is my “not too much, not too little.” This is my “just right” bike.

Your needs might be different.

All I can say is that, based on how impressed I am with this motorcycle, I think you owe it to yourself to go over to Studio Cycle, go over to whoever your local Husqvarna dealer is. If you’re in Toronto, anywhere close to Toronto, go to Studio Cycle because they’re awesome. Sit on one. Feel how light it feels.
See if you can take one out for a test ride, because I was impressed.

I don’t want to say I was overwhelmed by the Svartpilen because that would mean it was like too powerful or too great. But I was very, very impressed. And I think that before you spend money on anything else, you owe it to yourself to try and get one of these and take them out.

Try it out.

I think you’ll have fun. I think you’ll like it.

If you are in the Greater Toronto Area, do head to Studio Cycle. They also have Aprilia and Moto Guzzi, and I know that they have demo bikes of those brands too—so food for thought. You can get out, try a few toys.

But if this is kind of the genre you’re looking for, don’t buy without testing a Svartpilen 801. I think you will be impressed and happy. And that’s the best endorsement I can give you.

If you have any questions, though, about my experience please leave them down below.

But if you watched all the way to the end, thank you so much for your patience. I hope that this was worth your time. Be sure to subscribe to YouMotorcycle on YouTube if it was.

I’m Adrian from YouMotorcycle. I try to make videos that help motorcyclists.

As always, ride safe, but have fun.

Adrian