Husqvarna update

In the past few days, word has leaked that Husqvarna is planning to build street-worthy versions of their 401 concept bikes we saw at EICMA, but there’s no word as to whether Canadian consumers will ever be able to buy one.

A Swedish bike mag claims the 401 Svartpilen and Vitpilen machines are entering production as 2017 models. That’s a long way off, still; that timeline might mean they’d arrive on showroom floors in late 2016, still 18 months away. For Canadians, that might be an even longer wait, as anything from KTM (remember, KTM and Husky are teamed up now) takes a long time to get here.

Part of the decision-making process will likely rest on the performance of KTM’s 390 models, some of which are supposed to enter our market this year. If the 390s do well, Husky may feel there is room in the market for more similar models; or, they might want to protect the 390 sales. If the 390s don’t do well, it’s hard to see Husqvarna bringing in similar models.

What about the 701, which is confirmed for production this year? This supermoto-styled machine (based on the KTM 690 platform) hasn’t been confirmed for Canada yet, but it seems Husqvarna is thinking about bringing them in to gauge interest, at least. We’d suggest you let them know, if you’re serious about buying one – otherwise, you might not get a chance. We’re under the understanding that we’ll know more about the 701 this summer.