After receiving rave reviews for their latest concept release at EICMA 2019, Husqvarna has announced the companies first adventure tourer will be going into production. The Husqvarna Norden 901 adds another mold-breaking neo-retro model to the Husky range that was again developed in conjunction with industrial design firm Kiska. With this new announcement, we’re hoping this may mean that another of their concepts will soon be slated for production – namely the Husqvarna Vitpilen 701 Aero.
This modern faired sports bike concept adds another dimension to Husqvarna’s Vitpilen offering. The Aero uses the same basic platform as the Vitpilen 701, however, it includes a front fairing and several other bodywork and styling tweaks. For starters, the Aero’s bulky radiator has been wrapped in a shroud which is a welcome addition to this design. The radiator on the standard Vitpilen can be a bit of an eyesore from certain angles and this small addition helps to soften its impact. The belly pan of the Aero is also significantly larger than the standard bike. It extends up over the sides of the engine to form the lower half of the fairing. The tail section has a duckbill style kick at the end and the front fender is much larger to tie it in with the rest of the bodywork. Interestingly the rear wheel wears a solid cover which we doubt would make it onto a production version of this bike.
Husqvarna has stated that the Vitpilen 701 Aero has a more aggressive riding position to complement it’s racier aesthetic; although the differences are hard to spot. The bars and peg position appear similar to the standard Vitpilen so the changes are likely minimal. This concept also lacks any lighting which will need to change for any road-going iteration.
Perhaps the most welcome addition to this version of the Vitpilen is the all-new instrument cluster. Rather than the sometimes hard to read LCD gauge on the standard Vitpilen, the 701 Aero wears a beautiful full-color display specially designed for this model. Husqvarna has also stated that this bike will offer improvements in performance. According to their press release the Vitpilen 701 Aero will feature “elevated power output”, but there has been no mention of what that power figure will be. However, any significant power increase to the 692.7 cc liquid-cooled single is sure to push it closer to its limits and could affect the frequency of service intervals.
Although the Husqvarna Vitpilen 701 Aero concept has been around since 2018 it has been in the spotlight again in recent months. The fully-faired version of the cafe racer styled Vitpilen has been awarded top honors at the coveted German Design Awards. The Aero took out first place in the motorcycle category of the 2019 Best of Best Automotive Brand Contest.
This isn’t the first time their work with Kiska has been awarded. Back in 2016 the first Vitpilen 701 won at the iF Product Design Awards and it went on to be produced in 2018. This new award for the 701 Aero could be all the convincing Husqvarna needs to move this bike out of the concept category and on to the streets. Our fingers and toes are all firmly crossed.
