HUSQVARNA SVARTPILEN 401 (2018 - 2023) Review

As a naked at heart, this is much more of a hoon than a laid-back entry-level bike. The brakes fit this package, as does the overall ride quality. Riding with a pillion doesn't feel like it would be particularly comfortable, but then again if that were a priority, you wouldn't be looking at this bike.

Thumper joy galore! Lively and agile; yes, it feels like an engine has been strapped to a BMX - and that's what makes it so great.

Easy to service, easy to run; any parts you might be unhappy with in the long run (i.e. corroding handlebar weights) are cheap to replace / upgrade.

Unrivalled bang for the buck. Prior to Husqvarna launching these, I was considering buying a used DRZ-400 and slowly converting it into a dream scrambler. Going down the Svartpilen route is so much easier!

The Scorpion STR tyres definitely look the part, but I doubt just how many Svartpilen riders would actually make use of their undoubted offroad capabilities. The Dunlop Mutant would make for a much more natural pairing.

rear brake was not working shortly after taking delivery. Dealer fixed it. No issues of any kind since.

Canadian dollars. $200/year is it. Nothing else.

ABS is reliable and a must when you are buying a bike.

Stops very well and doesn’t dive too hard so keeps its composure. Handling is fantastic

Surprisingly quick for its capacity and very strong and fun on B roads, below 80mph plenty of go for real world use

So far so good

It’s a hard working 373 single so needs looking after. First service at GH motorcycles in Colchester was thorough and for parts/labour was ok in my opinion

That rear number plate holder!! Other than that I think it’s well spec’d. tyres are great and stick well

Broke down after 400 miles,dealership completely useless

The ride quality is excellent. I like the suspension set on the softer side for a more planted feel and this helps with handling. The bike is described as an urban scrambler. However, the bikes ability easily lends itself to Back road blasts where the pitted and pot holed roads are prominent. The tyres and suspension easily soak up imperfections. The taller seat (835mm) actually means the bike is similar in riding a Honda CRF 250/300L with an upright and comfortable position. The wide bars give confidence inspiring handling in any corner and the punch of the little engine is excellent for brisk low down acceleration. I actually find the seat comfortable and did a 160 mile round trip to the Cotswolds and back with no aches whatsoever. I am a lightweight rider and of course, comfort is subjective. However, the seat (while firm) is shaped well and is narrow. I can get the balls of my feet down on both sides easily (31" inseem). The pillion seat/footrests are present, although you'd definitely only want to carry someone on a short journey. A pillion grab rail comes as standard but you have to ask for it to be included. I did and although I have since removed it, I will still use it for luggage carrying purposes. The brakes are excellent with a nice confident bite. You feel connected to the bike and in control.

Punchy engine. Excellent low down power delivery. It easily enough to out performance most cars from a standing start, especially with the quickshifter allowing clutchless shifts. That said, I don't ride it like a hooligan bike, despite it's ability to be able to do just that. I prefer riding it down the country lanes enjoying the turns and the fluidity of the engine speed as you work your way up and down the gearbox. Use the quickshifter above 4,000rpm for best effect. Below that, the manual gear change is best.

Built as good as the Duke 390. No TFT Dash but the small dash displays everything you need to know. The build quality is very good for the money you pay. I had a couple of display issues where some info was not displaying and a separate occasion where the quickshifter warning light showed but these were cleared after switching off and back on again. No faults. No corrosion. The bike is easy to clean. I've fitted a battery charger lead easily enough.

The first Service cost me £68 as I only had to pay for the parts as the dealer covered the labour cost. The next service is likely to cost more so around £150-£200 I estimate. The KTM engine is pretty easy to maintain for those who wish to do so. Separate oil filter screens can be cleaned and reused and are easy to replace. Use a quality oil and with regular servicing, the engine will last for many years/miles. The fuel tank is small (9 litres) but I still get an easy 130-150 miles. This will likely improve as the bike is run in more. I fill up when 2 bars are showing and £7-8 fills it up. I can happily live with that. When you compare the little Honda CB300R has a 10 litre tank and the CRF250L/300L have a 7.8 litre tank, it means the little Husky isn't so bad.

The bike might be a bit 'Marmite' dividing opinion on looks. I love it. It's different. A Duke 390 in a different dress. It looks purposeful with the chunky inverted WP fork legs and the spoked wheels/Pirelli tyres add to its visual appeal. The suspension does make the bike complete. For the money, the components are simply excellent.

The Svartpilen has terrific suspension and very good brakes. It’s light and easy to throw around corners and bends. The 2021 model (don’t know if it’s the same for earlier models) comes with an up and down quickshifter, making it easy to flick through the gears on twisting roads. The standard mirrors are a bit rubbish but I fitted bar ends, which improve visibility and enhance the look of the bike.

The 6 speed engine is quite agricultural and high revving but this gives the bike character. It isn’t particularly noisy and sounds like a wasp in a jam jar!

The bike has some nice detail - the bronze filler cap, the stock exhaust and large LED headlight and bright LED indicators and quality parts - WP suspension and Bybre brakes. However, on closer inspection there is a lot of plastic - the bike’s side panels, front and rear mudguards, the radiator end panels and tank rack reflect a more budget machine. On my bike the ignition key has begun to catch in the ignition barrel making it fiddly to switch on and the bike is difficult to get into neutral.

Despite some of the negatives listed, overall the bike is good value for money, although I’ve only had it for a few weeks, so time will tell how reliable it proves to be.

The lights are all LED and very bright and the simple digital dash has a good range of information including gear indicator, fuel gauge, temperature and rpm. The switch gear is illuminated which is useful when riding in the dark.

Ride isn't too bad, I did a longer run mainly on the A1 last summer and it was quite happy crusing around the legal limit, others have complained about the seat but I found it OK over a distance of around 160 miles. Brakes are OK, the standard pads are OK too but I might put something with more bite in at some point, the engine has lots of engine breaking available and there isn't too much weight to stop.

Really great little unit, revs quite high but the power (all 44hp of it) is spread quite well, to get the best out it you need to be up above 6000rpm. Really smooth positive gear shift and a light clutch. Very cleaver motor to get 44hp out of 373cc's and have it all useable is a really neat trick.

It is a small budget bike and if you think of it like that it's really quite good. The finish is OK, some of the bolts start to show a bit of rust and the paint on the engine cases is peeling a bit but I do ride it through the winter. I did have the oil pressure switch fail which threw oil all over the side of the engine. It was fixed under warranty (although the deal would collect the bike but I had to go to them to get it back which was a bit annoying). The chain is not a quality part and stretched to it's limit by 5000 miles despite using a Scottoiler.

Economical (I get 65mpg and don't hang around on it) and quite cheap to run, tanks a bit small though so range is limited. I go through a back tyre every 5000 miles too. Services are every 4500 miles which is once a year for me, (I use it for commuting and have a second bike for distance work).

It doesn't come with much as standard (small budget bike) you get ABS, and all the lights are LED's and there's a small but clear LCD dash but that's about it. The standard tank rack is useful and I got the optional rear one too (I wouldn't like to take a pillion on it anyway). Accessories are readily available, I made to most of lockdown time and put a tail tidy, less straight bars (bit more comfortable) heated grips (winter rider), de-cat pipe, headlamp cover etc.

Nice in the city, but boring on highways, never went more than 50 km from home :D

Built quality is not perfect, but I had no problems.

Almost same as cheaper duke 390, but much more beautiful :)

There is no connector for phone charger, no connector for alarm. Led headlight looks and works nicely.

On handling and ride, it’s well set up for 70 - 75kg riders in a town or country environment. Front forks are great and wide bars give brilliant leverage. Rear can be a little abrupt with its damping so consider trying a preload tweak - but it’s generally great for scything through traffic in urban, A or B road environments. Feels a little out of its depth on a motorway but that may be a function of the compact frame and wheelbase. Brakes are more than sufficient, though the inner front disc rusts a little too easily. And that seat is actually quite comfortable for an hour IF the rider is the right shape. Take a long test ride. If you have a problem, chances are it will be the shape / sharp edges of the side panels causing you discomfort.

Brilliant for a sub-400cc thumper. Great pull through to 60mph. Well set gear ratios help. Mine burned very little oil considering that it has a relatively aggressive state of tune for a single cylinder street bike. And the noise through the stock exhaust should make an owner think twice about the need for an aftermarket end can.

Most core components are fine. Largely corrosion-free in 18 months (despite mainly British coastal use) save for the front disc, accessory headlight guard (worst corrosion offender by far - avoid!) the odd fastener and tyre valve nuts. Then again, it got regular coats of XCP Rust Blocker. Engine has been faultless. Only significant issue has been the ‘yogurt pot’ dash, which had condensation after 10 months and then began to fill with water droplets. Took dealer over half a year to source and fit a new one. Thank heavens I was lucky enough to have a Honda in the garage as well.

Was charged just under £200 for the 1 year service and £150 for the running in check and oil change. On a single cylinder naked. And they refitted the seat back incorrectly and didn’t feel the need to adjust or re-oil the chain. Bit steep. Fuel economy is great, though. Pushing on backroads yields 65 mpg. Gentle town work can go higher than 85mpg without trying too hard. Needs to be good, though, as the tank is a little too small and the fuel gauge is comically indecisive.

Standard Pirelli tyres are way grippier on Tarmac than I expected and warm up quickly. Bit noisy but not too annoying. ABS is good, non-intrusive and can be switched off if that matters to you. Dash is a real weak point. Never mind the poor quality and possibly leak-prone plastic design (see forums - and as I’ve seen the insides of one, I’d urge Husqvarna to bin it ASAP for a higher quality item), anything other than speed is really hard to read at a glance. And the standard mirrors are cheap, ugly and vibey. Husky’s own bar ends are wonderful, non-vibey and well-made (unlike the headlight guard) but they do add further width to some already wide handlebars and at the wrong height for regular filtering. Luggage options exist but are very limited. You’ll be wearing a rucksack.

Doesn't feel skittish, good solid feel and handles motorways well.

Sounds a little like a petrol lawnmower, when yoiu first buy one it's almost impossible to find neutral but after a couple of hundred miles this eases off and it slips in there nicely. Takes a little getting used to but worth it.

Nearly done 1,000 miles, feels premium quality but am having a slight fault with ignition as key doesn't easily switch on. Dealer happy to resolve. This bike feels like a premium one. I researched before buying and Husky have made bikes for over 100 years - we've just not seen them on the road due to their focus on enduro sports. Great bike, love riding it am thinking of buying a 701 Svart as well.

Cheap to run but tank could be bigger. Cost me about £7-£8 to fill up and seems to get through fuel quicker than expected. When full it tells me that it has a 120 mile range - this doesn't seem to be the case. Halve that amount at it would be more accurate.

Solid quality brakes and throttle feel. Could do with a colour display but the one it has is good - nice and clear and easy to see in sunlight. The illuminated controls are really handy an a bonus for a budget bike. Doesn't look and feel like a budget like though. I get people stopping me and asking questions about it a lot.

Reviews complain about the seat which would be understandable if you were going to spend hours on the bike. But you quickly get used to its firm nature and the riding position is great. Having ABS on such a cheap bike is a bonus.

Never ceases to surprise me how perky the engine is and it revs through the range really well. It's not slow.

Have owned for a year and no reliability issues. Small amount of surface rust on some areas but no more than reasonable to expect.

600 mile service was a normal price which was a surprise as its usually parts only. But excellent mpg even when you give it some beans.

Not a great deal of rider aids but has all you need. Fuel gauge and abs, and great looking led headlight.

Can't fault, just about right. Had a SMR511 before so used to the hard seat.

Engine appears to be strong but still running in. Clutch is noisy when cold & clutch level/cable 'cracks' going down the gears.

Build quality on my bike is really disappointing. Broke down twice within first 100 miles with electrical problems. Annoying vibration from throttle switchgear. Logo disappearing off the exhaust can. On full tank the there is a knocking from the front of the bike/tank.

£4000 otr is a great deal is you have a well built one.

Good, Like the illuminated switch gear

The front brake has more than what you need, bite and feel! Most reviews seem to mention the suspension is on the soft side, can't say I've noticed, I weigh 82kgs and I surely wouldn't want it went firmer.

I actually went to the dealer to test ride a Vitpilen 701, they also had a Svartpilen 401, tried both, bought the 401, no hesitation whatsoever. I thought small capacity engines were for beginners only, having had much more powerful bikes. Was I wrong, this little engine is a beast, so much fun extracting 100% of its power, something you couldn't do in the twisties (or any public road really...) with anything north of 100bhp.

Rides well local or motorway. Brakes fine for a light bike.

Revs well and gets about.

Never missed a beat, plenty of equipment. Good build but as all bikes now I would like less plastic.

Not cost me anything yet.

Got everything you need what more is there.