HUSQVARNA

Vitpilen 701 - The Flat Track is Back

No one is indifferent to the bold image of the new Vitpilen of Husqvarna. The Austrian brand achieves an irreverent and futuristic design to attract a lot of attention to itself and protagonism in a very fashionable neo classic segment, especially in the millenial generation that seeks to assert itself in its own style, something revivalist but simultaneously also technological.Its lines are almost spatial, as if they come out of a fiction film, although one can feel some nostalgia for a past connected to the competitions of flat track that some brands have been reborn as it is for example the case of Indian that in Soon you will present your Flat Tracker FTR 1200.The Husqvarna Vitpilen 701 benefits from all KTM technology and has a single-cylinder 692,7cc engine, a motor with a long history in the Austrian brand that has been evolving over its long life and now delivers a respectable 75CV.With a steel frame and aluminum swing arm, the Vitpilen 701 looks almost "anorexic", such as the reduction and simplicity of its lines and the low volume of its components. 


This reality translates into a weight of only 157 kg which gives the Vitpilen 701 agility out of the ordinary and excellent maneuverability.Some aesthetic details denote the care and consistency with which Husqvarna has developed the overall design of the Vitpilen 701. Examples are the round LED headlamp, divided in half by a horizontal element where the brand logo, profile side of the tank and the way in which the identification of the model is also placed, the lines that define the conjugation of the baquet with the rear headlight, all establishing a fluid line but at the same time sharp, marked by the sharp edges of some of its main elements.


The Vitpilen 701, because of its more folded front-over position that is enforced by the "advancement" type handlebar, does not allow it to be defined as a "flat tracker" but rather in a "coffee racer" style. The position is less demanding than that of its sister of less displaced, the Vitpilen 401, and quite more natural.At the top of the tank, which mounts an aeronautical style cap, there is a metallic "winged" element that besides having an aesthetic function also has a practical function, since Husqvarna has developed a small tank bag that easily attaches through magnets to the metallic profile placed there. Incidentally this element is identical shared by the three Pilens (2 Vit and one Svart) reality that we could test recently in the model Svartpilen.




The Vitpilen deposit is undoubtedly the aesthetic element that stands out and most marks its design. With a capacity of 12 liters, which limits its autonomy for weekend trips, however the positioning of the 701 is set more for more urban use.In front of the tank the round-shaped digital panel contains all the necessary information, although difficult to read, either because of its too horizontal position reflecting the ambient light, it should be in a more driver-oriented position, but also because of its small size already that the information is only concentrated in the center of the circular format element that includes in its left margin some buttons of access and control of the information that makes available.
The bench is aesthetically impeccable and lined with high quality material, only penalized by the small size and space available for hanging. Be careful therefore with the more vigorous starts since your hanging can end up sitting on the ground or the rear wheel, because in addition to the driver you do not have WP suspensions are of an exemplary operation, the best we have even tried on road bikes, with a absorbing of the usual imperfections in degraded floor. At the front the 43mm inverted WPs allow compression and expansion adjustment with the easy adjustment of the hydraulic on top of them.Braking is fair and secured by a single front disc of 320mm with Brembo 4 piston calipers and ABS. Despite the low weight of the 701 and the effectiveness and quality of its Brembo elements being unquestionable, braking is a fair thing when we drive to 701 more aggressively, a reality that constantly "asks" us for such is the feeling of control that conveys us. On the rear wheel mounts a 240mm disc with a single piston caliper and disconnectable ABS. The rims are alloy to keep the weight controlled and 17 "in both the front and rear and mount Battlax tires 160 behind and 120 in the front.more where to grab. A good way maybe to achieve "intimacy".

The single-cylinder 701 with 692.7 cc has a very smooth and balanced operation but with some tendency to "beat" below 3,000 rpm, asking for gearbox to keep the vibrations contained with the wheel in a somewhat higher rpm. Now the box is one of the references of the 701, smooth and precise, with "Easy Shift" system both ways, the box passages are made with great precision and without clutch, which in the case of the 701 is slippery, avoiding the possible engine braking intervention, natural in a high capacity single cylinder.The electronic injection management is managed by a 50mm Keihin and an EMS-Engine Management System that controls the input given by the Ride-by-Wire accelerator. To control a torque of 72Nm at 6,750 rpm Vitpilen also includes traction control.In curve the Vitpilen 701 is precise and very easy to put or change of trajectory. The suspensions work in a hyper efficient way, always transmitting a great security such is the reading and the performance they provide.Husqvarna Vitpilen breaks with standards and the status quo. His aesthetics may be debatable and certainly will not please everyone but he jumps ahead and explores other ways, and this is called evolution. Its minimalistic and futuristic look looks for a specific market segment but the experience of its driving makes us look beyond its aesthetic attributes and even question us "Is 701 a definite step for the near future? ... and if this aesthetic were added an electric motor, would the reaction be the same? "The future will certainly tell us, but in the meantime Husqvarna's bet continues, because in 2019 a new Svartpilen, the Vit in the Scrambler style, with the engine of the 701, is expected.




Pedro Rocha(Portugal) and Mundoquatrorodas