Husqvarna Vitpilen 401

Is it still sold in France?

No. In October 2026, Husqvarna France’s Naked range no longer lists the Vitpilen 401: the Svartpilen 401 is now the only 401 it lists, and the Vitpilen 401 2026 page address redirects to this range. The 2025 model year is the last offered in France. Its page, still online but no longer listed, shows a price of €6,649, reduced to €5,549 on promotion. No model replaces it in France. The Vitpilen 401 is still offered in the UK (2025 model year, £5,599) and on Husqvarna’s international website (2026 model year). In the United States, the 2024 model year sold for $5,899 according to the archived official page. Its scrambler version, the Svartpilen 401, remains in the French range at €6,749.

What did the second generation change?

Husqvarna completely redesigned the Vitpilen 401 for the 2024 model year: new engine, new frame and new electronics. The first generation’s clip-ons give way to a flat roadster handlebar, the seat drops by 15 mm to 820 mm and the tank grows from 9.5 to 13 litres. Spoked wheels are replaced by six-spoke 17-inch cast aluminium wheels, fitted with Michelin Power 6 tyres. The 2025 model year carries the bike over with no documented technical change; only the warranty changes.

How good is the engine?

The 399 cc single (398.6 cc according to the spec sheet), with double overhead camshafts and liquid cooling, makes 45 hp (33 kW) and meets the Euro 5+ standard. It is therefore A2-compliant without a restrictor. Husqvarna publishes neither torque nor the peak-power rpm; the foreign press (BikeSocial, RevZilla Common Tread, 1000PS) gives 39 Nm at 7,000 rpm and peak power at 8,500 rpm. The six-speed gearbox comes with a PASC slipper clutch and a standard two-way Easy Shift quickshifter.

Reviewers find the engine weak low down: MCN calls it jerky below 6,000 rpm, RevZilla Common Tread lean below 4,500 rpm, and 1000PS criticises its narrow usable rev range. BikeSocial finds it lively between 4,000 and 8,000 rpm. On the dyno, Cycle World measured 38.9 hp at the wheel at 9,050 rpm and ranks it among the best engines in the class, as long as the revs are kept high. Several testers note vibrations at high revs. In late 2025, a free engine control unit update, which fixes a risk of stalling at low rpm, also improves low-end torque according to Husqvarna.

How does it ride?

The steel trellis frame is new, as is the cast aluminium swingarm, on which the side-mounted WP APEX shock acts directly, without a linkage. The 43 mm WP APEX upside-down fork is adjustable for compression and rebound, the shock for preload and rebound, with 150 mm of travel at each end. Motorcycle.com and 1000PS praise a stable chassis and remarkable agility, and BikeSocial adjustable suspension that does not feel low-budget.

The ByBre brakes pair a 320 mm disc and a four-piston radial caliper at the front with a 240 mm disc at the rear. RevZilla Common Tread found the initial bite soft and noted fade when riding hard, and Motorcycle.com only gives them 7/10. MCN was disappointed by the Michelin Power 6 tyres in the wet.

What electronics?

The equipment is rare in the A2 class: Bosch cornering ABS with a Supermoto mode (ABS on the front wheel only), lean-sensitive MTC traction control that can be switched off, two riding modes (Street and Rain), ride-by-wire, a two-way quickshifter, a speed limiter, a 5-inch bonded-glass TFT screen and a standard connectivity unit (Ride Husqvarna Motorcycles app). There is no cruise control. MCN feels it ticks every box of a bike with twice the capacity and twice the price; 1000PS, however, finds the screen hard to read in sunlight.

Who is it for?

The Vitpilen 401 targets A2 licence holders and riders who want a light roadster with distinctive styling: 154.5 kg without fuel according to Husqvarna’s website, 159 kg according to the 2024 and 2025 owner’s manuals. Its riding position, far more accessible than the first generation’s, suits urban and road use. MCN nevertheless prefers the Svartpilen 401, more comfortable and more reassuring in the wet for a similar price, and BikeSocial’s tester also leans towards the Svartpilen.

Fuel consumption, maintenance and recalls

Husqvarna France quoted 3.4 L/100 km on the 2024 model-year spec sheet, without stating the test cycle, giving a theoretical range of about 380 km from the 13-litre tank. BikeSocial recorded 3.9 L/100 km riding slowly in the rain. The 2025 owner’s manual calls for an oil change every 10,000 km or 12 months and a valve clearance check every 20,000 km. Two recalls apply: replacement of the fuel tank cap seal on 2024 bikes (Safety Gate SR/04339/25, NHTSA 25V740000) and an engine software update for the 2024 to 2026 401s (NHTSA 25V825000).