The Svartpilen 401 and Vitpilen 401 & 701 signalled Husky’s triumphant return to the world of street bikes. Since the brands focus shifted to offroad bikes in the early 20th century, Husqvarna put the simple, lightweight street bikes that they were originally renowned for on the back burner.
When KTM eventually acquired Husky, a plan was hatched to design a range of street bikes that reached back into Husky’s past and pull their street bike legacy into the future.
The man tasked with doing this was a soft spoken Frenchman named Maxime Thouvenin. Maxime begun his career as an intern for the world renowned product design agency KISKA, rising through the ranks to become the lead designer on Husqvarna’s Vitpilen and Svartpilen projects.
Maxime was recently interviewed by Sean O’Kane for The Verge. You can read the full interview here. But here are a few of our favorite bits.
(This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity)
SO: What were some of those things that motorcycles were doing back in the day that you wanted to capture with the Svartpilen and Vitpilen?
MT: How motorcycles were approachable. I think everybody was riding motorcycles in the ‘70s, like everybody. Men, women, that was the thing. So we wanted to actually capture that and create an approachable motorcycle. They’re very simple, very reduced. Not intimidating at all. Very enticing. As an object, but also as a riding experience, we wanted to create lightweight bikes that were really compact. And this is what it’s been missing for years.
SO: Husqvarna has a very deep history across a lot of different disciplines. Were there specific things you went back to for inspiration?
MT: We really looked forward. Husqvarna has always been pioneering, and even at the time they were doing those things, it was like crazy innovative what they did. And that’s what we are doing now. So we’re not looking at what Husqvarna did in the past and trying to bring it back.
SO: With that in mind, pulling back from the design study side of these new bikes, what does it feel like to finally get to hop on and ride this thing that you’ve designed?
MT: It’s a great feeling for sure. I also tried the prototypes along the way, so it’s not like we do one drawing and then two years later we sit on it and it feels good. But it’s not exactly how you picture it before it happens. You know, when I was a kid you’d say ‘Oh, that was a drawing and now you can sit on it!’ In reality, there’s just so much development in between. And when the bikes ride like this, I mean even better, because they’re so much fun to ride.
The Husqvarna Vitpilen 401 & 701 and Svartpilen 401 are available to test ride at our showroom. If you would like further information about these bikes or our range of Husqvarna parts and clothing, please call our friendly team on 01684 297979.
