The Husqvarna brand made its official entry in India in 2019 and the first of the two products to be sold on the Indian market is the Vitpilen 250. The new quarter-litre motorcycle is a café racer styled offering that is locally made at the Bajaj-KTM plant near Pune. The new Husqvarna Vitpilen 250 is priced at Rs. 1.80 lakh (ex-showroom) and shares its underpinnings with the KTM 250 Duke including the frame, engine and other cycle parts. The styling though is completely different on the Scandinavian motorcycle.
The Husqvarna Vitpilen 250 stands for "White Arrow" in Swedish and has a cafe racer-inspired design. The handlebar is hunkered down low for an aggressive and sporty cafe racer stance, while the fuel tank design is completely different with a rugged and menacing look. The bike gets an all LED lighting setup that includes the retro round headlamp, indicators, and tail light. The instrument console is completely digital. The Vitpilen 250 uses the familiar Trellis frame underneath.The Vitpilen 250 gets an angular fuel tank design that extends up to the flat seat, while the stubby tail section is high set and looks sharply styled. The bike also gets the low-set clip-on handlebars.
The Husqvarna Vitpilen 250 is powered by the 249 cc single-cylinder, liquid-cooled fuel-injected engine that produces 29.2 bhp and 24 Nm of peak torque. The motor is paired with a 6-speed transmission. The bike comes with UAD front forks from WP, while the rear sports a monoshock suspension setup. The braking set-up includes ByBre sourced four-piston caliper with a 320 mm disc on the front wheel, and a single-piston caliper on a 230 mm disc on the rear wheel. Dual-channel ABS is part of the standard kit on offer. The bike weighs 153 kg (kerb), which is about a kilo lighter than the Svartpilen.
The Husqvarna Vitpilen 250 is sold via the KTM outlets across India and the bike competes against a number of offerings including the KTM 250 Duke, Yamaha FZ25, Suzuki Gixxer 250, and even the Bajaj Dominar 250.