Simplicity: Vitpilen & Meta

Even since Husqvarna was acquired by KTM back in 2013, a core element of the reinvigorated brand’s grand plan has been to diversify its identity; to spread its design wings beyond the “Ready to Race” mantra of its orange roommates and produce motorcycles that appeal beyond stopwatch circles. The first inkling we got of this was at the 2015 EICMA Show in Milan, where Husqvarna unveiled their all-new Vitpilen 701 concept bike. In the meantime, the Vitpilen (and its more Scrambler-oriented sibling, the Svartpilen, which also comes in 701 and 401cc versions) has won a couple of prestigious international design excellence awards.

Yes, it’s true that these machines have been a long time coming. But to celebrate the recent arrival of the first production models, the crew from META – an American-based collective of creative minds with a two-wheeled bent – collaborated with Husqvarna to produce this sick video.

Shot in ‘outback’ California and focusing on the Vitpilen’s sophisticated simplicity, it’s an artful edit that’s intended to be viewed in conjunction with the beautifully shot feature article – also entitled “Equilibrium” – that appears in Volume 012 of META magazine.

Our only gripe is that you don’t get to hear the boy racer’s exhaust note in the Vitpilen vid – an issue we plan to address in the coming weeks when we get to throw a leg over these unique machines to lay some licorice… and to gauge the response to the new Huskys from the fashion-conscious café set that seems to have invaded our local ’burb.

For more details on the Svartpilen and Vitpilen models (and the in-house videos about the new models), check out Husqvarna Motorcycles Australia’s website: http://www.husqvarna-motorcycles.com/au/