Husqvarna says Swedish meatballs to brand snobbery! | Editor’s Choice October 2025

Reviews editor Dan Trent writes…

“A new Aldi has opened locally and we’re all enjoying the many and various twists on recognised brands, household favourites including Dr Pepper knock-off Professor Peppy and Nordpak butter. Which got me thinking, if Aldi sold motorbikes as well what would its in-house brands be called? Perhaps Hornder, B.M.U.U. (say it out loud!) or, I don’t know, Triumphant?
“I got to pondering on the importance of brand as I rode back yesterday on a Husqvarna Svartpilen 801 I’ve got in on test for a couple of weeks. Husqvarna is, of course, a proud name with an illustrious history, helped along the way with racing success on-road and off and associations with famous former owners like Steve McQueen. His personal brand may not be what it once was but you can separate the art from the man and enjoy watching him race one in On Any Sunday, this and the fact Husqvarna’s other products include chainsaws all adding to the mystique.

“But accepted wisdom has it modern Husqvarnas are, best will in the world, lightly rebranded KTMs. A point reinforced by the fact I picked it up from KTM’s UK headquarters where, parked among a sea of orange bikes, the shared foundations, parts and engineering were all too obvious. Does the Svartpilen 801 do enough to stand on its own two feet in a crowd of its (very close) Austrian relatives?
“I’m probably still too fresh to this to really comment, but I come from my first taste of a KTM and a ride on the 990 Duke. Jumping on the Svartpilen the shared bits were obvious with the engine, controls and WP suspension all familiar kit from the 790 Duke.

“But, you know what, I don’t mind. There’s enough Scandi cool in the Svartpilen’s design to set it apart, and I much prefer the brand’s aesthetic to the mad-for-it image KTM likes to portray. Husqvarna seems to have taken – literally – the good bits of that but applied its own distinctive twist. Neat engineering like the cast aluminium rear subframe help set it apart technically as well as visually, too.
“Some purists may mutter into their beards about KTM-developed Husqvarnas not being the real thing, as is their right. As I say, I’m still too new to bikes to know any better. But from first impressions it looks to me a distinctive machine, with enough Swedish quirkiness to stand out and a compelling blend of retro and sharper, more modern design. Definitely no Aldi knock-off, which is just as well because I’m not even sure how you could make a pun on Husqvarna!” Find your Husqvarna Svartpilen 801 on Autotrader