Bajaj on Tuesday has announced the prices of the Husqvarna Svartpilen and the Vitpilen 250 for the Indian market, and unlike our estimation, the bikes will start selling from Rs 1.8 lakh onwards.
The bikes were showcased at the India Bike Week in December last year, and will start selling through limited KTM showrooms in the country from March onwards. At this price, the Husqvarna series will be competing with the KTMs and Bajaj Dominar 400 among others.
The Husqi’s (as they are fondly called) belong to KTM, which had secured a long-term licence agreement from BMW in 2013 for the Husqvarna motorcycle, which was founded in 1903.
Ever since KTM took over the Husqvarna brand, it has been selling mostly as off-road bike in the advanced countries. Now it plans to take it to on-road segment globally. Currently, Bajaj Auto owns a 48 percent stake in KTM.
This could be the reason that both these motorcycles are based on the KTM Duke 250, hence sporting the same 248cc single-cylinder engine. This liquid-cooled engine is capable of pushing out 30 bhp of max. power at 9,000 rpm and 24 Nm of peak torque at 7,500 rpm.
The design of both these bikes are very similar to the better specced Husqvarna twins which come with a 373cc engine. These bikes are expected to be launched in February this year
And like KTM, the Husqvarna bikes will also be made at Bajaj Auto’s plant in Chakan, near Pune. This is probably why Bajaj has been able to keep the pricing of these new bikes for under Rs 2 lakh.
It gets 320mm and 230mm front and rear discs respectively, with dual channel ABS on board. You get a ground clearance of 145mm, which is not ideal for off-road conditions, and more importantly, we’re not sure if a 9.5 litre fuel tank is sufficient enough for a bike that’s meant for performance.
Either ways, we’re excited to see if the Husqis can make a name for themselves in the Indian market.
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