Entering what is already crowded middleweight adventure-touring motorcycle market is the 2021 Husqvarna Norden 901, after being teased in a series of videos from the Swedish bike maker. Drawing on the KTM 890 Adventure – Husqvarna is a sister company to KTM under the Pierer Group of companies – the Norden will likely use the same parallel-twin, 889 cc power plant.
The video shows what riders would expect from a firm famed for its motocross and off-road enduro motorcycles, with a tall, long travel suspension stance. A design theme from the Husqvarna Svartpilen and Vitpilen naked sports motorcycles is the round LED headlight, here supplemented by auxiliary riding lights.
Husqvarna racing colours of white, blue and yellow are very much in evidence, tying the Norden 901 thematically back to the TC and FC motocross machines and the TE and TC enduro bikes in Husvarna’s catalogue. The design for the Norden 901 is penned by Kiska, under the supervision of designers Jules Fontvielle and Marcello Basilio with engineering and product development lead by Husqvarna’s Andreas Guhlsdorf.
Intended to be a true all-terrain motorcycle, the Norden 901 is shown crossing the lava fields of Iceland, ridden by explorer, mountaineer, author and TV show personality Mike Horn and five-time Dakar Rally and three-time Red Bull Romaniacs winner Cyril Despres. Shaping the Norden 901 as a “travel-enduro” motorcycle, Husqvarna intends to emphasise both usability and accessibility, targeted at riders who travel across long distances, in spite of, or perhaps, because of, the road conditions. Competition in the 500 cc to 1-litre adventure-touring motorcycle segment for the 2021 Husqvarna Norden 901 includes the BMW Motorrad F850GS, Triumph Tiger 900 Rally, KTM 890 Adventure, Yamaha Tenere 700 and Tracer 900 GT, and the recently launched Aprilia Toureg 660.
