For some time now, manufacturers of motorcycles for the consumer market have had one thing in common: this: If they’re going to spend R&D resources on creating a new engine, you’d better believe that engine is going to be at the heart of several models. Honestly, you can’t argue against logic.
When Husqvarna finally launched the Norden 901 to the world as a 2022 model, the internet breathed a collective sigh of relief. At the time, it wasn’t a question of “if”; like so many other things, it was more a question of “when”.
Why? Because by then, test photos, teasers, rumors and all sorts of things had been circulating for years. Rumors pop up all the time, but they usually disappear very quickly if there’s no substance behind them. That wasn’t the case with Norden.
Curiously, however, Norden still stands alone in the Husqvarna 901 line-up in February 2024. While it’s true that the Norden 901 shares the same engine with some of its KTM 890 sisters under the Pierer umbrella, it still seems a little strange that it hasn’t already been joined by at least one other 901. After all, we’ve seen test photos depicting more than one 901 in testing since at least 2019.
Evidently, Husqvarna must think so too, because it has just released a teaser for an upcoming video release on March 5, 2023. The 30-second short film, published on the company’s Instagram and Facebook accounts, shows what appears to be a new 901 prepared for ice racing.
We have access to several close-up shots of the studded tires tearing through the ice, with audio of the nails biting into the ice in a sound quality clear enough to send shivers down your spine. The sound of the engine is present for part of the time, but it’s clear that this whole video is just a teaser. So you don’t see much, although we’ve managed to pull out a few key images to try and understand what we’re looking at.
Judging by the images we see in this teaser, compared to the recently revamped small-cylinder Svartpilens and Vitpilens 2024, it looks pretty Svarty to me. But not entirely; the high-mounted exhaust is clearly a change. On the other hand, if this is indeed a teaser for a production ‘Pilen of some kind, it obviously won’t come from the factory with studded tires either. So it could just be a racing modification.
However, I asked around and here’s what some of the other RA team members observed.
What do you think, reader? Are you ready for the biggest ‘Pilen ever? And what do you think we’re looking at? Let us know in the comments.