Hello all, awesome forum! Thanks for letting me join. Purchased the Svartpilen in early June and have been enjoying it a ton! I am the guy who had (I hope the one in a million) engine that they "forgot" to install the clutch cover gasket. Dealer was great to work with- and they had a KTM equivalent gasket in stock and were able to repair in about 2 hours. Other than all the oil that got into the lower exhaust heat shield that continued to "ooze" for several days until I removed the whole thing and cleaned etc, there have been no other issues.
As I research and read about all the cool things folks were doing with their bikes, I got some ideas and recently competed(?) several little mods to make the 401 more personal. Here are some items I did and info on where I purchased the stuff. I've been very lucky as this is not the best time to acquire parts...but none the less, I got lucky. Hope this helps or sparks some ideas. Thanks again for letting me post:
1- Rear rack/luggage carrier
Having come from the scooter world (over 20 years)- I needed a place to attach stuff. This one came from Argentina, wasn't cheap (shipping...yeesh), but I feel worth it as the fit and finish are great.
Husky Luggage Carrier - Husqvarna - SvartPilen - Vitpilen - 401 - 200 - 250 - Procraft Accessories - Moto Adventure - Luggage Rack
www.procraft.com.ar
2- Decal Removal
Too much "silver" labels in the sea of black. Hairdryer, hard plastic scraper and some Goof-Off- took time, took my time and did one decal one day at a time. But worth it over all
3- Batman metal stick on. eBay- I am in no way a follower of Batman, but I mean look at this awesome bike- If Batman had to choose an under 400cc bike, I think Bruce Wayne would pick this one. (and I can't prove it, but I think it gives me an additional 5MPH top speed ;-)
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017TGBKLU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
4- Battery tender cable and SAE USB Charger
Goes without saying- for us who can't ride year-round, having a good tender avoids the hassle of removing the battery. I put these on all my rides over the years. And now having a charger to keep phone charged for long rides- really helps. There are accessory taps on the right side of bike above engine, that I will investigate to plug the USB charger to as you don't want to plug into trickle charge cable connected to battery to avoid drain.
5- Helmet Lock- Again, scooter riders enjoy having storage and a place to secure helmets- so why not us 401 riders.
Amazon
6- Bag- Yep...more scooter carry over...Nelson-Rigg makes some good stuff- check out the Commuter Line- 3 diff sizes. I got the Commuter Sport
7- Mirrors- A quick and cheap (free) potential fix for limited rear viewing- try to bend the mirror angle down about 5-10 degrees. I carefully protected the mirror stalk (black tape) and placed it into my bench vice. Using a 5-6 foot piece of hard, cast iron gas pipe and sliding over the threaded end, using leverage it will bend. Go slow. And I use a pice of wire as a template to get the amount of bend needed. It just takes a little bit of bending and the mirror will sit lower over bars- thus kicking them "out" a bit giving you that little extra to get around elbows. Now I did this with great success for my Honda Super Cub, but it wasn't as effective for me on the 401- it helped, but I decided to look into new mirrors. The best means are simply bar-ends...but I could never get into them- so back to Amazon for these. And the design not only has more "real estate" with wider glass, but the mount system incorporates a spring- which definitely helped with buzz/vibration. This thumper sure is buzzy
8- License plate bracket/arm removal. The stock bracket is a good design, looks good for the over-all design of the 401...BUT...there's always a better way. I tried to make my own, buy others and even merged two diff brackets into one...but the best one (for me) was this. Fit like a glove, well made and did what I needed. Like most stuff- it was a little expensive, but this is an important piece for safety and legality, so you get what you pay for. Please note- the 2022 model years are different from the 2018-2021 apparently (something with the turn signal mounts). This worked for me- great customer support and they make ones for the 2018-2020 model years as well as other mod stuff. Great company:
Big Time Small Bore
mnnthbx.com
9- Turn signals- we here in the USA have many silly requirements. DOT Certified lights and turn-signals be damned! Sorry, but what we get over here are just killing over all esthetics. Something had to be done! There are so many diff types and styles- I wanted more form over function and I love the effect of the synchronized flash.
10- Looks Game Changer- Saw this on a YouTuber's channel. This guy is doing a ton of mods on his Svartpilen 401. Check his channel out for even more ideas and info of modding this awesome bike.
One of his last videos- he randomly decided on this small "fly screen". About $22 bucks- how could you not at least try it out? Somehow it fits and was easy to install. I also went with 1/2" length bolts that fit the included nuts that don't stick out as much from the nuts. And used a Sharpie Perm Black Marker to change the chrome to black (it's all in the details). But the screws and plastic vibration washers they provide are good enough (it is only $20 bucks after all).
11- Radiator Grill/Protector- no explanation needed. The radiator gets a lot thrown at it...any and all protection is a no-brainer.
eBay has several. Mine was about $65 and came from India. Fit great.
12- Ergo Seat. I am getting used to the stock seat, but I think there is better options. The big custom seat guys (Corbin, etc) do not have options, so I am trying the Husqvarna Ergo seat(s). I have heard equal pros/cons regarding the Husqvarna Ergo upgrade, but giving it a try, Of course, it is on back-order until August, I get a great discount from my dealer- so I went thru them. Got the pinion seat already- August for the main seat. Will report out when installed.
Adding some pics to give a general idea(s) of my bike. I think I am done now, it's a lot of little things, but they all work for me. Hope this helps folks thinking of some mods.
Be safe!
www.leovince.com
but they seem well made.. as soon as they arrive I'll post a feedback ... tnk
