Remember 2019? Yup, it feels like ages since masks were for sanding and toilet paper wasn’t a topic. The end of 2019 was also the last time we saw or heard much about Husqvarna’s Norden 901, an intriguing new adventure travel bike the company had debuted at the EICMA show in Milan that long-ago November. 

And then, in a parting of the clouds, a series of “spy shots” was recently posted on the German website, Motorrad, revealing a Norden 901 that not only appears close to production ready, but is a near mirror image of the concept bike that had thrilled so many. 

The Pierer Mobility Group (a.k.a. KTM Group), which owns Husqvarna, KTM and GasGas is prone to cross-pollinate its various model lineups and the Norden 901 is no exception. It’s built on the same chassis as the KTM 890 Adventure model range, and is powered by the same 889cc parallel-twin engine. The Norden likewise appears to utilize the KTM’s swing arm and 890 Adventure base model’s WP suspension (another Pierer-owned commodity), as well as its KTM-branded brake calipers. 

The Norden seems to sport KTM’s trademark fuel tank system which drapes over the engine, housing the bulk of its fuel in two bulging side sections, a progressive setup that helps distribute weight, as well as keep it lower on the chassis. Its doppelgänger’s tank holds 5.3 gal, but since this is potentially a travel bike, it could hold even more.

Chances are the Norden 901 specs will read much like KTM’s base 890 Adventure’s too, with a slightly shorter wheelbase and suspension travel than the more expensive, higher performing variants, the R and R Rally. The concept bike’s split screen LCD display seems to have been replaced by a standard single screen, likely to access a suite of rider controls including ride modes, traction control and if we’re lucky, KTM’s switchable cornering ABS. 

What is unique is the Norden 901’s neo-retro styling that caught so many people’s eye in 2019. The bike we see in real world test mode echoes the concept bike’s modular lines, and most notably, the distinctive, round twin LED auxiliary lights and headlamp. Also carried over from the concept bike is the perky mid-height windscreen and box-style metal skid plate system, though both appear less stylized than the prototype’s. 

A spoked 21-inch front, and 18-inch rear rim, stock hand guards, fork guards and brake disc covers confirm the Norden 901’s ready-for-the-dirt intention. Missing is the prototype’s icing-on-the-cake crash bar system, however, and since the test mule is seen with wiring running up its left flank into what we’d guess is a small computer in a tailback, there’s no telling if the sexy-looking branded soft bags we saw in the rendering will carry over as stock or an upgrade. 

As for expected performance, we know KTM’s new 889cc parallel-twin engine is rated to produce 105 horsepower at 8,000 rpm and 73.76 ft-lbs of torque @ 6,500 rpm, and would expect something similar out of the mill Husky will plug into the Norden’s design. Hopefully, weight will also be in the neighborhood of the KTM’s approximate 432 pounds dry, as well as seat height, which is switchable from 32.7 and 33.5 inches.

Since this seems to be a travel bike we would hope for stock cruise control, heated seat and heated grips, which are all upgrades on the base KTM, as is an up/down quick shifter.  

Just as Husqvarna’s recently introduced Svartpilen and Vitpilen cafe-style bikes broke new ground for the company, the Norden 901 is a chance for the Swedish brand to gain a foothold in yet another market, this one, the lucrative and fast-growing adventure touring segment. 

In the meantime, when a Norden 901 might hit consumer channels is anybody’s guess. Had 2020 been a normal year, we might have seen this bike in the flesh at the now-scrapped EICMA show and had a clearer idea of its trajectory. 

For now, we’ll have to settle for ogling some very promising spy shots that suggest a 2022 model debuting sometime in 2021. 

Author: Jamie Elvidge

Jamie has been a motorcycle journalist for more than 30 years, testing the entire range of bikes for the major print magazines and specializing in adventure-travel related stories. To date she’s written and supplied photography for articles describing what it’s like to ride in all 50 states and 43 foreign countries, receiving two Lowell Thomas Society of American Travel Writer’s Awards along the way. Her most-challenging adventure yet has been riding in the 2018 GS Trophy in Mongolia as Team AusAmerica’s embedded journalist.