After being teased for several months, the Husqvarna Norden 901 has finally broken cover. Based on the KTM 890 range, it manages to have an identity all of its own.

Husqvarna Norden 901 Adventure Touring Bike

After two years and several teaser videos, the Husqvarna Norden 901 has finally broken cover. While it is not Husqvarna's first foray into a road-going machine, it is the Swedish company's first attempt at a model for the ever more important adventure-touring market.

While it is based heavily on KTM's 890 Adventure, it manages to have its own identity via completely different styling details and, naturally, different colours. It is also more road-orientated than the donor 890 Adventure, but sits comfortably in line with the company's off-road line-up.

Like the 890 Adventure, the Norden 901 has chunky, purposeful styling, full of sharp creases and flat panels that is not unattractive. The company's grey, white and yellow colour scheme fits well onto this canvas. Up front a 'retro' round headlight puts its signature on the whole thing.

The engine is the 889cc parallel twin from KTM, which produces a Honda Africa Twin-matching 103bhp, while weighing in at 204kg.

Being a Husqvarna, with everything that implies for off-road performance, the Norden will have to be good off-road, something that shouldn't be a problem, given the KTM underpinnings. If the paper specifications are to be believed, then the Norden will be light, agile and tough, with a fair dose of comfort.

Naturally, WP supplies the suspension which is their top-shelf APEX kit. Bosch supplies the ABS and there are three riding modes plus a rider-customisable Explorer Mode that allows for individual adjustment of traction control, throttle response and ABS.

Whether the market has need of yet another entrant into this category, one that is essentially a re-badged version of an already excellent model, only time will tell. But it is good to see the Husqvarna name growing into new markets rather than receding back into pure MX or Enduro bikes.