At the beginning of August, 2021, Husqvarna released its fourth Norden 901 teaser video. While the first three delved into the design and production processes behind the scenes, the fourth video was a bit different. In many ways, it was more engaging, because we actually got to see the Norden 901 Prototypes in action as explorer Mike Horn and multiple Dakar Rally winner Cyril Despres took us all on a Norden adventure in Iceland.
In mid-September, 2021, Husqvarna released the second part of its Exploring Iceland series. I’m sure that no matter what you’re doing right now, probably most of us would prefer to be exploring Iceland on Norden 901 prototypes. Since we can’t, though, it’s a good thing Husky is uploading videos about it so we can live vicariously through them.
Cyril Despres is no stranger to riding on all types of terrain—as his multiple Dakar Rally wins can attest. Mike Horn, on the other hand, is quite experienced at all kinds of non-bike exploration, but doesn’t have the massive adventure motorcycle experience that Despres has. Lucky for Horn, Despres is happy to give guidance along the way. It must be nice to have such expert one-on-one training in such a beautiful setting!
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Throughout this video, Horn talks about how combining a choice off-road machine like the Norden 901 Prototype adds to his general adventuring toolbox. While he’s no stranger to feeling at one with nature, riding a bike as capable as he says the Norden 901 is (and I mean, of course he’s going to say that) only brings those feelings to a whole new level.
Of course, since Horn wasn’t previously experienced at all the different types of terrain they encountered, he and the bike both went down more than once. At one point, the windscreen broke—but he was happy to report that the Norden 901 Prototype kept on going, with only cosmetic damage.
This marks the sixth of Husqvarna’s Norden 901 Prototype teaser videos, in case you’re keeping track. While most other OEMs would at least have given a launch date by now, so far Husqvarna has yet to give any clue as to when we can expect the production version to make an appearance. In January, 2021, we thought we might be able to expect it as a 2022 model. It could still happen, although it’s not clear if it will.
Could Husqvarna bring the production Norden 901 to EICMA 2021? The entire Pierer Mobility Group, which includes KTM, Husqvarna, and GasGas, pulled out of EICMA 2020 due to the global pandemic. They weren’t the only ones to do so, as BMW also opted to go the same route. As of September 23, neither Pierer nor BMW Motorrad have said they’ll attend EICMA 2021 in November.