Ah, the legendary, excellent unicorn! We people appear to be in fixed search of it, whether or not it’s the excellent relationship, excellent job, or excellent bike; we all know it’s on the market, and we’re decided to seek out it. I’m not proof against this, regardless of accessing a plethora of cool bikes as a bike journalist.
As an journey bike rider, I really like the thought of touring to the far reaches of the identified world on abandoned dusty backroads and forgotten trails. ADV bike producers know they’ve a bunch of journey addicts on their palms and have been churning out bikes to scratch this itch since 1980, when BMW launched the R 80 G/S.
Quick ahead to right this moment. The ADV phase nonetheless dominates the market, and for good cause. Not solely do they attraction to our extremely unrealistic subliminal explorer gene, however they’re additionally remarkably sensible. When does that ever happen?
They’re comfy, can carry numerous gear over all kinds of terrain, and they’re darn sporty! However right here’s the rub: over the previous couple of many years, ADV bikes have gotten fats.
I personal a BMW R 1250 GS, and it’s a fantastic bike that may simply cross the nation, and bomb down fireplace roads and filth trails fairly effectively. However at 560 kilos earlier than including gear, the GS isn’t the nimblest path bike, and God forbid I drop it—my again aches simply fascinated by it.
I have to not have been the one one to note this as a result of the middleweight ADV bike market has exploded over the previous couple of years! Some tremendously succesful bikes are being produced proper now, and some have caught my wandering eye.
Surprisingly, to me, not less than, most of those bikes nonetheless tip the dimensions round 500 kilos—undoubtedly not mild! So, is 60 kilos sufficient to ditch the extra highly effective and extremely succesful BMW?
With the hamster hitting Mach velocity on the wheel in my head, I questioned if the unicorn was on the market or may very well be created on a measly author’s finances. In fact, the Austrians have been approach forward of me. They produce the succesful and in style KTM 890 Journey in varied flavors and two variations of its cousin, the Husqvarna Norden 901. These middle-sized journey bikes have a wonderful power-to-weight ratio, although they weigh round 470 kilos. That is nearer to my imaginative and prescient, however not fairly there.
Drilling down into the product vary of Pierer Mobility (KTM, Husqvarna, and GasGas), I discovered a seemingly splendid platform—an enormous, single-cylinder twin sport bike. The KTM 690 Enduro R, GasGas ES 700, and Husqvarna 701 Enduro are intently associated siblings and would possibly match the invoice. So, let’s do the maths of the favored middleweight ADV bikes.
On the mild finish of the pool is the Yamaha Ténéré 700, coming in at 450 kilos with a 74-horsepower 689cc parallel-twin engine. That’s not too shabby, and my fellow Affiliate Editor Neil Wynne used it as a platform for a powerful Final Motorcycling Yamaha Ténéré 700 challenge bike. The long-running Kawasaki KLR650 is extremely dependable and cheap, but it surely weighs 460 kilos (!) and manages to corral simply 40 horses.
On the higher finish is the Honda Africa Twin 1100, coming in at about 505 kilos; add one other 25 kilos for higher-spec fashions. It has a 1084cc parallel-twin powerplant that places out 100 horses. That’s about 15 % heavier with a 3rd extra energy than the Ténéré 700.
Now let’s take a look at the KTM, GasGas, and Husqvarna 700-class journey Enduros—about 350 kilos with a single-cylinder, 693cc, 74-horsepower engine. Wait, what? 350 kilos? Similar horsepower because the Ténéré 100 kilos lighter? Over 200 kilos lower than my GS? May I take a member of the Austrian trio and rework it into a correct journey bike? Time to see if the unicorn does exist.
After some dialogue, the 2023 Husqvarna 701 Enduro bought the nod for this crucial experiment.
I made a decision to make issues slightly attention-grabbing. Moderately than ignoring prices, as can occur with journal challenge bikes, I set a decent finances of $500 for all of the adjustments. I may additionally use any elements I discovered in my private elements bin as dietary supplements, however that was it.
Just a few weeks later, Final Motorcycling Editor Don Williams and I headed to the Pierer Mobility HQ to seize the Husqvarna 701 Enduro and a KTM Tremendous Duke 1290 GT for a evaluate Senior Editor Nic de Sena was slotted to deal with—and did.
The plan was to load the Husky into Don’s Toyota Tundra 4×4, and I might journey the GT again to our Los Angeles workplaces. Apparently, the final journalist to come up with the GT determined to take fairly a little bit of the rear tire rubber off—not shocking, given the loopy energy of the bike. Subsequently, 20 minutes into the journey, I had a flat.
New plan: The GT will get the lazy journey behind the Tundra, and I journey the Husky for two.5 hours on Southern California freeways. It seemed like I used to be going to get a good suggestion of the 701 Enduro’s touring capabilities actual fast.
After battling LA’s site visitors, which included a mixture of 75+ mph speeds and bumper-to-bumper congestion, I arrived residence with visceral impressions.
Climbing aboard the 2023 Husqvarna 701 Enduro, I instantly realized it’s tall. At six toes even, however with a 31-inch inseam, I used to be not flat-footed, that’s for positive. The seat, which seemed uncomfortable, wasn’t as dangerous as I anticipated. Nonetheless, I believe greater than 2.5 hours within the saddle wouldn’t be nice.
Firing up the engine was as anticipated—the massive single cylinder is a bit vibey and never nice sounding. Pulling out and onto the freeway, the facility and acceleration have been spectacular, helped by the bike’s low weight. Getting as much as and sustaining LA freeway speeds was not an issue. Roll-on energy at 70+ wasn’t tremendous robust, but it surely has loads of engine for the job.
The lofty seat top and minimal wind safety imply a wholesome blast of air into my chest and head, and I really feel far more on high of the bike than in it. Lastly, and possibly most disconcerting, is the handlebar vibration from the massive thumper above 55 mph. There’s no sugarcoating it—the 701 is dangerous in comparison with the aforementioned twin-cylinder bikes.
So, I had a plan: repair the vibey bars, enhance the wind safety, make the seat extra comfortable, and work out the bags. Unicorn, I’m coming for you!
Just a few weeks later, I strapped the Husqvarna 701 Enduro to a trailer and headed north to Truckee, Calif., and the Sierra Nevada Mountains for extra in-depth testing. I had deliberate to journey it up, however 500 miles at freeway speeds on the inventory 701 didn’t seem to be a fantastic thought after my preliminary freeway jaunt.
As anticipated, the Husky was incredible on the paths and fireplace roads—far more responsive and nimbler than middleweight ADV bikes I’ve had up there. Nonetheless, the transient freeway driving I did confirmed my preliminary impression—there was loads to do to make this bike one thing I’d wish to do any distance on.
The Husqvarna 701 Enduro was undoubtedly the fitting platform for the challenge. Now, I needed to equipment it out to make it into a correct dual-sport/journey bike. The checklist of mods was brief however vital: add extra wind safety; discover a extra comfy and hopefully decrease seat; quiet the handlebar vibrations; and discover appropriate baggage.
As I fired up the interweb, I looked for wind safety, comfortable (perhaps decrease) seats, anti-vibration handlebars, and baggage. Cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching! There are a variety of choices, most of which aren’t low cost. New entrance windscreen and headlight, $350. New consolation seat? $350. New anti-vibe bars, $400. New baggage? Don’t get me began. My $500 finances for the 2023 Husqvarna 701 Enduro Undertaking Bike was in nice jeopardy.
I wanted to determine what I may spend cash on that might transfer the needle towards my excellent dual-sport/journey bike, and the hamster kicked into overdrive.
Proper off the bat, I discovered a Puig Windshield New Era Sport ($108) for the Husqvarna 701 Enduro. It solely required 4 small holes drilled into the inventory flyscreen and supplied eight inches of added wind safety—greater than doubling the safety delivered by the inventory flyscreen. As soon as put in, the display did a really good job diverting air away from my chest. Nonetheless, a good quantity of airflow hit me on the higher shoulders and helmet, but it surely was clean with no buffering. As well as, the extension was remarkably secure, even at speeds of 75+ mph on the freeway. Success!
Subsequent, after scouring the World Huge Internet for a decrease and extra comfy seat, I solely discovered one choice, and it was out of my value vary. I attempted an Airhawk seat cushion from my private elements bin. My pondering was that the added cushion, which had labored effectively on different bikes, would make the seat acceptably comfy for freeway rides, and I may ditch it for path driving. The top outcome was including about one other inch to the seat top, placing me on my tippy toes for stops. It additionally felt barely unstable on the slim inventory seat and seemed odd. All mixed, it was returned to the elements bin. Failure.
Subsequent, I targeted on baggage. Like all different filth bikes, the Husky has very restricted room for cargo; with the gasoline cap on the rear of the Husky, choices have been much more troublesome. Luckily, there are a number of excellent high-end twin sport baggage suppliers on the market. Sadly, my finances didn’t permit for them.
I used to be capable of finding a set of rack-less waterproof saddle luggage (20L every) from DrySpec (D20 Dry Saddle Bag Set; $210) and a really well-priced rectangular 35 L waterproof trunk from Kuryakyn (Torke Dry Duffle Bag; $130) that labored effectively.
The standard of the DrySpec saddlebags appears to be fairly excessive, so long-term sturdiness seems to be good. The fabric of the trunk is superb, as is the standard of the waterproof zipper. Nonetheless, among the mounting factors seemed much less sturdy, so the long-term sturdiness of these factors won’t be fairly nearly as good. That being mentioned, general, I used to be very happy with the standard of the baggage after I acquired them.
Mounting the DrySpec D20 Dry Saddle Bag Arrange, it grew to become clear the muffler would wish some type of shielding regardless of no warnings from the saddle bag maker. I mounted a small AltRider protect I had mendacity round, but it surely nonetheless didn’t present sufficient warmth administration. I then added a bigger protect from DrySpec ($50), which did the trick. The DrySpec protect was costly (for my finances) however may be very prime quality, and my baggage drawback was solved. Success
The final difficulty to deal with was the handlebar vibration. My unique thought was a high-end vibration-damping Flexx Journey handlebar from Faast Firm, however the price was prohibitive ($400). I had an previous anti-vibration Rox Pace FX Rox Risers set within the elements bin, so I began there. I had used them on one other bike and located them to be good high quality however offering solely a slight enchancment.
After putting in the Rox Risers on the 2023 Husqvarna 701 Enduro, proper on the restrict of the brake and clutch traces, I seen a slight enchancment. Additionally, the two-inch rise put me in a a lot better standing place for off-piste driving. Sadly, there was nonetheless an excessive amount of bar vibration above 60 mph, so I had extra work to do.
I had seen that Faast had some Threaded Anti-Vibration Inserts for $70 a pair, so I gave them a attempt. Set up was fairly simple, and additional damping achieved. I used to be making progress however nonetheless had a option to go.
At this level, I used to be operating out of issues I may add to the bars to assist. In my internet exploration, I seen that some folks had success with modifications to the grips. I’ve XL palms, so I knew I may add some padding with out making the bars onerous to carry. Grip Pet’s Large Paw Consolation Grips are a comparatively cheap $ 19-a-pair slip-on grip cowl. As with the opposite options I attempted, they did barely scale back vibration.
Whereas none of those options have been adequate individually, collectively, all three moved the needle. Between 55 and 70 mph, there was nonetheless a very good quantity of vibes, however in any other case, it was very manageable. Partial Success.
The Last Take a look at
The Husqvarna 701 Enduro challenge bike was prepared. My plan was a desert run from LA to Palm Springs to Joshua Tree Nationwide Park. This gave me a number of hours of freeway driving, plus some filth, gravel, and sandy roads to check out the bike off-pavement.
Packing up the Husky was a breeze. Whereas it didn’t have a ton of house, there was loads for a multi-day journey. In fact, I wanted some new equipment for the journey, so I picked up the brand new Schuberth E2 modular journey helmet ($799) and a few Kiger Mesh twin sport pants from Mosko Moto ($399) to check.
The brand new Schuberth ES is incredible. It has a pleasantly comfortable match, is comparatively quiet, and has the choices of a detachable peak and built-in Sena Comm system ($349).
The Mosko Moto Kiger Mesh pants are totally mesh, in-boot type off-road pants. I are inclined to run heat—my Nordic blood doesn’t like warmth—so I’m all the time looking out for driving pants that move air effectively. At six-foot-even and 190 kilos, I often put on a 35-inch waist pant, and Kiger measurement 34 match me completely.
Getting out on the street with the Mosko Moto Kiger Mesh pants, I actually felt like I used to be driving in my underwear! I can’t think about a pair of pants that flows extra air than these, and their high quality is incredible. The pants are designed to go over knee braces and padded shorts, so that they have solely abrasion resistance. There’s neither built-in padding nor lodging for putting in affect safety. I perceive the reasoning, however I might nonetheless favor pockets for these of us preferring in-pant knee and hip affect safety.
In contrast to my impromptu shakedown journey from Temecula to Los Angeles, the two-hour freeway journey went effectively. The windscreen extension diverted air off my chest and decrease physique. There was nonetheless some vibration within the bars, but it surely was undoubtedly muted. The inventory seat was not terribly uncomfortable for 2 hours of driving, and I can see doing longer with gasoline stops. General, the Husqvarna 701 Enduro is a bike I can journey for a day, simply, significantly if I keep off the interstate and at sub-60 mph speeds.
As soon as within the desert, I took off the panniers for some path driving. Right here is the place the bike selection actually made all of the distinction. Maneuvering a 350-pound bike in mushy sand, gravel, and filth is an entire heck of loads simpler than attempting to muscle a 500- or 600-pound bike. A few occasions, I bought myself into some problem coming down some rutted descents because of the transmission’s excessive gearing and resultant lack of engine compression braking. On an even bigger bike, I might have undoubtedly struggled, however the Husky was simple to maneuver out of hurt’s approach.
Sitting again with a chilly beer, staring on the Husqvarna 701 Enduro challenge bike on the finish of one in all my lengthy, dusty days, I used to be totally impressed with the bike. Let’s recap the mods I made to make it nice:
As with all bikes, how you’ll use it determines what suits greatest. Sadly, it isn’t the unicorn I wished, although my self-imposed finances definitely compromised the outcome; darn it, I’ve to maintain wanting. I are inclined to lean extra in direction of touring and distance driving than filth and path exploration, so an enormous thumper won’t be the fitting powerplant for me. I found I’m prepared to surrender among the off-road capabilities for a heavier, smoother, extra comfy bike on the freeway. Nonetheless, for somebody who loves filth and path driving and is lower than a day or so away from discovering it, the Husqvarna 701 Enduro, with just some minor modifications, is a incredible selection for lengthy weekends and multi-day adventures.
RIDING STYLE
Helmet: Schuberth E2
Sun shades: Ray-Ban Wayfarer II
Jacket: Alpinestars Valparaiso 2
Again safety: Alpinestars KR-Celli
Gloves: Alpinestars Corozal V2 Drystar
Pants: Mosko Moto Kiger Mesh
Boots: Alpinestars Tech 7 Enduro
Husqvarna 701 Enduro Undertaking Bike Photograph Gallery
