The now Austrian-based Husqvarna Motorcycles have done a pretty tricky thing with the 701 Enduro, and that’s create a bike that really has no true rivals.

Unless you class the KTM 690 Adventure R as one. But with both bikes sharing a high percentage of parts, it’s more of a partner. The only other bike that might be close is the Yamaha XT 660 Tenere, but even that is still a lot different, especially in the style department. You could possibly throw in the DR650, but that bike has been the same for so long it would be unfair to compare the DR to the 701. The BMW F700/800 GS Adventure comes to mind but those are still twins, not singles and obviously still more road orientated.

What puts the 701 (and 690) in a class on their own is it’s the only modern Adventure bike on the market that looks like a true dirt bike. And that is what I love about it...but also what I kinda don’t.

Now I’m relatively new to the ADV market, having only ridden these style of bikes a handful of times, before getting more involved over the last year or so. The old man has a Honda Transalp that I’ve spent a few kms on which is capable, but a bit long in the tooth. I’ve ridden the BMW adventure bikes, Tenere’s and a few larger capacity KTM’s. But the 701 Enduro is different to all of those. It is what I would class as a true adventure bike, in regards to my version of ‘true’.

See, I'm not ready to hang up the off-road boots yet, and if im honest, I could be slightly in denial about my growing love for Adventure bike riding. I still get a kick out of looking at a hill and wondering if I can get up it, or seeing something on the side of the road and thinking, yeah I’ll pop off that for fun. The bigger adventure bikes are great for exploring gravel roads and comfortable, easier terrain. The 701, I think, could go anywhere my dirt bike could...and I like that.

Dirt Bike On Steroids

The trellis frame is made of high-grade chromium-molybdenum steel and is said to be developed to ensure precise handling and instil complete confidence in the rider. This statement from Husqvarna is bang-on with the riding position exactly what I am used to with its up-right, sit-on feeling. All the controls are right off the FE501, albeit a switch block for lights and indicators, as well as an easily selectable ABS system front and rear. It is obviously a little fatter through the legs, and noticeably wider, than a dirt bike, but narrower than most Adventure bikes on the market. The seat is nice at flat, with a height of 950mm and ground clearance of 280mm. It weighs about 40kg more than the FE501 and comes in around 160kg fully fueled.

I was adamant to see if the 701 and its weight could find joy in some forms of off-road terrain that your average ADV rider would probably steer clear of. And herein is where my love for the 701 blossomed. The bike loves to get gnarly and the weight isn’t that much of a hindrance either. If you keep in mind its ability to get out of shape pretty quickly, and that it’s a lot harder to save when you get aggressive, you will find that that 701 is a damn capable off-road bike, that you can commute on too.

Standing is comfortable and the bike can move under you, flicking left and right with ease. It is super-balanced and really reacts to the input you direct through the bars and with your weight. Sitting is not too bad. The seat is super long and moulds round and over the shrouds. Though the seat is not soft and the further back you get the thinner the seat foam is, it’s not horrible on your butt. I also found after 150km my legs getting a little sore as the seated leg angle, for me at least, was a little too much. A slightly taller seat would be fantastic here.

Keeping with the look, frame and bodywork of the bike, the self-supporting rear subframe is where you will find the integrated 13 litre fuel tank, positioned directly opposite the exhaust, probably on purpose to help with weight balance. The whole single piece subframe/tank weighs in at only 5.2kgs and is made from high-strength polyamide. Clever little design idea that also balances out the bike. Would be interesting to see what would happen if you threw it down the tarmac on the tank side. Though I would assume that Husqvarna would have assessed that in its design. I’m unsure of fuel range but after 200 on the clock there was still no fuel light so at a guess maybe 300 + kms?

Knobs Are Life

One of (and there are plenty) the features I liked the most about how the 701 Enduro leaves the showroom floors is the choice of wheel sizes and tyres Husqvarna have decided to use as OEM. If it wasn’t already obvious from just looking at the bike, the 701’s off-road capabilities are rubber-stamped with the 21/18 wheels size, strapped with what look very much like Continental TKC 80 hoops - because they are. A true knob tyre that will give far better grip off-road over the grooved Adventure/Trail tyres that come on most ADV bikes.

The block pattern, that is horizontal across, allows the 701 to get really good traction on grass and dirt. It’s a two-ply carcass though so I found I had to let the tyres down to about 15psi to start getting any real off-road benefit out of the TKC 80s. Remember to put air back in if you’re doing long road sections.

The rear wheel is housed in a nice looking aluminium, gravity die-cast swingarm that weighs only 3.9 kgs. The rear shock absorber, made by WP is adjustable for compression and rebound and sits in a linkage system that gives the rear end 275 mm of travel. This is important when it comes to off-road use and the shock is really deigned to be used.

Up the front WP again take care of the suspension with the Xplor 48 front fork, specifically for enduro type riding and with 275mm of travel. The forks consist of an open cartridge layout with a spring in each circuit and split damping functions just like the FE 501.

The valving seems pretty spot on for what the 701 was obviously designed for - road riding to the nearest off-road location. The initial feeling is plush and gives a good ride on the road - soaking up all the bumps, potholes and resurfacing, as well as gravel roads being sublime. Push the limits a bit harder and the bottom of the stroke on the 701 really firms up and takes quite a bit of punishment before it starts to tap out.

The rear doesn’t skip around or give too much feedback, especially when on the gravel and rolling through turns with the throttle open. The front doesn’t work on your arms and hands all day either and doesn’t search for traction. Both work very well together and you can have a lot of fun on the gravel, on the sand and on the dirt. Plus the machined triple clamps look wicked and really make the whole package a thing of beauty.

Are You Single?

The 701 is a single and that puts a lot of people off. You don’t have to be partnered up to have a good time and the 701 is proof of that. Yes, it will in no way be as smooth as a twin cylinder, but as far as singles go, Husqvarna have hit it out of the ball park.The single overhead cam, liquid cooled engine (which runs two spark plugs) features the latest in design and electronic technology, as well as a heck of a counter balancer to keep the vibration very minimal.

A maximum power output of 55 kW (74 hp) at 8,000 rpm and torque of 71 Nm at 6,750 rpm leave you, realistically, with plenty of go on the road, and probably too much go for the dirt. You will never go wanting for power when you are carving up the trails or hucking it down the beach. It sits at 100km happily on the open road, but if you want to up those speeds you will start getting higher into the rpm. This is all delivered beautifully by a Keihin electronic fuel injection system, using a 50 mm throttle body with no mechanical linkage to the throttle grip. Or in other words...ride-by-wire. As you twist the throttle, the power is electronically controlled by the engine management system which is continuously comparing engine parameters with data from sensors all over the bike, and adjusts the throttle valve accordingly. So as you can imagine - the delivery is precise and instant no matter what revs you are at.

Matched to the engine is a 6-speed gearbox which had smooth and precise shifting. The gearing was a tricky one for me, as it didn’t feel spot on for what I was doing. If you were doing open road riding or what a typical ADV rider might be up to, then I think you wouldn’t have any issues in the gearing. Off-road riding saw the gap between 1st and 2nd gear too large. I would have liked something in between or a shorter 2nd to decrease gear changes and clutch feathering when I was negotiating tighter sections.Commuting around town and the gap between 4th and 5th gear was a bit large too. But here I’m starting to be really picky more than anything else.

The 701 Enduro comes standard with a slipper clutch which is said to help rear wheel chatter and instability when coming into corners. This is really a moot point for off-road riding as the terrain is naturally choppy anyway. And to be honest, when I’m riding on the road, I wasn’t pushing the 701 hard into corners with the TKC 80 tyres. That’s just asking for trouble. I think the slipper clutch was more predominantly utilised in the Supermoto or Vitpilen versions of the 701, but was left in the Enduro anyway.

Bosch feature on the 701 in the form of the ABS braking system which can come with an advanced setting for off-road conditions via an aftermarket dongle. The stock mode of ABS is brilliant on the road. You can jam on the brakes front and rear as hard as you can and the bike will just stop before you know it. Quite impressive actually and something I would never disable when transporting down the road.

Off-road is a slightly different story. In my First Impressions post (click the link to read), I mentioned that the stock ABS was a bit terrible off-road - specifically gravel road. I want to tweak that statement a little and say that yes it is still terrible when it comes to actual off-road. Think mud, dirt, clay, rock. Pretty much any condition where the terrain is loose and slippery, the ABS just can't deal with it.

But I have to eat my words a little here as after 80km of gravel road riding, I was really impressed with the ABS on the 701. It pulled up pretty well on the gravel and was really predictable, which is what you want when you’re stopping as quick as you can. A caveat to that though, because if the gravel started to get actually quite steep, I would maybe think twice about keeping the ABS on. But for your average gravel road riding - I would run the ABS all day.

Which also reminds me - turning the ABS off is super-simple with one button that illuminates to let you know it’s off. Once the bike is turned off, the ABS resets and switches itself on again when you restart the bike. So just be aware of that one too. Look for the bright light.

The brakes are great, as you would expect from Brembo, the single enduro-type headlight does a great job at showing you the way at night, and I think it looks better than the new KTM 690 Adventure R. If I owned a 701 Enduro, right away I would get rid of the huge exhaust pipe with something aftermarket and lighter, and install an alloy bash plate as there are no frame rails that go under the engine. Also, my Draggin jeans caught on the exhaust heat shield a few times so I would fix that too. The only other drawback is that you are exposed directly to the elements. No windshield means you are taking the full force of 100km in your face. Perhaps a small price to pay though for that look that you want? Otherwise she is Ready to Race! Umm, I mean Ready To Go!

I like that this bike looks like a proper dirt bike. I can actually go Adventure Riding without looking like one of those Adventure Riders. No offence, of course. If you’re still at that denial point in your life like me, then this is the bike for you. Road friendly and totally off-road capable, possibly more than any other ADV bike right now? Plus with all the hype around the newly released 690 Adventure R, now could be the perfect time to nab yourself a real deal on the 701 Enduro from your local dealer. I mean - it can’t hurt to ask, right?

I may have just caught some kind of Adventure bug. Watch this space.

CLICK HERE to get the 701 Enduro Specs.

Price: $17,499 + ORC