Today I picked up a brand spanking new 2021 Husqvarna 701 Enduro! I take it for a spin in the neighborhood and give my very first reaction riding the bike. Does it handle well? How vibey is it? Can it wheelie?! Tune in to find out!
I have a 701 also. TC off and the quickshifter make for epic wheelies. No doubt since this vid is a year old you have experienced that 😄 Helpful mods include Enduro Engineering spacers to raise the bars, Rottweiler fueling dongle to richen up the part throttle fueling. Somewhat strangely, my bike's bar vibration got less when I added Cycra Probends to it. Perhaps the extra weight changed the harmonics in the bars, kind of like bar end weights. Enjoy your 701! I sure enjoy mine. I am in Colorado, the big thumper is the perfect exploration ride. Also have a 300 XC and a Super Tenere, but I think the 701 is my favorite because it can go anywhere, and the big thumper is just plain cool.
That was I’m scared of this bike wheelie. I used to wheelie my dr650 for 100s of feet. It’s about wheelbase not power or gearing. It’s a healthy fear as you found out
Ha. I was the other guy on the 701 for the alley sweeper. You picked a great machine. First two upgrades 1) real hand guards so when you lay it down you don't snap a leaver like I did 2) replace the headlight, it's absolute trash.
Hey Seth! Yep I'm loving it already. Already have a set of Cycra Ultra Pro Bends on it, they look great. I don't ride at night much so headlight upgrades aren't a priority for me, at least for the time being. I am looking forward to getting my luggage setup dialed in so I can take the bike on some proper adventures!
I would say go with the Enduro for that much off road. It's still a great bike on the pavement, loads of fun in the twisties. I would only choose the Supermoto if you're more keen on track days than off road riding. The biggest difference besides the wheels and tires is the suspension. The Supermoto has the more street oriented WP APEX forks. If money is no object, a set of supermoto wheels and forks can be purchased separately and swapped pretty quickly, maybe just an hour or two. Would cost about $4k but you would have two bikes in one at that point. This is probably only worth it for track riding, a good set of dual sport tires that have good performance on and off road will be enough for all but the most spirited street rider.
@@sammyscrapThx for the time you took to answer... I tend to go for the SM, since the older I get the less offroad I do and buy a seperate set of offroad wheels and tires to swap in... what 2h?! 😲 Normaly it would take 15min
@@CarChrisMC That's for swapping the forks as well. Also it's usually a good idea to have different gearing for the two wheelsets, which may also require a chain swap. You might also want a different length sidestand. So yeah 1 to 2 hours for everything, making sure it's all tightened to spec, setting chain tension etc. If you go SM and swap in offroad wheels, you will have the stiffer street suspension, which IMO is more detrimental than softer offroad suspension on the pavement. You may also have clearance issues with the 21" front wheel on those forks. Not sure if that's the case or not, something worth looking into though.
@@sammyscrap Yeah I understand all, but it's more like daily on road and occasional offroad for 1h, so I won't do all the hasle... also, I swapped forks in the past and it's very hard to not damage anything while doing, so won't do that... will see... first save money and try to force testdrive
@@CarChrisMC what did you swap forks on? And what got damaged? I ask because on modern dirt bikes it's pretty straightforward as long as you have a stand to support the bike. Remove the front wheel, remove the brake caliper & ABS sensor and hang with safety wire, then undo the triple clamp bolts and slide each fork leg out. The only thing I've damaged in this process were stickers I had on the fork legs, because the fit in the triple clamp is too tight it scuffs the graphics. That's of course no big deal. However I haven't done much suspension work on older bikes, so I can imagine on some the process can be a lot more involved and the potential to damage something greater. That said, getting the other set of forks is really expensive and not worth it unless you are very serious about the performance you need. The Enduro model has quite a range of suspension performance achievable by clicker adjustment alone, which is of course very simple to do, in fact it can be done tool less while out on a ride, from the cockpit of the bike. So you can go from soft off road comfort, to stiff on road cornering performance in a minute. The only downside is that the fork guards on the Enduro need to be cut to make clearance for the supermoto wheels if you go that route.
Got mine on (2020) 4/13 and live across town from you. The abs/tc dongle, also attach the sidestand switch magnet to the sensor and tie it out of the way is the fix...its in the way of an errant rock and will shut you down from what I've read.
Oh boy. Well, I loved it for many things, but ultimately ended up selling it for a heavier adv bike so I could travel. The 690/701 platform isn’t very comfy on the highway. I’ve also bought an enduro bike to go along with my adv bike.
Thanks for nice review!! I heard a tachometer of MY2021 is changed from previous model. But yours seems like a previous model. If you know the detail, please let me know. Thanks a lot!
I heard the same thing, but yeah it is pretty basic. No tach, no gear position indicator, no fuel gauge. That's usually the case for dirt bikes so it doesn't bother me much, but a fuel gauge would be nice.
Thanks, and you're welcome! Leave a like if you could it would really help me out! I've got more content on this bike coming so please subscribe if you would like to see it!
Tires of course, brake rotors (expensive but you don't want to swap them back and forth with red thread lock each time, plus bigger rotors for sumo are a good idea), probably a second drive system to handle the change in gearing from the smaller wheels and make the swap easier, and a shorter side stand because the bike will have a lower ride height and the stock stand will be too long.
I went Enduro because I plan on getting a super dope set of bicolor Alpina supermoto wheels for this bad boy, so that I'll be able to switch back and forth. But I would say if you like riding dirt or dual sport to go Enduro because from my experience it still handles phenomenally well on pavement, but I think the Supermoto might struggle on dirt, at least when it starts getting wet that is.
You don't have to. Get the enduro, buy a seperate set of SM wheels, rip up the streets, when you want do some offroad stuff, rip the dirt. Only thing is the weaker front brake but I ride a 79 XL500 that has basically no front brake, you'll get used to it haha
@@davideells6674 update. I bought the KTM SMCR. Good enough for now but if I get any closer to dirt action i will definitely sell it for N enduro or at least get some knobbies
"Nice low seat height compared to my exc" ? My KTM 690 Enduro R is like 910MM tall and the seat is wider than on a slim exc bike so what is different in your case, did you get a lower seat for your 701 ? Because for me my 690 enduro is harder to flat foot than any other enduro I have ever tried and the 701 is supposed to be the same as the 690.
Yeah it wasn't easy. I got the last one in my area, which means the dealer had me over a barrel. At least I didn't pay MORE than MSRP, which is what has been happening with the Tenere 700. As for the alley sweeper, hit me up on IG xs.adv and I will fill you in via PM
@@sammyscrap Wish me luck, I'm going in with my buddy tomorrow to lock in 701's at the local Husky dealer. They said the next shipment comes in around November 2021 and we want 2, lol. I had a similar experience at Bob's in Beaverton where I went to buy a farm bike, MSRP was $4500 for a TW200 and I ended up paying $5700 out the door tax, markups, title and tags... I'll hit you up on IG soon, Thx
Not much from what I understand. I believe the fuel tank on the Husky is a bit smaller, maybe like 0.1 gal. Different headlight. Everything critical - frame, motor, suspension - is all the same. If you're trying to choose between the two (soon to be 3 now with GasGas) I think the looks are actually the most important factor, the rest of the differences are just not substantial. That and what you can find that's available in your area, and what kind of deal you can get of course. Please note though this is not the case for all model years. The first couple of years of the 701 had an extra counter balancer in the motor that made them smoother than the KTM for those years. But as of the current model year they are the same.
The biggest consideration is the 701 comes with a 2 year 24K mile warranty while the 690 only has one year 12K miles. I was going to get a 690, but the "free" extra year of warranty swayed me. It would have been another $800 to buy another year of warranty on the 690. I already have a KTM 300 XC, so I also figured white yellow and blue would be good!
Hi are you shure that is my 2021 ? In the my 2021 the front cables pass behind the mask and the dashboard is different, the neutral light is in the dashboard. Plese send me a feedback. Good ride.
They didn't. They never will. KTM don't give a damn about you. Replace the slave with an Oberon or Rekluse. Swap the exhaust for a Wings and you have a solid bike that will take you places.
@@snobu That’s not what my research has shown - they changed it for the ‘21 models. I don’t know to which but I’ve had it confirmed by several different people in the online community (owners and YT reviewers). Ktm/Husky issued a recall on these as well.
@@snobu Good to hear - besides the clutch slave, how are you liking the bike? Bought a 701 two days ago 🙂 I see you mentioning Wings exhaust - did you retune yours after installing the slip on?
Hey, I'm practicing wheelies on mine and I've never done it before, I thought I'd try it in mode one first, how high will it go before the TCS cuts in because I've had the wheel lifting a bit but not cut out I just don't want to flip it?
Good question! It will not let you lift the wheel very high at all in Mode 1. It is just enough to let you know that what you've done would have been enough to initiate a wheelie if it had been in Mode 2 or off. As a fresh disciple of wheelies myself, I can tell you that looping the bike out is actually pretty difficult to do on flat terrain. In my experience, wheelies require a lot more throttle snap and take longer to develop than most riders who are first trying them think. I think the most common mistake and one I was and am still guilty of is not holding the throttle open long enough to let the front end come up very high, it really does take a second or two once the lift begins for it to really rise up. My advice is to use mode 2 and practice in a gear where you feel comfortable at the speed the bike is going to wheelie. You need to have the engine revving in order to have enough power to wheelie, it will not wheelie if your revs are too low. I find second gear around 30 mph is a sweet spot for power wheelies that aren't too snappy and quick to rise. The other trick that will help is a double roll on the throttle - roll once and let off and the bike's weight will shift forward, then roll again just as it is rebounding to get extra lift. Another way to do this that will help is to use the rear brake to shift the weight forward, then let off the brake and roll on the throttle as the weight rebounds out of the fork - this has the added benefit of ensuring you cover the rear brake which you can also practice using to bring the front end down, though I haven't wheelied high enough with the bike where rolling off the throttle isn't enough alone. This is probably easier to practice and learn than clutch up techniques. I can also get the bike to wheelie in 3rd gear this way, which results in a slower front end lift but also higher top speed during the wheelie.
@@sammyscrap thanks for the advice I do the same thing where it will start to come up and I automatically let off the throttle straight away. I'll try the double throttle that sounds good 👍
I wheelie from 2nd gear to 5th gear and back down to 2nd all day long on my 2020 701 enduro in mode 1. You need to turn rear abs off and traction control can be manually turned off. Once these are done it does not matter what MAP you're in it will wheelie all the same apart from a slight difference in throttle response. I have gone through two OEM clutch slave cylinders and my rear wheel has seen twice as much mileage over the front tire.
No, I was not interested in the T7. For this build I wanted a bike that was light and more like a dirt bike, but could still be comfortable for longer road stretches. The T7 is too heavy and bulky for what I wanted. That said, it sure is a good looking bike and my buddy loves his. I'm sure it is an excellent ADV bike but just too much bike for this build.
I see you haven't ridden an EXC/FE before lol. Those bikes have at least a couple more inches taller seat. You have to get used to riding with one foot on a peg at all times, as it's much easier to reach the ground with the opposite foot that way and you can't maintain control of the bike with both feet off the pegs. Coming from an EXC to this bike, it feels short in comparison. There is always a tradeoff between ground clearance, suspension travel and seat height. You can't have more of the first two without a taller seat. This bike feels like it was engineered to try to have as low of a seat height as possible while still maintaining off road performance. The body of the bike is like a squashed rectangle, in order to lower the seat they made the whole frame shorter. This has the consequence of decreasing the distance from the foot pegs to the seat, creating a sharper bend in the knee. It's nice having a lower seat when the going gets real rough but there are serious tradeoffs to it that aren't immediately obvious.
@@sammyscrap the two scenes between 7:40 and 8:40 have the same audio - or i guess you filmed in two different locations but said the same thing. Similar thing at about 9:40 - you either repeat yourself or used the wrong audio
@@enhancdreality oh wow yep something clearly got moved around without my noticing in the editing process! Thank you for catching that. I appreciate the support!
They are expensive for sure. But there is nothing else out there that does what they do. The closest bike I can compare it to that I have owned is a WR250R, and I'm sure you're already thinking about the huge difference in power to say they are not comparable...but the thing is, they feel very similar to ride. Like a dirt bike in terms of agility but smooth and comfortable like a road bike - a true dual sport. And they are almost the same weight. But the 701/690 has 3 times the power! Having 74 HP in a bike that weighs a slice over 300 lbs makes it extremely fun and versatile. The WR already felt sporty at that weight, but this...is just exceptional. And all of the OEM componentry is top notch, for the most part. Excellent suspension, brakes, and electronics. Easy to work on. So no, overpriced, I don't think so. The bike is worth the money. If there were something else out there to compete with it at a lower price, then sure. But there really isn't. But we all have different ideas of value, and I wouldn't argue that it is a screaming deal or anything, so I respect your opinion.
Not sure exactly what you mean. In my experience, they were designing for good ground clearance while maintaining a lower than EXC seat height. This led to the bike having a short long rectangle feel; in other words the distance between the pegs and the seat is short and creates a more pronounced bend in the knee. Is this what you are talking about? In my experience, this hasn't been much of an issue, but obviously people have different length legs and knee bend comfort levels, so it's definitely worth noting. There are some aftermarket options to lower the pegs, and a taller seat can be fit to adjust this dimension. All around this bike is absolutely stellar and my favorite I've ever owned, so it just doesn't sound right to me to hear it dismissed just for the foot pegs. But hey to each their own, if it's not your cup of tea it's no sweat off my back.
@@alpap1980 it's not too bad, shorter than my 350 EXC-F. I think they compressed the height of the chassis itself to keep the seat height lower for the amount of suspension the bike has. I think the height of the seat above the pegs is shorter than what I'm used to creating a sharper bend in the knee.
