Thanks for taking the time to give such a thorough review. I am in the process of purchasing a 701 LR myself, and your information will be very useful to me. Looking forward to seeing more of your videos.
Thank you for your honest open opinion 🙏👌🏻👍 Enjoy your Husky 701 LR One day i will come ride the TET in Norway Best regards from Zuid Limburg in the Netherlands Great Jos
Thanks for this great review and lots of details. I am slowly getting into the market for 701 Enduro, currently having lots of fun with my KLX250. My main concern is the seat height as I am only 172 cm. With KLX seat of 895mm I am very comfortable offroad even with doing a bit of hard enduro. But 701 is 30mm more and I think stiffer. In the same time I really don't like the idea of lowering the bike as the gorund clearance matters more for me. I guess I will need to test ride one when the spring comes. Antoher question is the reliability in the long term as I used to have 790 Duke and it wasn't perfect. Looking forward to more videos on your channel. Cheers from Poland!
Great feedback, thanks! Me myself came straight off from a CRF 250 Rally (as may have noticed 😬), but as I’ve had two 690’s earlier, the first I bought in 2011 I had no questions buying the LR. Of course these bikes have had their issues trough out the years, but mostly small things that we’ve learned to look out for. For example I droned my 690 in a river down in Ukraine some years ago... Completely water locked! Threw it up side down and emptied what ever I could, got hold of two oil changes and dried out the filters. Started at second attempt an rode all the way back to Norway after! Thats a statement to me I tell you. Those rattling engines are solid rocks, if you care for them and do your maintenance. Not to be compared with the 790, thats a different engine. As for the hight there is a 40mm factory lowering kit and I’m definitely looking in to it. I’ve got a friend who’s installed one and he loves it, no issues with the clearing.
@@rallynor I completly agree with you that these "old" KTM single cylinder engines are different story compared to the new ones. And I see you enjoyed the trails in Ukraine. Planning the trip there this year if all this covid mess finally ends with the vaccine available. Nice one with saving your KTM! And yes, I saw that you had Rally before, heavily moded one. I was actually curious how would you compare the offroad capability of Rally vs. 701 now? Does 701 feel much havier and is it much more challenging on the difficult trails? With my KLX 250 I feel I can go anywhere except some really hard climbs or deep sand where it is clearly lacking power. 701 definitelly has the power. I used to borrow my friend's 701 SM and I that bike made me smile all the time. I can imagine that 701 Enduro lowered by 40mm might be a perfect DO IT ALL bike for me. Once again thanks for your valuable and experience based comments!
@@szymonchalupka ⚙️ I absolutely love those mountain areas in Ukraine/Romania, Carpatia is such an amazing area. Definitely going back some day when ever this pandemic passes. This summer I guess Scandinavian part of TET will be my target. The questions you raise have no short answers and I would have rambling for hours to end if I got started. Let me just say two different bikes fitting the same shoe, just the 701 have a bigger footprint. I hope that gave sense...? 😆 Guess that the Rally pretty mush fits your description of that KLX. 🙂
@@rallynor I think I got your point regarding Rally vs. 701 :-)I tried 701 today at the dealer and it felt like home. The bike is tall but I am used to sliding down one leg so that's not an issue. What concerned me was the dealer telling that the LR version is discontinued in 2021 or maybe he meant that they are not going to sell it anymore. Anyway I will keep closer look on 701 and 690 Enduro R and perhaps pick one in a couple of months. Thanks again for all the hints and I am looking forward to your comming videos. Cheers!
@@szymonchalupka I heard from three different resellers that the LR wont be sold anymore. However, the LR kit is available. It bumps up the price with $2000 since you have to buy it as an addon.
Tusen takk för din review! Super good information! I’m considering the LR as well and getting your first hand impression is valuable. I fear that the comfort and wind protection is too bad. I’m willing to spend money on another saddle, handlebar dampener and tower fairing but not sure if that is enough. Thanks for your video. Much appreciated!
I think it’s all about your personal feeling of the bike and also what compromises you are willing to take. But with all the upgrades you’re mentioning here I think it will fit any king! I suggest you try one first then... ;)
701 and 690 are simply the best true offroad adventure bike available for the last decade. But like you said, it's not perfect. You need to preventatively fix a few issues first... Then it's has the reliability to match the performance: Best in class.
Absolutely! Not flawless. But if you’re just a little into what this bike is all about, and you read some forums and stuff, there’s only small things do be done to get it perfect. What goes for all the electronics it’s just a part of the game these days. Emissions and safety regulations requires it, there’s no way around it.
Love the news I got from you - just sneaking around this bike as soo as I got released - and finally ordered one yesterday - before it´s too late. Looking forward for the modification to make it an ADV bike - for the more offroad riding as my Tigre 900
husqy redesigned the clutch slave internals so now it should be better in terms off reliability, I had to change mine after 6k. In my opinion this is the smoothest single cylinder out there , you can rev it and it doesn't mind it!
Good you got a Oberon, there is no warning before the clutchslave goes out...for me it broke at my garage just before a long ride, I was lucky ;) The gascap is as bad on the 690, you feel like the key will break everytime you fill it up.
@@rallynor No but I should before the key breaks off, problem is I like to have a lock on the lid. BTW Do you still have the CRF ? I kept mine as a backup...I love that little bike 😊
@@randersson3672 ⚙️ I’ll probably make a video on how to make that key lock softer. There just might be a solution 😬 Unfortunately I couldn’t keep my CRF. It was a hard break up but there was simply no way for me to defend it. But to tell you the truth I just might go for the new CRF 300 in stead of the LR if I was to chose again. But I’m not changing anything now.
@@rallynor Interesting for sure, looking forward to that 👍 I tell you, if I needed to sell one of the bikes.....supprise (or not) it would be the 690. 21 000 km on the CRF no problems or anything that I really dislike about the bike. Except that I wanted more power.. BTW I'm impressed you keep it standard height, I had mine lowered with the KTM loweringkit so the saddleheight is the same as the CRF, I'm your height and would not have the 690 without it.
Thanks for the info ,waiting for this update to consider buying this beatiful bike . I know i would sacrifice some confort in highways as i have a v strom 650 but i will have much more fun with the Husky in all terrains . Greatings from Uruguay
Hi mate! As I understand it, Uruguay must have so mush more to offer than highways...?! Definitely a good idea to get rid of that V-strom and get lost with a LR... 😄 Bet you are in for a treat there 👍
As I recall this video was taken before I got the bike lowered. The OEM -40 mm kit works fine, and I made a video on that as well, and I’ll never go back to standard. Only a few times I‘ve bottomed the front, but I’m alright with that. For me this is an adventure bike setup, not an enduro.
Thanks for the review. Have you traveled off-road with big luggage? I am worried about the weak subframe... And also that it is probably made in Chindia. Hope to see a 30k review :)
Thanks for feed back! I did a couple of weeks travel with big luggage last summer on the LR, and i’ve had a couple of 690’s in the past years. There has never been any issues regarding fuel tank/sub frame, and I strongly think that this is a myth. Even if it was made in China (I don’t think) You should not worry. Volvo cars are now made in China! I’ll throw in a link for you here to read more about this issue... Stay safe! www.perunmoto.com/blogs/blog/ktm-690-enduro-and-husqvarna-701-tank-bolts-issue-explained
What did you think about the traction control ? I have the LR myself here in Western Australia most of times I just turn it off . Also what is your preference when using the maps ? It’s great you can switch between on road or off road mode . Cheers
I’ve put on a ABS dongle as I like to have ABS in front and disabled rear. That way I can set up my bike in corners and slide as i go and still have thar reliable front break. As for the traction control I’ve turned it of as I like to feel whats going on back there. As for the two settings i tend to do most of my riding in “2”, but I’ll get more in to that next year. How do you like your LR so far? Must be a great bike for those outbacks...? 👌😃
So expensive, unreliable & the cost of spare parts here in Australia is best described as extortion. IF the Japanese made a similar bike, I would buy one in a heart beat.
I’d say the service will fur sure be a little higher than with a regular 701. Reason being they have to remove the front tank an plastics to get ti the cylinder top for valve maintenance. You should check with your dealer as they’ll know how mush extra there is. Then again prices may wary after how much they take pr the hour.
It’s not completely off, and if you didn’t know, there are two stickers like that on the bike. Reason it’s partly broke is due to one of my locks I use. No worries.