Husqvarna 701 Feedback?

[Eury]

I forget who has one, but I remember at least one Oppo ( @AestheticsInMotion ?) getting a Husky 701 a couple years ago. I've been offered a new 23 that came in at my dealer before it gets put out for general sale (I buy a lot of bikes and have been asking about one for a couple years now), and am on the fence.

So, if you have one, what's your thoughts as a dual sport, light ADV bike? I've got plenty of other bikes that cover those and other spaces, but I've always admired the 701. Plus, the new 2023m graphics are great, remind me of my 2016 FE350S

[ClassicDatsunDebate]

@Eury
Fast Eddie from the MotoJitsu YouTube channel just bought one and loves it.

[AMGtech]

@Eury @AestheticsInMotion has the Enduro

@decay-still-has-too-many-beaters has a sumo

Not sure if there are any others

[AestheticsInMotion]

@Eury I think if you want a lightweight do-anything ADV they're the only option on the market. Everything else is either way heavier or a glorified dirt bike. Spendy, but the suspension, motor, and wheelset rock. I guess it's pretty unique, too? I suppose a lot of it is Covid supply chain related, but they can't have sold many of them. I've never seen another enduro in person, and I've only seen two supermotos, one of which is in Oregon. I spent months looking for mine, and drove 400 miles to pick it up.

I've put about 7000 miles on mine, tons of day trips, camping, longer road trips, year-round commuting, forest service roads, etc. It handles single track way better than I do on the rare occasions I've decided to send it—I imagine a more skilled dirt rider wouldn't have an issue. It's been dead reliable (minus the turn signal housing breaking twice—not from offroading???) and always a ton of fun.

It'll cruise at 80 mph on the freeway with no issue, and still have a ton of passing power. Once you hit 100, it starts to run out of steam. I don't think I ever took it past 110ish? It will go faster, but wind resistance is brutal up there. People say the single is smooth, that's an understatement. It's comparable to my old V4 VFR800.

The fancy 6 axis traction control is pretty dang good. In street mode I've been leaned over on numerous onramps at stupid speeds in the rain on TKC80s and I can feel it keeping me from sliding out. In enduro mode it smooths out throttle response a bit and let's you wheelie to your heart's content. ABS is fully defeatable, or can be set to front wheel only.

I wish mine had an RPM guage, fuel indicator and gear indicator—I believe the 2023 does unless it's been discontented due to "supply chain issues". Range also sucks, I get about 120. Could probably do 130 with bags and racks removed. Pretty common mod is to switch to a smaller, more efficient airbox and used the massive amount of space you saved to install a secondary fuel tank under the seat up front. More range, without the bulk of the short-lived 701 Enduro Long Range that had fuel tanks to either side of the tank.

Quickshifter is just okay. Works well when just cruising around town, but I find it misses a lot of shifts when I'm really hammering the bike near redline. It's basically the opposite of most other quickshifters I've tried.

I think an aftermarket seat is a requirement, the stock one is trash. If you're riding at night at all, definitely needs a new headlight as well unless they've updated that since my 2021 model. Stock footpegs are pretty bad as well, super tiny.

[Eury]

@AestheticsInMotion thanks for the feedback. Saying it’s comparable to your VFR in smoothness is HUGE! I certainly don’t need another bike like this (it’ll make 9 in the garage, and I also have a T7 and 450RL that overlap it) but I’d like to give it a shot.

[I love KTM's and Puch's and Audis]

please post pics when you get it and pm when you're ready to sell.

[decay still has too many beaters]

@Eury Its true, my 701 sumo is smoother than my Africa Twin, my old SV650, or any other single I've ever ridden. Its maybe a little rougher than my old street triple R, but its honestly splitting hairs. I love it, it's my favorite bike of the 100 or so I've owned in total.

@AestheticsInMotion funny, there are probably half a dozen or more 701 sumos within a couple miles of me. I always see them out there.

[Eury]

@decay-still-has-too-many-beaters wow. Sounds like I need to pull the trigger. My name is already on it, but I wasn’t 100% positive if I wanted it.

[sn4cktimes]

@AMGtech I’ve got the fe350s. Fantastic bike.

[Eury]

@sn4cktimes I rode a 2016 FE350S for about a year. You are right, it is a wonderful bike. I shouldn’t have sold it. That’s one of the things I like about the 23 701 Enduro, very similar graphics to my 2016.

[sn4cktimes]

@Eury if I did more highway riding I’d consider the 701. Seems like a pretty great machine. I’ve been really happy with my KTM Husky