Ah, the mythical, perfect unicorn! We humans seem to be in constant search of it, whether it is the perfect relationship, perfect job, or perfect motorcycle; we know it is out there, and we are determined to find it. I am not immune to this, despite having access to a plethora of cool bikes as a motorcycle journalist.
As an adventure bike rider, I love the idea of traveling to the far reaches of the known world on deserted dusty backroads and forgotten trails. ADV bike manufacturers know they have a bunch of adventure addicts on their hands and have been churning out bikes to scratch this itch since 1980, when BMW introduced the R 80 G/S.
Fast forward to today. The ADV segment still dominates the market, and for good reason. Not only do they appeal to our highly unrealistic subliminal explorer gene, but they are also remarkably practical. When does that ever occur?
They are comfortable, can carry lots of gear over a wide variety of terrain, and they are darn sporty! But here’s the rub: over the last few decades, ADV bikes have gotten fat.
I own a BMW R 1250 GS, and it is a wonderful bike that can easily cross the country, and bomb down fire roads and dirt trails quite well. But at 560 pounds before adding gear, the GS isn’t the nimblest trail bike, and God forbid I drop it—my back aches just thinking about it.
I must not have been the only one to notice this because the middleweight ADV bike market has exploded over the last few years! Some tremendously capable bikes are being produced right now, and a few have caught my wandering eye.
Surprisingly, to me, at least, most of these bikes still tip the scale around 500 pounds—definitely not light! So, is 60 pounds enough to ditch the more powerful and highly capable BMW?
With the hamster hitting Mach speed on the wheel in my head, I wondered if the unicorn was out there or could be created on a measly writer’s budget. Of course, the Austrians were way ahead of me. They produce the capable and popular KTM 890 Adventure in various flavors and two versions of its cousin, the Husqvarna Norden 901. These middle-sized adventure bikes have an excellent power-to-weight ratio, though they weigh around 470 pounds. This is closer to my vision, but not quite there.
Drilling down into the product range of Pierer Mobility (KTM, Husqvarna, and GasGas), I found a seemingly ideal platform—a big, single-cylinder dual sport bike. The KTM 690 Enduro R, GasGas ES 700, and Husqvarna 701 Enduro are closely related siblings and might fit the bill. So, let’s do the math of the popular middleweight ADV bikes.
At the light end of the pool is the Yamaha Ténéré 700, coming in at 450 pounds with a 74-horsepower 689cc parallel-twin engine. That’s not too shabby, and my fellow Associate Editor Neil Wynne used it as a platform for an impressive Ultimate Motorcycling Yamaha Ténéré 700 project bike. The long-running Kawasaki KLR650 is highly reliable and inexpensive, but it weighs 460 pounds (!) and manages to corral just 40 horses.
At the upper end is the Honda Africa Twin 1100, coming in at about 505 pounds; add another 25 pounds for higher-spec models. It has a 1084cc parallel-twin powerplant that puts out 100 horses. That’s about 15 percent heavier with a third more power than the Ténéré 700.
Now let’s look at the KTM, GasGas, and Husqvarna 700-class travel Enduros—about 350 pounds with a single-cylinder, 693cc, 74-horsepower engine. Wait, what? 350 pounds? Same horsepower as the Ténéré 100 pounds lighter? Over 200 pounds less than my GS? Could I take a member of the Austrian trio and transform it into a proper adventure bike? Time to see if the unicorn does exist.
After some discussion, the 2023 Husqvarna 701 Enduro got the nod for this very important experiment.
I decided to make things a little interesting. Rather than ignoring costs, as can happen with magazine project bikes, I set a tight budget of $500 for all the changes. I could also use any parts I found in my personal parts bin as supplements, but that was it.
A few weeks later, Ultimate Motorcycling Editor Don Williams and I headed to the Pierer Mobility HQ to grab the Husqvarna 701 Enduro and a KTM Super Duke 1290 GT for a review Senior Editor Nic de Sena was slotted to handle—and did.
The plan was to load the Husky into Don’s Toyota Tundra 4×4, and I would ride the GT back to our Los Angeles offices. Apparently, the last journalist to get a hold of the GT decided to take quite a bit of the rear tire rubber off—not surprising, given the crazy power of the bike. Subsequently, 20 minutes into the ride, I had a flat.
New plan: The GT gets the lazy ride in the back of the Tundra, and I ride the Husky for 2.5 hours on Southern California freeways. It looked like I was going to get a good idea of the 701 Enduro’s touring capabilities real quick.
After battling LA’s traffic, which included a mix of 75+ mph speeds and bumper-to-bumper congestion, I arrived home with visceral impressions.
Climbing aboard the 2023 Husqvarna 701 Enduro, I immediately realized it is tall. At six feet even, but with a 31-inch inseam, I was not flat-footed, that is for sure. The seat, which looked uncomfortable, wasn’t as bad as I expected. However, I think more than 2.5 hours in the saddle would not be great.
Firing up the engine was as expected—the big single cylinder is a bit vibey and not great sounding. Pulling out and onto the highway, the power and acceleration were impressive, helped by the bike’s low weight. Getting up to and maintaining LA highway speeds was not a problem. Roll-on power at 70+ wasn’t super strong, but it has plenty of engine for the job.
The lofty seat height and minimal wind protection mean a healthy blast of air into my chest and head, and I feel much more on top of the bike than in it. Lastly, and probably most disconcerting, is the handlebar vibration from the big thumper above 55 mph. There’s no sugarcoating it—the 701 is bad compared to the aforementioned twin-cylinder bikes.
So, I had a plan: fix the vibey bars, improve the wind protection, make the seat more comfy, and figure out the luggage. Unicorn, I’m coming for you!
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 more in-depth testing. I had planned to ride it up, but 500 miles at highway speeds on the stock 701 didn’t seem like a great idea after my initial freeway jaunt.
As expected, the Husky was fantastic on the trails and fire roads—much more responsive and nimbler than middleweight ADV bikes I’ve had up there. Still, the brief highway riding I did confirmed my initial impression—there was a lot to do to make this bike something I’d want to do any distance on.
The Husqvarna 701 Enduro was definitely the right platform for the project. Now, I had to kit it out to make it into a proper dual-sport/adventure bike. The list of mods was short but important: add more wind protection; find a more comfortable and hopefully lower seat; quiet the handlebar vibrations; and find suitable luggage.
As I fired up the interweb, I searched for wind protection, comfy (maybe lower) seats, anti-vibration handlebars, and luggage. Cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching! There are a lot of options, most of which are not cheap. New front windscreen and headlight, $350. New comfort seat? $350. New anti-vibe bars, $400. New luggage? Don’t get me started. My $500 budget for the 2023 Husqvarna 701 Enduro Project Bike was in great jeopardy.
I needed to figure out what I could spend money on that would move the needle toward my perfect dual-sport/adventure bike, and the hamster kicked into overdrive.
Right off the bat, I found a Puig Windshield New Generation Sport ($108) for the Husqvarna 701 Enduro. It only required four small holes drilled into the stock flyscreen and provided eight inches of added wind protection—more than doubling the protection delivered by the stock flyscreen. Once installed, the screen did a very nice job diverting air away from my chest. Still, a fair amount of airflow hit me at the upper shoulders and helmet, but it was smooth with no buffering. In addition, the extension was remarkably stable, even at speeds of 75+ mph on the highway. Success!
Next, after scouring the World Wide Web for a lower and more comfortable seat, I only found one option, and it was out of my price range. I tried an Airhawk seat cushion from my personal parts bin. My thinking was that the added cushion, which had worked well on other bikes, would make the seat acceptably comfortable for highway rides, and I could ditch it for trail riding. The end result was adding about another inch to the seat height, putting me on my tippy toes for stops. It also felt slightly unstable on the narrow stock seat and looked odd. All combined, it was returned to the parts bin. Failure.
Next, I focused on luggage. Like all other dirt bikes, the Husky has very limited room for cargo; with the gas cap at the rear of the Husky, options were even more difficult. Fortunately, there are several outstanding high-end dual sport luggage providers out there. Unfortunately, my budget didn’t allow for them.
I was able to find a set of rack-less waterproof saddle bags (20L each) from DrySpec (D20 Dry Saddle Bag Set; $210) and a very well-priced rectangular 35 L waterproof trunk from Kuryakyn (Torke Dry Duffle Bag; $130) that worked well.
The quality of the DrySpec saddlebags seems to be pretty high, so long-term durability appears to be good. The material of the trunk is excellent, as is the quality of the waterproof zipper. However, some of the mounting points looked less sturdy, so the long-term durability of those points might not be quite as good. That being said, overall, I was very pleased with the quality of the bags when I received them.
Mounting the DrySpec D20 Dry Saddle Bag Set up, it became clear the muffler would need some sort of shielding despite no warnings from the saddle bag maker. I mounted a small AltRider shield I had lying around, but it still didn’t provide enough heat management. I then added a larger shield from DrySpec ($50), which did the trick. The DrySpec shield was expensive (for my budget) but is very high quality, and my luggage problem was solved. Success
The last issue to tackle was the handlebar vibration. My original thought was a high-end vibration-damping Flexx Adventure handlebar from Faast Company, but the cost was prohibitive ($400). I had an old anti-vibration Rox Speed FX Rox Risers set in the parts bin, so I started there. I had used them on another bike and found them to be good quality but providing only a slight improvement.
After installing the Rox Risers on the 2023 Husqvarna 701 Enduro, right at the limit of the brake and clutch lines, I noticed a slight improvement. Also, the two-inch rise put me in a much better standing position for off-piste riding. Unfortunately, there was still too much bar vibration above 60 mph, so I had more work to do.
I had seen that Faast had some Threaded Anti-Vibration Inserts for $70 a pair, so I gave them a try. Installation was pretty easy, and further damping achieved. I was making progress but still had a way to go.
At this point, I was running out of things I could add to the bars to help. In my web exploration, I noticed that some people had success with modifications to the grips. I have XL hands, so I knew I could add some padding without making the bars hard to hold. Grip Puppy’s Big Paw Comfort Grips are a relatively inexpensive $ 19-a-pair slip-on grip cover. As with the other solutions I tried, they did slightly reduce vibration.
While none of these solutions were sufficient individually, together, all three moved the needle. Between 55 and 70 mph, there was still a good amount of vibes, but otherwise, it was very manageable. Partial Success.
The Final Test
The Husqvarna 701 Enduro project bike was ready. My plan was a desert run from LA to Palm Springs to Joshua Tree National Park. This gave me a few hours of highway riding, plus some dirt, gravel, and sandy roads to test out the bike off-pavement.
Packing up the Husky was a breeze. While it didn’t have a ton of space, there was plenty for a multi-day trip. Of course, I needed some new kit for the trip, so I picked up the new Schuberth E2 modular adventure helmet ($799) and some Kiger Mesh dual sport pants from Mosko Moto ($399) to test.
The new Schuberth ES is fantastic. It has a pleasantly snug fit, is relatively quiet, and has the options of a removable peak and integrated Sena Comm system ($349).
The Mosko Moto Kiger Mesh pants are fully mesh, in-boot style off-road pants. I tend to run warm—my Nordic blood does not like heat—so I am always on the lookout for riding pants that flow air well. At six-foot-even and 190 pounds, I usually wear a 35-inch waist pant, and Kiger size 34 fit me perfectly.
Getting out on the road with the Mosko Moto Kiger Mesh pants, I literally felt like I was riding in my underwear! I can’t imagine a pair of pants that flows more air than these, and their quality is fantastic. The pants are designed to go over knee braces and padded shorts, so they have only abrasion resistance. There is neither integrated padding nor accommodation for installing impact protection. I understand the reasoning, but I would still prefer pockets for those of us who prefer in-pant knee and hip impact protection.
Unlike my impromptu shakedown ride from Temecula to Los Angeles, the two-hour freeway ride went well. The windscreen extension diverted air off my chest and lower body. There was still some vibration in the bars, but it was definitely muted. The stock seat was not terribly uncomfortable for two hours of riding, and I can see doing longer with gas stops. Overall, the Husqvarna 701 Enduro is a motorcycle I can ride for a day, easily, particularly if I stay off the interstate and at sub-60 mph speeds.
Once in the desert, I took off the panniers for some trail riding. Here is where the bike choice really made all the difference. Maneuvering a 350-pound motorcycle in soft sand, gravel, and dirt is a whole heck of a lot easier than trying to muscle a 500- or 600-pound bike. A couple of times, I got myself into some difficulty coming down some rutted descents due to the transmission’s high gearing and resultant lack of engine compression braking. On a bigger motorcycle, I would have definitely struggled, but the Husky was easy to maneuver out of harm’s way.
Sitting back with a cold beer, staring at the Husqvarna 701 Enduro project bike at the end of one of my long, dusty days, I was thoroughly impressed with the bike. Let’s recap the mods I made to make it great:
As with all motorcycles, how you will use it determines what fits best. Unfortunately, it isn’t the unicorn I wanted, though my self-imposed budget certainly compromised the result; darn it, I have to keep looking. I tend to lean more towards touring and distance riding than dirt and trail exploration, so a big thumper might not be the right powerplant for me. I discovered I am willing to give up some of the off-road capabilities for a heavier, smoother, more comfortable bike on the highway. Still, for someone who loves dirt and trail riding and is less than a day or so away from finding it, the Husqvarna 701 Enduro, with just a few minor modifications, is a fantastic choice for long weekends and multi-day adventures.
RIDING STYLE
Helmet: Schuberth E2
Sunglasses: Ray-Ban Wayfarer II
Jacket: Alpinestars Valparaiso 2
Back protection: Alpinestars KR-Celli
Gloves: Alpinestars Corozal V2 Drystar
Pants: Mosko Moto Kiger Mesh
Boots: Alpinestars Tech 7 Enduro
