Here is my review of my recently purchased Husqvarna 701 Supermoto.
So I've had my Husqvarna 701 Supermoto for a few months now and I've covered about 800 miles and I think I'm in a pretty good position to give a review on the bike. I will write up another review after a year of ownership.
So let's start where it all began...
I've always had a keen interest in motorcycles, cars, boats and anything with an engine really and I saw my first Supermoto in the early 2000s and I thought they look like mega fun I would love to have one one day.
When I turned 17 all I could think about was getting my driving licence to get a car so I could get around as living in the UK means that there's a lot of distance separating places so a car is really handy to have especially for work.
With my need to get a car coupled with the fact that in the UK getting a motorcycle licence for a larger engined bike is quite difficult when you're young as you are restricted to what cc engine size you can actually ride at certain age so with the expense of getting a car I put getting a motorcycle licence on the back burner until I had the time and the money to do so.
Now fast forward about 17 years and there I was finally with the time and the money to make this happen. I have always liked the style of supermoto bikes and by chance i saw a press release video on YouTube of the Husqvarna 701 supermoto which gave me the same feelings as having a high school crush so I knew I had to pass my test (which i did with flying colours) and had to get this bike one way or another.
I knew that I wanted a 2017 model as it has the newer KTM Duke 690 engine which apparently is little faster more powerful and less vibration heavy than the older style engines which are also very good I am told.
I had the opportunity to get a brand new bike from the Husqvarna dealership that is fairly close to where I live however that meant waiting for a couple of months and after passing my bike test I was so impatient that I actually got a used low mileage 2017 model.
I do not regret my decision to get a used model at all as the previous owner who was an older gentleman who broke the engine in gently and he claims that the bike has never been on the back wheel although whether I believe him or not is another story altogether given how much I know this bike likes to accelerate.
Here is a picture of the bike as it was when i turned up to hand over my hard earned cash in Bristol.
I vividly remember the day I picked this bike up. The bike come from Bristol which is on the west coast of England which is almost the full length across the country from where I live on the East Coast near London, however, I decided that I wanted to ride it back despite the typical British weather which in hindsight probably wasn't the most sensible move riding a new motorcycle back on a new licence across a few hundred miles in varying weather conditions wearing a pair of jeans. I don't regret it one bit though as this first journey really told me a lot about the bike and my riding skill or lack of as the case may be.
below is a snap from my google timeline to show you the distance i travelled to get the bike.
This is a picture I took when I stopped to get fuel and coffee about half of the way home. My white Audi was driven by my girlfreind who was my pace car and satnav for the way home
Here is a picture of the super cool keys that you get with a Husqvarna.
Since getting the bike back home I've managed to put a fair amount of seat time on the bike and I've ridden it wherever possible and whenever the weather allows because like I say, the weather in England is is often pretty terrible but that's almost a tradition in our country, although i wish we had Californian weather sometimes!
At first I found the bike really scary and temperamental to ride but that was, i assume, because the only bike that I had to compare it against was the Honda CBF 600 that I trained with for my Module 1 and module 2 tests on. The Honda is a lot more forgiving on the throttle and brakes than the big single cylinder Husky.
Being a big single cylinder motorcycle or a ‘’thumper’’ as it is affectionately known as in the bike community means that the bike is very torquey low down and is all about fast acceleration which suits me fine. This bike really gives you a buzz when you pin the throttle and speed through the gears.
She really does pull well through the gears and gets up to licence losing speeds faster than any of the cars I have ever driven and being exposed to the elements really accentuates the feeling of speed. With speed must come good stopping power and this bike is no exception with it's brembo braking system on the front and rear which is very powerful especially when compared to the Honda CBF 600 that I was previously used to riding. The brakes on my husky feel sharp Like a heated razor blade Cutting through a knob of butter.
I'm also very impressed with the adjustable front and rear suspension provided by WP however I am not a small man at all standing at 6ft 5 and weighing 110 kilograms.
The previous owner was only 5ft 5 weighing around 65 kg and had his suspension setup for his frame and weight so suspension is something that I will be looking at getting adjusted in the future to better suit my own body weight. Even in its current set up the suspension has more travel than British Airways.
At the moment being a new rider and still enjoying my new motorcycle there isn't too much that I would change on it, however, in the future I can see myself fitting a power commander V module with a new exhaust air filter and a remap to get as much out of the engine as possible. Getting a new pipe will also give me a significant weight saving as the standard pipe weighs more than a Honda Grom and after riding for an hour or so is so hot its like thermonuclear.
All in all, i would give this bike a solid 9 out of 10. The only thing i would really like would be a rev counter and gear indicator, although, being the type of bike that it is, i kind of understand the thinking behind not having these.
I look forward to many happy rides on this bike and plan to share all of it with you guys.
If you like this article, please, upvote, resteem, comment and help me grow. If you have any questions, please ask in the comments.
Paul.
