Iconic off road machinery
Street legal, but happiest in the dirt...
I like the 701 Enduro from Husqvarna. Its natural habitat is off road where it excels, but it still works well in the city. Like the rest of the enduro range it’s been inspired by the brand's impressive list of world championship winning machines. It’s also manufactured with advanced engineering techniques, together with state-of-the-art electronics and multiple rider aids, this is not a ‘two banger’ from back in the day!
A deeper seat than standard
Husqvarnas’ 701 Enduro has it all, showcasing the companies’ generations of race led development and the resulting refinement of their bikes to an extraordinarily high standard.
Mounts for enduro road books as well as mirrors for the road
While it’s very much road legal, CCM Racing in Dublin even supply them with a years road tax, they were born offroad as is the case with the rest of the range, excepting the new Vitpilen.
The engine is a relatively straightforward water cooled single that puts out a healthy 75bhp and 73Nm of torque. This is even more impressive when the fact that it has a dry weight of only 147 kilos.
It also looks gorgeous. The standard white with blue and a hint of yellow is classic ‘Husky’, and the components show off its quality and the companies’ willingness to use pieces that come from the best third party specialist manufacturers. To this end the suspension is by WP. The forks are fully adjustable and held in CNC machined triple clamps. Even these are a thing of beauty.
Finished, as standard, with lots of lovely bits...
Aluminium cross spoked wheels come compliments of DID. Rather wonderfully they’ve got black rims. There’s a slipper clutch by Adler, Bosch look after the ABS while Brembo calipers do the stopping.
Both the rear subframe and the tank, which lives behind the rider to balance out the machines weight, are made from Polyamide. This stuff is incredibly lightweight, yet strong enough to survive my brilliant ability to run into any amount of perfectly innocent trees.
There are two ride modes. The first utilises road based assistance widgets such as ABS, traction control, wheelie control along with a smoother throttle delivery. This is obviously an offensive set up for such a dedicated machine. So, it’s rather fortunate that the second setting where all of the ‘interference’ is dialled back. Limited ABS on the front and none on the rear allows for a bit of sliding, while the lack of wheelie control ensures that the bike can wheelie.
No blow, no go...
In order to clear all of the rocks and tree stumps that one finds when trespassing on Coillte land, the ground clearance is nice and high at 270mm while the seat height is a wonderful 925mm.
So bright, they'd blind the sun!
We’ve been playing on a UK registered 2018 one with a few tasty extras including a pair of auxiliary spotlights that are probably powerful enough to blind the sun, a deeper and more comfortable saddle, a tinted screen and an aftermarket exhaust.
If you want to find out more give Trevor a call on 00447747755033, he’s looking for ST£5,990. A new one is available from CCM Racing in Dublin, they’re on 014526170.