Dual-sport motorcycles have been popular with riders seeking on- and off-road adventures for almost as long as motorcycles have been around. Based on lightweight motocross designs for all-terrain travel but with practical features for riding on public roads, these are the best of both worlds. However, the incredible rise in popularity over the past 20 years of adventure motorcycles - with their more powerful engines, larger frames and increased carrying capacity - make them superior long-distance tourers and tempt many riders away from smaller dual-sport machines. But if you enjoy dirt just as much as pavement, there’s one overlooked dual-sport motorcycle that proves you don’t need to go large to go fast and have fun.
To ensure accuracy, the information compiled in this article was obtained from authoritative sources, including the manufacturer's website.
The Husqvarna 701 Enduro Is One Mighty Dual Sport
Powerful, Light, Ready For Adventure
Husqvarna may have been late to the adventure motorcycle market with the introduction of its 2022 Norden 901 (heavily based on the KTM 890 Adventure), but it proved to be a popular newcomer and very well-received. It had everything it needed to compete with its rivals. But just like those other large-capacity adventure bikes, with a dry weight of 450 pounds, the Norden is better suited to pavement or forest roads than to tight trails, muddy riverbeds or steep, sandy dunes.
Husqvarna’s 701 Enduro was first introduced in 2015 and may not be as powerful as large-capacity adventure bikes, but because it’s much lighter, it’s ideal for any kind of terrain you can throw at it. While deep sand and muddy bogs may be too much for big BMW GSs, Honda African Twins , and Triumph Tigers, the 701 Enduro has almost unstoppable grunt and agility. That's why it makes sense even in 2025.
Husqvarna 701 Enduro Engine: Ready To Ride
KTM-Derived Performance Made Friendlier
The liquid-cooled single-cylinder engine in the 701 Enduro was sourced from the KTM 690 Enduro, but changes were made to broaden the bike’s appeal beyond the limited scope of KTM’s ‘ready to race’ philosophy. The Husqvarna’s engine runs a Keihin fuel-injection system with a 50-millimeter throttle body and EMS-controlled ride-by-wire throttle technology. There are Soft, Advanced, and Standard fuel map options, and all of them are less aggressive than the KTM’s, each of which provides the 701 Enduro with a smoother throttle response.
Husqvarna's Easy Shift system permits quick, seamless upshifts and downshifts without using the clutch. The result is engine performance delivered in a more linear fashion. But make no mistake, the retuned single in the 701 Enduro still generates a claimed 74 horsepower and a stump-pulling 54 pound-feet of torque . With a tank-empty weight of only 322 pounds, it’s nothing short of an off-road beast.
Key Features
- Traction control
- Quickshifter
- Ride modes
- Throttle maps
- Switchable ABS
Husqvarna 701 Enduro Chassis: Not Just A Rebranded KTM 690
Equipped To Handle The Rough With The Smooth
Special attention was paid to suspension, brakes, and wheels in the development of the 701 Enduro to establish its own identity and differentiate it from its KTM relative. The WP XPLOR fork is lighter than the KTM 690 unit and is purposely engineered to provide softer and more compliant performance for enduro riding. Similarly, a certain degree of flex was built into the CNC-machined triple clamp to give the rider optimal feedback. It has 9.84 inches of travel and split damping functions with the left leg handling compression and rebound is in the right leg. The shock absorber is also a WP XPLOR unit with 9.84 inches of travel.
It connects to the chassis via a linkage and, like the fork, has fully adjustable preload as well as compression and rebound damping. Gone are the KTM’s four-pot front brake calipers in favor of Brembo’s two-pot calipers, with a 300-millimeter floating wave disc. At the rear is a 240-millimeter single floating wave disc with a single-pot caliper. The ABS system is corner-sensitive and the off-road option allows ABS to operate the front wheel only, giving the rider greater control of the rear wheel when desired for better control away from paved roads. The spoked aluminum-alloy wheels are exactly what one would expect of an enduro, with a 21-inch wheel at the front and 18-inch rear.
Husqvarna 701 Enduro Has Become Better Through The Years
Subtle Changes And A Long Range Option
Husqvarna created a winning formula with the 701 Enduro and, as the saying goes, “If it ain't broke, don't fix it.” Nevertheless, a few minor tweaks since its 2015 debut added to its utility and value. An upgraded electronics package, dashboard, and new headlight assembly were introduced in 2020, and the engine was updated to comply with Euro-5 emissions regulations. The most significant upgrade to the 701 Enduro was the offering in late 2020 of an LR (Long Range) variant.
It incorporated all the existing model's attributes, including ABS, ride-by-wire throttle, lean-sensitive EMU and riding modes, but with an additional 3.2-gallon fuel tank to give the LR a total fuel capacity of 6.6 gallons. This enabled the LR to travel 300 miles between fill-ups, a staggering range for an enduro machine and on par with some popular large adventure bikes . The LR version was discontinued after only one year, but Husqvarna offers more than 120 factory accessories for the current 701 Enduro to suit a range of customer needs, including everything from brake, suspension and engine components to electronics, navigation systems and tools.
Husqvarna 701 Enduro: It's In The Blood
Winning Formula For Racers Or Recreational Riders
Building high-quality dual-sport motorcycles is nothing new for Husqvarna, even though the company dates all the way back to the 17th century in Sweden, where it started out making guns. In the early 1900s, it began manufacturing motorcycles, at first with externally sourced engines before designing and building their own in-house. Husqvarna went on to build bikes for the Swedish army, and by the 1930s the company was racing in World Championship Grand Prix and the Isle of Man TT road races.
Husqvarna found a new focus in the sixties and seventies with their lightweight, single-cylinder motorcycles enjoying success in the Baja 1000 race. Ever since, the brand has been a dominant force in motocross and enduro racing, winning dozens of world championship titles across various displacement categories. The brand underwent ownership changes several times - including 2007 when it was acquired by BMW, then 2013 when it was bought by KTM - but throughout its various incarnations and recent technology sharing from KTM, Husqvarna's focus has remained consistent.
While it does produce a line of supermotos, electric bikes and the Svartpilen and Vitpilen road bikes, dual-sport machines are what Husqvarna does best. For riders seeking a dose of genuine off-road performance and road-legal fun, with the kind of torquey mid-range that only a big-bore, single-cylinder engine in a lightweight chassis can deliver, the 701 Enduro has somehow managed to fly under the radar. It's a motorcycle that may very well be a bettter adventure bike than most adventure bikes.
