2016 HUSQVARNA 701 SUPERMOTO AND 701 ENDURO
FIRST RIDE
P70
We wasted no time getting
dirty on the 701 Enduro. Within
a mile of departure, we were
already pounding the sand in the
Southern California desert and
I was again surprised by how
well this rather large motorcycle
easily handled the loose stuff.
Sure, there was the momentary
loss of front-end traction and
corresponding panic attacks
every now and then (well, more
now than then), but that was to
be expected for such a large
motorcycle fitted with semi-knob-
by tires, that's just the nature of
the beast. But, really, the 701
behaved remarkably well in the
deep sand. I thought I would be
fighting the bike a lot more than I
was. The bike's powerful engine
probably had a lot to do with
that; you could easily pull your-
self out of trouble with a slight
twist of the right wrist.
The Husky's smooth power
delivery made it fun to slide
through the turns, too, much
like you would do on a much
lighter off-road bike. The rear tire
hooked up remarkably well and
would launch the bike quickly
down the next straight when you
opened 'er up.
At speed, the bike felt very
stable on the dirt, and the sus-
pension soaked up the rocks,
ditches and unseen whatevers
quite well. The back end would
usually kick straight up, not out
to the sides.
Like the Supermoto, the En-
duro is very comfortable in the
seat; in fact, the two bikes feel
nearly identical ergo wise, ex-
cept for the Enduro feeling a tick
taller. Again, I liked the long seat
for moving around on, which is
something you tend to do more
of when riding on the dirt.
I absolutely loved the ABS-
only front brake on the Enduro.
ABS makes no sense on the
back brake of a dirt bike but
The Enduro is geared well for all occasions.
