Review of the Husqvarna 701 Supermoto
Husqvarna is Part of the Austrian manufacturer KTM. With the 701, they have an identic bike to the KTM 690smc and enduro.
But, some of you might ask yourself, why did they release a supermoto/enduro that is exactly the same than the SMC 690, just with another colorscheme and other details? Yeah maybe the Husqvarna is the same, but nevertheless there ARE a couple of changes. For example the 701 is 2 kilos heavyer, this is because (among other small things) the tank became bigger and now has a capacity of 13liters, then there are some changes with the exhaust-design, we have another license-plate holder. None of these changes affect the handling of the Husky, so won't notice them while riding.
But then there is the engine, which has a few differences to its KTM counterpart.
Engine
Ok, at first glance it's exactly the same 690cc monocylinder with 67 horses, but the 701 does have a smoother mapping, that is softer at lower revs... until you change the mapping! Just like on the KTM, we have a small wheel underneath the seat. Number 1 on the wheel is the soft throttle-response, 2 is aggressive and 3 is standard. Number 4 to 9 are free, so you can get some individual mappings. We changed the response from ''SOFT'' to ''AGGRESSIVE'' and we had a massive blast. It's like you're riding two different bikes. We did clutch-wheelies in the Soft mode, it was quite simple, but we thought it would be much easier to get it on one wheel, because it is a SuMo. But then, in the ''aggressive mode'', we didn't need the clutch anymore. After releasing the clutch, we just hit the throttle shortly and BOOM, there we go, Power wheelie, which was definitely NOT planned and we shouldn't have been surprised, because everyone knows, that wheelies play a big role while riding a Supermoto.
Then there is another thing about the engine. Why did they name it 701, when the engine is the 690cc? Well it's quite simple actually, Husqvarna wanted to have the number 1 in its name again as a memento to there legendary 510 and 610 from the 90's.
Chassis
Also the chassis isn't different to the Ktm, the White Power suspension, can be regulated in the dampening. On the fork, you have a red wheel on the right to adjust the rebound and a white wheel on the left for the compression.
Instruments
For those who are used to the instruments on the 690 smc, there will be a new situation. It doesn't have a Tachometer, it just shows you the kph, there's a clock an odometer and that's it...oh wait, there is also a ABS-light, which shows you if it's switched on or off and the standard lights like oil-check, indicators etc. ... But however, we like it anyway. Sometimes Less is more! And we think, less Luxury gives you much more Racing-feeling.
Summary
You can't really say which bike is better. Personally, we would choose the Husqvarna. Maybe for this one reason, that there are so much 690's outthere. And for good reason, the Ktm is is one of the best SuMo's outthere!
But in the end it comes down to personal preference, since both bikes are ( apart from minor differences) practically the same.
So if you prefer the blue-yellow-white colorsheme over the orange-white one from KTM, the Husky is definitely made for you.
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