My Husqvarna 701 Left Me Stranded In The Middle Of The Dinaric Rally!
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- Опубликовано: 14 окт 2023
- The Dinaric Rally is one tough race. Long, hot and messy. I thought My Husqvarna 701 Enduro would be up for the job... And it was... At least up to a point. Yet sometimes, setbacks can result in something beautiful... Long story short, I loved this rally... And everyone involved in it!
Thanks for the thumbnail image go to Irina Petrichei!
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That is a rough go! Sorry all that happened.
I'm in Colorado and own a '23 701 Enduro. As delivered the new 690/701 need prep work to undo issues forced on them by emissions concerns, which causes them run really hot. A few things I believe will help these bikes live a lot longer, and increase performance at the same time:
1) Replace the stock radiator thermo switch for a much lower temp 80/85C (176/185F) unit. The stock switch is set to 102C / 215F which is ridiculously hot. The lower temp switch will cause the fan to run all the time when going slow off road, but that's fine, the electrical system can handle it and the fan doesn't seem to mind the extra run time. I replaced my bike's headlight with a Cyclops LED unit, so the overall draw on the electrical system is probably lower anyway - I've had no charging issues with the fan running a lot more while off road.
2) Toss the hot and restrictive stock exhaust in favor of the can of your choice (I have a Yosh RS-4 and love it) but don't stop there. The bikes are fueled extremely lean, especially in the low RPM and part throttle zone where they spend all their time while riding off road. At the very least, get an inexpensive O2 sensor eliminator to richen up the part throttle fueling. Better yet, add a Power Commander 6 with Rottweiler's map. Massive power gains and it runs much cooler set up this way.
3) The stock air filter needs attention as it is prone to leaking dust where the filter meets the airbox. I replaced mine with a Twin Air foam filter, that is working great with no dust leaks. While in there, I removed the underside of the snorkel so it spreads dirty air evenly over the filter instead of concentrating it all at the front. I did not shorten the snorkel, just removed it's "bottom" when looking at it from the underside of the airbox lid. I noticed no change in intake sound.
4) The stock .59 fork springs are way too soft and unbalanced with the .72 rear spring. I put .65 springs in my bike, it is much better in rocks as the forks stay up in the stroke like they should instead of riding in the harsh mid stroke and beating the rider senseless. In contrast, the shock and it's .72 spring are pretty good. I set the laden sag and clickers to the "sport" settings and have no complaints with the shock for the bike's intended use. I weigh 205 in full gear and ride at a good clip off road.
For reference sake, my "real" dirt bike is a 300 XC which I race desert on now and then. The 701 is not a "real" dirt bike, but is really fun to ride off road if the rider is respectful of what the bike really is - a heavy single cylinder dual sport with an unusual amount of power. An interesting trait these bikes have - for their weight they steer really accurately on road and off, much better than the DR-Z 400 dual sport I had years ago.
5) People think I'm nuts, but the stock gearing on these bikes is way too short, especially after getting the engine running right. Running 16/45 sprockets on mine, this makes 1st gear useful from 8 to 25 MPH, which actually covers most trail situations. The taller 1st is barely noticeable when going really slow as the clutch is great and there is so much low end power with the fueling richened up.
Best of all, it has "legs" on the road and cruises easily at 70-75 MPH. I expected better street manners but was surprised I like the taller gearing better while off road too. 1st always felt like it ran out quickly and then I was lugging it in 2nd, so there was a lot of shifting between 1st and 2nd.
Years ago I had an '83 XL600 which cruised nicely on the freeway. I went on the "Gearing Commander" website and looked up the gearing on the XL and compared it to my '23 701, the stock gearing on the 701 was much shorter. With 16/45 sprockets, my 701's 1st and 6th gears closely match my old 5 speed XL's 1st and 5th. Of course my 701 rips in a way that the old XL could only dream of. Another unexpected benefit, the quck shifter works better with the taller gearing.
These aren't race bikes, but they are high performance dual sports. If ya want a stone simple dual sport I would consider the Honda XR650L. They are much lower performance, but easy to tune to get them running properly, their fuel capacity is easy to increase and their suspension can be made better pretty easily. A set up 650L can be a very nice bike and they are pretty much bombroof reliable. The 690/701 is so much more modern and literally has half again more power, which doesn't matter off road, but it does on the street.
It was a bit of an expensive journey to get it where I want it, but I love my 701, it really is more fun than I should probably be allowed to have. Oh ya, there are wheelies, lots of those 😆
Thanks for sharing all that info! Appreciate it, I’m sure other viewers might find it helpful too!
I bought a 2017 701 enduro a couple of months ago. 1st year of the dual counterbalanced motor.
45000km on the clock. Reliable? I think so. It got a new camshaft 7000km ago, but that's it. Oh, and at some point it got a Rekluse clutch but I'm not sure if the stock one failed or not. And the slave cylinder had to get swapped to prevent that seal issue.
All the mods you mentioned had been done by the previous owner (except they left the "hot" thermo switch in there... I need to swap that. I agree with everything you said regarding the heat etc. This bike is a monster. It will literally do everything except trials and 200mph speed runs. You just have to be okay muscling it around on tight trails, and getting buffeted like crazy on the highway. It's most at home at high speed in the desert, but it'll do the other stuff.
Just sort the fuelling, and use loctite on any fastener that comes off the bike.
It's the modern day TE610 with less travel. I still miss my done up 610. Only bike I kept for 10yrs.
Mine was an 06 (no FI) but I had the suspension done for me, pipe, big bore, cam, porting, and the stock FCR 41 carb was super easy to tune for different elevations. Bike made 62hp on the dyno and had plenty of torque.
I want a 701/690 now but worry the less travel may be an issue. My kitted out 610 even blasted the local vet tracks (sometimes with empty soft bags and mirros just to be a goon 😂).
It had 53k miles on it when I sold it. Not a lot for 10yr old bike but definitely a lot for single. I dropped my oil every 500 miles and adjusted the valves regularly. No engine issues at all.
I love the do everything nature of these large dual sport bikes, especially the fast desert riding. How's the 701 in the desert whoops?
1. Thanks for the radiator
2. Always buy new 😂
3. Thanks for the gearshift lever
4. Let’s do it again my friend!
Any time!
Honestly man, every time I watch your videos I'm just amazed that you don't have more subs. You're content plan, video quality, editing quality is at the level where I keep expecting a 250k sub minimum on your channel. No idea how for you to get there, but you got the ground work done easily. Best off luck with the bike and channel.
Video Idea: I've seen people discuss the Kove 450 Rally here and there and I think it's trying to fill that role of the "unicorn" bike. This far there are not a lot of videos on it, and honestly not even sure you can get it in EU. But that one might be one of those videos, that if you are early, it could gain some nice traction for the channel. Or not, could also be totally wrong on that one.
Thank you, I really appreciate it! I know the Kove isn’t available where I live yet, but I think there are plans to bring it in Europe… I’d love to give it a go
Great effort and a sad ending. I have a 690 Enduro that I bought and rode in the US last week for the first time covering c. 500 miles of mixed roads/trails flawlessly. I think “dual sport”sells it short but it’s certainly heavy compared to dedicated enduro bikes. I think it’s a superb machine that is very capable on and off road but isn’t a competition machine. My need is to be able to be dual purpose with good off-road capabilities but keep up with a Tiger 900 on the road sections of a big ride on the TAT next year. It’s exactly what I’d hoped for and potentially a replacement for my 890 Adventure, itself a superb road bike, but not, for me a bike I’d take off-road. I look forward to the rebuild video……
You’re right, it’s a bit more than a dual sport… For your use case it might be as good as it gets
They are very good bikes(3 friends with them) but 30-40 kilos heavier than a true enduro with dif. frame and other issues.I really like them though and would consider buying a used one.
@@nickg2431 Since I wrote that I bought a 701 Husky Enduro. It does all I need and other than fast highways it’s ideal. I’ll put better lights and Webster protection (probably with a Rade Garage tower) and some dampening of the bars to reduce the buzz. Even the Euro 5 compromises are actually ok after acclimatising. Mainly I like it because it’s skinny and light which shows up the 890’s weight and width. I ride slower too which, in honesty, is no bad thing and speed was never my thing. It’s old school biking with modern tech (to use my old buddy, Dougie’s, description of his 701 SM. He, by contrast, is getting up to 120 mph (after some tweaks) and 70/80 mph cruise.
We have a “ new” bike here in Europe called Kove rally 450. A friend has just bought one. The quality looks very good and many of the “ extras” you have to shell out for on other brands are already present ( larger footrests for example)The weight is low( ish) quality good 52 hp ( with dif ecu) and the price 6k less than the 690/701 . The times they are a changing…..
Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words ❤
One more point for the Japanese brands! Love rally videos though.
Taking out the “japanese bike” card is not relevant anymore I am afraid, maybe it was in the early 2000s.
I’ll be honest, at least for a European Rally, I would not want to ride a japanese dirt bike. Good luck finding any part for it in the paddock… I guess it would be “one point for an actual enduro bike”, with that I would agree a bit more :)
The Japanese bikes in the same category as the 701 are slow tractors nobody wants to ride let alone race!
Well done. It is always the people you meet on these events that make it memorable. As you said, there is always next year. I enjoy your vids, keep them coming. The heat can be a real killer, I know this well from living in Australia
Dude, yeah… Heat can be a real b**ch… I’m glad you like the videos though, thank you!
I clicked on this video because I'm interested in a 701, but my attention soon derailed to figure out what the Babushka behind you was up to....
Haha she kept me busy for half hour before I could start filming… I never realised she was still there in the back till I got back home and looked at the footage :))
How much did you pay for 1h of her time?
@@hardendurorider not sure she wants her rates to be public
I was also wondering what is she doing - and than I realized she is picking washers, nuts and bolts from the gravel.
Wow, that's a hell of a video edit and really nice way to tell the story.
Sad you did not have the joy to finish the dinaric, but you will next time around!
If you'd like to enjoy some POV of the other riding days, feel free to head to my channel ;)
Wow. Well done Video. Just stumbled across it via a friend. subscribed!
Thanks!
I wanted to buy a KTM 790 adv, so I joined a kTM FB group, and after seeing all the nightmares the owners go through, like yourself, made me change my mind and instead got an Indian FTR.
Sadly, KTM/GasGas/Husqvarna makes great performing bikes that won't last longer than a Chinese one...
I mean, look… When it comes to dirt bikes, I would respectfully disagree… But also, as I said in other videos… without going into dirt bikes, I can’t think of any other dual sport that could tackle a rally like this… Like properly, not just casually riding it. But dude, I hope you like your FTR!
my KTM 525 is still going very well at 21 years old thanks!
The kove 450 looks very good,a friend of mine just bought one.
Damn... I own a 701. Had the head gasket replaced after 8000 kms. Also had an empty radiator.
Previous owner changed piston rings to combat oil consumption. Allegedly, he didn't tighten the bolts correctly. At least that is what the workshop told me. Hasn't exactly increased my confidence in the bike. But damn it is fun!
Husqvarna: Easy to love, hard to trust.
Well put… But yeah, that’s the risk of buying second hand bikes… Wasn’t the case with mine, but I can see how previous owners can ruin it for the new ones
great video m80
Thanks!
These bikes run hot hey.
👍👍👍
You just got unlucky man! don't think a dedicated "race bike" or dual sport is the reason. I ride my adv r pretty hard and no probs. Modern single cilinders are just more delicte + have more vibrations to rattle bolts loose... . Same could've happened with an enduro or rally bike!
I did get unlucky, that's true... But also proper dirt bikes are sturdier in their construction, and easier to work on at the same time. There are differences, and I notice them since I own both types of bikes.
Did the Honda CRF300L finish? Just curious.
Kind of. The rider didn't finish all days, but the bike was fine and did get to the finish line on the last day. That being said, it was ridden way softer than I or other people would have.
Husqvarna 701 $17000 vs husqvarna 450 rally $55000. You can expect husqvarna to be able to make a bike that can be raced in enduro at 5 years old and not have issues and still make it affordable. I doubt any manufacturer can do that
Interesting! Trying to learn about my 701 to make a long range Marocco rally. So is it simply your bike did run too hot? I notice doing a bit of clutch work makes it easily run the fan, but otherwise not hot with stock air box and wings exhaust. What went wrong? Which year Model? Did you tune the suspension to make it less tiring but still capable? Which tripmaster with remote did you use? Is the radiator basically fragile, or your friend was unlucky? I personally moved from 501 to 701 because doing long distances on a 501 eats up a lot of engine potential, and I am also fed up building/unbuilding between rally/enduro setups.
So... I think my water pump gasket broke for some reason, that's what started the chain of issues in my case. It's a 2017 model. Regarding suspension, no, it's the standard 4CS fork that was recently serviced before the rally. it did ok. For trip masterts, I used an ICO MAX G and a MAX 2. In the case of my friend, it was a stress fracture from factory... I think he was just unlucky with it.
@@KRANKiT oh many thanks for those answers
this is why honda needs to bring back the XR650R. make it fuel injected and add a 6th gear (this is not even necessary honestly)
That would be awesome and why not! Dual Sports are popular, a new XR650R would be great! It will sell for sure!
I’m not sure in this day and age doing something like that is possible any longer… But who knows
@@KRANKiT if kawasaki could do it with the KLR650 honda can do it.
@@luisquiroga8554 well, kind of ... but not fully. The KLR is not sold in Europe for example, where I’m from. I guess because of emissions, but I don’t know really.
I'm not sure about that. I have one. Mine's got a Rekluse clutch, superb suspension, perfect jetting and exhaust, it starts easily, and it's stone reliable. But it's got way more power than I need in the dirt (even in the desert), and it's a real drag on the highway (noise and vibration). If you're thinking about buying one, be sure and take it for a long ride, first.
Loctite?
you could have bought a Sherco
Honda Monkey or go home
Ktm tends to do that…
KTM group has lots of problems with electronicx
Ktm group bikes suck where reliability come in!
For any technical stuff 701 is too heavy, also with compression ratio of over 13 : 1 - the reliability is suffering , and everyone who bought 701 is complaining that it is running too hot.
Why not Husqvarna 501 ? Smaller the bike you'll enjoy it more and therefore be faster .....
I mean... Without spoiling any future plans, all I'm gonna say... you're not wrong :)
Way too funny, and we feel your pain brother... that is/was a nice 701.
The 450xcw is 10 yrs old now and really... my favorite bike ever, doubt you will regret the swap, modern day xr650r. Paired with a used 2 stroke, can be cheaper than 1 new bike.