RideFast July 2020 2

Shame, you poor people just
wanting to get home after a
hard days work now have to
sit in traffic. Not us...
Climbing on was a bit of a
challenge with my standard 5.7
frame, but once on, the magic, as
they say happens. Fun, practical,
do anything you want mode
activated. I soon found myself
climbing off the road corners
where we were talking pics and
onto the dirty stuff. My mind was
buzzing with great ideas and I
soon had Gerrit and Daniella from
Beam Productions standing in all
kinds of weird places snapping
pics of me showing off just
how versatile this “silly offroad”
machine is.
Like a Zombie to human blood,
this thing was attracted to
the “you can’t go there” areas.
Sidewalks and other means to
beat the traffic are no problem
for this bike, and like a naughty
kid doing what he or she is not
supposed to do the 701 Enduro
thrives off the beaten path, but
unlike that naughty child the 701
won’t go too far and land up
getting a hiding.
This particular demo model
from Husqvarna SA came
dressed to impress in a host of
official Husqvarna Powerparts
from the ever-impressive
catalogue - those hints of blue
anodized parts just looks so cool.
Then there was this thing on the
back called a luggage system.
What the hell do I do with that?
I’ve never seen something like
that on a superbike. Apparently,
it’s to help store some items so
that one does not have to lug a
big backpack around. How cool?
I managed to keep my things in
there rather than uncomfortably
filling up my pockets.
Probably the best installment
was the gorgeous looking and
sounding Akro pipe - proper mean
looking compared to standard
one, and gives the enduro a bit
more bite and bark for sure and
got the sportbike kid in me a bit
more excited.
As I said, I was surprised to
see this bike comes stock with
electronics – traction control,
riding modes, and even quickshift
and autoblip – some sportbikes
don’t even come standard with
that. Even better, it all works a
treat. The traction control helps
keep the very excitable 74HP
liquid-cooled 692.7cc one cylinder
motor in check. That might not
sound like a lot of power, but
there is loads of torque from the
second you twist that throttle
and being a lightweight machine
at only 146kg dry you feel every
ounce of that power, so yes,
traction control was activated
more often than not. The only
time I did de-activate it was when
I was trying to be a pro stunt rider
“Rob, bring your riding kit we’ve
got a bike you need to test”. Ok,
see you just now. “Rob, where
are you?” I am nearly at the
track why? “No man, it’s a road
test, we are here in Benoni I’ll
send location.”
I arrived at the location,
climbed out and got ready to kit
up; “Rob, it’s not a track test, it’s a
road test on the new Husqvarna
Enduro 701, remember, last
month you published that you
would test it?” Oh crap, yes,
sorry I forgot.
What the hell? You told me
to bring my riding kit so I did.
Me being the sportbike freak
assumed riding kit means full
blown leathers etc.
Oh well, let’s take a pic of me
looking all silly in my racing gear
with the 701 Enduro before I
head back home and put on my
street riding gear.
To say I wasn’t overly excited is
an understatement. In my mind
there was no way in hell that an
enduro bike like this could possibly
get me excited. But, I am a journo
and I have been told I need to
break my sportsbike only mindset
a bit and try different riding
experiences…. but I just want to
go fast!!!! “Rob, just try it, I promise
you it will surprise you.” so said
Fred Fensham – brand manager
for Husqvarna Motorcycles in SA.
Ok Fred, I’ll give it a go… yawn…
On arrival, I took a quick walk
around the bike. It’s a glorified MX
bike, isn’t it? Wait a minute. This
thing has proper adjustable WP
suspension, and Brembo brakes.
No man – it even has electronics,
and why does it have mirrors,
lights and indicators? How, it’s
just a silly offroad bike…? I quickly
found out that it is so much more
than just a silly offroad bike.
104 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE JULY 2020 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE JULY 2020 105