64 year old 701 owner who’s tried and owned too many bikes. The 701 has been the best for me so far. I am living with the TKC 80s as they seem to be the best compromise for fast street and off road. Dunlap 606 is if there’s going to be more trail riding. I carry a couple of countershaft sprockets to adjust the gearing which doesn’t take much time. The motor on this bike is absolutely brilliant and is never boring. The bike absolutely needs bar risers and a better seat. A fueling dongle is a good idea, along with the aftermarket tank that replaces the airbox. Having said all of this… I just wanted to comment on your video. It’s really really good and I hope that you continue to make them. You are very talented. Subscribed kid. Keep up the excellent work!

Nobody needs 4 bikes ..... my ex wife said so.

I totally agree with you and all your points about the 701 and adventure bikes having misleading marketing and there being no choice, it's a heavy bike or another heavy bike with different colours. want a lightweight bike that is durable offroad and that I can pick up. As a hard enduro rider myself, coming into the world of adventure bikes my friend and I was not sure what adv to go, I ended up with a T7 for a really great price, and my mate on a brand new KTM 690. Our goal was to turn the bikes into rally bikes. The 690 with a rally faring and rear rack with an extra fuel tank is an amazing bike that goes offroad really well, and the T7 is also great offroad but just way too heavy, it's nearly 50kg heavier when all done up. What the T7 does really well is on-road riding and its fantastic for that, but for me I think I prefer the offroad performance of the KTM 690, it really is a rally, there is no other way to put it. one day I might sell the T7 and get one, but with my budget, the T7 is a fantastic bike just a little heavy when your drop it.

I also own a KTM 690 MY 2022 with a Rade Garage Rallye Tower and some other useful parts on it. It is already my 3rd one after a Husky 701 MY 2017 and a KTM 690 MY 2019. I am 60 years old and ride Moto Cross, Enduro (also Hard Enduro) and on the Street (KTM 1290 Super Duke MY2022). I owned about 40 bikes of different brands in my whole life until now. What I have to say is that the 690 is for sure one of my favorite bikes! Why? Because she can do everything good to very good! 2 weeks ago I was in Bosnia for a 5 days Hard Enduro trip on a Beta 390. After that i tried the same tracks with my 690 and I was surprised by myself how much was possible.I am 100% your opinion that for everyone there is his own best bike. For me and my goals for sure the 690-701-700 is the bike which suits me best! Don´t forget it´s a tool and all depends is what you want to do with it!

I bought the same bike in January. Fitted a rade tower (makes a huge difference!) and my god is it the best bike I have ever ridden or owned! It does everything so well and inspires you to travel light and rough and it's so much more fun. And I came from a 790 Adventure R, which I suppose is the best 200 kilo adv bike. I just don't miss it. At all!

I love my 690. If I can only have one bike, it's always an LC4. It used to be a 640, but now a 690. Twins and 500's can come and go, but the LC4 stays in the fleet.

Beautiful bike! That tower is super cool. I live in Colorado and own a '23 701 with a Yosh can and Rottweiler goodies, which really transform how it runs. The Yosh can sounds burly too. Like you I also ride a 300 XC and own 4 bikes total (Super Tenere, Husaberg FE450, the 701 of course). We are brothers from different mothers it seems! The 690/701 is a bit unusual in that it really is a true "50/50" dual sport, meaning it sucks equally off road or on pavement, or to look at it in a positive way, it is better off road than a far more street oriented adventure bike, and better on pavement than a smaller dual sport like a Honda 300. Most people want their bikes to be biased toward off road or on road. I like the do it all good enough 50/50 nature of the 690 and it's siblings platform. The 50/50 nature of these bikes are their greatest strength or weakness, depending on your point of view. All I know is they have good suspension and lots of power, especially after doing fueling and exhaust mods, and tailor it as desired via tire choice - that works for me. I recently rode my 701 on some relatively gnarly single track that I ride my 300 on and I didn't die and actually had fun, so that is a good sign 😆 Tire choice makes all the difference of course. For me, a less aggressive rear like a Motoz RallZ and a knobbier front like their Desert HT is the ticket. I need the front end to work while riding off road, because chasing a sliding front end all the time on a 350 pound dirt bike in the dirt is not my idea of fun. The rear tire tends to wear out faster than the front as it takes a beating from all that horsepower, so it needs to be more durable. Big thumpers find traction, and I can deal with a spinning rear a lot better than a sliding front. TC on my bike is pretty much permanently switched off so I can spin to win and rip a wheelie at my whim. I added a rim lock to the front wheel, balanced for it using spoke weights, and run 20 PSI, which helps greatly while off road vs. 24 PSI or more. Will eventually do the same on the rear when I get around to it. Did the front first as the front tire is easier to mount/dismount. Enjoy that sweet looking machine!

Ktm500 excf-six days

Awesome!! It looks stunning! Got mine last year (without rally tower) but it is amazing! The perfect can do it all! Enjoy it!!

I love my T7, I have taken it to 95% of the places I took my wr 250r to. One thing my t7 does better than the wr is putting on the miles to find great places to ride and back again in comfort. I could also listen to the sound of that cp2 engine all day long. I may one day get a 701, though.

Excellent video! Sound, editing and photography all good!

Really helped make my decision for me. Great work!

Very professional made with a good sense. I have viewed 1000 vids and kilometers of forums and have now nailed it down to this one or the AJP PR7. For me this bike i a gravel bike and you can take a trail or highway just to connect to the next gravel.

there is a chinese bike rally that entered dakar this year....... actually did pretty well lol. you deserve more subs dude. its good content!

Everyone has different history, strenght, wishes, experiences. So comparing a 701 to let's say a t7 is never an option as everyone will tell you different. In the end if the bike serves your purpose and a smile on your face, that's the bike you need! And if not you sell it and buy another one as it's just a tool :) But for you living in Romania I think the 701 is near perfect. I went for the 890 as I have to doe 2h to just unpaved roads and then 2h back. Can do everything I want with it it's just a pain when it's on it's side haha

This is awesome! I love my new tenere but I agree, it is heavier than I had thought but is super fun. I might go for this eventually. Plus ktm plastics hold up better to crashing and abuse without needing re painted.

I think in part the reason why some more Japanese bikes aren't in this category is because if you squint hard enough they already are. Suzuki has the DR650, Honda the XR650, Kawasaki the KLR650. But they're all old bikes that are pretty unlikely to be updated because they can be grandfathered in and still sell. If the Japanese manufacturers didn't already have bikes in the ~650cc dual sport market they would have a more up to date direct competitor to the 690/701. It's a risk/reward thing with the Japanese these days, and they tend to stick with what works which they already make in favour of taking a risk and developing a new bike

What a landscape! Sadly it is nearly impossible to ride offrode here in Germany. Btw. I´m very happy with my 22 701 Enduro. After 20 Years on 4 Zyl. bikes i hated the single Zylinder. Now i love it, its the best bike i ever had!

This is really a well written and produced video..

Nicely done brakedown, of why you need a 690/701 Enduro! I started with my 1190 Adventure, realised instantly it was far to heavy and tought, well... a few kilos less will do it. Got a 990 Adventure and faced the hard reality on the TET Greece where I luckily had a riding buddy with me to pull out that 990 from a dead end, where you should have went with a mountainbike at best.😂 Like you, I think the 300 Rally from Honda ist just insanly underpowered(yea I've tested one already), so my next bike will probably be a 690/701 Enduro.

I'm also disappointed that Yamaha/honda doesn't produce modern 600cc bikes. The thing is, it turns out that there are (relatively) a few people in the world who need single cylinder adventure (aka dual sport) like 701. It seems that most of the brand new bike buyers are leaning towards 2 cylinder bikes due to better on road performance of these bikes.

I have the 701LR 2020 to replace my GSA1200 ( 2015 ) and I LOVE the 701! Best decision I've ever made. Congrates on the new Husky now go ride it like you stole it!

Commenting for the algorithm, keep it up!

i have a KTM 690 enduro with both a set of off road wheels and a super moto set. and its legal with both! its not competitive for any of them but its so much fun. and on top of it all in the 2012 model you can change injection and ignition maps with a lap top.

I put 10,000 miles on my CRF300L Rally and recently sold it and decided I needed two bikes. A few weeks ago I got the Norden 901 for longer rides. I test rode the Africa Twin, T700, KTM 890 Adventure, and.. well the first two are far too heavy. The KTM was fantastic but the headlight was ugly and the seat was uncomfortable so I ended up on the Norden. Ill be picking up a 701 Enduro next year for more hardcore rides and closer trips. I live an hour minimum from local trails. Some are 8-10 hours away. Some even further than that.... So the Honda just wouldn't be the right bike for me long term. It did everything, it just didn't do them well.

When I bought mine my friends said what made you decide to buy the 701? I save my breath and send them this video….. they understood why 😁

I’m in the exact same boat so my next bike will be either this, 690, PR7 or wait for the Kove 450. Did you look into the Fantic XEF Rally? What are your thoughts?

Lol 4. I got 10 at this point a cocaine addiction would be cheaper.

Great video - thanks. I own a 2023 Honda CRF450RL, which I’ve just turned 9,000 miles on - riding on and off road through the western US. The 450 is a great bike but the service interval is 600-1,000 for oil changes and 1,800 for valves. The 701 is 50lbs more than the 450. In your video, you didn’t mention the 450RL (just the CRF300) - wondering why?

hey man, nice video and i totally agree with you, just bought a KTM 690 enduro and can't wait to test it in the dirt. Are you in romania situated? im also from romania but in germany and here is offroad not legal, pretty poor. We plan a tour to romania, which area is that where you ride in video? greetz

Have you ever tried the AJP PR7 or Kove 450?

As known alternatives: AJP PR7 and used SWM RS650R (discontinued 2018). Both have a version of the iltalian made earlier HVA 630

This is the spiritual successor to my much loved TE610. The only bike I kept for 10yrs. My 610 did it all, none of it perfect, but it did it. The 701 is a little heavier and has a little less travel but with a big bump in power. The best part for me is that it has links in the rear so i can lower it a little bit. I have a 29in inseam so these bikes are a chore in the tight slow stuff. I need to just be better, stand up and ride it through stuff taller people dog walk through. My 610 had suspension work and i was able to hit up the local vet track with it (all jumps are tables no doubles) is the 701 able to do the same? 35 to 45ft table tops if you land right and dont go to flat? Its been 7 yrs since i sold my 610 and i miss having a do it all bike.

ajp pr7 is the only actual competition (has husky motor though also)

Chek the Portuguese made AJP PR7, the engine is the SWM.

Hi buddy. Can you PLEASE share the link to this exact rally screen/tower/fairing?🙏🏻

Nobody needs 4 bikes, maybe.... 5 bikes ?

Last weekend I tool borrowed T7 to some gravel roads and it was a blast till sone sand was on the path. Then it needed to be co stantly guarded from walling to sude. The marketing of T7 as adventure bike is absurd. It's capable offroad of youare very tall and strong. For normal people, T7 it sltoo heavy.

How about the Fantic XEF 450 Rally? Wouldn't that be a "real" Rallybike?

They have no competition because no other manufacturer has a modern one cylinder motor that can compare to the KTM LC4-motor. I also think you lack the latest updates to the motor with your 2017 model.

SWM RS500… put a Cush drive on rear and off ya go.. I would put my SWM against HUSQVARNA 701 any day. Just have a look at the Rally conversions in Italy…

Get a Kove450 - it will make you happy.

what tires are you using?

Great bike, which rally tower is it. Do you know?

Do you mye know where to buy postmarket fuel level gauge for 701

So the KTM 690 R is no competition for a 701?!

Can i scren shot?

wr450f actually

So, why did you say you regretted buying this one?

Kove 450 enters the chat

actually there is an option - AJP PR7

A husky a husky and not a KTM period.

A lie in the first 30 seconds... shame on you.... everyone DOES need atleast 4! The correct amount of bikes is n+1, where n is your current number of bikes.

Drz400 xr450/xr650 yfz250r

But seriously based on your footage. You would love the 890 adv 's' you're way to dismissive of it because of its loudest community.