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Still loving this channel over yami’s stuff, haven’t gone back since. Thanks for keeping it real SC.

Every KTM comes with a complimentary HOA complaint

If ever there was a time for Honda to come out with a modern, fuel injected XR650...

Love your no BS videos! '23 Husky 701 owner here. Adding a simple Puig screen to the headlight shell takes the wind off the torso which helps a lot with the human sail effect at freeway speed without getting in the way in the dirt. The 690 engine gets positively mental (and sounds great) with a free flowing Yosh R-77 can, O2 sensor eliminator, PC6 with Rottweiler's map and some airbox snorkel trimming, to the point I geared mine up to SMC-R spec at 16/45 from the stock 15/46. The taller gearing lets it cruise easily at 70-75 for extended periods. Per the Gearing Commander site 70 MPH = 4.7K RPM vs. 5.1K with stock gearing, and it is pretty vibration free up to just shy of 80. While the bike is happy to do it, over 80 the grips tingle and the wind is oppressive, so 70-75 is the freeway sweet spot with the revised gearing. Stock it got pretty buzzy once it hit 70. An unexpected benefit of the taller gearing is the quick shifter works much better and the transmission feels a lot less close ratio, pulling gear to gear nicely. Ya, 1st gear is taller which is better on the street and the extra response and off idle chug from proper fueling handles the taller 1st gear fine while off road. I've ridden my fortified 701 on moderately difficult single track with 16/45 and it handled it fine. If a trail is tight and gnarly enough to make the taller 1st gear truly an issue I don't want to be riding a 350 pound bike on it anyway, got a 300 XC for that! Another unexpected benefit of the taller gearing is I find I can hang 2nd gear monos longer and easier 😆 As for the Duc, that is a short stroke higher strung higher revving top end power engine which is great for the SM format, but it likely won't lug and chug like the 690 can (especially after tuning) for off road use. Plus I don't want to deal with Desmo valves. 100% on the tiny dirt bike sourced dash, lack of LEDs (Cyclops headlight to the rescue) and cruise would be nice on the freeway. I'm 200 in gear and find the .72 spring on the rear shock and it's action to be quite good. The forks needed help though as they are under sprung compared to the rear end. I swapped out the stock .59 springs for .65 units and added 7.5 weight Silkolene fluid. This really helped the forks, they no longer dive and pogo over closely spaced bumps, and are firm and good enough now that I don't feel the need to have them revalved for the moderately aggressive dirt riding I do here in Colorado. The thing I have to be wary of is my 701 is good enough that I can start riding it like a dirt bike, but it realy isn't, it is still a 350 pound dual sport. And yes, from a cost/benefit point of view you (and I) made stupid choices buying this bike, but ya can't put a price on fun!

I had a 2020 690R, best bike I ever had. Never ever had a single glitch, I changed to a Comfort seat, added a Polish LED head light, Wings exhaust…. Great bike

as a happy and proud Husq 701 2023 owner - the MAP button does not do ANYTHING with the power, it loosens out the traction control to allow wheelspin and disables rear ABS :)

I’m a moron with one of these (a 2019) and 2,000 miles into a 4,000 mile trip in the US. It has a lowering link that makes my 5’8” work. A stretch but a light bike which helps. It has a Nomad tower which helps to deflect the wind at higher speeds, a Seat Concepts seat (excellent), lower foot pegs, bar risers, tubeless wheels, Wings exhaust, Zumo XT 2 satnav and a variety of dongles and gizmos. 6 or 7 hours of riding each day is doable and the off-road is made possible with my limited experience/skills by the electronics. I’ve dabbed a foot down only on the odd river crossing and slippery mud. It’s excellent. A highly capable bike that makes a highly incapable rider look good!

I have a 690 fully loaded by the previous owner (Basically a rally rep) it is so much fun as you said, but yeah all your comments are completely valid, they need to pour some love into the platform otherwise it will be overtaken, there is a huge amount of oem parts available just a shame you need to put so many on in the beginning just to cover the bits it should have come with

17:07 The short answer is no of course you did not make a mistake. Purchasing a motorcycle is all about the passion that you feel towards a particular motorcycle. Practicality goes out the window because motorcycles for the most part aren’t practical. You buy a motorcycle based on emotion and how it makes you feel. It’s one of the only purchases where that is the correct way to make a purchase lol. I’m on a 2023 Yamaha MT 10. Is it practical? Hell no. Is it what I want and does it make me feel alive every time I ride it? Hell yes, yes it does!! That’s all that matters. 17:18 You said it yourself, “ this thing speaks to me” so there’s your answer. That’s all that matters!

Exactly! Great video. Don't forget that it could also use a Rade garage aux tank and SC comfort XL seat. If they sorted all those issues and re-geared the transmission in an update it would be amazing. It might just be the camera angle but if riding off road get into the habit of not dangling your feet. It's a painful lesson to learn.

My Gas Gas ES700 has a tacho mode on the dash, gear indicator on the dash, and you can get a complete warp-around handguard strut as a low-cost option.

12:00 They make the turn signals that way because in some states (Like here in PA) the signals need to be 14" apart to be technically street legal.

I'm maybe a mix I guess... I am a tech dad but don't live in the pac-nw... and my wife tells me I'm a moron ALL the time. 350lbs WITH FUEL... that's why I have it, weight is king offroad. I have the 701 Enduro version... and I set it up as a "Lightweight ADV" bike (and if you think base is expensive... think "$20k to get it where it needed to be for ADV, not much cheaper than my Multistrada". Then I took it on the TAT (which I spanked in 19 days because that bike ate it up) and a bunch of BDR's. TKC-80's are useless off pavement, and the 690/701 is useless on expressways (weird bit is that I'll cruise at 60+ on dirt roads all day long... but 70 on an expressway is painful). Also... EVERY one of your criticisms... 100% accurate, KTM is fully deserving of their reputation as the "least reliable" bikes in the world. Having said that... I've dirt napped the 701 a bunch of times and the bike came out nearly without damage, so I've been as impressed with their survivability as I've not been impressed with their reliability (that's an important point that folks tend not to mention... I'll put up with all the annoying reliability issues if the bike survives my abuse and I've got 30k of full on stupidity into that bike and it's still ticking).

All they needed to do was revamp the old dash and put a gear indicator. I mean even the crf300 has a comprehensive dash. Who knows what Ducati is going to create but certainly look forward to it.

Love my 690. I've got an 890 Adv R as well, and always prefer the 690 unless a ton of street miles are part of the outing. The 690 is just an absolute blast to ride!

seat concepts has the solution for that seat for only a couple hundo

Forget a 400, Kawasaki needs to build a KLX 600. Thats something I would be pretty keen on. I have bought some stupid motorcycles but none were ever a stupid idea, experiencing all breeds of motorcycles is just alot of fun.

Love your videos doing great. Offroad is hard. Offroad on a "big" bike a harder. I race enduro and the absolute biggest bike I use is a 300cc 2stroke. Offroad, power is not the limiting factor. So a big powerful bike (for me, racing) just means no traction and more energy spent just to balance. When I first started riding offroad this would have been a dream bike, so I get the love for them. Now, I would take a 125 2stroke over this style of bike. Oh final comment... the seats are dirtbike seats so they are not ment to be sat on lol... a good replacement is the wide one from seat concepts... my friend has one and it is nice...

Also, basically you want Honda to bring back the BRP with updated efi, estart, etc. I am there for it.

I spoke to Ducati rep at the uk nec bike show last year and said they needed to make a desert sled replacement using the mono. They just winked at me. The 690 is a nice bike but I couldn’t get on it without oxygen and a Sherpa.

This platform usually has leaking oil from brand new, mostly due to high pressure crank nature of the big thumper. Some will go away on its own, some will require a simple gasket replacement.

On the EU models at least, the mode doesn't change the power, but "only influences the throttle response." (mode 1 balanced, mode 2 direct). Mode 2 - "traction control allows more slip and rise of the front wheel." "the ABS switches to ABS mode Offroad." (from the manual) Mode 2 is where the real fun begins, but still has some smarts to keep us upright. If you're good enough, you can turn TC off. I find mode 2 plenty exciting for me, but leave it in mode 1 on tar, for all the safety nannies.

I wrote on one side "submit" . I'm thinking about writing "enthusiasm". On the other. Just rode it east to west across the country . when you are in the wind all day - sometimes it's a struggle sometimes it's a gift.

Put an IRC HD T20057 tube in the back and give Pirelli MT-21 Rallycross knobbies a shot. They earned my trust while pulling wheelies around around corners in the city, to the point of spinning and drifting it around the corner. Those tire also hooked up great on cobble hills, muck not so much, but I'd be surprised if TKC 80s could keep up. I owned 2016 MY, so I don't know if TC might mess up that equation. TC seems like an excellent addition for this torque monster ... back wheel would happily jump to red line with wet or grimy asphalt. Throw on a 52 tooth ironman sprocket for the lolz.

I don't think you can get them in the US but in Europe we have the AJP PR7 for the same price

Had one of the first 625 SMC beast's. Loved that thing

You do right Spite. I bought an FTR 2 years ago because it is the motorcycle that gives me the strongest riding experience. So emotional!! Best wishes 🤘

The first step to recovery is admitting that you have a problem, I'm so proud of you!

Switched to the husq 701sm and never looked back

Had this bike very briefly. It's a great second bike but it isn't as versatile as a mid size ADV bike if you want 1 for all.

This is what I should have bought instead of a T7.

Check out the BMW G650XCHALLENGE from 2007 and see how it compares.. best bike I've ever owned. The only issue was part availability. I think it blows this out of the water, considering it was from 07.

What are the odds we ride the same random off-road area! Right next to the quarry in cedar park, TX.

My issue with corporations is they always lack vision... This could be hands down the best adventure bike with an offroad bias... They just needed to put some development on it.

I was on my way to buy an XR650 because I wanted to return to the glory days of my 83 XL600. Then I found out it's the only bike by Honda still using a carburetor. I'm a professional mechanic and I've been preaching fuel injection since the early eighties. I'm a real hardhead on that point. This was 2020 and nobody had any bikes. Tenere', KLR nothing to be found. Thinking back I'm glad of it, what a terd the KLR is. Anyways, I end up at the KTM dealer and there sits the 690. I bought it! Great power, nimble, never owned anything with a quick shifter before and I'll never go back. However, it really is like riding a two by four. Seat Concept seat, different version of the same thing. After about 30 miles of street riding my whole groin area would become paralyzed. Couldn't feel a thing down there. Stop to take a pee, I know I've got it, I'm aiming, but zero sensation that it's me I'm holding onto. That my friends is actually dangerous, you are cutting off blood flow and could find yourself passed out or worse. I sold the bike based on that fear and bought the Norden 901. Haven't looked back, the Norden is quite literally the funnest bike I've ever owned and I've had about every make and type there is. 105 hp dirt bike??? Try to keep up.

My 2019 Duke 200 has backlit switch gear. Either the additional weight of the bulbs & wiring was too much, or they decided to save costs to invest it elsewhere instead. It's just a pity they didn't use the money saved to invest in better gaskets to keep the oil where it's supposed to be. But then would it even be a KTM without a warranty issue straight off the showroom floor?

Planning on getting the front dakar looking wind shield thingy?

I have just bought a new one of these, it sits alongside my BMW S1000XR, which I also love, absolutely loving the KTM, totally different kind of fun and hugely entertaining.

'Screens for bikes' makes a good screen for a 690. I refuse to put a tower on mine, the aim of the 690 for me was reduced weight. Compared to my 1290 SAS, it's a feather. Added a rade garage fuel tank, which gets me far enough. Perun rack and outbak panniers, arrow exhaust. Ride it every single day. Commuter, adventure, dirt fun...,does it all.

So when are you going to put a front end ski & snow track on?

I just bought a Kim 500exc-f. Saw one of those and I was deciding between them, but ended up on the 500. First upgrade is I ordered a seat concepts seat to replace the OEM 2x4 that KTM claims is a seat. Yep same price and same dashboard. Getting bark busters! Seat is nice and high! Motor has a unique sound! Jason nbreason I went for the 500 is weight! I got it on the interstate once, will never do that again!

At 12:40 even that MOUSE was checking where the oil was leaking. 😂

Love my 2023 690 SMC R, but why the hell did they put the exhaust on the left side? Only bike in the world this way? Bike falls left most of the time. Pictures suck on that side.

The front end instability made me hate it for serious off-roading. I could never figure out the suspension enough to make the front tire stick. Maybe it has to do with gas tank in the back and me not adapting my riding style enough

4:00 I have the SMC-R version, which has that exact same button. But the map 2 in mine definitely feels like it increases the power

Very true! Such a fun bike. My biggest beef with the 690 is the transmission. Not sure if I will ever get one again in the future. It was a weird bike for me. I loved it off road in the desert it was awesome. I hated it on the hwy. Probably should have invested more money on making it more road worthy. Been riding for many years, and I am getting tired of upgrading motorcycles myself. I agree it is time for some updates for this bike. I wish that motor was in my KLR frame! LOL

I bought mine brand new in 2014, it is an insanely awesome reliable bike with super high end items I run it in the woods, sand, and even have taken it around my MX track that was fun lol it came with led, a really nice computer, fuel gauge, rpm etc, wrap around guards and a bunch of other stuff. I ordered the bike and came straight from mattighofen. Before Ktm started having things made in China

Nice vid. I've got a 2020 KTM 690 Enduro R and it's just awesome. I came from a 2005 Honda XR650L and prior to that a '96 KTM EXC-F 400. All awesome but the 690 Enduro R is next level. ;-)

I doubt Ducati will make the enduro. They designed a more oversquare engine thats built to rev and is much better for supermoto street and track use than enduro use. Doesnt have as much torque down low as the 690. The supermoto is also more consistent with thier brand than an enduro.

Nice review, and kudos for the brutal honesty on your own machine! I do have to wonder why you didn't mention the Honda 450L/RL as potential competition, though? I only ask because you _did_ mention the DR-Z (if only to correctly point out that it's not at all in the same league). The 450RL is the _only_ high-performance Japanese dual-sport on the market right now. Doesn't that make it the closest competition, aside from the new Ducati, despite the gulf in displacement and power? I would think they're at least similar _enough_ that someone might reasonably cross-shop the two...and the Honda certainly addresses a few complaints you made about the KTM: it has great build quality, LED lighting, and shockingly little vibration to name a few. It's also quite a bit lighter. Of course, the KTM gives you around 50% more horsepower...so there's that. You will have to put some mods into the Honda to make it run right, as any review or owner (myself included) will tell you. The MSRP difference gives you plenty of headroom for that, though.

Great review…I’m trading my Crf450l in for 701 enduro this week and feel the same way about it lacking so much for the cost but unfortunately no other choices and I’ve already tried a Tenere 700 which was a pig in comparison. Hopefully the 690/701 platform will be what I want!

Do you have any idea when you'll do a test ride on a 24 KTM 990 Duke?

I was wondering, don't you guys have Yamaha XT660 X and/or R or the Honda XR650L? Honda being air cooled and carbed though. 🤔The XT not having the max power output of the KTM. I think the XT660R has 48 if I recall. BMW has the G 650 X Moto. So guess there are some close ones just not the top peak power the KTM has. The Tuareg 660 or Tenere 700? Those being twins of course. And they aren't super moto's/enduros but I mean with some modding I guess they can be. 😆

Spite knows "lift and separate". I feel eleven years old again. Cross my heart.

I have the SMC-R 2021. A few complaints; I come in hot and the front brake slows me down too much. I come in extremely hot. Same thing happens. 🤷 Leans too far. Wheelies easily coming out of corners 🤷 I the wet. It spins the rear tire before wheeling. 🤷 There's no throttle adjustment. It's either idling or wide open🤷 It is a little twitching over 110 mph. 🤷 I haven't been able to care less about the dash. Trip meter works, that's all I need. 🤷 TC turns off after holding the button 🤷 Those are my issues. Most of them can be "fixed" but I don't know how 😈 🤣

Is that the one that the valve train lasts 10 minutes then explodes?

Don't need wind protection. Wind shields are for wimps. I am a wimp when it comes to a seat though. I need a little wider seat than a dirt bike seat.

It is very funny to see who i would consider veteran riders trying different kinds of riding, (ex: street riders on dirt)

Is it true there is a KTM subscription fee to keep the tires inflated?

I had a couple SMC-Rs, and really wanted this bike, but looking at the old school lighting and dash next to the $13,000 price tag make it a bit tough to swallow. The very high seat height doesn't help matter either. I keep thinking they must be about to update this thing so I don't buy one.

Northwest tech dad here… can confirm, I want an 890 😂

Didn't see this one coming after your SMC-R ownership experience. Such fun bikes though.

Seems they make nice bikes, 1290SAS, but due to reliability issues, I would hesitate to buy as only the crank case, swing arm and frame only are covered but tech, suspension, brakes etc. not covered. Seems a little too risky. Do dealers offer 3rd party warranties with better coverage?

I love mine, I had to put a new seat on because it was painful after twenty minutes and it needs different gears in the transmission but it’s almost perfect With that being said, if Yamaha comes out with something comparable I’ll probably upgrade

I sold my 2020 690 as I am kinda done dirt riding. The bike was fast and fun but one reason I bought it was to be able to do long distances on the way to dirt destinations. The huge problem with that idea ia there is zero wind protection. Basically it is torture to keep up with other bikes that DO have wind protection. The other MASSIVE problem with this bike is how crappy the tires you generally have to run are....if you want to run tires suitable for the dirt it sucks in the street and if you want to run tires suitable for the street it both REALLY sucks in the dirt AND you have crap brakes anyway for the street, Had I kept mine the only remedy I could think of was to run 19 front and 17 rear with 70/30 tires? AND a fairing /windshield. AND a front brke upgrade if possible with a 19 front? But at that point why bother? Just get TWO bikes both better for the exact purpose....If you buy a new one today at msrp plus all the costs? GOOD LUCK ever recouping signifcant portion of purchase price on resale! Placing ad you mostly gets crickets in response....of course that was off season

Pretty sure you’ve got mode 1 and 2 mixed up. Or they are different in your country. Last time I rode a 690 mode 2 had a lot more boogie than mode 1

We morons need to stand together. Love my 690. It has character. I treat her mean and she's still very keen. If you ride with purpose, it's a great ride.

That’s a super cool bike, and in a world where my stable was able to be bigger I’d love one, but $13k is a real spicy price tag. I’m excited for you on it though!

Where’d you hear that klx400 rumor? That would be sick!

I had a 2019 model, It was one the best dual sport bike I ever had, also very reliable

I absolutely lost it when he boinged the blinkers at 12:00

Which are those tires? i would appreciate

I just bought my 690 when you sold your SMCR and I was like one of us made a mistake lol. I don't really even ride that much anymore but I cant justify selling it because it is just such a versatile bike. I bought a '21 in '22 in perfect condition with 1,500 road miles; had the pipe, seat, intake, and some luggage... $13k

The 690/701 is actually a very proven, durable platform. They are very tough and will last 10s of thousands of miles, mine has given me no trouble in 14,000 miles including over 6000 miles of Trans America Trail. The 790/890 series bikes are a different story... In my opinion your complains are pretty nit-picky. I prefer the 701 for its simplicity. It’s a basic motorcycle without all the gizmos. Who the heck looks at a tachometer on a dirt bike??? These are the true unicorn ADV bike. Light weight, powerful, durable, easy to work on. What’s not to love?

glad you got a locking garage now lol.

TKC80s suck lol. Got one on the back now and can't wait to get rid of it. It's slick and chattery on pavement and breaks out unpredictably on dirt. There's no right tire pressure, it either feels like a rock, or like it's flat. I SWEAR by D606's but i really want to try a set of D605's.

You’re so right on all your issues. KTM don’t make this the ADV bike it could be because it would hit the sale of the other (more expensive) bikes. They should look at the Kove 450 and make this the rally bike it should have been.

the real answer is to lean even harder into the dirt side of things and get a 501/500. all the same problems you mentioned but now on a bike thats going to get thrashed so it has the excuse "well youre just going to get aftermarket anyway" 😂

Cycle cruza has a great build on this bike. Looks sick!

Backlit controls, fuel gauge, gear/RPM indicator? Lol. It's a huge enduro, it doesn't need those. Barkbusters are a serious oversight tho. And yeah, for the price... there's a lot of issues that could be addressed. Probably why I bought a used 2017 instead haha. You are spot on regarding competition. If Honda took their old XR650R engine (liquid cooled) and tuned it up a bit - added the CRF300L ignition system and fuel injection. Front wheel ABS. 6th gear. Additional piston ring to let the oil change interval go a bit further... that would be KTM's market share gone. KTM has been shipping these bikes for like 10yrs with crap clutch master cylinders for crying out loud. Dumb stuff like that.

Guess I've reached peak moron by owning 2 KTM. 1290 SDR EVO and 300 EXC TPI.

I had a 2011 the first generation in Australia man what a bike power/handling/light and unbelievabley well balanced BUT l did have fuel pump and filter issues and the odd electrical issues so l did trade it earlier than expected but lm sure there better now also had a great slipper clutch std shit seat though

I had a 690 Enduro from 2015 and it did not work for me!!! Too high and heavy for trails (but fast enduro is great), steering angle way too big and the engine is just okay and wasn't a fun factor in my eyes. The price is way too high, but resale prices are high also = not a big lost in money. A really fun bike, but i dunno if its available in the US, is the Beta ALP 4.0 (till 2023). Only 350cc (good ol' Suzuki engine), low seat hight, but fun as hell, especially with a few modifikations: carburetor and exhaust. Offroad like a Lada Niva: looks oldschool, but gets you everywhere like a tractor.

i put 20K miles on a 690r without major issue & never wound up walking , then 32K miles on a 1090r with the same experience , and now 13500 on a Husqvarna 901 without issue yet , i traded down in size from the 1090r for better off road ability i almost went back to a 690/701 but dont like the feel of a 1cyl bike for the street , it is always a compromise

Why backlit controls when there is just the basic controls? Can't all riders find those by feel?

you NEED a set of sumo rims to swap out so you can take this on track

I love riding mine in the Ozarks of Arkansas. 👍🏻👍🏻

I wish I bought an older 690 instead of the 950 smc, the 950 is soooo heavy and I just am bored of heavy bikes after bikes such as mt09, d675/st756, duke 790.... the 950 smc feels really like an old school muscle bike. the 690 I would like to own is the one with the beak and the double fat pipes.

Spite, if you had to choose between the smc r and enduro as a daily which one would you prefer?

Sadly, there is not a “do it all” motorcycle. Dual sport bikes come close as reflected in the decreasing sales of road bikes, especially larger engine capacity. It’s difficult to predict where the market will be in five years. I guess the most important thing is to buy and rude the motorcycle that works for you and makes you happy. As long as you are out there riding.

I don’t think it’s over priced when you consider how much regular dirt bikes cost and definitely not over priced if you want to compare it to other big singles. I completely agree with you on the dash though. Another thing to note is technically it is competing against twin cylinder adv bikes, but technically isn’t either since vastly different suspension and weight differences between them. Really only comparable in terms of power output.

I hate the fuel tank under the seat what made me hate the v rod. Especially that close to the exhaust.

Please center pan your helmet audio, it's really uncomfortable with headphones having you just on the left. Also Loving the channel, keep it up!

Did your mirrors break off from vibrations yet?:D great bike nevertheless

Had one broke the subframe. Not at all meat for off road. Great on the road though.

hatera will hate sir.... seems to me you bought a bike you like enough that ya already have reasons/excuses why ..... in my mind that fact alone makes it a great purchase.... congrats on gittin the bike!!!! be safe have fun!!!! prayin fer yer continued success and happiness .... from Arkansas

dude, you have to try an old 950 or 990 adventure. stupid fun.

I bought the 690 Duke and it’s much better for the road/highway. I would much rather trust the KTM than anything that Ducati is going to offer! If only Yamaha made a WR700…

Veridian cruise has the answer to your cruise control woes.