Husqvarna Norden 901 Expedition (2023 - on) Review

Despite the sales pitch of all adventure bike manufacturers adopting a mantra of being able to travel the world, the general level of slick aero dynamics and wind protection compromises the majority of adventure bikes. The very nature of being big and tall with large frontal areas and stalk like mirrors makes them inherently un-aerodynamic, which is ironic given their billing as globe busters.

Husqvarna have clearly worked hard to improve this – no doubt spurred on by the criticism of the KTM 890 Adventure and KTM 790 Adventure, which both suffered with wind buffeting issues. So now up front there is an all new screen, which is wider and taller and gives greatly improved rider comfort without compromising visibility. The final part of the top of the screen is vertical with the wind being deflected to the top of the rider helmet.

There is also a significant slit in the screen just over half way up which is designed to even out pressure and turbulence. The results are definitely positive with enough protection to keep the wind off your head, without turbulence, and also high enough to keep the wind off your chest when riding fast stood up off road.

Using a steel chassis with the engine as a stressed member it not only reduces weight (the engine weighs 54kg including clutch and throttle bodies) but also physical size. With a wealth of competition experience from Dakar through to MotoGP using steel chassis rather than aluminium, Husqvarna/KTM have the knowhow to give a frame the right amount of rigidity and flex. This combined with the upgraded suspension gives a high level of compliance both on and off-road.

The 48mm WP XPLOR USD forks replace the 43mm Apex units on the standard Norden and enable compression, rebound and preload adjustability. At the rear of the bike is a WP XPLOR PDS (progressive damping system) shock which has rebound and preload adjustment as well as high and low speed compression damping.

In standard settings it behaved well on the road, inspiring confidence when either hard on the brakes and turning in, to driving out of a corner. There was a significant amount of dive from the front when hitting the brakes but good support further in the stroke of the fork to give stability through the corner.

While the main roads in South Africa are fast, flowing and incredibly well surfaced, the majority of smaller roads are unmade. But many of them are still wide and in good condition meaning that you can easily travel at 70mph on them safely.

On the first day of testing we rode long stretches of these and because of the amount of dust being kicked up by the rider in front it meant you sometimes hit uneven patches and pot holes. This led to a few unnerving head shakes especially if you were off throttle. On day two we added two clicks of compression damping and one click of rebound to give the forks some additional support which essentially eliminated the problem.

Brakes are from Spanish manufacturer J.Juan who are part of the Brembo group. Up front there’s two 4-piston radially mounted callipers grabbing two 320mm discs and the  rear has a single two piston floating calliper and a 260mm diameter disc.

Off-road the front brake worked well with lots of feel meaning only one finger pressure was necessary. The rear also had plenty of feel meaning it was easy to apply brake pressure without locking the rear – something that isn’t always that easy wearing bulky off-road boots. On road the rear maintained the same controllable feel but the front did feel a little wooden under harder braking.

The Norden is fitted with a Bosch 9.1 IMU which gives it lean-sensitive ABS when ridden in ‘Street’ mode but this is disabled in the off-road riding modes.

At the heart of the 901 is the proven 889cc parallel twin, LC8 motor – the same engine used in Husqvarna’s parent company’s KTM 890 Adventure. It’s a powerful, lightweight and exciting engine with an impressive spread of torque and power throughout the rev range.

Its 105bhp and 73.7 lb.ft of torque is easy to access and while the throttle connection is accurate right from the bottom, it delivers and impressive level of urgency as the rpm rises. With two balancer shafts vibrations are minimal and while it doesn’t sound much on tick over - and in fact rattly on first start-up as the oil starts to circulate - when the revs rise it sounds progressively better with a satisfying bark at anything over 5,000rpm.

The six speed gear box and torquey motor mean you can ride in any one of two or even three gears at any time off road. It will happily chug along at low rpm, but is just as effective and a lot of fun buzzing along at higher revs where you really feel you have the power in your hand.

Working in harmony with the motor is the Bosch engine management system, which now offers four rider modes – Street, Rain, Off-road and Explorer - all with different characters and levels of rider aids.

Like any manufacturer, Husqvarna are not without their faults but this is clearly a premium offering and the design, finish and build quality are high. The new paint work and graphics stood up well to a demanding two day launch in what were harsh African conditions. During the two days we covered approximately 400 miles with around 70% of them being off-road.

Although this is obviously a short-term test, there were 26 bikes in our group and 26 in the previous group. So 52 bikes all covering 400 miles means there was a total of 20,800 miles covered over four days of riding with no mechanical issues other than off-road crash damage. The interval between services is 15,000km.

Priced at £13,599 the Norden 901 Expedition is a lot of bike for the money in terms of technical specification and level of equipment. It’s £550 more expensive than a base model Honda Africa Twin but cheaper than a KTM 890 Adventure R and over £1200 cheaper than a Ducati DesertX which is impressive given the overall spec.

In fact, it’s so competitively priced compared to the standard Norden that the base model could become a hard bike to sell. Yes its £900 more but for that you get higher spec suspension, heated grips and seat, additional electronics mode, luggage and much improved screen.

Given the overall spec of the bike in terms of engine, power and torque figures along with the added benefit of creature comforts, the Norden 901 Expedition is aiming high. Calling their bike the ‘Expedition’ and having heated grips and seat as standard says a lot about the type of rider Husqvarna are trying to attract, they want real world riders who want to put in the miles whilst having the confidence to stray further off the beaten track.

The only element that let the bike down was the pannier system. First of all, the two 18 litre soft panniers are wide on the bike because they are attached to a metal frame. Secondly they moved and jumped around a lot when riding off-road. And thirdly, by the end of day one they had begun to split at the seems.

The Husqvarna staff were accepting of the issue, acknowledged the problem so expect a revised and improved bag and system by the time the bike arrives in showrooms around the world.