2023 Husqvarna Norden 901 Expedition First Ride Review

[MotoNews]

Published in: Bikes

Anything, Everywhere, All in One

There’s nothing quite like standing at the shoreline of South Africa’s Western Cape to make you feel humbled. Walls of earth shoot up out of the water, reaching straight into the sky. Clouds claw their way across the ragged tip of the ridgeline only to melt away in the wind barreling across the water straight into the mountain fortress. The shoreline is so rugged that it carves the weather itself—sunny on one side, windy and overcast just around the corner. I strained my eyes across the icy Atlantic mist toward where only days earlier we had been parked at the top of Hanskop Mountain, taking in a crystal-clear 4,000-foot view of the False Bay coastline below, the unmistakable profile of Table Mountain, nearly 50 miles away, even visible in the distance.

In that moment, such a vast world was spread out before us, yet everything within that dizzying view was hardly a blip on the map. It was a deliciously mind-boggling perspective, underpinned by the realization that I was so far from home that it was technically beneath me.

I often wonder if I’m the only one who travels the world solely for the thrill of these overwhelming moments of realization. So much is calling you to explore, where do you begin to answer? It’s the exact picture Husqvarna Motorcycles set out to paint and the question they challenge you to answer with the Norden 901 Expedition.

Nuts, Bolts and Whiz-Bangs

 The newest variant of the existing Norden 901, the Expedition, is the model we all knew was coming—the Husky equivalent of its sister brand, KTM’s 890 Adventure R—with the same frame, suspension, and engine platform. The Norden 901 Expedition becomes the flagship offering in Husqvarna’s adventure lineup, the largest displacement in its most sophisticated form, and yes, it has the premium price tag to go with it.

What are you getting for that premium price? At a glance, the visual distinctions begin with the bodywork and fairing in Husqvarna blue. The rider cockpit sits behind a generous touring windscreen with a GPS bracket and connectivity unit on the dash. A center stand is standard, as is a full-coverage 4mm heavy-duty aluminum skid plate, a side bag carrier set, and waterproof roll-top soft bags. The Expedition also carries the luxury (or necessity, depending on where you’re headed) of heated grips and a heated seat.

The chromoly steel trellis frame utilizing the LC8c 105-horsepower engine as a stressed member is identical to the Norden 901, but unique to the Expedition is the up-spec suspension—the 48mm WP Xplor fork is a beefier option than the Apex 43mm fork of the standard model, providing increased rigidity, better bottoming resistance, and longer travel going from 8.6 to 9.4 inches. The Xplor fork also offers more on-the-fly tunability, with compression, rebound, and spring preload, all adjustable at the fork caps without tools. The Xplor PDS shock is an upgrade from the standard model, with a progressive spring and greater bottoming resistance, also providing 9.4 inches of travel. The beefier suspension is designed to offer a more capable ride in the dirt, appealing to the more aggressive off-road rider.

But unlike its orange counterpart, the Expedition isn’t only about sport performance, it’s about comfort and capability and something that world-renowned explorer and special guest at the South African launch, Mike Horn, described as being prepared for the unknown. “When you go on an expedition, it’s not always going to go according to plan,” says Horn. “It’s about being away from civilization and exploring nature, and this is the perfect bike to do it on.”

Not one to call a shot without taking it, Horn teamed up with five-time Dakar Rally Champion Cyril Despres to trek across Mongolia aboard Norden 901 Expeditions. “Wherever we go, we have to move ahead. If there’s a cliff, we’ll find a way of getting the bikes down it,” said Horn. You can witness the duo doing exactly that in the Exploring Mongolia travel documentary on the Husqvarna Motorcycles YouTube channel. The video seeks to showcase the indomitable spirit of the Expedition and its comfort as a survival tool—the more comfortable you are in your journey, the less exhausted you’ll be when it comes time to ford a river or scale a cliff. Or, of course, perhaps you simply enjoy being comfortable. Both are valid points.

https://youtu.be/M3iOHRozZGM

The 889cc parallel-twin engine—a known entity in the ADV space—is paired with a six-axis IMU, RBW throttle, and proprietary electronics suite to offer multiple ride modes, engine modes, ABS modes, traction control modes, with the five-inch TFT dash of the 901 Expedition displaying every whiz-bang you could ask for. With cruise control, a quickshifter, and a blinking shift display (if you appreciate that kind of assistance), the Expedition offers as much or as little electronic assistance to back you up. The prefix ride modes of Street, Rain, and Offroad also have an Explorer mode, a blank canvas for you to preset your own preferences.

A six-speed transmission with a power assist slipper clutch, LED lights, fog lamps, handguards, and steering damper all add to the polished finish that a premium ADV machine should offer. If it still isn’t quite enough for you, Husqvarna has a catalog of technical accessories that can further enhance or modify your ride.

The main point to take away from the list of bits and bobs is not necessarily that more is better but that more versatility is better. That’s what most of the sophisticated components on the Expedition offer, particularly the impressive electronics package, the potential to transform into any kind of weapon you’re looking for—the trail smasher, the gravel glider, the canyon carver, or the grocery getter.

The Ride

 During our two days of riding in South Africa, we did our best to scratch the surface of the Norden 901 Expedition’s capabilities in myriad riding conditions.

Power is the first thing you’ll notice on the Husqvarna Norden 901 Expedition. The 889cc parallel-twin engine produces gobs of smooth torque, but not in an intimidating arm-yanking way. The progressive throttle feel is light and responsive, pouring on smooth power seemingly everywhere in the RPM range. With a ride ranging from technical sandy sections and rocky, rutted climbs to high-speed dirt roads and twisting highways, we had a chance to challenge the Expedition in many different settings.

The way the Expedition puts down power in everything from winding highway to loose off-road sections is exceptional. Engine modes, traction control, ride modes, and all the whiz-bangery, can further help tailor the power output, But quite honestly, I left the Expedition in Offroad mode partway through the first morning and never changed it. For the purists, these complex electronic aides may seem superfluous, and it’s fair to think, “I’ve gotten this far without them, why would I need that?” Well, it’s important to reiterate that these modes are not doing any of it for you. The key that the Austrian brands strive for is intuitive assistance that’s almost entirely non-obtrusive. Things like the lean-angle-sensitive Cornering MTC (Motorcycle Traction Control) being linked to the Offroad ABS setting (a new feature for the ’23 901/890 models) might seem like something you’d never know was missing. But let me paint a quick picture: On a winding paved road, we dipped under a patch of oak trees, and to my surprise, the shadows concealed a sharp left-hand turn, and sand spread across the road (keep in mind we’re on the “wrong” side of the road in South Africa, and sliding out in a lefter could send me into oncoming traffic). On the brakes as gently and firmly as possible, I tipped into the turn and winced. The wheels slipped just a touch, but before I crossed the centerline, the tires regripped and held a solid line through the turn. Did I nail that tricky situation with skill, or did the Cornering MTC and linked ABS give me a hand? Likely the latter, though it was hardly perceptible. That’s the beauty of an effective electronics suite—a barely-there safety net that only kicks in when you need it.

Another appeal of the Norden 901 Expedition’s electronics is that the ride modes do not default back to baseline when the bike is shut off. Several others in our press group experienced some bugs with their electronics defaulting to Street, but my particular bike never skipped a beat. And the production units will likely have the bugs worked out.

One hiccup I did experience, however, which most others did not, was a tendency for the bike to fall out of second gear (mostly when it was running hot) or a reluctance to shift into third under a load. Husqvarna says the fix here could be as simple as a post-break-in quickshifter calibration, which is not unusual. Aside from this occasional quirk, shifting with the six-speed transmission was light and slick. I will also add well-spaced, as I never found myself searching for “half-gears” or more top speed. Our loose interpretation of South African traffic laws saw us reach speeds up to 110 mph. So the 901 shouldn’t run out of steam for most needs.

Suspension action is one of the main talking points with the 901 Expedition, with its WP Xplor 48mm fork up front and WP Xplor PDS shock out back providing the most substantial change from the 901 base model. Wheel travel is bumped up to 9.4 inches at both ends, and the more rigid handling (due to thicker fork tubes), taller ground clearance, and the neutral stand-over position in the rider cockpit come together to give the 901 Expedition that desirable big-dirt-bike feel, rather than a street-bike-in-the-dirt feel. Coming from an off-road/motocross background, I found a lot of confidence in the positive feel of the front end. Steering never felt vague or light in the dirt. Despite the bike’s 473-lb. curb weight, the front end tracked well, remaining planted and never wanting to push through turns.

This speaks not only to the suspension action but to the biggest standout feature of the 901—the chassis. With the underslung fuel tank hanging down both sides of the bike, the 901 (and its 890 counterpart) has an odd dumpling-like shape that doesn’t exactly exude the muscular stature we’re aesthetically drawn to. But know this—any time the Austrian manufacturer produces anything that looks particularly odd, know that they came up with some wild innovation, and you probably want to ride it.

Like a bobo doll, the 901 simply does not want to tip over. And believe me, I tried several times. Getting squirrely on climbs or even getting out of shape in deep sand, it’s as simple as putting your feet out and taking a breath. The stability of the 901 chassis is something you must experience to appreciate. Coupled with the ground-gripping capability from the engine, the 901 offers such a confidence-inspiring ride, I was whipping through off-road double-track on Day Two like it was an enduro. Handling, especially off-road, is excellent, and the low center of gravity allows you to practically skate through the trail, controlling the bike using just your feet. I maintained a pleasantly light touch on the bar as steering stayed easy and precise in a way unbecoming a 470-lb. motorcycle. The 901 will only remind you of its girth when it’s time to haul it up at the bottom of a hill.

This brings me to the subject of the stock tires, which offered a nice, capable 50/50 mix between tarmac and dirt, but when it comes to the off-road sections, and the deep sugar sand we encountered a few too many times, the Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tires faced their limitations. Perhaps a tire pressure adjustment could have helped, but as is the case with a press tour like this, we had limited time to dial things to our preferences. No time to nitpick; we had Africa to explore!

One aspect I would have like to have spent some time tuning out was some high-speed headshake we experienced in the dirt. The steering stabilizer quickly performed its duty, but ideally, this wouldn’t happen at all. Perhaps again, less tire pressure would have been the answer (we were running 35 psi). WP also suggested adding one click more preload on the fork spring to stiffen up the front, which I did. This had the nice effect of making the front end stand a little taller, which became an added bonus off-road that I didn’t know I wanted. It also helped reduce front-end dive under hard braking (a certain element of that is simply bound to happen on a big bike with long-travel suspension), but on Day Two, we encountered the same headshake issue when we came upon a rough patch on a fast dirt road. When we have more time to spend with a Norden 901 Expedition back home, we’ll have a chance to truly dial in settings and sort out what was happening there.

In the spirit of a true Expedition, our two-day outing included an overnight “glamping” experience, only using what we could bring with us on the motorcycles. The Givi roll-top side bags became more than glossy accessories at that point, filled with my socks, skivvies, toothbrush, etc. The roll-top bags provided ample space (15L each) and remained entirely out of the way throughout our ride. But after only our two days of riding, the seams along the upper part of the bags were showing damage. One of the reps noted that they were supposed to be double-stitched but appeared only single-stitched. Well, on a long-travel bike as rowdy as the 901 Expedition, and with the bags in the position to do a lot of banging up and down, they should probably be triple-stitched.

In Conclusion

Throughout our two days in South Africa aboard the Husqvarna Norden 901 Expedition, we were able to find out a lot about this new flagship adventurer. We can verify there is more to know about this all-new 901 than an accessories package. The Expedition is all about versatility, and possibility. It has the power and road-holding ability to be an adventure touring specialist, the off-road prowess to handle the toughest backcountry, and the manners and sophistication to appeal to the urban escapists. Doing it all is the basis of adventure bike appeal, and striking the right balance of all you can do is no easy task. But Husqvarna’s flagship adventure bike has all the potential you could hope for in one machine.

After several hundred miles, we hardly scratched the surface of South Africa. For that matter, Cyril Despres and Mike Horn might feel like they hardly scratched the surface of Mongolia. When so much is calling you to explore, and vast horizons overwhelmingly stretch out before you, the best way to answer is by being prepared. And as Horn describes, from there, you simply find a way to move ahead. Husqvarna’s premium-level midrange master goes all-in on performance, comfort, technology, and protection—a pretty good starting point for endless possibilities. The next step is up to you, twist the throttle and start scratching some surfaces.

PRO: 

• Chassis stability you have to experience to believe 
• Suspension action and adjustability
• Electronics suite—all the farkle you could want
• Enduro-bike feel in the dirt

CONS: 

• Side bags need better construction 
• Minor shifting quirks 
• Premium price tag!

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Jean Turner is a freelance journalist/photographer in the powersports industry. She has been riding and racing motocross and enduro for over 18 years, during which she has worked for publications such as Cycle News, Dirt Rider, and Dirt Bike magazines. Follow her travels and stories on Instagram @kalamity_jean

 

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