2023 Husqvarna Norden 901 Expedition ReviewA Step Up?

2023 Husqvarna Norden 901 Expedition ReviewA Step Up? this is the Husqvarna Northern 901 Expedition and is basically a fancy extra spec version of the standard Northern 901 that we already reviewed on our Channel and absolutely loved so is this new Expedition version an improvement or is the original still the best well in this video we’ll go through some of my favorite things about it and

then at the end I’ll give you my verdict foreign but before we get started I just want to say a massive thanks to insta360 for supporting the channel and sponsoring this video all the writing footage in this video is shot with these the X3 360 camera and I absolutely love using these to capture my rides you’ve got a super wide lens on either side and it stitches them 

together to get a full 360 field of view and then after you ride you can download the footage into the smartphone app or the desktop editing software and reframe it and move it around and resize it so there’s not really as much of a worry about getting the framing right when you’re actually out riding

plus with this awesome super robust Mount that comes as part of their motorcycle accessory kit the world’s your oyster in terms of where you want to put it on the bike and you can get some really creative viewpoints genuinely this is the most fun way that I’ve found to make videos when I’m out on the bike and it’s super simple to use so is the app in fact anybody can do it so if you like the lookof

it check out the link down in the description and that link will also give you a free gift with every X3 purchase specifically for my viewers so once again a massive thanks to insta360 for their support now most of the fundamentals of this bike are shared with the standard Norden and that’s certainly a good thing when it comes to the engine this is the lc8c parallel twin that you’ll also find in the KTM 890 lineup with KTM being a sister company to Husqvarna and most the bikes share common 

components this for me is one of the best most Lively most fun parallel twins on the market and it makes 105 horsepower Peak and about 100 newton meters of peak torque I think the thing that’s really good about it though is they’ve given it a super Snappy throttle response which means it’s

always entertaining when you’re out on the road I’ve been mainly riding it in the standard Street mode and when you’re accelerating through second and third it’s got the front end skipping around if you give it a good Twist of the throttle banging through the quick shifter it is a lot of fun it’s also got quite a nice sound to it this bike it’s not particularly loud but it does have a nice rasp at the exhaust

and a little bit of burbling and popping and also it’s a relatively distinctive sound for a parallel twin because of the 75 degree space in between the cylinders which helps to mimic the larger KTM V twins foreign is also almost identical to the standard Northern 901 so you’ve got the same frame and swing arm the same off-road buyer spoked 21 inch front wheel and they’re 18 at the rear you’ve got Pirelli scorpion rally Str tires as 

2023 Husqvarna Norden 901 Expedition Review: A Step Up?

standard and also their own branded braking setup that’s actually made by J1 but it’s pretty decent and you’ve got a pair of four part radially mounted brakes up at the front there but the big change probably the headline change for this Expedition version is this significant upgrade to the suspension

so whereas the standard bike gets this perfectly good WP Apex Falcon shock genuinely good stuff is ktm’s own in-house brand you know this bike gets WP explore which is the same suspension effectively as the very aggressively off-road Focus KTM 890 Adventure R so not only do you get more travel at both the front and rear and of course that gives you a little bit more ground clearance as

well but the fork is also chunkier so it’s a 48 mil Fork as opposed to the 43 on the standard bike and I think there’s a little bit more adjustability so on the shock for example you’ve got high and low speed compression damping adjustment clearly if you’re genuinely going to take your Northern off-road then this one has a fair bit more capability in 

that regard now naturally there’s a bit of a trade-off though and that’s that this bike is super tall it sits at 875 in the low seat setting and 895 in the high seat setting and there isn’t a lowering kit in the accessories catalog I think that’s gonna immediately rule it out for some people and I totally

understand that especially if you want to load it up with luggage and a passenger I’m about five foot nine and I can pretty much get both tiptoes down in the low seat setting but really if you want to plant it you’ve got to get over to one side and get a foot properly down but I will say on the Comfort

front I’ve put it as one of my favorite things because once I’m on it and once I’m moving it really does feel very natural to me the rider triangles to the relationship between the bars the seat and the pegs just feels super sustainable for decent distances it’s very upright but yeah every ride I’ve done I’ve found it very very comfortable and also it makes for a very easy transition between seated and standing also when it comes to comfort 

you’ll be glad to know that on this Expedition version the heated grips and the heated seat come as standard and it’s really nicely integrated into the switch gear and dash obviously if you’re touring in colder climates or if you’re doing those winter commutes then that’s a massive asset and I’d say the

only slight shame is that you don’t get the passenger seat heated as standard as well that’s something you get on the tiger 900 for example at a relatively similar price point and I’ve actually got it on my tiger 800 xca although I will admit when it’s actually that cold no one really wants to come out for a ride on the back so it doesn’t really get used that often and perhaps husky I’ve got this one

right now down here another nice extra as standard on the Expedition version is this bash guard nice and thick I think it says it’s four mil thick aluminum and it’ll give you plenty of protection so firstly from debris from the front wheel at the front here it also extends right under the bottom to give you a little bit of like rock protection if you’re riding off-

road but also it wraps up around this big fuel tank that hangs low either side that helps to keep the center of gravity quite low on this bike which does help with the handling but the downside is if you drop it of course it’s a little bit vulnerable but this is going to do an excellent job of keeping it nice

and safe and of course if you’re out on Trails you really don’t want to puncture your fuel tank so this is a very nice accessory indeed now we’ve also got the center standard standard as well I don’t think I need to say too much about this one but of course extremely valuable for repairing the bike if you’re

in a remote location and then at the back here we’ve got this rather snazzy looking soft luggage that’s rack mounted and again this is standard fit on the Expedition now it’s not huge at 18 liters

each side and I will say it bounces around quite a bit even on the road if you hit speed bumps or you know potholes and things like that you do hear it wobbling around but I think given that it comes with the bike anyway I’ll gladly take it it’s not a 

substitute for full three-piece luggage if you do want to go proper touring there’s the touratek accessories in the Husqvarna catalog if you do want to spec it out with proper hard luggage but look for short trips to keep a chain change of clothes in or to keep your waterproofs in or that kind of thing I think it’s a nice little extra to have thrown in and they do look quite smart they sort of complete the

look and if you don’t ride over winter they can always double as a Christmas stocking now also thrown in you’ve got this more touring Focus windscreen which I’ve got to admit I probably wasn’t expecting that much from I mean it’s not particularly big and also it’s not adjustable either so it’s

fixed in terms of height but actually it does a pretty good job of keeping you protected from the wind at sort of 70 mile per hour cruising speeds and this little vent in the middle there designed to reduce buffer in certainly seems to do its job I’d also say the width of the Bodywork down here and also the width of the tank down low does a really good 

job of keeping your lower body out of the wind as well and I think also the screen and the luggage and that sort of thing really contribute to the looks it gives it that exploration kind of vibe that go anywhere sort of look and I think it is a really excellent looking motorcycle it’s been a real

conversation starter when I’ve been out and about also on the Expedition version you specifically get this new Geographic treatment on the Bodywork there gives it a little bit of a lift versus The Standard Version I also think the blue works very nicely as well and overall I think this might be the best

looking adventure bike currently on the market but let me know what you think down in the comments below and I will say that attention to detail and the sort of scandi design flare extends to the software as well I really like the way that the dash is laid out and designed and it’s actually quite

fun and intuitive to use there are plenty of settings plenty of writing modes to choose from you’ve got the custom Explorer Rider mode as well which allows you to dial in all your favorite settings you’ve got connectivity features available 

as well if you so wish but for me it’s never felt overwhelming or confusing I really like the way that they use little Graphics of the bike to help you understand which setting you’re currently changing and like I say it just feels a little bit more light-hearted to use than just a big long list of text so it’s looking like a bit of a no-brainer isn’t it this Expedition version the standard bike comes in at 12699

whereas this comes in at 13 599 so that’s a 900 quid difference and admittedly you know 13 and a half Grand is a lot of money for a motorcycle you’re getting towards you know beyond actually Africa twin money but you gotta say you’re getting a great motorcycle with a lot of extra spec and features

and accessories for your money in fact I actually went on the configurator for the standard bike and I specked it up with as many similar items as possible so the center stand the heated grips the heated seat the luggage the GPS bracket the skid plate a windscreen deflector and the Explorer software pack and it was actually getting on 

for close to 15 grand and that’s without the big significant upgrade on this bike which is that WP explore suspension that alone is probably worth you know hundreds if not thousands but the thing is

I’m not actually sure that this is the one that everybody should go for the big challenge is the seat height 875 mil in the low seat setting is going to be too much for a lot of people and having had this for the last couple of weeks or so I have found it a little bit weary in to be constantly trying to

balance and especially when you’re trying to move it around I did some photo toes the other night on a bit of an incline and it was just a little bit of an inconvenience also out on the road this bike does sit

tall I’ve maxed out the damping on the fork because otherwise it pitches around quite a lot and so I think most riders need to be very honest with themselves about what sort of riding they’re actually going to be doing if you genuinely want to do some pretty 

serious off-roading on an ordin and if you’re comfortable with a pretty tall bike then I think given the value for money and all those little extras you get for that 900 quid on top it really does look like a

very compelling purchase but if you’re mainly doing Road riding and you just like the sort of Adventure stance and the looks of it and maybe the way it feels in terms of the riding experience and the upright ergonomics perhaps the way that the standard Norden sits a little bit lower from a

practical perspective but also the way that that affects the riding Dynamics might mean that it’s actually a better purchase as always though I’d love to know down in the comments which one you