The Husqvarna Norden 901, the brand’s first adventure machine, might seem like a KTM in different rags but it’s a winner in its own right.
You know a bike ticks a lot of boxes when all of the AMCN 2022 Motorcycle of the Year (MOTY) presented by Shannons Insurance judges are unanimous in their admiration for it. In fact, when it comes to the Husqvarna Norden 901 the only whinge I heard from the group was that the yellow stripe on the seat doesn’t line up perfectly with the tank stripe and more so when the adjustable seat was in the high position. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the worst thing I can say about the build quality of the Husky. The polarising looks aside, the fit and finish is excellent and the attention to detail fantastic.
At the Australian launch of the Norden, Husqvarna representatives were at pains to point out that it was an adventure touring machine sitting in between its two orange 890 Adventure cousins. A pretty narrow niche to fill, but by gum it hits the mark. The Norden is the perfect blend of good off-road ability and even better on-road poise. And with an extensive catalogue of aftermarket goodies, as long as you have the cash you can shift the bias from road to dirt.
The seat is wide, well-shaped and very comfortable, the fairing and non-adjustable screen provide excellent wind protection, and there’s cruise control to make long hauls even more comfortable. All this while still remaining an excellent off-road mount.
You might not think of ease of access when working on your bike as a big thing, but for someone who does just that, having a design team in place which takes these parameters into account is soooo refreshing. KTMs have long been known for this, and the Norden follows suit.
The Norden feels like an oversized motard on the blacktop; it’s an absolute blast to punt through a set of corners and will quite literally have you wondering whether you actually need a roadbike at all.
The 889cc parallel-twin engine is a cracker with plenty of low-down grunt but which also loves to rev. It spins up very quickly and it’s a pleasure slamming through the six-speed gearbox with the slick quickshifter.
It’s funny how people seem to think they need a 1000cc-plus adventure bike to be able to do proper touring miles on. But I didn’t see anyone whinging about the KTM 990 Adventure and that made less power and torque than the Norden. What the Norden has on tap is more than adequate for both road and off-road duties, and makes it in such a grin-producing way. Needless to say, the Norden scores high on fun factor.
For fun alone, the Norden represents decent value at $25,050 ride away. But at that price point it is still a smidge more expensive than the Ducati DesertX, and a whole lot more than the CFMoto 800MT Touring, which makes the asking price a little harder to justify.
Having said that, the Norden is arguably a more complete adventure tourer than either of those two and, if you are chasing improved off-road performance, there are plenty of bits in the Husky catalogue you can spend your money on.
TEST: PETE VORST
Over the next several days we will reveal more about the eight MOTY finalists on the AMCN website and eventually announce the winner. If you can’t wait that long to find out which motorcycle has been awarded AMCN’s 2022 Motorcycle of the Year presented by Shannons Insurance, grab a copy of the AMCN Yearbook, which is on sale now at newsagents and select supermarkets.
