had a little bumble down to beach head today on the 701. this is the best bike I’ve owned, I bloody love the thing. went backroads most of the way which were super slippy, especially under the trees so will be hanging up my riding boots for the winter soon as this is a dry weather fun bike only for me. anyway just thought I’d post some pics. if anyone is thinking of getting one of these, do it! it’s a miracle of modern engineering IMO…
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They are brilliant bikes, no need to hang up your riding boots over winter. Just get some tyres they have more grip for the colder/wet roads 
I do miss having a SM, especially now I’ve learnt a nice enough route around where I live that would be perfect for the couple of hours I can ride each couple of months 
to be honest I just can’t be arsed with cleaning it after every ride! haha
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haha I know the feeling mate. I don’t get much riding time nowdays.
even when my tomtom is determined to take me down single track country lanes it’s vaguely fun on a motard. it’s a very different story on a sports bike! I just can’t believe how much power this thing has. I reckon it would easily do 140mph which on what is essentially a dirt bike, is mental!
Oh hey, you post on advrider too 
I think if you have to own just 1 bike, the 701 is it. It’ll do everything.
Have you done any track days on it yet?
I was always tempted to take mine down to lydden hill for a razz…
hey mate. yeah I’m an attention whore lol 
yeah the only problem with the 701 is wind at 70mph+ but my peaked MX lid doesn’t help with that. plus I like to think of it as good exercise for the neck lol. I’ve got a daytona 675 too and for me, they’re the perfect combination of road bikes.
I haven’t taken it to the track yet but am thinking brands indy next year. could be good fun. although I’m not sure about taking a brand new bike on track. seems to be a lot of bell ends on trackdays nowadays so may look for a road bike only day at some point.
definitely gonna take it out to the mountains next year though. maybe ferry to Santander and then head to the Pyrenees. do you have a 701 then I take it? use any luggage on it?
Yeah I have a 16’ SM but it’s been in Enduro setup for about a year:
I’ve gone full Poskitt and got Enduristan soft panniers, roll top bag, tank bag and fender bag. Have used that setup over a couple of weeks (different trips) with offroad and on road stuff, works great. Fully waterproof.
I don’t have any racks or whatever, just the rear grab handles and I strap the panniers to the passenger peg mounts.
On the wind front I’ve got to the point where I can sit up in the wind at 70 with a peak with one hand on the bars, so yeah I think it’s just exercise lol.
Any chance you ride down bethnal green road in the morning? I saw a '17 701 and the same helmet yesterday morning when I was walking to work, cheered me up no end 
oh nice work mate. how’s the power on the soft stuff? must be a bit of a handful?? I had a TE310R for a few years which I loved. only recently sold it and do miss riding dirt so it’s good to know I’ve got the option to do an enduro conversion. will just have to wait until I can bear to get it that muddy haha!
I don’t have the handles or pillion pegs on mine. wonder if the seat is strong enough to keep a kriega pack strapped to it?
I’m south of the water mate. good job too as I’d hate to meet my clone lol. will never commute on mine with the way things are at the mo. don’t want a face full of acid anytime soon lol.
will you put it back to SM trim for the spring? if so we’ll have to hook up for a ride. I’ll need to ride with another 701 or the like so whoever it is can keep up! my mate on his street triple gets left for dust lol
It’s great fun on dirt, way more power than you need on the muddier stuff but awesome on gravel or similar. Back goes all over the place and suddenly you’re doing 60mph 
At this point I’ve spent about £2.5-3k on bits to make it more suitable for longer-range off road travel and it is absolutely fuckin awesome!
It’s a little on the heavy side compared to the TE so a bit more of a handful in tight stuff, but the situations where I’ve felt like a light trail bike would’ve been significantly easier while greenlaning have been very rare. Singletrack or an enduro course would be a different matter obviously.
I’d be a bit wary of strapping a kriega under the seat, if only cos the rear seat lock itself isn’t all that sturdy. There’s a nice perun moto rear rack you can get in white which bolts on where the rear grab handles are and is well camouflaged when not in use. Would be perfect for strapping down a kriega or similar.
I’ve thought about putting it back to SM for a track day or something, but unfortunately I can’t ride until at least May next year (medical issue means I had to give my license back), which sucks. After that… who knows, but if it’s summer time it’ll probably be in dirt mode cos that’s when the lanes are fun
Thanks for all that info mate. Trying to avoid drilling into fairings but they’re cheap at the end of the day so may be worth doing for a trip.
Sorry to hear of your forced sabbatical from riding. Hope you’re not out the saddle too long. Your 701 sounds well sorted so god speed your recovery.
Post up if your recovery is swifter or you have any other 701 news. Or I’ll see you advrider, although that thread is hefty so easy to get lost lol
M
I think the rear fairing is about £35 each side, and they have drill marks on the inside so should be easy to do without getting it wrong
On the riding front, I think I can still get away with offroad stuff, so just need to find somewhere with completely private land where I can ride. I have to be seizure free for at least a year before I can get a license back though so little chance of being able to ride on-road earlier 
I’m pretty tempted to find a CRF250 or 450 frame and build an EV bike out of it - looks like there’s some pretty great options out there right now for motors and controllers, and the battery can be upgraded as tech gets better… might be a nice project while I’m away from riding
Ah well good luck fella. Yeah if you can’t ride the next best thing is spannering I suppose and that sounds like the kind of project that’ll keep you busy for a while!
Good luck with it all mate and god speed your 2 wheeled return!
Cheers Take good care of the 701 and she’ll treat you well when sprint comes round
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