I travelled with the 701 from Germany to Nepal. I am currently returning via Central Asia. Today I arrived in Uzbekistan.
I saved the R/G rally tower and mounted a windshield.
With the 1100€ I can easily travel a month longer.
But I drive with earplugs.

The seat is the original one. I got used to it after a few weeks.
I haven't had the problem with the side stand switch and the clutch cylinder.
Sometimes it overheats. When I get back, I'll install another fan.
It has now done 43,000 km and has almost no oil consumption.
Yesterday I changed the front wheel bearings. That's it for repairs.
I shortened the side stand by 1 cm because of the luggage.
The suspension is brilliant. It's great fun.  I also rode the Tenere 700. They are worlds apart. The same goes for the engines. The Tenere is really boring compared to the 701.
But I'm also a rather sporty, aggressive rider. I often have to make spontaneous turns. That happens off-road too. That is difficult for me sometimes. I wonder how it would work with a fully loaded Tenere. Also picking up in sand and inclines.
I have installed the R/G auxiliary tank. I can easily go 400km. I've already done 500km.
What bothers me is the rear tank. I have to take off the top bag every time.
The engine knocks quickly with bad fuel.
Also, the Euro5 mapping is really bad. I solved it with a Fueldongle. But I will install a different mapping when I get back. Then maybe the problem with overheating will be solved.
I will also install a sport exhaust. It's 2kg lighter and doesn't get so extremely hot.
The Engineoil is unfortunately quite expensive abroad and not always available. But the Tenere will also have this problem I think.

This is my personal experience with the 701 and the Tenere.
So, please don't tear me apart now!  The Tenere is more for cruising and enjoying. The Husky is for action.
Again -> just my opinion!

The 701 also has cornering ABS,  traction control and a quick- shifter which the Tenere doesn't have.

The latter is really fun when you're shredding passes.

But the traction control is a bit sluggish on the road. I'm quicker with the throttle.

Edit: ⬇️

I'm back in Germany after 55595km.
Since 1000km it starts badly when cold. Must be a sensor.
I'll report what it was when I've sorted out the fault.

Btw i love my tenere. Best bike i ever had.

I just returned from the US riding a KTM 690 Enduro on a mix of highways, back roads, trails (gravel, loose rocks, wet grass) and loved it. We did 550 miles over 2 days and 8 hours each day. It’s light and manageable. I found 60mph/100kph to be smooth and relaxed. The suspension is excellent. It’s firm and doesn’t wallow. I found the factory settings perfect on and off road. The brakes look potentially a little weak but seemed to be perfect for this bike. Low weight is the key but especially the low centre of gravity. I could trickle along at less than walking pace. The fuel economy is staggering at 62 mpg (US) / 75 mpg (UK). With a Rade Garage auxiliary fuel tank close to 300 miles is feasible. The traction control is excellent and kept me on the trails in an unobtrusive way. The Tenere for me is too tall and top heavy as is the Africa Twin, Ducati Multi Strada and several more. Next year we do a 3,000 mile ride on the TAT but this shakedown ride put me at ease. Even looking at a potential swap of my 890 Adventure for a Husky 701.

'23 701 owner here.  Remove and store the kickstand/magnet sensor (securely wrapped and zip tied) and rear abs sensor (to disable ABS and TC full time) under the seat, 2  problems solved for free 😂

I compared those 2 bikes before buying for months and figured the price difference i could buy more goodies for T7 and make it how i wanted. Before even rolling the 701 out the door.  And was right. It rocks

I sold my T7 and bought a 701. I couldn't pick up the T7 if I dropped it and I can pick up the 701. 50kg makes a lot of difference off road. The T7 is a better road bike the 701 is far better off road. Added a ride garage aux tank and I now have 19l of fuel and a 350km range. Best decision I ever made on a bike.

The gas cap evaluation was critical to the comparison.

I have almost 20,000 miles on my 2016 KTM 690R. Bought it new. Never had any issues with it. I have several bikes and so miles creep up slowly on this one.

Take side stand sensor off , tape a white board magnet to it and put  it under seat .

Miss yor content Damo, glad you're back with the awesome individual reviews

The 701 crushes the T7, 890, 901s etc when the going gets tough and technical or you need to be able to change lines quickly and at pace. I have ridden all these bikes in a variety of conditions and while the bigger bikes are super nice for eating big miles on a range of road types and some good double or single track, the 701 will leave them in the dust when the terrain shifts. Yes it is all about the rider too...and an expert on a 901 can match pace almost with a advanced rider on a 701...BUT...for the average competant rider, the lighter weight is real and it makes a huge difference in confidence and real world ability to adapt to a variety of riding conditions.

Great comparison.   Sure wish Yamaha would make a 701 competitor.

I’d be interesting to see you do this comparison again after taking the 890 through the same or similar BDR.

Great comparison guys. These two bikes are high on my wish list so it was good to have real world feedback. Thanks👍

Like the honesty, u pulling for husq, a d we get it, but u made the tenere sound better for someone thats wanting a 50/50 with reliability.

I'd love to see a comparison with the Tenere World Raid. I've got the bike and it's absolutely epic on road and off. Lower center of gravity due to the twin side gas tanks. Super comfortable on long rides. Great on dirt and off road. Large stones going downhill on curves were a challenge though due to my inexperience

Both fantastic bikes. If money was no object I’d have both except I’d go the KTM and a World Raid. I’d definitely rather be on the Tenere for huge rides. The KTM would be perfect for tighter more technical riding and a hot rod between sections. Good review.

I am on my 2nd 701, you don't have to do the tower for wind protection, just do the puig windscreen, it is like a hundred bucks and makes a HUGE difference.  I ride mine here in Wyoming and our freeways are 80mph, is it as good as my Triumph 1200 gtpro?  Of course not, but it makes a huge difference.  Seat concept wide is what I have, initially I thought it was a problem, but it isn't in hard stuff.  It actually kind of helps with the leg locking with the knees?  Dunno, I got used to it and love it, but when I first put it on I worried it would be a problem, it isn't for me.  Get a throttle lock, huge help with getting a break on the highway, you will find not using it very often but when you do man is it nice.  Bam, she's a completely different machine.  I just got the anakee wild tires for mine, and the shop balanced them, which is new to me on the platform, normally I change my own tires.  Man, do that, holy smokes is it nice.

Also for nav I use the garmin 700i, which is amazing.  My buddy was looking at all kinds of different adventure bikes and I told him to come over and try mine, I implored him to get up high in speed and hold it there to see the difference.  He came back after 30 minutes and said, you're right this is perfect.  He got one and is pretty much setup the same as me, he has a better skid plate than I do, mine is the husky metal plate, his is the vanasche, get that one it is really good.   Another important thing that people skip on the build is the dongle, get that before ANYTHING, it is super stupid how after turning the key off your settings default back to whatever safety morons think is good.  This will get you hurt offroad.  Mode 2 with ABS off  and TC off, it is just perfect.  In sand the TC will get confused and cause you to crash, as well as all the downhill wanting to drag the rear and such.

Gas cap, you're right that should be first and the dongle 2nd.  I had on my first 701 the key break off after doing the El Camino el Diablo.  I ordered the gas cap after this and it is weird how KTM thinks this bike is all that offroad and they put that terrible key thing on there, makes me think it is a law.  I had my buddy order his gas cap before anything else and the dongle (my buddy hadn't gotten his dongle yet delivered when we did the UT southern BDR and White Rim) so it was frustrating for both of us trying to press that TC button which takes quite  a bit of pressure to do.  It also confuses you on the trail when you start 2nd guessing yourself after getting tired.

The end comment between the two is pretty much why I bought the 701. I'm more of a woods rider and not much of a long distance cruiser. I have only had it a short while and while it may not be the most comfortable seat it's doable and not nearly as bad as some claim. Only mod I've done so far is Rally pegs. Other small things will be added eventually but the nice thing is if you don't want to you don't have to. It's pretty good just stock.

Update 2 years later having had a 701 for 2 years, you do not need wind protection on your 701 for long distance. Seat concepts seat is enough to ride long distance, but the rear locking pin and supporting feet broke off on mine, SC refunded my money.