[DarkWhiteChocolate]

Hello, after a long wait and lots of drama, I finally was able to pick up my Norden yesterday.

Back in August 2021 my friend and I put money down and placed orders for Husqvarna 701 Enduro's. We both currently had DRz400's and wanted something we could ride TO the OHV areas and AT the OHV areas. After months and months of the dealership local stringing us along and having learned that the '22 701's would not be imported here. We pulled our deposits back, vowing to never use that dealer again (much more to the story) Around this time we went on a 800mi moto trip through central Mexico on rented BMW GS bikes. We came home and realized that if we couldn't have 701's we would get adventure bikes. We were pretty set on F850GSA's or Africa Twins but then after sitting on a Norden at the dealership, I was really liking how comfortable the Norden seat was, the price and the brand.

I called around to different dealerships and found "L and D race tech" in Astoria, Oregon. I've bought several bikes new and used, both from private and dealers. But I've never had a transaction go so smoothly. They were able to set it up with the rear touratech rack, bar risers and the explorer pack so when I got there it was ready. I also bought a center stand and side panniers but the dealership is waiting on delivery still.

I told my wife it might take a couple of hours after watching the pain and suffering my buddy went through (4 hours at his dealership on a cash deal) but after 15min after arriving at L and D I was riding away with my new bike! They even though in an ATV permit good for 2 years without me even asking.

I did put 50 miles on my buddy's 901 on Monday before picking this bike up, so I fully knew what to expect. What an awesome machine! I'm still obviously in the honeymoon phase, but I'm very happy with everything at this point.

My buddy and I started a low budget YouTube channel and are working on Norden videos now. We are just wrapping up our series on the Mexico trip and I'm hoping to soon have a few how to / install videos and review videos out. We've got the Camel ADV 1 finger clutch and heat shields to install as well as several other farkles we hope to do videos on soon.

I'm glad to have joined the Norden 901 club!

-DWC

 

[CrzyHusky]

Congrats on the Norden @DarkWhiteChocolate.
What are your thoughts on the build quality here versus other bikes you have owned?

 

[RandyM]

Hello, after a long wait and lots of drama, I finally was able to pick up my Norden yesterday. View attachment 628

Back in August 2021 my friend and I put money down and placed orders for Husqvarna 701 Enduro's. We both currently had DRz400's and wanted something we could ride TO the OHV areas and AT the OHV areas. After months and months of the dealership local stringing us along and having learned that the '22 701's would not be imported here. We pulled our deposits back, vowing to never use that dealer again (much more to the story) Around this time we went on a 800mi moto trip through central Mexico on rented BMW GS bikes. We came home and realized that if we couldn't have 701's we would get adventure bikes. We were pretty set on F850GSA's or Africa Twins but then after sitting on a Norden at the dealership, I was really liking how comfortable the Norden seat was, the price and the brand.

I called around to different dealerships and found "L and D race tech" in Astoria, Oregon. I've bought several bikes new and used, both from private and dealers. But I've never had a transaction go so smoothly. They were able to set it up with the rear touratech rack, bar risers and the explorer pack so when I got there it was ready. I also bought a center stand and side panniers but the dealership is waiting on delivery still.

I told my wife it might take a couple of hours after watching the pain and suffering my buddy went through (4 hours at his dealership on a cash deal) but after 15min after arriving at L and D I was riding away with my new bike! They even though in an ATV permit good for 2 years without me even asking.

I did put 50 miles on my buddy's 901 on Monday before picking this bike up, so I fully knew what to expect. What an awesome machine! I'm still obviously in the honeymoon phase, but I'm very happy with everything at this point.

My buddy and I started a low budget YouTube channel and are working on Norden videos now. We are just wrapping up our series on the Mexico trip and I'm hoping to soon have a few how to / install videos and review videos out. We've got the Camel ADV 1 finger clutch and heat shields to install as well as several other farkles we hope to do videos on soon.

I'm glad to have joined the Norden 901 club!

-DWC

Welcome to the forum @DarkWhiteChocolate and congrats on the new Norden! Glad to hear your purchase went smoothly with new second dealer. What stands out to you the most about the Norden compared to the F850GSA or Africa Twin?

Can you send a link your YouTube video(s) I'd be interested to see what you do with your bike.

 

[DarkWhiteChocolate]

Congrats on the Norden @DarkWhiteChocolate.
What are your thoughts on the build quality here versus other bikes you have owned?

Thanks! I just installed the AXP skid plate and noticed some loose bolts, nothing crazy or dangerous, I will be going through every accessible bolt (serious things like bars, fork clamp bolts, etc) with my torque wrench using values stated in the owners manual (I'm a little obsessive about this after getting stuck too many times) I've had way worse issues with Yamaha, Suzuki and Honda, so It's always worth it to go over your new bike and make sure it's good to go.
My last Yamaha did not have the clutch cable keeper crimped down on the clutch arm, it came off and left me without a clutch in a traffic jam. I was able to fix it on the side of the road but it was not in an ideal location. Stuff like this happens on bikes. I always carry a multi-tool and extra tools with me just in case. I'd say build quality overall is good for a gen 1 bike.

 

[DarkWhiteChocolate]

Welcome to the forum @DarkWhiteChocolate and congrats on the new Norden! Glad to hear your purchase went smoothly with new second dealer. What stands out to you the most about the Norden compared to the F850GSA or Africa Twin?

Can you send a link your YouTube video(s) I'd be interested to see what you do with your bike.

Thanks! I think the GSA 1250/850 and the AT are very similar to the Norden but things that I immediately noticed were how low the center of gravity is with the tanks not being in the traditional place, It's even better than under the seat in my opinion. Very light, flickable and nimble, much like my supermoto. The electronics package on the Norden is amazing, there's just a couple of things I wish were better but overall it's really great! I don't like how the menu stays up when using the favorites button (up or down) to pick a ride mode on the fly, I wish it would time out after 10 seconds or so and go back to the main menu, not a big deal, just have to hit the back button a couple times but still.

I really liked the lower weight of the Norden and the price point of the Norden compared to the GSA / AT. The price difference between the GSA/AT vs. the Norden, is that I got the bike, side luggage, rear rack, center stand, explorer mode, AXP skid plate, Doubletake mirrors, a Garmin Zumo XT, adventure pegs, high front fender kit, Tekmo slip-on and bar risers for the same price as just a GSA/AT.

It's really splitting hairs though, if you have really always wanted an AT or GSA, get one, you won't be disappointed as they are all great bikes.

Below is our YouTube channel, we are making them mostly for sharing our trip with friends and family but it's sounding like we will keep making videos to document our Norden experiences as well. We've got a few more on the Mexico trip coming out then we will cover the differences in our experiences on buying 901's from different dealers, a few farkle install videos and some rides that we have planned for this summer. Hope you enjoy:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMQ1hiM1kdrzJdy_6B6BZ1Q


My bike is on the left, my buddies is on the right:

 

[SydsTub]

Welcome mate, the Norden are a nice bike, I am super impressed with mine so far, almost to the first service date after a recent camping trip to get some Km's on it. Looking forward to checking out your videos