ADV Essentials for the Husqvarna Norden 901

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The Husqvarna Norden 901 is a capable motorcycle straight from the factory, but we add some key parts to make it all the more ready for the unknowns of adventure travel. (DW Burnett/)

Unlike some motorcycles that never venture off the beaten path, adventure bikes need to carry their riders to roads and trails less traveled, and stand up to a potential beating once there.

Yet, when you buy a new adventure bike, even one as off-road-worthy as the Husqvarna Norden 901, it may need a few aftermarket modifications to prepare it for its calling. Navigation, protection, and illumination are cornerstones of adventure bike modifications. For the past year, we’ve tested crashbars from Outback Motortek, a Garmin Zūmo XT GPS unit, a MotoPumps Zūmo XT Security Lock, Clearwater Darla lights, and Barkbusters Storm Handguards.

Money can’t buy you talent, but it can buy you peace of mind. Peace of mind, in turn, builds its own kind of confidence. At the end of the day, confidence in yourself and in your machine goes a long way in helping you get out there and tackle whatever’s in your path. After all, if you’re not afraid of dropping your bike or of getting irretrievably lost in the woods, there’s a good chance you’ll ride confidently and be more open to pushing yourself.

Outback Motortek Ultimate Protection Combo

The Outback Motortek Ultimate Protection Combo. (DW Burnett/)

While the Norden’s low-slung fuel tank hugs many vulnerable bits, dropping the bike off-road can make it look second-hand awfully quickly. After dumping it several times on a gnarly rocky descent, crushing its aluminum side pods and scratching the fairing, it was clear that the Norden needed some proper crash protection if it was going to make it to its first service in one piece. Enter Outback Motortek.

The Outback Motortek Ultimate Protection Combo ($695) comprises upper and lower crashbars and a skid plate, providing full-coverage protection. Built from 22mm-diameter, 2mm-thick powdercoated stainless steel, the lower crashbars mount to the frame at three points per side for ultimate rigidity. The upper crashbars mount to the lowers in two places per side and then connect to each other with a center brace that passes along the front of the radiator. Mounting points are super solid and frame-mounting means impacts aren’t transmitted to the engine.

Critically, the crashbars provide mounting points for the skid plate. Rather than connecting to the engine, like the stock skid plate—a flimsy aluminum affair, just like the KTM 790/890 Adventures—the skid plate’s crashbar-mounted design isolates and protects the engine by transmitting energy from an impact to the crashbars. The skid plate is built from 4mm-thick stainless steel and comprises two pieces, the upper part providing protection for the exhaust headers. It’s compatible with Outback’s centerstand, though not the factory accessory centerstand.

Installation is straightforward, but it helps to have a second person’s assistance. For oil services, the skid plate needs to be removed, which entails removing four screws. It should be noted that the crashbars run close to the drain plugs, so it takes just a bit of fiddling to remove them.

Near-daily rides through rocky terrain have put the skid plate, in particular, to the test. It’s taken some hits and is none the worse for wear. There’s little doubt the Outback Ultimate Protection Combo will be serviceable throughout the life of the motorcycle.

Check out Outback’s website at outbackmotortek.us for some cringeworthy videos of crashbar testing, in which new motorcycles are dragged behind a pickup truck across various surfaces.

Garmin Zūmo XT

The Garmin Zūmo XT. (DW Burnett/)

When it comes to navigation, there’s a contingency of riders who swear by using smartphones or tablets to download offline-viewable maps rather than pony up for a GPS. For others, those solutions feel more like a work-around than the right tool for the job.

For riders who want a purpose-built GPS for motorcycle navigation, the Garmin Zūmo XT ($499.99) is more than the right tool; it’s practically the whole toolbox. Aside from the obvious advantages (it’s weatherproof and requires no cellular service), the Garmin Zūmo XT justifies itself with a number of key features.

Compared to older-generation Garmin devices, the XT benefits from a more intuitive user interface, a beautiful 5.5-inch display, and easier options for downloading GPX files and other data. Users can download files directly from their smartphones through the Garmin Drive app or drag and drop files from their computers as if the XT were just a standard external hard drive. No more using Basecamp as an intermediary.

The integration with the Drive app adds another layer of convenience by assisting in troubleshooting, for example, a connection with a Bluetooth headset. Additionally, users can also send an address copy-and-pasted from the web to the XT via the app, saving the step of manually typing it in on the XT.

Just like the map apps we use on a regular basis, plugging a destination into the GPS, selecting one of the route options and hitting “go” is super easy. While that’s great to use as a North Star, so to speak, touring motorcyclists want the freedom to create their own routes. Zūmo users can set avoidances (like highways or toll roads) or allow it to create its own Adventurous Routing from point A to point B. Ultimately, there are motorcyclists who like even more control. In the real world, using a map in conjunction with the Zūmo to create your own precise route is ideal. With the Trip Planner function, users can plug in start location, destination, and locations between to create a trip complete with turn-by-turn directions (unlike a GPX track). The procedure is simple to do at camp under the light of a headlamp while sipping bourbon as your buddy struggles to light a fire. If your riding partner also has an XT, you can simply share your created trip via Bluetooth or the Garmin Drive app.

While the Trip Planner works well, from a usability standpoint, it would still be simpler if the technology allowed users to create a route by entering roads instead of points the route passes through. For example: “Lewisburg, WV, to Davis, WV, via Route 219.”

Motorcycle touring is invariably filled with variables. It’s pouring rain, you’ve got a puncture, your campsite is still 100 miles away, and there’s no cell service. What do you do? In these cases, the Zūmo proves indispensable. Finding fuel, motorcycle dealerships, lodging, and campsites are a button press away. The XT includes apps such as Tripadvisor, iOverlander (a user-generated resource that even features spots for primitive camping), and Foursquare.

When navigating, alongside the map and turn-by-turn directions, the XT can display, among other things, a music player; smart notifications from your phone; a live radar; elevation; and useful services on the route, like gas stations, restaurants, and rest areas.

Ultimately, the Zūmo XT is a feature-packed device that gives touring motorcyclists more freedom to navigate on the fly and the security to explore the world on a whim. Getting lost has never felt so rewarding.

Garmin Zūmo XT and XT2 Security Lock by MotoPumps

The MotoPumps Security Lock. (MotoPumps/)

Ingeniously simple, the Security Lock by MotoPumps installs between the Garmin-powered cradle and whatever GPS mount is already on your motorcycle. Once installed, simply screwing the stainless steel security pin into place prevents the cradle’s release button from being depressed to remove the unit. For tinker-proof security, the pin has a proprietary head design. Unscrewing it requires using the included key.

The MotoPumps Security Lock’s billet aluminum design is unobtrusive, lightweight, and simple to install. Everything from its anodized finish to the security pin’s rubber washer that protects the threads from corrosion justifies its $70 price tag.

Practically invisible when installed, the Security Lock is a “why didn’t I think of that” kind of product. At the time of development, the only available security locks were large, complicated, and expensive. MotoPumps, a small, enthusiast-run operation based in Upstate New York, saw the gap in the market and produced a product that fit the niche perfectly.

MotoPumps also offers its AMPS Pattern GPS mount with an integrated Security Lock for an all-in-one solution.

Barkbusters Storm Handguards

Barkbusters Storm Handguards. (DW Burnett/)

Like Kleenex is to tissues, Barkbusters are pretty much a proprietary eponym for motorcycle hand guards. The Storm hand guard features a large plastic guard that surrounds Barkbusters’ universal-mounting aluminum backbone. The backbone protects levers and hands in case of a get-off, and is solid-mounted below the brake master cylinder and inside the bar ends. If you sell your motorcycle, the universal mounting hardware makes it simple to remove to install to another bike.

Many OE hand guards are flimsy affairs that are fine as brush guards, but Barkbusters go the extra mile in terms of protection. The Storm’s large guards offer good weather protection and are veritable boxing gloves for swiping brush and small branches. More than that, like other ADV customizations, Barkbusters are an insurance policy, greatly reducing the possibility of a broken lever mid-trail. No wonder they’re many rider’s first customization. For the Norden, the entire setup, including the universal taper bar hardware kit ($104.95), Storm plastic guards ($44.95), and spacer (for model-specific application, $4.95) costs $154.85.

Clearwater Darla Lights

Clearwater Darla Lights. (Seth Richards/)

We love that the Norden comes from the factory with auxiliary lights, but Clearwater takes illumination to the next level. For those who ride at night, they’re a game-changer.

The Darlas pierce the darkness so much further than ordinary lights that using high beams becomes unnecessary. In addition to greater sight distance, the lights also vastly improve peripheral illumination. Most stock lights leave the sides of the road in darkness, which makes moving through the night feel like an act of blind faith. If there are deer lingering in the hedges, one has little hope of seeing them until they leap directly in front of you—which is exactly what you don’t want to see. The Clearwaters bring the invisible enemy into view. In that light, they’re no mere luxury but a required safety feature.

Using the included yellow lens covers makes the Norden look even more like the prototype so many of us fell in love with. More importantly, for daytime riding, those bright yellow beams make the motorcycle more noticeable to other motorists. They’re hi-vis for your motorcycle.

The lights are also multifunctional. On many bikes, the Darlas can be linked to the high beams, but on the Norden the lights are full-on all the time, unless the included bar-mounted rheostat is installed, which gives users the ability to control the level of brightness.

Installation is fairly straightforward, and the kit includes everything one needs for plug-and-play operation. Still, some may have some trepidation about using posi-tap wire connectors for some of the connections. While they’re easy to use, and all the connections are buried inside the bodywork, one wonders about their ultimate water-tightness and how they’ll fare under being subjected to the punishing abuse of regular off-roading.

At $579, Clearwater’s Darlas are not an insignificant investment, but if venturing further means pushing through enveloping darkness, the Darlas’ truly impressive performance makes them a worthy addition.

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