Originally Posted by Woottonboy (Post 147997)

But have you considered retyrering the TDM 1st, you could get some serious 17 inc h o f f road rubber and see h ow it goes???

Originally Posted by HerrMnnn (Post 148068)

Do I understand this right?

The current model XT660Z Tenere has basically the same engine as the XTR (same power/torque)?
The XTZ has less fork suspension travel than the XTR (according to XT660.com comparison chart).
The XTZ weighs 22kgs more than the XTR (wet with oil and coolant, but no fuel so it's a fair comparison - based on Yamaha web site specifications, and fuel at 0.75kg/L).

On specs then the main advantages the XTZ has over the XTR is fuel capacity (easy to carry 7L of fuel), and ground clearance (a 2-1 high exhaust from Metal Mule will fix that, as well as shave a further 8kgs off the XTR to make it 30kgs lighter than the XTZ!!!)

Someone set me straight - this seems too good to be true cos I can pick up a low km XTR and modify it to suit me for much less than an XTZ. The XT660Z Tenere has had some good reviews in Aus, main complaint is excessive weight and purchase price.....

Originally Posted by maxwell123455 (Post 148316)

You are pretty much correct. The engine is the same but it has a different ECU and also a different air box, giving it a slight bit more power. Nothing much though. But yes it is really just its got a bigger tank and more plastic bits, its slightly taller which all adds up to a heavier bike.

The XTR is more than capable of doing a good bit of off roading but the R's had a few problems with the electrical connectors being pretty bad, but all it takes is a day or so take the tank off and a few other plasitcs and a tube of electrical silicone (similar to bathroom stuff but doesnt do something to the wires!) and your sorted.

The "bad" silicone for electrics is the acetic cure type (easy to tell - it smells like acetic acid, and it's written on the tube), it needs to be neutral cure. I worked on electronics in irrigation systems for a while and once had to repair a system someone else had installed a few years earlier. With good intention but poor understanding they had sealed up all the connections with acetic cure silicon - it had eaten away all the crimp connectors and every single connection had failed. Had to cut and replace all of them, and they were all underground.... took me all day and we'd only allocated 2 hours to the job.


Youve a good range of tyres, and the bikes pretty good with the likes of TKC80s. A good bash plate, and crash bars are a must as although the bike doesnt sit that low hitting the odd bumps and jumps starts to test the suspension, and also the water pump is pretty exposed so a set of crash bars will protect that.

Good! That's one of the reasons I'm letting the TDM go - very poor range of tyres for that bike for offroad riding.
Question on crash bars etc. - I've decided I need the higher exhaust, is there a bashplate/crash bar combination that fits with the Metal Mule 2-1 exhaust?

Some people complain that the R's seat isnt that comfortable but its like any bike you do get use to it. Also some complain that the tank only holds 3 gallons, and pretty much youve 2 gallons before your fuel light comes on. But ive had 78mpg out of the bike (full tank, 65mph till light came on)

My brother was trying to convince me to get a WR400, the XT seat has to be better than that!

Most of my rides only need a fuel range around 300km so stock tank will handle that fine. For the bigger trips I'll need 4-500km but I'll just carry jerry cans or something.

Originally Posted by digahole78 (Post 148434)

Just got back from a weekend riding mostly on unsealed roads and foresty tracks (with a few creek crossing thrown in for luck) through northern New South Wales on my XTR. Had a friend with me on an XTZ and another on a TE510 Husky. With all our gear for the weekend loaded in panniers both XT's did great. What really suprised me was that the XTR was just as capable as the XTZ. As mentioned, the only real negative to the R is lack of protection and ground clearance as stock. Other than that, they both perform as well as each other off road. Thr R suits me because 99% of the time i use it to commute, but when i do take it off road it can keep up with the best of them and carry all my gear. The Z does have better suspension with adjustable forks which would be nice on the R. Engine feels smother on the Z but I guess that has a lot to do with the hugs bar end weights. Also has twin disks on the front so it can stop pretty sharply when it needs to. If your going to sit the bike in the shed and bring it out on weekends to go adventure riding, the Z is the bike for you. If you want to use the bike day to day on the road and take it off road now and again, the R's the answer.