Most versatile bike!
 

http://i.imgur.com/DUmpnl.jpg
Two up, easy peasy!



This is a one month, 3,000 km review of my new 2011 660XTZ. The weeTEN!

Coming from a KTM950 Super Enduro and a BMW 650 Xchallenge background, I am used to, and enjoy the dual sport style of motorbike. I also am familiar with and have often sung the praises of a well engineered big single as the perfect universal motorbike.

If you read through the reviews here and most peoples' complaints about the bike, they center around, lack of horsepower and comfort- both for rider and the pillion. So here are my two bits about those concerns of this particular bike. YMMV!


1. Horsepower-

Most folks in the market for a purpose built bike, like the XTZ660 intend to use the bike on varied surfaces, roads, trails, and cross-country. So, a large amount of horsepower is probably not their first priority.

My previous bike, the KTM SE, had gobs of power from it's huge V-twin, and it was the perfect bike for transiting the wide open spaces of the Western U.S. But, the beast had terrible gas mileage, and all that power, was at times, a great liability when trail riding.

I now live in a congested, tiny country, where the roads are sometimes ancient and/or graded dirt. In particular, ALL the roads that lead to our home in the Northern mountains of Israel, are very twisty, usually keeping speeds below 65kmh. But, when transitioning from North to South, the nicely paved highways have 110kmh speed limits that translate into 120kmh average speeds for most drivers. Petrol here is running about $8.00 USD per gallon, so good mileage was very important to me.

This, all to say, that I had narrowed my search down to the XTZ or the Honda TransAlp.
Both bikes have decent horsepower and seemed to be capable of doing a decent job on the types of roads in my environment. Big hp is not a critical factor in this country, as most of the time, it is simply unusable.

I chose the XTZ660 for ergonomic reasons, which I'll explain, later. I have now ridden the bike on dirt trails, in very congested, heavy traffic, on wide open, well paved highways, two-up with my wife, and mostly on twisy, mountain roads. For these PARTICULAR conditions, I have found that the stock bike's engine is adequate, and sometimes is surprisingly peppy!

Case in point. I was in Tel Aviv, recently, and maxi-scooters rule the roads there, (think Roma traffic). As I filtered up to the crosswalk at a red light, with my wife as pillion, I ended up lined up with 3 scooters. When it was safe to proceed, I gunned the weeTEN a bit too much and popped a wheelie with my wife on the back! Wow was I surprised that the bike would do that loaded down with both of us! My wife, needless to say, was NOT amused. So, I am very pleased with the performance of this bike, and it never fails to achieve 60 mpg (U.S.).


2. Comfort-

Like horsepower, comfort is a relative creature. I believe, that when you read the Yamaha Europe website and the articles about the development of the weeTEN, most of the time you get the sense that the team leaders were basically trying to reconstruct the UJM- universal Japanese machine, of the 60s and 70s. A "swiss army knife" type motorbike that is competent at everything, but not great at any one particular aspect of riding.

As you can see in the photo, my wife and I are tall people. I'm a 193cm tall and carry a fair amount of weight! My wife is 180cm tall, so when we ride together, we need a bike that has fairly open ergonomics. We completed a 420 mile trip together, to Jerusalem and back, last week. We both found the seat, fairing, and peg positions to be quite comfortable. The bike performed admirably, and it cruised on the high speed highways at 120kmh, and we saw about 132kmh passing a few big rigs. I felt no numbing vibrations.

My wife says the pillion seat was quite comfortable and better than the KTM or BMW seats of my previous bikes.

I find the windscreen to be superb! I believe that is the case because the wind deflected off the screen hits my upper chest, and NOT my helmet. I would surmise, as many people have discovered, that if the deflected wind causes turbulence about your helmet, you might simply cut the stock screen down a few centimeters, so that the deflected wind hits your chest instead of your helmet. Problem solved!

During the initial 1200km service, I had the Yamaha mechanic adjust the stock settings of the suspension for maximum weight loads. When I'm riding alone, the suspension is taut and sporty, allowing me to ride the twisty roads, aggressively. When I ride with my wife, the bike rides like a Harley-Davidson, very plush! She commented on how nice the suspension tamed the bumpy roads!

So far, the only comfort modification needed for me, was a pair of "ROX risers", that put the bars a bit higher, and back for me. This also assisted me while standing on the pegs.

I researched this purchase for 5 months. Since the XTZ660 is not sold in the USA, I was unfamiliar with it, and this site provided me with invaluable information that helped me make the right purchase decision, for my particular needs. This bike is not for everyone, certainly not if you crave the performance of a Hayabusa, as I once did. But, if you live in an area of the world where high petrol prices, lousy roads, and fun off-road rides abound, then the XTZ660 could be the ticket! It certainly has been for me.

Happy Trails!

Welcome....
 

To the wonderful world of the XT.

Couldn't agree more. Not the best trail bike, not the best road bike, but good enough at both to be a satisfying & enjoyable ride. I find in a group ride, the bike is middling on the dirt sections and middling to a bit better on the tar (but maybe that reflects my (low) skill level. :089:

Glad you are enjoying your WISE purchase, Cheers, Boneman

Ive owned mine almost a month now and I certainly wont look back!

Ive been loving every minute of it and it has made my regular comute to work an absolute pleasure.

Looking forward to many more miles as I am sure you are too!

Enjoy it buddy!!

:052::052:Great write up,
I had a BMW x moto, don't miss it at all, my xt x is so much better all round bike.

That's a really great summing up of your bike, especially in your more challenging terrain. I've just joined this forum because I'm interested in the 660Z model. I have been around Africa in a 4x4 and seriously contemplating a Southern run there next year. Been researching a lot (to the point of confusion sometimes) to try & narrow down the bikes & starting to lean more towards the 660Z lately. Question is, should I get a new one or save some money & hunt out a good second hand. I currently ride a K1200GT so I know it'll be an adjustment on the power level, but I wouldnt venture off tarmac in that anyway.

:hello: and :welcome: to :660:

If you want to buy a good second hand keep a close eyes on our for sale section, bikes sold here are from our members and usually very sound. There aren't any for sale at the moment but if you are not in a rush, bookmark this thread and set it to send you email notification at every new post so you will be kept updated with every new item posted in there.

Here is the link: http://www.xt660.com/forumdisplay.php?f=12

Reliability in Africa
 

I believe the CAPT. has sound advice for you, regarding looking out for a well sorted out, used XT660Z. Plus you'll most probably get one that has some extra "bling" already installed, which will save you a pretty penny, when it comes time to outfit the bike for another go at Africa.

What I like most about this bike, is the stone reliable motor, and the solid steel sub-frame. I spent a lot of money trying to work around the aluminum sub-frame on my KTM-SE and BMW-Xchallenge. Both were good bikes, but there was a constant worry of breaking the aluminum sub-frame in the middle of nowhere.

The XT660Z may be a heavier bike than the KTM or BMW, but, for fast, long distance trail riding, in third world countries, Ill take the peace of mind that comes with the proven reliability of the weeTEN.

Like JMo said in another thread, the weight of the Yamaha only becomes an issue on the technical trail riding. And she found the Yamaha to be a good choice racing to Dakar, so it should be a good choice for your Africa trip.

Welcome, and ride safe on your BM rocket ship!

Thanx for the review! Very recognisable as I run my '08 for almost 80.000km's now, just did a 3.000km roadtrip thru Poland-Slovakia-Tsjech Republic and it never let me down(I don't count that rear flattie, because that wasn't the Tenere�s fault...). I still enjoy this allround allroad travel bike and indeed, it has enuff power for what it is intended to be used for. And comfortable it is too: I did a 900+km one day stretch, from Prague to Oosterhout, Holland(=home), no problem(although I have to admit I used an Airhawk, but even so...) at a steady 120-130kmh pace. I love this bike, I don't need a multi-cilinder high-power bike, I'll stick to my trusty thumper.....
Greetz, Hans.

Good thinking always produces good results. Perfect machine for me as I do arount 65% trails and some is a bit extreme which is when you notice the bike is too heavy but dry good trails it's perfect. Narrow tarmac roads are a hoot . Perfect all rounder.

Nicely put madmax.

My Ten's ready for Africa..

Thanks for the welcome aboard Capt. Thanks Madmax & others for the advice. Still got to ride the machine but from what I read, sounds like the real deal. Going to have a good look around, already been doing it. Now at least, I can concentrate on one bike.

Hello
One of the websites I followed and start to love the ten more is
http://blog.intotheworld.eu/ and they make the full round trip of Africa, 2 up fully loaded.
Maybe it's useful resource for you
Cheers, Florin

Good write up mate.I have owned a few KTM'S and find them hard to beet.:seasaw:But i must say that the xt660z has a great engine nice soft power delivery.The bike is let down with budget suspension,and fixtures and fittings.But i still love it.:luuurve:

+1. But it's worth the effort/money to fix those issues, I reckon.

+1:bbeer:

Hi,
Thank you for a most informative view on the 660Z.
I have owned mine for 2 years now and am planning a trip from Cape Town to Cairo (Egypt). It will be my girlfriend and I and luggage.

Would you recommend I stay with the 660Z or go for a KTM or BMW GS ?

Regards,
Marius

Ask these folks!
 

http://www.xt660.com/showthread.php?t=19744

TRY THIS THREAD!

These folks are going around the world, two up, on their XT660z. I would ask them how the bike has been for them, as a couple, riding.

As for your other bike choices, I had a BMW GS650, and my significant other was not that comfortable on the back of the bike during long trips. It has a great Rotax motor that is a bit more smooth than the XT, but the ergonomics weren't great for us.

As for the KTM 690, I've never had one, just the Super Enduro, which is a larger bike and was very comfortable for my wife. So I cannot comment except that the motor makes about 60bhp compared to our 48bhp on the XT.

Also, I cannot remember who it was, but just this last summer, I read of a couple on ADVrider who rode through Africa to Egypt on their WeeTen. If you can research that trip and contact them, they may have some not so good information for you about trying to LEAVE Egypt. It cost them alot of money for nothing, just highway robbery from the new regime. They were trying to take a ferry out of Egypt to get to Turkey. They did it, but again, it was very expensive.

Also, on ADVrider, I've read two other posts in the Africa-Mideast forum that other bikers were fleeced of their money by the authorities, trying to ship their bike out of Egypt. You should do some detailed research on this before you go there.

Sorry for being a wet towel, but I hope you have a safe and enjoyable ride.

Cheers!

Welcome and thanks for the excellent review!!!! I agree that the XT660 is a great compromise bike, I am lucky enough to own several bikes and I find that I use the XT most (14000km in its first year) just for the smile factor plus the fact that you can have real fun WITHOUT silly speeds that sportsbikes bring. Enjoy!!!

WOW , amazing review with tons of information , and answering many of my questions.
I live in Chile and just sold my TA 650 , we are looking for a new bike ,could be vstrom 65o or xt660z, my wife is always on my back so the DL should be better 2up , but the xt is still capable 2up and will allow me more trails when alone .
Thanks very much for yor time and information

Asper