wanna be XT660z tenere rider
 

Hi Guys,
after 20 years break I want to return to biking and as I have already fell in love with XT660 tenere I am a little apprehensive about the seat height. I'm 6.1 but still when I on this bike I cannot put firmly both feet on the ground, I means heels. Do you think it's gonna be a problem? especially off road when some supporting with legs may be needed? I tested the version without abs but I heard with ABS new bikes are lower a little bit, maybe it'll be alright then?
thank

You are 185cm high (I did conversion) and thus high enough for the standard T�n�r�. I am 10cm shorter than you and able to ride a -3cm lowered Ten. It still is very high for me but definitely manageable, but to make it friendlier I will customize the seat to gain another 1cm or so.

You can get the easy ride kit from Yamaha, which has longer rods (sorry, don't know how to call those) that lower the bike by 1,5cm AND a lowered seat which lowers your position of another 1,5cm, for a total of -3cm as I mentioned earlier. Don't forget to pull out a bit front forks to balance the lowered tail.

Not easy to keep that heavy bike up off-road if you are unsure on your legs, that's why I'm lowering it a bit more.

Height is not everything - its the length of your legs that decides - but more important is how firmly you want both foots on the ground to feel secure. It is mostly a brain thing because the tip of one foot on the ground is enough to ride safely.

There is only one way to find out - find one for a testride (or at least stationary in the showroom)

The ABS is so low compared to my leg length that i can easily push myself around (which i often do on a ferry to get in a good position to get of fast (where I'm not allowed to start the engine before it is in port). On my old (heightened) super tenere I had to walk besides it because i could just reach the ground with the tips of my boots.

Besides company like daytona makes boots with a very thick sole: http://www.daytona.de/index.php?page=801

PS i ride with http://www.daytona.de/index.php?page=813 on the road and have some cross boots for greenlaning

:006: Welcome on board mate.

There are plenty of folk out there who are a lot shorter than you who get on fine with a standard height Z.

IMHO buy a full height one and see how you get on. You'll be surprised how quickly you adapt and it won't feel weird after a few hundred miles. Plus, the stock suspension settles and sags quite quickly.

If you find you can't manage, then you can always lower it later quite cheaply. It's a lot easier (and cheaper) to lower one than it is to raise one of the ABS low models! ;)

thanks guys! that's reassuring, I never fell on the bike before and I'd like to keep it that way :)

Another question I have if this machine is still good on the roads, since offroading to street ratio will be probably like 50/50. Are such tyres good enough for asphalt I mean do they have enough grip? My offroading will be just gravel roads not a rocky climbing.

:hello: and :welcome: to :660:

Another point..
If you set the suspension sag correctly
the bike will settle 85mm "33% of it's travel" under rider weight..

Then you will not need the extra clearance and suspension off the non ABS version.

On the road ABS might make a difference in an emergency on cold/wet slippery tarmac road when something pulls out in front of you.

So depending on availability i vote for the ABS version ...
Only a few would argue to buy a car for road use without ABS these days

But i have dropped mine because of low clearance because i got stock (don't know if the non-abs would have been high enough ) But won't be an issue on gravel ....

If yer only want to ride gravel & seal roads tyre choice is easy..

Forget knobleys..dosn't matter how big the knobs are they won't grip on lose gravel... you need a tyre to cut though the lose gravel into the hard base..
then the tyre has to have enough surface contact to grip on the hard base..
Go for a narrower 120 "460" tyre..
Have a look at the Shinko 700 are my tyre of choice for everything apart from mud / wet grass... they work well on anything hard/firm...

My good lady is 5' 6" with legs in the normal range for her height and is a highly accomplished rider - riding since she was 16, 7 years a riding instructor, commutes by bike every day and so on. She rides bikes that taller people than her feel uncomfortable with, suggesting that confidence has a lot to do with it. Once you get used to it, you will be fine.

However, tie bar kits to lower the rear are an easy option, should you not get used to it...