2007 XT660R 5000km Review
 

I have been a bit of a lurker lately so I thought I would get involved and share my thoughts on the 2007 XT660R

I am living in spain for a year and I don�t have a car there. I wanted a bike for everyday transport, exploring southern Spain with my girlfriend and enjoying the great roads dirt tracks found along the coast and in the mountains my local area.

I chose the XT because of it�s excellent reviews. The well travelled XT600 lineage somehow gave the bike credibility. Reliability, economy and good styling were at the top of my list and the XT had it in spades.

I have now done about 5000kms (3000 miles) on the bike and have used it in all kinds of situations. Off-road riding, commuting, city pillion riding, two up touring with top box and soft panniers. I am constantly surprised at the bikes flexibility.

I often find myself enjoying old neglected, poorly surfaced roads that would have been scary on most bikes.

I believe the XTR would make the perfect European holiday rental bike. They are just perfect for exploring new places. I go places that most dual sport bikes would turn back for fear of getting stuck.

I have had many great experiences on the XT660R. It has been a pleasure to own and really suits our outdoor lifestyle. When I return to Australia I will be taking the XTR with me. I will leave my Toyota Hilux in the garage when I want to go bush.

My girlfriend was not an instant fan. She soon warmed up to it though, especially when she discovered how quickly it made progress through heavy traffic. She never misses an opportunity to be dropped off or picked up from work on the XT.
I bought a Givi Monokey 37ltr top box with a backrest for her and now her main fear is falling asleep on long trips.

The engine is a gem and used in many other great vehicles. Supermono racers have managed to scrape 80bhp out of it and from what I have read on MZ websites 60bhp is possible without sacrificing too much reliability or cash.

I the only real problem I have experienced is the engine cutting out at low speed. It happens a lot. Almost every day. It happens off-road, at the lights, zebra crossings, just before wheelies. Sometimes it is just embarrassing but other times it is just dangerous.

The seat can be a bit firm in long and multiday trips, though I have heard the same thing said about the BMW 1200GS. It gives me a good excuse to take my time at fuel stops.

The bike is a little heavy off road but I think if it lost much more weight it might feel a bit scary and skittish at speed.

I feel the bike could do with some more power to make it more engaging to ride on the road. The stock bike has ample power for off-road but the bike would get a lot more exposure it was putting out 15 or 20 bhp more. The brakes could do with some more bite as well. Touring two-up is asking a lot of the OEM equipment.

I have done a few modifications to my bike. I tried not to but I am weak. This forum is full of invaluable info on how to improve these bikes.

Acerbis aluminium reinforced hand guards and a Fun Moto aluminium engine bash plate protect the bike and a Givi top box and soft panniers carries our stuff.

Continental TKC 80 tyres improve the off-road ability of both me and the bike but limits the bikes use above legal highway speeds. (that is a good thing for me) I will probably get Metsler Tourances next time and save the TKC 80s for special trips.

I would love to have a set of lightweight Excell tubeless rimed spoked wheels built for road tyres but I will make do for now.

I found the original gearing too tall for hilly two up and off-road riding and was willing to sacrifice top end speed for more performance. I removed the 15 tooth front sprocket and put in a 14 tooth as an experiment. It cost me 14 euros and took an hour. It was money and time well spent. Wheelies galore!

I decided the 14/45 tooth geared the bike a bit too low for everyday use. I think 15/47 tooth is a happy medium.

To do this properly I have ordered a Renthal 520 SRS R4 chain and 15/47 Renthal sprockets. I also ordered a Speedo-Healer to re-calibrate the speedo to the new gearing. I got a new cush drive to install as well as these seem to wear out quickly. (nothing to do with a 14 tooth sprocket and lots of wheelie practice)

I also bit the bullet and ordered the K&N & DNA Stage 1 and two filter kit that seems to be the best bang for buck for these bikes according to XT Guru Kev (Happy Australia Day mate!). I also ordered a Power commander III and sensor eliminator. They have not arrived yet.

To control all this new power I have ordered Hell stainless braided brake lines and Ferodo Platinum brake pads. Original lines are rubber.

I have also ordered a medium touring screen to put on for long trips.

All the modifications above were more �nice to have� than �need to have� but don�t tell my girlfriend!

If I were buying this bike over I would not have bought my bike new. These bikes are a real bargain second hand, and with the money you save you can afford to taylor the bike to your needs.

I hope this short review has given potential XT660R buyers an idea of what to expect and what some of the options are for this bike.

I have learned so much from this forum. It was one of the reasons I bought the XT. In my experience it pays to have another resource other than your local dealer.

good report,,,,:candledinner:

That was a superb review I am sure all here will agree with me, so much so that soon we will publish a new Owner's Review section on the main site and this one will be included for sure.

I must agree. An excellent review. :eusa_clap:

Not so sure about the 80HP bit from an XT engine though. :icon_scratch:

I think its a genuine typo, he must have meant 60bhp

According to a guy called Thorsten qv he is selling his XTZ660 engine as producing 75-80 bhp

it all makes sense now, they are talking about a 2000 XT660Z Tenere carbed engine with a larger bore kit, camshaft and rod modded.... etc which could be possible

Great review there boss. Can agree with all of it apart from the engine power, i know 2 up it is a bit sluggish but its a single so will be and not greatly designed for that type of stuff. But everything else is very true.

Again great report well done

One of the best reviews I have read for the XT, well written and truly reflects real world ownership, a quality post.

We've got another 11 months to go in 2008 but I reckon that must be in contention for the 'Best Post of 2008'

He is quite correct 80 HP no problem on the quads, they are boring them to 105mm & stroking the cranks, gas flowing the heads, bigger valves, high lift cam, big bore throttle body, ignition advancer, PCIII & some of them are even turbo charged.

Thanks Kev. I thought I was going to need to to do some explaining there for a minute.

The 80 bhp claimed is from serious competition racers spending serious cash and reliability is compromised to say the least.

Thanks for the feedback guys. Not many people know these bikes like you guys do so your approval really means a lot to me.

Great review. I also own a 2005 XTR and share your viewpoints. Just three comments: I also mounted a 14 tooth sprocket, it runs a lot better, even thought of going down to 13 for serious fun off road (I have my bike with T63 and Metzeler Karoo 2 in the front) so a "speedo healer" would be perfect - can you please explain what it is and how to get one in Spain (I live in Madrid). Right now I rely on the GPS to check the actual speed. You can have a lot of fun with this bike on the road, part in widding roads, I did 120km yesterday around Madrid, just fine, the road tyres add an extra emotion as you never know... without speeding up...

Finally, I am surprised you didn't change the handlebar, the stock one is a bit narrow in the ends. I have a magura with "elevators" which allow to run standing up off road.

I mounted the kev mod a few months ago and still surges a bit, although it runs a lot better. Probably will install a DNA 2 filter soon... (co=20, mod=-5)

Cheers,

You never really get rid of the surge completley not even a Power Commander can do that, but with adding more air & fuel the bike does run better the stage 2 filter is worth the extra money.

Speedo heeler can be bought from this link, just make sure you tell them that it is for a Yamaha XT660X & your year model.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Speedo-Healer...QQcmdZViewItem

Thanks Kev - very helpful as usual! Cheers,

If you want to lower the gearing even more, I would buy a 47 tooth rear sproket and use it with the 14 tooth front. From what I have read it takes the strain off the chain and it is easier to change the back sproket if you need taller gearing for a road trip. I am going to try that combination today. You would need a strong chain though.

I did fit renthal bars that are both wider and taller than the originals, for off road riding. (Forgot to mention it for some reason) I want to fit bar risers as well but I am conscerned the clutch cable and some of the electricals will be too tight.

One side effect I did notice was that with the renthal bars and the Acerbis aluminium and plastic handguards there is really not much vibration. I have only had numb hands once and the reason was that the left handguard allen bolts had vibrated loose (or some kid had tried to take it). I have read of people selling their xt because of vibration. Another guy on this site has had a few GPS's die due to vibes.

If anyone out there is experiencing excessive vibration, fitting heavy duty handguards may solve your problems.

Hi Napalm.

I'm the one with the vibration problems trashing my GPS system.

I think I've got around the problem now by installing a Touratech Holder kindly donated to me by Garmin Uk for all the grief I've been having.

Seems to have done the trick. Saying that, I've only done 300 miles since installing but the last sat nav died after 160 miles last time.

http://www.touratech.com/shops/008/i...verriegeln.gif