I am having the same problems with Tony. The bike, unless I ride like a hooligan, is terrible. It is always surging even with the mods (tho it has improved a bit) and it needs constant clutch slipping at low speeds. On the other hand, if you go for a ride on twisty roads the bike is a marvel and it delivers an awesome experience. It is trully a love/hate relationship and the fact that its performance is actually the reverse of what I was expecting messed everything up for me. I bought the bike to go to work and casual 2 up riding and now whenever I take my 1KRR for a Sunday ride I end up thinking that maybe I would have more fun with the XT.

edit: I left work after posting the above and to my surprise the XT behaved much better. Almost no surging and alot smoother, in direct contrast with what my morning ride was. I also noticed that there was less popping from my exhausts. My guess is it has to do with the morning/night temperature difference although it couldnt be more than 2-3 degrees (C). Maybe the bike runs too lean? Any ideas?