Evening All

Took the XTR out for its first ride in the mountains today. (FYI its a 2009 XTR which I have owned for 2 months approx)

I had all these great ideas about finding a dirt track and hooning off down it to use the bike for what its really made for.

So here's the problem..I cant do it!! What do I mean by that? Well sorry for the long post but let me give you a bit of background.

Been riding for about 5-6 years. Started out on an XT250 which I removed the knobbies and put on Michelin Siracs. Had no problem on that one going round the farm and dirt. Did a couple of dirt bike courses and even had a spare CRF 150 which I used to ride around the paddocks with no problem.

Have progressed through the years to a GSX1400 which I love but had a yearning to get a dual purpose bike - Enter the XT660

Bike is pretty Stock except for exhausts and a bash plate.

Any way - So - Today I went for my ride - on the XT up to the hills looking for a dirt track to run along and just felt a bit uneasy about belting down the dirt.

Personally a) I think its the Tyres - (Metzler Tourances - Virtually new) - They just dont inspire any confidence in me on the dirt b) I dont want to drop the thing and... c) Its a lot heavier then my old dirt bikes

When I had the little CRF - I used to drop it on the grass every now and then and just pick it up and ride off.

The other thing is - the CRF had brand new Dunlop Geomax 51's on it and it gripped like crazy.

I know it will take some time but I am after some inspiration and ideas to get back on the dirt..

I was thinking about changing the tyres but realistically 80-90% of my commute is on bitumen and having done the knobbies thing on the road - I dont want to do that again.

Another option is two sets of wheels - does any one else do that?

Thanks for reading - any help / ideas appreciated

Marc

Hi Marc!

A friend and I went on a Trip last week, both on XT660Z, he has the Tourance and I have the Sirac. We were driving through a forest mostly on sandy ground. His Tourance perform much better than my Siracs! I dropped my bike once in the sand, he had much less problems. As you said, its about Confidence. Of course knobbies are better, but as a compromise they are not bad. And if you drop, hey, its a (big) Dirt Bike. No Problem. When my Z was new I also never want to let it get dirty, but after a while...

Here some pics where I dropped it, when it was new and today...







JUST DO IT!!! The fun comes back instantly!

I can sort of relate to what you're saying.

I used to have a 125ccm back in the day and race around in the woods and on a local MX-track. Couple of years ago I got my license and bought a F650GS Dakar thinking I could just hop back on and spin around in the forest. I remember the first time I drove it I tried to do a 180 turn spinning the back wheel and nearly dropped it. It hit me how heavy it was and quite frankly scared me a bit. I never really drove it offroad, swapped it for an Aprilia Shiver last year.

Long story short, I'm now on the XT660Z and I've come to the strikingly obvious conclusion that it will never be like a 125 ccm offroad

Mind you, putting on TKC80s helped tremendously in my case. The more I ride offroad the more confidence I build. I've had one semi-serious fall which nearly busted my ribs, but I actually think it helped with the confidence. Nothing bad happened to the bike, just a bit of scratched plastic, so I know that dropping it is not the end of the world.

About the knbbies - I also drive mostly tarmac. Commute to work, to/from offroad trips, etc. I don't know what people are on about, but for me TKC80 works perfectly fine for every day use. They wear a bit faster and are probably more scary in the rain, but I can live with it.

Anyway, keep at it, you'll get comfortable in the end

Hello Mutze / Tacomodo

Phew - I am glad someone else can relate to this.

The weight is definitely a factor and given that I am only 5'6 and my feet barely touch the gound its even move apparent.

I agree - to just keep at it and I know that I will gain confidence - I just didnt expect to feel this way.

I discussed the tyres with my wife and surprisingly she agreed to me replacing them - even going so far as to suggest that I trailer the bike into the mountains and ride it from there..(whoo Hoo I am getting Sex tonight!!)

Given that I still have the GSX (that cost me a month of sex!!) I do still have a commuter and I did buy the XT for trail riding. Its just that I am enjoying riding the XT so much I didnt want to ruin its road handling.

The bikes in such good condition - 2009 with barely 1800ks on the clock when I bought it - the previous owner must have been an old granny..;-)
I have to get my mind around it being a dirt bike not a road bike and thats also part of the problem

Cheers all

Marc

Hi,

I would certainly vote for something like the TKCs to give you more grip and so confidence. I like others was a complete novice when it came to taking a biggish bike off road - 25 years of riding a bike on tarmac made me stiffen up when the bike moved about under me when off road. Relax! One other thing I would suggest is to 'buddy up' with somebody with more experience of trail riding if that is possible - this will help with the confidence and the learning curve. If not, any clubs near you? I ride with TKCs on tarmac like any road tyre ( ok no going mad etc ) It sounds like you will be surprised how well the tyres handle on the road - and unlike some other knobblies they don't sound like you are riding a tractor. In the wet just take it a little easier.

__________________
Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard, grow big an wear glasses if you need em.

Hi i have the same problems, i was thinking of lowering the sucker but perhaps a knobbly up front.

Like I was!

I was expecting them to be pretty horrible on road, but turns out I can drive just as hard as I did with normal road tyres. Mind you I probably don't ride as hard as some, I'm still the daringestest in my circles

I hear you on handling your big girl in the bush. The 660 is not an Enduro machine, but I reckon it's a decent dirt road tourer. A few weeks ago I was in the bush with 2 mates on KTM 690s, tight single & twin tracks, it's been wet up here as well, it proved to be instructive.

I was on full knobs (D606s) but there was no way I could keep with the KTMs. I found the 660's handling & weight tiring, it was possible to keep up for awhile, but not for long. So much so that I did crash it (just a little bit), and badly bent the gear lever & the peg hanger (just a bit). On the KTMs the gear level is tucked right in & the pegs are attached directly to the frame, on the 660 stick out a mile on their hangers, making it much less crash-worthy.

A while ago I bit the bullet & bought a second set of wheels from ebay UK.



So the Tourances are on one set (for riding to work etc.) & the others have the knobs for snotty rides in the bush. I had a wet ride down the great dividing range (Cunningham's Gap) on the 606s & it was a bit slippery (& scary).

Having said that the Tourances are hopeless in the wet on tar, so I can't wait to wear them out to get something decent. My mate Supamanaint (he's on this forum) has tried quite a few different tyres so he'd be a good guy to talk to about your options in Australia. He won't mind you PMing him (he's got nothing else to do!!)

The other posters are right in saying you just have to persevere & get used to riding a big heavy "ADV" bike rather than an Enduro or MX bike. Where you might man-handle a 110kg MX/Enduro bike, the 660 will break your leg with it's 180kg.

I'm very lucky to have 12 acres out my back gate where we have set up a track for my boy's PW50. I've spent hours out there getting to know the handling character, throttle response etc. of the 660 on both the Tourances & the knobs.

Don't give up on your XT660, for what they are at the price, they're a good thing. If you are used to smaller bikes, they take a bit of getting used to. I'm hoping to take mine in the APC rally next year, I reckon that's it's natural habitat as well as the weekly commute.

Good luck mate.