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XT660Z Reviews The "Z" - Good or Bad

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  # 1  
Old 16-12-09, 14:46
tripletom tripletom is offline
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1 year then...

Well after a year then, and 10,001 miles.
This bike replaced my lovely black Hayabusa. A bit of a change in direction no doubt. Why the change? The Tenere fitted in more with what I wanted from a bike at that point in time.
It still does.
So in 10,001 miles what has it used/cost me?

Tyres, the OE Michelin Siracs lasted 4,500 miles and were a reasonable tyre. They started to square off quite badly on the rear and the front developed a strange wear pattern. They were replaced with Bridgestone Battlewings (the OE fitment to the BMW F800GS) and these are more of a road-biased tyre. After 5,500 miles they have about 2.5mm of tread left front and rear and have worn well. I would recommend them for mid year use definitely if you're doing road miles.

Servicing, is at 6,000 miles, or yearly. The 6,000 mile service is pretty basic and cost �120 approx. At the 12,000 (yet to be done) service there's more to be done (valves etc) and I think the costs go up. After it's had it's dealer 12k I shall do the rest of the servicing myself, it's easy enough.
It's not used any oil between changes but there has had to be warranty work carried out. This has been as follows-
Cush drive rubbers replaced.
Crankcase breather replaced with 2009 version to prevent airbox filling with oil.
I also had the front and rear discs, water pump housing, caliper bolts, brake lines and reg/rect bolts replaced under warranty as I wasn't happy with how they had corroded in the first week of owning.

Have my impressions of the bike changed, and have I changed anything for personal preference?
I found the ergonomics quite strange. I'm 6' 2" and I think the ergos are designed for shorter people and then the ride height increased. I had to fit a taller screen (from Metal Mule), and then form some bends into the screen to get rid of terrible buffeting from the wind blast with the stock screen. I also had the seat refoamed and reshaped to suit more where I wanted to sit on the bike. Saxon seats in Dorchester did this and it cost me �190. Well worth doing. I also had the OE brake lines replaced with HEL items as they hadn't done any for the Tenere and were offering a full set FOC if I sent them mine. I also didn't want a repeat of last winter's corrosion. Most recent purchase was of a Nitron Race shock with three way adjustment. Again I got a discount as they hadn't done one.
I also fitted a pair of Leo Vince SBK silencers, but didn't really get on with them so sold them on.

Given that last year I owned/sold a Honda Firestorm, Moto Guzzi V11, Hayabusa and Aprilia Caponord how does the Tenere feel as a replacement? Well from that list it replaced the Hayabusa as I mentioned, and although there are times when I miss the proper shove of the 'busa, I don't miss too much else. The Caponord, well the Tenere does everything the Capo did, and also manages to stay functioning every day. Ok so it doesn't pull 3 figures two up, but I knew that from the outset. The V11 is the only bike I miss, but again with it's precocious Italian style it did break down a lot.
I also have a 1994 Speed triple and a 2000 Bandit 600SY in the shed and they are nice to have runs out on for the higher speed stuff. What I found with the Tenere is that you end up planning your routes away from Motorways and dual carriageways and end up on rather interesting roads by doing so.

Economy.
I always manage to get rubbish economy from the bikes I own. Mainly because I don't see the point in riding with kid gloves. The Tenere has averaged between 48-50mpg in the time I've had it. Not brilliant, but not bad either. Once you spend time over 5,000rpm the economy begins to drop.

Would I recommend one?
With mixed views. If you want a good commuter that you can bomb up tiny B and C- roads on at weekends and do some interesting touring then unreservedly yes. If you want a toy for the weekend for blatting about on and doing green lanes, then there are possibly better bikes out there, BMW were doing great deals on the G450. If you want something to do big road miles on two up in an adventure style, then probably you should look at the F800GS or similar.
It is very refined for a big single, but it is still a big single and you don't have the smoothness of an IL4. That said, on a twisty road it is such fun. It's also far classier than the Honda Transalp and has far more potential. That said, the bike is what you make of it. If you fancy one then you really need a test ride. If you are coming from the other XT660's (R and X) then fear not, it doesn't have the **** fuelling and is very smooth.
  # 2  
Old 16-12-09, 15:45
Logan Logan is offline
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Great review Tom!

Logan
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  # 3  
Old 16-12-09, 22:48
maxwell123455 maxwell123455 is offline
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Good review mate.

I still cant understand how yamaha (and other bike companies as well) can make bikes now that corrode/have problems and then have to spent thousands on recalls and replacement parts, can they not sort this out from the off and make bikes like they use to. Sound so old and im only 21
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  # 4  
Old 16-12-09, 23:02
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Tony660x Tony660x is offline
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Thats is a spot on review.
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  # 5  
Old 17-12-09, 10:03
tripletom tripletom is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by maxwell123455 View Post
Good review mate.

I still cant understand how yamaha (and other bike companies as well) can make bikes now that corrode/have problems and then have to spent thousands on recalls and replacement parts, can they not sort this out from the off and make bikes like they use to. Sound so old and im only 21
I think what helped expedite the parts being replaced was that at the time I was using the Aprilia Caponord and it wasn't corroding, yet the new Yam was...and I told the dealer this in on uncertain terms.
Glad you liked the review.
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  # 6  
Old 26-12-09, 18:24
Gary117 Gary117 is offline
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Great review Tom.
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