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 15-04-12, 06:08
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Most versatile bike!
 Two up, easy peasy! This is a one month, 3,000 km review of my new 2011 660XTZ. The weeTEN! Coming from a KTM950 Super Enduro and a BMW 650 Xchallenge background, I am used to, and enjoy the dual sport style of motorbike. I also am familiar with and have often sung the praises of a well engineered big single as the perfect universal motorbike. If you read through the reviews here and most peoples' complaints about the bike, they center around, lack of horsepower and comfort- both for rider and the pillion. So here are my two bits about those concerns of this particular bike. YMMV! 1. Horsepower- Most folks in the market for a purpose built bike, like the XTZ660 intend to use the bike on varied surfaces, roads, trails, and cross-country. So, a large amount of horsepower is probably not their first priority. My previous bike, the KTM SE, had gobs of power from it's huge V-twin, and it was the perfect bike for transiting the wide open spaces of the Western U.S. But, the beast had terrible gas mileage, and all that power, was at times, a great liability when trail riding. I now live in a congested, tiny country, where the roads are sometimes ancient and/or graded dirt. In particular, ALL the roads that lead to our home in the Northern mountains of Israel, are very twisty, usually keeping speeds below 65kmh. But, when transitioning from North to South, the nicely paved highways have 110kmh speed limits that translate into 120kmh average speeds for most drivers. Petrol here is running about $8.00 USD per gallon, so good mileage was very important to me. This, all to say, that I had narrowed my search down to the XTZ or the Honda TransAlp. Both bikes have decent horsepower and seemed to be capable of doing a decent job on the types of roads in my environment. Big hp is not a critical factor in this country, as most of the time, it is simply unusable. I chose the XTZ660 for ergonomic reasons, which I'll explain, later. I have now ridden the bike on dirt trails, in very congested, heavy traffic, on wide open, well paved highways, two-up with my wife, and mostly on twisy, mountain roads. For these PARTICULAR conditions, I have found that the stock bike's engine is adequate, and sometimes is surprisingly peppy! Case in point. I was in Tel Aviv, recently, and maxi-scooters rule the roads there, (think Roma traffic). As I filtered up to the crosswalk at a red light, with my wife as pillion, I ended up lined up with 3 scooters. When it was safe to proceed, I gunned the weeTEN a bit too much and popped a wheelie with my wife on the back! Wow was I surprised that the bike would do that loaded down with both of us! My wife, needless to say, was NOT amused. So, I am very pleased with the performance of this bike, and it never fails to achieve 60 mpg (U.S.). 2. Comfort- Like horsepower, comfort is a relative creature. I believe, that when you read the Yamaha Europe website and the articles about the development of the weeTEN, most of the time you get the sense that the team leaders were basically trying to reconstruct the UJM- universal Japanese machine, of the 60s and 70s. A "swiss army knife" type motorbike that is competent at everything, but not great at any one particular aspect of riding. As you can see in the photo, my wife and I are tall people. I'm a 193cm tall and carry a fair amount of weight! My wife is 180cm tall, so when we ride together, we need a bike that has fairly open ergonomics. We completed a 420 mile trip together, to Jerusalem and back, last week. We both found the seat, fairing, and peg positions to be quite comfortable. The bike performed admirably, and it cruised on the high speed highways at 120kmh, and we saw about 132kmh passing a few big rigs. I felt no numbing vibrations. My wife says the pillion seat was quite comfortable and better than the KTM or BMW seats of my previous bikes. I find the windscreen to be superb! I believe that is the case because the wind deflected off the screen hits my upper chest, and NOT my helmet. I would surmise, as many people have discovered, that if the deflected wind causes turbulence about your helmet, you might simply cut the stock screen down a few centimeters, so that the deflected wind hits your chest instead of your helmet. Problem solved! During the initial 1200km service, I had the Yamaha mechanic adjust the stock settings of the suspension for maximum weight loads. When I'm riding alone, the suspension is taut and sporty, allowing me to ride the twisty roads, aggressively. When I ride with my wife, the bike rides like a Harley-Davidson, very plush! She commented on how nice the suspension tamed the bumpy roads! So far, the only comfort modification needed for me, was a pair of "ROX risers", that put the bars a bit higher, and back for me. This also assisted me while standing on the pegs. I researched this purchase for 5 months. Since the XTZ660 is not sold in the USA, I was unfamiliar with it, and this site provided me with invaluable information that helped me make the right purchase decision, for my particular needs. This bike is not for everyone, certainly not if you crave the performance of a Hayabusa, as I once did. But, if you live in an area of the world where high petrol prices, lousy roads, and fun off-road rides abound, then the XTZ660 could be the ticket! It certainly has been for me. Happy Trails! |
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