hi all, am considering changing from 2006 xtx to 2010 xt660z. reasons being that xtz should be great for my everyday use instead of xtx since here only short distances and roads are terrible. besides, for the occasional overland trip the xtz should offer more wind protection and top speed is higher. what do you think?

thanks

simon

Your island's a lovely place and I can remember all too well that the roads are terrible (on a hired Honda Cub), so probably an XTZ will make life a bit easier than on the XTX. Can't imagine the 250 mile tank range of the Tenere is going to be of much an advantage over the X, seeing as Gozo is only 8 miles long!

What overland trips are you thinking of?

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hi pleiades, nice to hear you've been here. the xtx siuts me fine here, but we do an annual trip to sicily or south italy. all the others are on 4 cylinder bikes so top speed is an issue for me there. i was thinking the xtz would be better for gozo, the fueling problem would be solved, and when overland wind buffering would be reduced and top speed is higher compared to my xtx. wht do you think? thanks

I reckon you're right about the Z (or R) being more suited to the terrain/roads. As for fuelling, yes the Z is better in this respect, but it runs lean and benefits can still be had from improved fuelling via fitting a Kev mod/Power Commander.

Yes, but probably no better than X/R with a tall screen. The XTZ does have some buffeting issues, but very much depending on your height, helmet choice, riding position etc. This of course can be improved with tall screens, short screens, diffusers and a bit of fiddling/ingenuity.

Only marginally, and I don't think you'd really notice too much, and that can be easily/cheaply changed with different size front (or rear) sprockets.

Don't get me wrong I love the Tenere; it is a great bike, but if you've got a perfectly good XTX (which you know where you are with) in the shed, and you're not going to a massive amount off road, then you've got some thinking to do! But - if your heart desires an XTZ, then get one; don't bother trying to justify it to yourself. I bought one without having even seen one in the flesh, never mind a test ride or anything so fancy. I know I made the right choice because I've still got it over four years later!

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Tenere will be more flexible all round, but at heart they're much the same. Better tank range too..

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after having an r for 4 yrs and now havin had the z for about 1k miles I can say this.

z has a bigger tank range
fuelling is better but I never had much issues with the r
mpg is roughly the same if not a bit worse so far for me anyway on the z. average around 55mpg on the tenere but got bout 60mpg on the r. but I would cruise faster on the z so it's probably much of a muchness
vibrations on the z are pretty much gone but from top reaches of the revs
wind protection is miles better on the z. never had the issue of buffeting yet. at 6ft4 on the r with high hammy screen the wind hit me on the chin bar. on the z with stnandard screen the wind goes just over my lid.
handling is probably about the same if not a bit better for the z.

if you want to know more drop me a pm

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Plough on

thanks guys for your opinion. thing is everybody uses a small bike here and keep a sport or roadbike for overland trips. i want one bike as an allrounder and to be honest the xt is so much fun here. trips are short, roads are bad, weather is great and i can enjoy myself everyday with the xtx. i tried the transalp - boring and too bulky for here - and roadbikes are too stiff for our roads. on the specs the xtz has 120mph compared to 98mph for the x, dont know if this is possible. i even considered the bmw f800 but still at a loss.

I believe that 120mph is the theoretical top speed based on the gearing/rev limit. I'm sorry disappoint, but you won't get anything close to that in the real world (even with the Tenere's wildly optimistic speedo!)

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i agree, after all its the same engine and the only thing that you can improve is the fuelling. i did increase sprocket size up since i have dna stage 1 and 2 and the engine seemed more comfortable. however my top speed never exceeded 168 km/h on gps

I got my XTX to read 177kph on the speedo but flat on the tank with topbox removed and long straight road with no traffic and 3 km build up!!!!!!

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(Now sold on, sob) 2011 Blue XT660X with gold wheels, was 26,500 km.
Engine mods: K&N Stage 1 filter, DNA Stage 2 filter, snorkel removed, Kev fuel mod fitted.
Plus: smoked Puig screen, Yam aluminium sump guard, Yamaha / Acerbis handguards, Givi Trekker aluminium side cases, Leo Vince X3 cans plus Kev front fork mod and Fender Xtender. Just fitted Michelin Road Pilot 3 tyres.

SOLD the XTX for a Super Ten 1200. And just bought a Raptor 700 so staying on here for some tips....