Hi Folks,

Having finally signed up to xt660.com (a year late) and with a bit of down time now I'm static in Santiago for a few weeks, I've been inspired to do what I've been meaning to do for months - put down on paper all the mods to my trusty steed and a few observations on them, having been on the road in S America for 23,000km. I'll post in 3 parts. So here goes....



A BIT OF BACKGROUND

I was lucky to find a 2010 XT660Z with only 5000km on the clock, which had been heavily upgraded - for a big overland trip which never happened. The previous owner clearly had a few bob, and did the 'open chequebook' trick at Touratech UK. I took a few bits off and eBayed them to raise money for other stuff I wanted. So except for a limited bit of riding a stock Tenere (on-road only), all my experience of Teneres has been on this beauty - which means I can't make many meaningful comparisons of the mods on my bike with a stock bike.

So far, I've done about 23,000km here in South America. Wherever I can, I ride the dirt roads and have done many thousands of km on them. I'm happy to ride on the edge of my ability with a heavily loaded bike - unlike all the Beamer riders I meet, I don't mind dropping it. As a result I have done so numerous times, trying to ride on ground that sometimes asks more of my skills than I can offer! Hence, the bike has has a rough ride. Out here you can often find 300km of unbroken dirt and gravel ahead of you, so I have got used to standing up and gunning it - you have no option sometimes if you want to get to where you are going before nightfall. And on the wash-board, that's often the best way to get a smoother ride, but the payoff is the old girl gets a bit of a hammering.

Except for a faulty spark plug due to dirty fuel, the Ten has given me ZERO mechanical problems. The only thing that has let me down is the front headlight stay, which has snapped 3 times due to prolonged the riding on the rough stuff. Oh yes, and there was the minor issue of breaking two cogs in the transmission in a freak accident, but I put that down to very, very bad luck.

[That's not meant to happen!!]


If your 'Big Trip' is going to involve lots of dirt, mountains and deserts and you want to enjoy rather than endure it, I think a modified Ten is close to being the ideal bike: tough, simple, adequately powered, not too heavy, and able to handle the dirt and the long stretches on asphalt in equal measure. Why does everyone in S America ride BMWs? I see very few Teneres. Would I take one again on this sort of trip? (This is going to spark debate!!) It is a toss-up between my Tenere and a KTM 690 with RR tanks / fairing and a few other mods. My only complaint about the Ten is the weight when I'm on difficult ground - and the KTM is notably lighter, as well as being better in the dirt. So I guess the debate for me is really one about reliability. The Ten has been fantastic so far, what about the KTM....

So here are a few photos, a list of all the mods, and a few observations after 10 months on the road. I'm very much NOT a techie, so please excuse the lack of technical detail! I hope they may be of use to anyone prepping their bike for a big trip.

[The Bike]


[Loaded up and on the road - with some wishful thinking]


[Protection and tool-box]


[Cockpit - note, you can see the 'Bird Comb' mod in front of the tank: an attempt to reduce buffeting]


[Back end, with a temporary (becoming increasingly permanent) repair on a cracked silencer]




PARTS SWAPPED....

Suspension - Rear (Ohlins). I haven't ridden a Tenere off-road with stock suspension, so difficult to compare. But the Olhins has handled the rough stuff out here superbly. Cruising at 80kph on the numerous long stretches of gravel and dirt out here with the bike loaded, she soaks everything up and gives a pretty smooth ride.

Suspension - Front Springs (Hyperpro). Similar to above.

Exhaust (OTR 2-in-1, Titanium). Obviously a lot lighter, and with the OTR foam air filter and a Power Commander, the bike feels a lot more responsive to that stock bike I have ridden. A lesson learnt after the silencer cracked in the Atacama (I was rear ended by a Honda about 1500km earlier, which dented and evidently stressed it) - take a stainless steel silencer on big trips, because it's pretty damn hard to find someone who can weld Titanium in rural South America. The OTR stainless version is not much heavier, and the 'fixability' of steel when in the middle of nowhere is worth the trade.

Air Filter (OTR Foam Filter). Not much to say, except the obvious advantage of not needing to find new paper filters. I've always been able scrounge some filter oil from a local motocross garage.

Bash Plate (Touratech). Being a 2010 model, there was no option but to upgrade the bash plate. I've been very pleased with the Touratech one - very solid, and convenient to change the oil - with the hinge at the back, only the front two bolts need removing.

Handlebars (Renthal Fatbar RC). I've gone down hard a couple of times, with the impact point on the barkbusters and the bars taking the weight of the fall. The Renthals seem rock-solid. I wouldn't have trusted the stock bars.

Pegs (Pivot Pegz). A no-brainer, really. Super-sturdy and plenty to stand up on, compared to the stock pegs.

Chain Guard (Motorrad Planet, Stainless Steel - via eBay). I have broken two stock plastic ones, so went for the stainless steel option. If I had more cash I have gone for a lighter aluminium one, but this one is very strong and good value.

[A bit heavy, but strong and good value]


Headlight (HID). The HID makes a big difference to the stock light. Only the dip beam is HID - no change to the full beam. Being seen is a high priority out here, so bright is good. The only minor negative is the few moments of relative darkness when the HID warms up on switching from full beam after several minutes - not ideal if you're going round a bend on a country road. But I have a solution - see below X-Vision LED below.

Indicators (LED Mini Indicators from Touratech). Brighter - always a big plus. And smaller, so less likely to get damaged. I'm no electrical expert, but I suspect they are more robust than standard bulbs when under constant vibration for long periods on the dirt. The stems on two of them eventually broke after some rough handling, but a bit of insulating tape has resolved that.

Clutch / Break Levers (Short Levers from eBay). Once I had fitted Barkbusters, the stock levers didn't fit, so I took a punt at buying the levers that RTW Paul had found on eBay from Hong Kong (one from a GSXR 600 and and the other from a FJR 1300) and Bingo! 2 weeks later they arrived and fitted the bike perfectly. They were really cheap too, which led me to wondering about quality, but 23,000km later all is good. I find the short levers much more responsive when using only one or two fingers - a throw-back from my mountain biking days and perhaps just in my mind. Link to RTW Paul's thread below:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=782959

[Short levers]


Tyres (Heidenau Scouts). You read mixed reviews about these, but for the combination of riding I've done, which has included a lot of gravel and a far bit of really crappy dirt and sand, I think they have been great. Perhaps that is because I have had very little wet conditions to deal with - reviewers seem to highlight the tyre lack of traction in the wet. I'm just about the change them after 20,000km - and there is still a tiny bit of tread on them.

[After 20,000km - looking forward to some new ones]


Front Mud Guard (High guard from Touratech) One very muddy day on Route 40 in Patagonia justified this mod. When all the BMWs were getting stuck with blocked front wheels, the Tenere kept sliding onwards. I won't be changing it back for the stock mudguard. The TT guard is made of pretty flexible plastic, so it can handle the knocks and falls. It also make the bike look very cool, Dakar styly!!!

[Seriously gluey mud on Ruta 40. I kept going.....]


[....but he didn't, until we removed the guilty part!]


Front Sprocket (Renthal 14 Tooth). I lose a bit of fuel economy on the long road sections (but still cruise around 120kph@5000rpm), but get a lot more pull in the dirt / on the hills with full luggage. First gear is a bit short now, but I can live with it. The speedo and odometer are now about 10% out, so I use the GPS all the time. I'm thinking about fitting a Yellow Box to recalibrate.