6'6" /198cm What bike?
 

Hi all,

Let me introduce myself. I'm the exact copy of any travel book on the Netherlands;

Blond, blue eyed and very tall! Somewhere around 1,98 / 6'6".. ( I suppose you stop measuring after a certain height).

Right now I'm riding a feasty fazer from 2004, which for the short distances I cover right now (max. 300km), is okay. however with my height, my head tends to be in the turbulent part, expressing itself in a painful left wrist after long drives and a very stiff neck.

I'm looking for a bike which is able to do all-road since my travel plans are aimed at going to Asia (from Europe or vise-versa).

My starting budget is around EUR 5k. I have not made any test drives!

Several bikes I'm interested in (in that price range) are;

the XT660 Tenere:
+looks good
+ very tall riding position (cycle-ergo.com)
- 1 cylindre

KTM 960 Adventure:
+ More power than the tenere
+ Good riding position (as per cycle-ergo.com)
- high milage in my pricerange (+/- 96k KM)

I'm not looking for a dual sport which I have to tweak from scratch, but something that is fun on the highway, on the back roads and preferably helps me to take my first off-road steps.

I hope you guys and girls can help me out here! :mchappy:

Here's a start point
 

Going by the limited information to hand I would say consider the DL650 V-Strom.
There is information about them in the Suzi tech section and in this section.

You might also read about the Kawasaki versys which has certain capabilities.

Either way, if you have long legs then you need a bike with a high seat or your knees will be cripplied.

The DL650 is actually quite low as far as ADV bikes are concerned. It fits me and I'm only 5' 6". But you CAN build up the seat to gain more leg room. One friend did this to his Wee Strom. Much improved. Not sure about lowering foot rests. ?? :innocent:

The KTM's are all mostly VERY TALL, good Big Man bikes ... but expensive and may not be the most long lived or reliable bikes. (640, 950, 990) I doubt many KTM will fit your budget unless quite high km. or old.

Other good BIG MAN bikes:
HONDA's: XR600, XR650R (kick start), XR650L (tallest dual sport next to KTM 640) The XR650L makes most sense cost wise. With proper mods can be a good travel bike. :D:D GREAT big man bike! (needs 1000 euro in mods)
Massive owner support from forums.

BMWGS
Perhaps you can afford an older 1100 or 1150GS BMW? Good big man bike, seat can easily be built UP for those long of leg. Downsides? Expensive to run, expensive accessories, not 100% reliable (IMO). If you can learn to do all maintenance, it's affordable ... just. Huge owner groups for support.

XT600 is a good choice but you will have to get a custom built up seat and custom lowered foot rests. This will help! Inexpensive, reliable about 90%, needs a lot of mods to be good travel bike. But worth it, IMO. Great owner support/knowledge here and elsewhere.

In the EU you don't get some dual sport bikes we get in USA: DR650, KLR650 ... not sure about the Hondas listed above?? Can you still buy a new Honda XR650L? Many used ones for sale?

Also consider the DL650's big brother bike: DL1000 V-Strom. Same leg room as R1200GS (I measured them side by side) and with a built up seat could be a winner. Not good OFF ROAD but good "bad" road bike. OK on dirt roads. I
put 90K miles on my Vstrom ... NOT ONE mechanical problem! Smooth, fast, fun.

https://patricksphotos.smugmug.com/p.../i-c4bq4z9.jpg

With your budget, long inseam and wanting to take it off road, Id go with a used XTZ 660

I've a friend who's 6'5" who loved his 650 V strom, and found it comfey long distance. I'll Definitely be keeping an eye on this thread as I'm thinking of buying something similar

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To elaborate a tad, for my personal view I went with a twin cyl and a bike that is currently for sale in Europe it being still imported into various countries - this in conjunction with your limited data.

The old, air cooled thumpers went off the market for new sales in Europe over 10 years, or more, ago and the owners now think that there is a premium in their asking price for rarity value (if they are selling one anyway).

Anyway, you might not find a current model of the 650 Strom with that budget, but you would certainly have a choice of the mark 1 version because they sold pretty well across Europe and they are tough machines which "last" well; hence there is plenty of choice on the market.

Damn, that just raised the price a bit.

https://patricksphotos.smugmug.com/p.../i-sHNWVCg.jpg
Here is my 6' 7" friend Bob plowing through deep sand in Baja aboard his 12 year old XR600 Honda. As you can see, the XR actually fits him pretty well. On my bike (DR650) he looks like a Monkey Humping a Football and totally flattens out the suspension. :(

PS: Bob is 70 years old and still rides deep sand better than me. (not saying much really!)

I have a friend who is 6'4" and she finds her (old) Africa Twin very comfortable.

The XT660Z Tenere has a deeply scalloped seat that forces you into one riding position, but if you are tall it's easy to get this modified with the scoop filled in which transforms the riding position.

My friend who is 6'5" did this. He also fitted the Piug high windscreen with an additional clip on section. There's also lowered pegs available.

I have a Tenere660 and I am 180 cm or 5,11 and the Tenere is quite adequate for me. It might have been just perfect if I was 3-4 cm taller. But if youre 1.98 you will probably need to do as Tim mentioned above with seat and pegs.

Most seats can be raised and adjusted with a minimum of work, the vstrom seat I fitted to our Gladius, seeing as suzuki put a dirt bike like plank on it , also was able at the same time to level it out a bit. I really like the seat as is, my wife perfers a harder seat, the rubber pads on the bottom are easily replaced with rubber stoppers cut to length and a spacer made to realign the seat lock, which I made from a old plastic cutting board. front is only held by a bent rod that can be adjusted a bit, in our case made another .

Get a bike you like , then adjust it to your liking, you might just find a bike where the person is not willing to do that, get it cheap, he doesnt like it anyway. It amazes me how many people buy bikes then turn around and sell them because the handlebars or similar is not to their liking.

It's true, lots of lazy folk out there without much imagination. No bike is going to be perfect in every aspect. Always adjustments to be made. Bar height/angle is important and can be either easy or hard to make right, depending on the bike and your requirements.

But if raising your seat I would not mess with rubber bumpers too much. Simply have a PROFESSIONAL seat person build up the seat using high quality foam and re-cover. Most pro companies can easily add up to 2 inches to seat height and make it better than new.

Some think they can "DIY" the seat and sometimes go wrong and their work falls apart after 10k miles.

So worth the investment to get it done well one time. Also, if going two up, the seat maker can make room for pillion when raising the seat: Widening, lengthening and of course raising the seat height to fit your leg length.

The XR600 shown above has a custom seat on it (hard to tell in pic) to fit Bob's
6'7" height. It's about 1.5 inches taller than standard XR600 seat, which is tall to begin with. I can't even get on his bike! I feel like a toddler on it! :rofl:

I am 6ft 6in and ride a xt600e more that comfy for someone my height to be honest you'd need a few mods making to it though like a bigger fuel tank


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Hi all!

Thanks for your answers!

I'll be looking into trying some new bikes this season!

I'll let you know what I've gotten for myself!

I'm only 6'2" so a bit of a shortass really :cool4: and I've found the old airhead BMW GS twins good as well as the XT600. I didn't have any lowered footrests or bar risers fitted so the addition of those should make them perfect for 6'6"

I'd add that most seats can be customised for extra height using the services of a good upholsterer.

Used Triumph Tiger 1050

800gs
 

Got to be on the shortlist. I hated mine mainly down to the ergonomics but lots of people rave about them so try one out for size. Very tall bike and good fun on the road

I guess most bikes are designed for the average build, and if you're in the 95th percentile, there's no substitute for a test ride.

I'm 1m95 and fairly in proportion (not mega leggy/not long bodied). I ultimately settled for a 2009 XTZ660. The decision process following test rides is a bit off-topic, but if you've experience of them it may help calibrate your mind. It went went thus:

BMW R1150GS - nice and roomy and a very natural position, but rather sat-in rather than sat-on. Comfy, but didn't grab me.

Honda Africa Twin (early 2000s model) - I grew up pouring over pics of these so it was meet my hero time... and I was disappointed. Upper body felt good, but peg-seat was just too cramped. Test rode 3 with variations to seat and bars, but my heart wasn't in it.

XTZ660 - Sat on it... felt right in every way... bought it. Kept it for about 4 years including commuting through the south downs, a stint in London, a 6000 mile Russian jaunt and some UK green laning heavily-overloaded with caving gear. Never regretted the decision. Only sold because I left the UK.

(I can also contribute experience of a Tiger 1050 - of the above three, the position is most like the Tenere, but a bit more 'sat in'. Glorious motor, not so good in the mud. Finally, a Tiger 800 XC similar, but noticeably lighter and more playful. I'll probably swing this way when I'm back to the UK.)

That is always an important factor for me which is one reason that I have just sold an inline 4 cyl semi-crotch rocket, not for the first time; some things I never quite learn but want to try once more to see if anything has changed.

So today I went on a testride on the xt660z. 2009 version, 14k km.

I liked the bike a lot! It's a big one cylinder which you notice when you drive a bit slower, but felt in control and the bike handled well.

When braking hard, the back did slide a bit, perhaps too much rear brake or just soft suspension (?).

My question is; what mileage would be appropriate? I found some nice bikes with 31k km mileage. Is that something you would go for or is it better to spend a bit more cash on a standard one?

The options on the higher mileage bikes are better though, as is the price!

Please share your thoughts!

Donkey

If given reasonable care the XT660 should easily go to 100K km. It's more about how the bike was cared for: is it rusty? sat outside a lot? dented rims? Bashed up undercarriage? Dinged suspension links? Bodged up wiring? Regular oil changes?

Mods are good ... IF they are done well.

Braking on a big 600 single is quite different than a road bike. Never use rear brake alone ... always combine with front brake. To reduce front end dive when braking hard with front brake ... be sure to add in some rear brake.
This will prevent some dive.

It will take practice to get used to the "feel' of the rear brake and keep from locking up. Be careful on wet roads until you get used to it. It's sensitive.

That "softness" you perceive is a GOOD THING. In rough conditions it will save you and the bike from getting beat to death. Get used to it. That bike has about a foot of suspension travel. Another good thing. Making it stiff will ruin it, making it useless off road and ruin ON road handling as well.

Once you figure out HOW TO BRAKE on that bike ... all will be good. Tire pressures are important ... don't put in too much
air. Follow Yam's recommendations.

I knew you'd like it :)

On the back brake, with long legs I found I needed to adjust the lever right down as otherwise with stiff off-road boots I couldn't get my toe high enough to brake with feel when sitting down - I was just putting effort into flexing the boot.

I moved the lock nut to below the lever rather than above to get an extra little bit of angle and all was well. It was a bit of a compromise, as too low it's not quite right when standing up... makes a change from the lowering link discussions :).

As for mileage... 14k km on a seven year old bike? That's 2k km a year! 6000 mile (9400 km) service intervals, so if it's been done by distance, it's only had the oil changed once (maybe twice - the initial run-in interval is shorter). If serviced be distance, it'll not have had the valves checked or suspension linkages and head race re-greased yet either - probably due (every 12,000 miles, if I remember right?). I'd rather have the 31k km bike that had been serviced by the book. If a comparable 09 bike, that's still under 4.5k km a year.

Mods wise, a decent bashplate, hand guards and maybe a rack are worth having, anything else is personal preference and if I were buying, I'd use to push the price down.

What I did with mine...
https://whitebikewhitesea.wordpress.com/

(I'm a bit pro Tenere, but it's well worth testing other models too. Worst case scenario is a fun day out)

Cheers,

I did like it ;-)

I'll be checking back in when I either got one or have some questions!

Engine problems xt 660?
 

Now I went to a motor dealer today to look at a tenere.

This guy told me the motorbike doesn't like to drive long drives on the highway or the engine blows.

Is this true?

Seems a bit weird I don't really find many stories on the forums about such a problem.


Would love to hear your stories whether it's a bad idea to buy a xt 660z

Sounds bogus to me. It's not a perfect bike ... but I doubt riding fast highway riding will blow the engine. Not credible, IMO.

The real truth about any bike will come out in the big forums that feature the
XT660. Read them, and keep reading them. Ask long time owners of that bike about their experiences. Read ride reports. Test ride the bike again, decide.
:scooter:

Rubbish. I did close on 1,000 km in one day on mine, which has now done 60,000km. Although there's only five gears, the ratios are extremely wide and it will cruise comfortably all day long. 130 kph seems a sweet spot.

http://www.morocco-knowledgebase.net/tim/P1010673e.jpg
optional ice box for hot weather

It's not perfect, but is about the best for mixed distance/offroad. Have a look at my criticisms on post #15 of Six weeks in May/June 2012

I have a Tenere with 110 k kms on the clock and I have ridden almost all of those kms myself. And have not experienced any problems with the engine at all. It burns a little oil if you ride it hard in hot weather but nothing to worry about.
I do however not ride it in 130 km/h. 90-100 and up to 110 feels most comfortable for me with a loaded bike. I have also geared the bike down from its ridiciously high gearing with sprockets 15/45 which gives 4000 rpm at 100/km/h. I rode to sets of 15/48 and are now on 15/47.

As Mollydog mentiones there is a huge forum for all 3 XT 660 models called XT660.com with loads of information and first hand experience with these bikes there. I have read a bit there myself and I cannot remember anyone there mentioning blowing their top ends at all. The low power outtake from the XT 660 engines makes them last longer. But of course if youre going to race it on the freeways/highways Im sure youre will be able to blow the top end on them.

You can try to read about bikes with higher power outtake pr cc/engine size - I think those kind of bikes are much more prone to blow top ends.

The main cons with the Tenere as I see it now after riding almost 100 k kms with it is that its heavy for its size. Its 181 kgs dry weight and + 200 kgs curb weight. It must be the heaviest single cylinder bike ever (except from Suzuki Dr Big maybe...) And weight matters enormously when the going gets though. But weight doesnt matter on a highway if thats where youre going to use it for.
Another con is the very restricted engine, its so jerky, lumpy and surging a lot when stock. It really needs to be opend up and breath better.
The stock seat is terrible and so is headlights. The cush rubber drive in the rear hubb is a weak spot too - last about 15 k kms. And the stock suspension isnt all that good either.

So, getting back to my endeavor of finding a motorcycle!

Pleased to introduce my new bike!

It already had plenty accessories attached (seems like the first owner robbed touratech...)

However no 12v socket is installed, so that will be my first mod!

Thanks for the advices guys (and girls)!