I dont know if this type of bike is available in US but can i throw this spanner in and see. Its the Yamaha XT660R.
I have been reseaching it for a trip to africa in 2 years time and all feed back about it is generally good. It has bassically the same engine as the old XT600 (i have been told) and will go on for years with general maintenance. It is lighter than the DL and AT but doesnt make as much power. But I have been told it will sit at 80mph all day as long as you fill it up.
As with all the bikes there are some mods needed like bashplate, handguards etc. The only problems i had was the petrol tank was too small, Home do a larger petrol tank but is made from carbon fibre and is around £900. But on the Xt660 forum news has just broke that Acrebis are going to make a larger fuel tank for it by the end of the year. Dont know what size etc but is to be around £250.
For me this hopefully will be the perfect bike for doing my daily commute of around 40-45 miles a day for at least a year, in that time i will kit it out with stuff, take it on tours, do my own maintenance, learn more about the bike and then me and my brother are going off to do africa.
|