After sometime trying i have finally been able to post of this forum . At the moment i and my brother Ashmax are both students at uni. He has just got into bikes i have been into bike for around 3years. We have never really had time to tour with each other as both are always working or studying, but i have toured with my Mum and Dad on the bikes around a few countries.

My brother out of the blue said he wanted to go touring on the bikes when he gets a bigger one, and always said he had the plan of going through africa to cape town (still not sure on this plan):confused1: . We worked it out that the earliest we could both go would be in 2 years time when i start my year out and he has just graduated for one year.

After some looking around we have sort of decided on the yamaha XT660R, and after looking at some of the mods that we need to do are looking at a steep budget. But some of this is not really needed but would help (ie tall screens, heated grips, gel/air hauk seats etc)

The XT660 forum has helped us alot but at the moment still dont really know if the XT660 is really the bike to do this type of trip. It would also need to be able to coupe with at least a year daily commute, touring, off roading and all this while still being able for a student to afford it.

So what bike would you suggest?

I hired an XT660 for a week when I was on holiday in Greece last month, and they're a cracking little bike. Good, strong engine and they handle well on the road for an off-road style bike.
I've been thinking along similar lines for my next trip to Africa - my current KTM950 is a great bike, but it's a bit bulky and thirsty for extended off-road travelling.
You'll need to think about making a few mods for the sort of trip you're planning:

• The under engine exhaust is vulnerable, but can be replaced with a high level item.
• A sturdy engine protector would be needed - some parts of the engine are quite exposed, especially the water pump and pipework.
• Decent quality luggage set-up.
• Maybe look at upgrading the suspension if you're planning a lot of off-road use.
• The standard seat isn't too comfortable!!

Some of the components on the bike are clearly built down to a price, but the engine should be as bullet-proof and as low maintenance as any other modern japanese unit.
I've seen these advertised for around £3500 for a new, pre-registered model, and for that sort of price there really isn't anything else that stands comparison.
Unfortunately the bike hasn't been around long enough to create much of a secondhand market, but it would definately be worth your while to do a bit of searching.

Hey Max.

I'm guessing you're the Maxwell from the xt660.com forum.

Don't think I'll add to this post, since you know where I stand on this.

It does you credit to check other points of views. No doubt, the responses you'll be getting from the xt660.com forum will be pretty much thumbs up (big surprise ) all around. Here, you'll get anything from "it's a wonderfull bike" to "it's a disaster on two wheels".

Unfortunately you'll find very few here who have actually done the trip you plan on a xt660r, simply due to the fact that it is still relatively new on the market. OldBaldric is the only one that I know of on this forum that has done the cross-Africa trip on an xt660r. But he gives it high praise.

Having said that, I hope you will find this forum as friendly and as helpfull as I have. There's a lot to learn here.

Good luck making your choice.

A few months back BIKE magazine (UK) featured two guys on 660's riding to Tibet from the UK. One, a jr. editor at the mag, wrote the story. The other, an Indian (orTibetan?) buddy, had not ridden a big bike IIRC. (sorry if some details are wrong)

It's a three part story, so to read it you'll have to find the back issues to read the whole thing. It's good, worth hunting down, IMO. (try March to May??)

Funny, I don't remember much said about the bikes. I don't think they had any problems to speak of. These guys road in some incredible places (good pics) and in some tough ones too. The bikes are pretty heavy when loaded up
apparently, but probably not much more (or less) than the competition.

Sounds like a perfect bike to me. In a few years when you guys get ready,
there should be plenty of used ones around. But by then you'll both be married with your 2nd child on the way When I was in Ireland, all I ever saw was young girls pushing loaded prams everywhere.

Patrick
(Irish....on both sides...)

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

Two recent threads about XT660R:

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...opinions-26971
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...ded-fuel-27943

For my two cents worth, I like the broad idea of the XT660R (and it's price!) but I am not too keen on all the mods that seem to be required, or are at least desirable, as soon as it is delivered.
The "off the road" webpages indicate what the bike could be if Yamaha had made it more like the XT600 in the first place. e..g. running the pipes under the engine was a huge backward step by Yam.


There is an amount of speculation that Yam will produce a new tenere:-

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...n-suzuki-28587

Maybe the 2008 Tenere will turn up at the bike shows this year?

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Dave