Moving from an F800GS to a XT660Z

After just over a year following the sale of my 800GSA, I bought a mint white 2014 XT660Z Teneré last week. I've owned Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha and BMW but strangely enough never a Suzuki since I started riding in around 1974. Yamaha has always had a soft spot with me, having worked at Main Yamaha in Johannesburg in 1981 after I finished my National Service, and part time at Linex Yamaha while studying.  I also raced a TT500 in enduro class for 2 years back then.  When speed was the thing I did for kicks in those younger days, I had an FZ750 that had been worked on a bit and for a while, it was the 750 to beat on the Pretoria/Krugersdorp highway Sunday morning drag strip. That short background then to present my credentials as a not so stranger to Yammie.

Before buying the Teneré last week, I had briefly sat on one once but never ridden one before last Monday.  I have always loved the looks of the Ten as being a quite business-like no nonsense type of bike. Being Japanese, their legendary reliability was a given and something I've always favoured over outright performance.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I sold my standard 2010 800GS in 2012 after having enjoyed many trips with it and replaced it with a 2014 800GSA which I only had for about a year.  While I loved this bike too, the screen and my 6'2" height didn't go well together and I suffered a severely vibrating helmet peak on every trip that made it difficult to read road signs at any speed over about 100km/h.  However, this was not the reason I sold it.  I sold it because I realised one day that R140000 had been sitting in the garage for 7 weeks where I hadn't even seen it, never mind ridden it.  That capital could be more productively used on my farm.

Livestock farming and week long trips don't go together and a year passed without me having a bike other than my trusty Bushlander without which I cannot run my farm.  Here's my long-running thread on that bike: https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=138800.0.  But......  I also cannot keep a clear head without a bike and, while the Bushlander helped with the worst withdrawal symptoms, n Boer moes 'n plan maak. So during my bikeless year, when no-one was around [emoji12] [emoji13], I would secretly peruse the for sale section here and on Gumtree and look at RRs done with 660s.  Then sigh and go back to work.

Then, the week before Easter, I saw Extreme Yamaha in PE advertising a very nice looking white Teneré.  Hmmmmm.......  The seed was planted and after a few days (and sleepless nights), it germinated and grew a few leaves.  I called on the Monday and told the dealer I'd come and look at it on the Tuesday.  So Monday night I lie in bed, tossing and turning, thinking of how much more productively R85000 could be applied to my farm in a drought year and how someone of my age is supposed to be responsible and and and.

Tuesday I called the dealer and told them I was out.    Tuesday I wandered around the 'net looking at various Teneré pix, looking at the Extreme Yamaha ad I had bookmarked, reading RRs guys had done with the 660 and so on.  Wednesday I was here at my post in body but not in spirit.  Thursday before Good Friday I called the dealer and asked if they were open on the Saturday  [emoji3] :deal:  No, only on Tuesday again.  Damn!  OK, so Monday the 2IB and I drive down to PE and peer through the dealer window at the bike displayed right there, a glass pane thickness out of my reach, like a 16 year old kid. Tuesday morning at 05h10 I wake my 2IB, bring her tea and rush her through breakfast so we can be at the dealer when they open.  Damn, it's lekker to be 16 years old again  [emoji38]8:  :ricky:

So, one thing leads to another, I take the bike for a ride, look it over nicely (it has some nice extras but nothing excessive) and I LIKE IT! It's lekker man, uncomplicated, more than enough power and open road go for my style of riding.  It is much more refined than my XR650L that I really enjoyed on the Karoo roads. So after tapping a few buttons on my phone I am R85k poorer but man what a feeling to have a stofpadskoeter again!

The saddest part of this whole tale to date, is that I rode that great bike 320km home, parked it in the garage, pulled a bike cover over it and will only get another opportunity to ride it next weekend. Arghhhhh!

So, back to the title of this post.  After those 310km of tar back to Graaff-Reinet, plus the 16km dirt road to the farm, what are my impressions of the bike and, given that I found many guys torn between the XT660Z and the F800GS, how do the 2 bikes compare?

XT660Z Teneré

+ Looks.  The bike looks like an adventure bike. All the photos I looked at are deceiving. In real life the bike is larger than the pix lead one to believe.
+ Reliability.  Japanese bikes have legendary reliability.  I read one owner had 160k km with minor problems
+ Ergonomics. I fit the bike comfortably and I like the tall stance.  I realise some guys may be challenged but I like it.
+ Screen. The screen is not perfect and still causes a very slight vibration on my peak but it is light years better than the 800 Adventure screen.
+ Range. Guys are reporting 450 - 500km per tank and this is great. Yes fuel stops are not trip breakers but I like to ride when I ride, not plan my route around fuel stops.  Being 60km out of town, it's nice to have fuel available to get to town to fill up again.
+ Weight.  I list this as a positive strangely enough.  It is only a few kilograms lighter than the standard 800 but it feels 30kg lighter when riding.  I'm not sure what the difference in weight is between the 800 Adv and the 660 but it is substantial and one feels it.
+ Narrow waist. It is much easier to ride than the 800Adv due to a significantly narrower waist.  Standing up is easier and more comfortable.
+ No self-cancelling flickers.  Damn that was irritating on the BM.  I always put my flicker on well before a turn so cars can see me, then the flicker cancels before I've turned and if I notice in time, I have to put them back on.  The Yammie's flickers stay on until I turn them off.
+ Neat rear end. I like the neat and narrow rear end of the Teneré.  It appeals to me.
+ Switchgear.  The switches seem to be more solid than the BMW, especially the flicker switch.  I loved the paddle flicker switches my first 800 had, those were trademark BMW.  Then BM changed to some dodgy switchgear and I always felt like I was going to break the flicker switch on my 800 Adventure.

- Narrow and short foot pegs.  Must have farkle and I will order mine this week.  The standard footpegs do not give a secure footing when standing and my feeling was that wet or muddy pegs and a bumpy road will lead to a foot off the pegs and a serious off.
- Field of vision in mirrors.  Not bad but not as good as the BMW mirrors. They also vibrate a bit more than the BMs but not significantly so.
- Smoothness.  Again, in comparison to the BMW which is a twin.  I love the thump of a big single and while long distance traveling on tar could become tiresome, I found the 320km tar back home was comfortable.  It's sweet spot seems to be between 4000rpm and 5000rpm with the engine really smooth at about 5000rpm.  The bike will eat up dirt roads, this is what it was built for.  If you want to cruise, the S Ten or the legendary BMW GSAs are the better tool.  I'm getting on in years and I ride to smell the roses, see the butterflies and help tortoises out of the road.
- Lack of ABS.  Yes, ABS is a major safety aid but in all honesty it became a pain in the butt to stop and set ABS for dirt each time you get off the tar.  Often less is more. 
- Heated grips.  It was so lekker to switch those heated grips on on the BM when it got cold.  I will miss them.  I guess aftermarket can be fitted but I don't like to fiddle with electrics on a vehicle.  Those things come back and bite you when you don't want them to.
- The flickers are not as visible as the BMs.  The latter's LED flickers are very visible.
- Headlight. I never ever ride at night so the lights are not a major issue for me but they are certainly not as bright as the BM's lights.
- Dealer network.  BM definitely scores points for the after sales service, dealer network and approach to service.  I guess I shouldn't comment on this yet as my buying experience to date with Yamaha has been painless.  Maybe more on that later as I spend time with the bike and service the it, need parts etc.


F800GS/GSA

+ Smoothness.  Damn, that twin is smooth. Duh.  The 800 motor is very reliable, bulletproof and makes good useable power.  It will pull from around 1500rpm in 6th gear without a problem.  Very tractable power.
+ Open road cruising ability.  It is an 800 twin 6-speed vs 660 single 5-speed.  Two-up, loaded with luggage, headwind, the 800 runs at high speed easily all day.  It made way more power than I used or needed.  I cruise at a leisurely pace and on open tar road probably sit at around 120km/h. On gravel mostly at around 80km/h.
+ Refinement.  It has everything one needs in terms of technology and gadgets.  Trip computer, riding modes, ASC, ABS, self cancelling flickers (see above), spots on the Adventure. 
+ Saddle.  The 800 Adv saddle was comfortable, much more so than the standard 800.
+ Pillion ability.  As mentioned above, the 800 hardly felt my 2IB.  In all fairness, I haven't pillioned with the 660 yet.
+ It's a BMW.  Whatever you have to say about BM, it does give one a sense of comfort knowing you have a large multinational backing up their product with a good dealer network.

- Weight.  Especially the 800 Adv feels heavier than its size.  I noticed on the short dirt section with the 660 that its unsprung mass seems much less compared with the Adv.  On paper there is not much between a standard 800 and the 660.  In real life the difference seems significantly in the 660's favour.
- Rattling front discs.  The 800 has floating discs that rattle on dirt.  I got used to it and it wasn't an issue but when comparing, I noticed it.
- Coolant tank.  Who the hell had the bright idea to hide the BM's coolant tank under the side cowl where only the most dedicated spanner swinger will regularly check coolant level?  The Yammie's tank is easily accessible and visible without major difficulty.
- Expensive bodywork. Make that expensive parts in general.  Drop the 800 and you see dollar signs flashing before your eyes.  BM parts are not cheap.  Look, nothing is cheap these days but I would be less concerned dropping the 660 than I would the BM.  I am seriously considering not insuring the Yammie. 


So, those, in brief, are my initial impressions when comparing the 2 bikes.  I loved my 800s, both of them.  I am no riding god so never ever pushed them to the limit or anywhere near that.  I also will never push the limit on the 660.  I am a middle aged rider, cruising around, enjoying the feel of biking for biking's sake and for the freedom it brings.  I stop plenty to take pictures, I take strange detours and like to explore.  Riding time is thinking time for me. If you want to pass me, please do.  I don't do power slides or serious air time any more, if I am incapacitated, there is no-one to run my farm. I need to stay in one piece, able to do my job and earn an income until I get hit by lightning one day.  I also need to ride a bike.  It keeps me sane, clears my head, makes me feel young again and gives my wife a break when I get out of her hair.

I'll be adding to this thread as I spend time with my new bike.  I'll also post more pix as I take them on my wanderings around the Karoo.  The Teneré's maiden dirt trip will be to the EC Bash in a few weeks and I'm looking forward to that a lot.