The lady and the slut - by Laurika

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laurika

Grey Hound
Joined
Dec 17, 2008
Messages
6,306
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Location
Fairland
Bike
Yamaha XT660
BMWF650GS vs Yamaha XT660R

I have never been on another bike except my bmw.
I have heard that I have certain problems riding because of the bike I ride and the size of her front wheel.
Now, I am not too keen to blame the tools, I would personally rather try harder..
So after reading a few Ride reports of girls on XT’s , I decided to take the leap and ride one…
Yamaha Linex had none, but arranged a demo for me ..It took a week
Here is my report:
Yamaha XT 660R (enduro)
Dry weight 168kg
Tank  14liters or there abouts
Seat height 840cm

I got on the little bike, and felt nervous because of the height.

I felt the weight difference immediately when I got on the bike…I could hold it up, even though my toes only just  touched the ground

Pulling away, I felt the power of this bike…it responds immediately and with vigour.

The indicator sat in a comfortable place and was not stiff and difficult like the BM

The handlebar was lower, and seems flimsier...and I felt like I sat ON the dashboard.

The seat was comfortable. :thumleft:

The gears were tricky for me, as the lever was too far out, so I had to have my feet in the Harley Davidson position…and the interesting thing is , if you reach top gear, the lever gets had…to tell you that ‘that is all she wrote’

I travelled 23km out of Randburg  to find my favourite peace/piece  of road….sand, mud , rocks , gravel, and river crossings, all of it on one road….

The bike was great in traffic…I just felt that her gearing was tricky doing open road…:-.

In the low gears she had as much vooma as a teenager on a few stolen  cocktails…

But in the higher range…I kept on looking for more gears to shift into, she had a good opening line…but a bad punch line when it came to highway…

The bike has no ref counter, which I am use to riding with…so when you reach top gear, that is pretty much it….you have to sit back…and let the bike pick up speed…and not worry about over- revving her…

Hitting dirt was a miracle for me

THIS BIKE WILL MAKE ANYONE LOOK GOOD ON DIRT!

She hardly shudders, the head is quick to respond, the steering is light, the bike is powerfully geared for dirt, her suspension hardly feels the pothole…and all you hear is the fantastic growl of the exhaust…nothing shaking and creaking….

In sand she was stable, through ruts and dongas her head remained clear, standing position for me was ideal, as you sit so much more forward than with the BM(the tank being smaller)…so your shoulder s fall in line with the handlebars when you stand…which to me give so much more control

All along I could feel the weight difference of the bike …being so much more nimble than the BM…

The engine sounded like a turbo engine starting up, with a high wine…which I was not mad about…perhaps it is faulty? Lear Jetish….

It was with sadness and much more confidence that I took the bike back via the highway, weaving thru traffic….again, at low speeds she gets you out of any tricky situation…

This bike to me is like a young teenager…it has guts, too aware of its power, and up to no good all the time…it is in fact A BIT OF A GO-ER..nudge nudge…

I would have to ‘up” my insurance if I decide to ride this bike…it makes you cocky and reckless but Hell, it makes you feel alive….I LOVED THIS BIKE, AND WILL HAVE ONE (thanks Blazes, I can hear you say ‘I told you so’)

My BMW is a bit like a lady…slow and sure, a little harder to impress, she makes decisions slowly, and once committed does not easily change direction. She is sturdily built…all the knobs and thingies are solid and moves like the door of an expensive car….she has class and style…and less built for ‘camping’ more a bit of a B&B girl…. She finds her speed fast, and holds on to it…she has no loud exhausts or tricky gears that you have to Kick to get responses out of…she is in fact a real classy act.

Two great bikes….I think I must have both.

 
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