Crossed-up
Pangaman
I collected my 2007 XT660R yesterday afternoon. Rode it back through the traffic. "Very nice", I thought to myself, but is it worth the difference in price between it and the DR650 I sold? I got home with mixed feelings.
The bike is smoother, more powerful, better low-down grunt, and considerably more sophisticated. Against this is its weight. Compared to the DR it is a behemoth! Just to get it vertical off the side stand took a much greater effort. I really wondered if I had made a mistake. I wasn't ready for a dual-sport "lazy-boy" cruiser yet, I wanted a scrambler that can also do the long road.
This morning I took it up to work along the roads, pavements, subway and the back ways I know so well. Later on I took it out to Paarden Island via a muddy single track short-cut. I was delighted with the bike. In fact I was gobsmacked! It is beautifully stable, handling bumps, off-camber and slippery surfaces with sure-footed confidence. It has a much wider power band than the DR so there is less poking about for the right gear when the going gets technical. All of a sudden I felt like I'd been promoted up the skills-table.
If I ever buy another bike I must remember one thing. To test it properly, take it along a route you know really well. Then its true character comes out. I miss the simple plaas-bike character of the DR, but I truly look forward to riding the XT tomorrow.
For those that are interested: This was a wreck that was brought into Linex CT about a year ago. It had only 9000km on the clock but had had a massive shunt at the front. I used to check it out each time I went to Linex, and watched it coming together. Garth was fixing it up, hoping I think, to ride it with the WDs once it was finished. For whatever reason, he decided to sell it when it was complete.
I was not too concerned with the amount of restoration that had been done. The frame, even when I first saw it looked undamaged, and Linex should be able to do a good job putting it together. Garth had offered to lend me this bike to go to the Boegoeberg Bash. This generous offer got me to realise that I would be unhappy with this temporary arrangement and that I simply had to buy it. I've always liked the look of the XT660R and after test-riding the Tenere and the XT660R back-to-back a couple of months ago I knew this was the best bike for me at this stage.
Thank you, Linex, and Andy (the "stoker").
The bike is smoother, more powerful, better low-down grunt, and considerably more sophisticated. Against this is its weight. Compared to the DR it is a behemoth! Just to get it vertical off the side stand took a much greater effort. I really wondered if I had made a mistake. I wasn't ready for a dual-sport "lazy-boy" cruiser yet, I wanted a scrambler that can also do the long road.
This morning I took it up to work along the roads, pavements, subway and the back ways I know so well. Later on I took it out to Paarden Island via a muddy single track short-cut. I was delighted with the bike. In fact I was gobsmacked! It is beautifully stable, handling bumps, off-camber and slippery surfaces with sure-footed confidence. It has a much wider power band than the DR so there is less poking about for the right gear when the going gets technical. All of a sudden I felt like I'd been promoted up the skills-table.
If I ever buy another bike I must remember one thing. To test it properly, take it along a route you know really well. Then its true character comes out. I miss the simple plaas-bike character of the DR, but I truly look forward to riding the XT tomorrow.
For those that are interested: This was a wreck that was brought into Linex CT about a year ago. It had only 9000km on the clock but had had a massive shunt at the front. I used to check it out each time I went to Linex, and watched it coming together. Garth was fixing it up, hoping I think, to ride it with the WDs once it was finished. For whatever reason, he decided to sell it when it was complete.
I was not too concerned with the amount of restoration that had been done. The frame, even when I first saw it looked undamaged, and Linex should be able to do a good job putting it together. Garth had offered to lend me this bike to go to the Boegoeberg Bash. This generous offer got me to realise that I would be unhappy with this temporary arrangement and that I simply had to buy it. I've always liked the look of the XT660R and after test-riding the Tenere and the XT660R back-to-back a couple of months ago I knew this was the best bike for me at this stage.
Thank you, Linex, and Andy (the "stoker").
