Hey there
For my long distance solo spirited/sporty dirt adventure riding (getting to Kaokoland on as much dirt as possible, enjoying the riverbeds and VZP, riding back through as much dirt as possible again) I have heavily modified XT660Z, with WP forks, modified rear shock, DNA stage 2 and 3 filters, LV pipes, drilled throttle body, 18'' wheel, etc.
While it is alright-ish for that and I've done quite a few of those trips on it, the thing is - despite the heavy modifications there are still things on this bike that just piss me off and I cannot rectify. The biggest gripes for me are:
- weight - I just don't understand why a single, even with fairing, sub-frame and bigger tank must weight 210 kgs.
- the idiotic high back-end in combination with sub-par rear shock (even though I got mine overhauled, it's still at best passable) is just disaster waiting to happen. I got almost kicked over handlebars many times at slightest provocation, like speed humps on a little dirt road on my commute route, and this drawback limits seriously my enjoyment of dirt roads, when I need to approach any elevation on the track with extra caution.
I hoped the new AT may provide a solution, well for the second problem, and with more power out of the box may soften the first one - but at 230 kgs it is a no go for my kind of riding.
So I started to look for an alternative and the XT660R came up. It is more than 20 kg lighter and with its enduro set-up and flat seat would fit after some modifications my purpose better. Now I'm aware of some of its silly design flaws like the underbelly exhausts and 17'' rims, but I will modify the bike heavily anyway so I can probably work around most of those - I'd like to end up with something like this + bigger tank and small screen:
So, now the questions are:
- Is the R capable of reasonably comfortable long distance rides on tar and dirt? Of course I understand that Z is better for that out of the box and I'm not asking about seat or wind-protection. My concern is geometry - is the bike stable enough on those long stretches? For a contrast, KTM690 or Husky 610/630 (which I have), regardless of fairings and tanks, have enduro geometry and in combination with high strung engines are just too twitchy for long distance even on dirt roads, which just gets too old on those inevitable long distance sections (dirt or tar). Of course they are better in the Kaokoland itself, but I need to get there and back on the bike as well, so am willing to sacrifice little of the dirt capability.
- anybody with R willing to meet up and swap bike with me for a while to let me get a feel for the R?
- is there a long range tank available for this bike? I cannot find anything on internet - there is some brazilian tank (gilimoto?) mentioned, but I cannot find it on their website.
I would love to get some feedback on R from people who know it - in the context of the type or riding described above.
Ta
For my long distance solo spirited/sporty dirt adventure riding (getting to Kaokoland on as much dirt as possible, enjoying the riverbeds and VZP, riding back through as much dirt as possible again) I have heavily modified XT660Z, with WP forks, modified rear shock, DNA stage 2 and 3 filters, LV pipes, drilled throttle body, 18'' wheel, etc.
While it is alright-ish for that and I've done quite a few of those trips on it, the thing is - despite the heavy modifications there are still things on this bike that just piss me off and I cannot rectify. The biggest gripes for me are:
- weight - I just don't understand why a single, even with fairing, sub-frame and bigger tank must weight 210 kgs.
- the idiotic high back-end in combination with sub-par rear shock (even though I got mine overhauled, it's still at best passable) is just disaster waiting to happen. I got almost kicked over handlebars many times at slightest provocation, like speed humps on a little dirt road on my commute route, and this drawback limits seriously my enjoyment of dirt roads, when I need to approach any elevation on the track with extra caution.
I hoped the new AT may provide a solution, well for the second problem, and with more power out of the box may soften the first one - but at 230 kgs it is a no go for my kind of riding.
So I started to look for an alternative and the XT660R came up. It is more than 20 kg lighter and with its enduro set-up and flat seat would fit after some modifications my purpose better. Now I'm aware of some of its silly design flaws like the underbelly exhausts and 17'' rims, but I will modify the bike heavily anyway so I can probably work around most of those - I'd like to end up with something like this + bigger tank and small screen:
So, now the questions are:
- Is the R capable of reasonably comfortable long distance rides on tar and dirt? Of course I understand that Z is better for that out of the box and I'm not asking about seat or wind-protection. My concern is geometry - is the bike stable enough on those long stretches? For a contrast, KTM690 or Husky 610/630 (which I have), regardless of fairings and tanks, have enduro geometry and in combination with high strung engines are just too twitchy for long distance even on dirt roads, which just gets too old on those inevitable long distance sections (dirt or tar). Of course they are better in the Kaokoland itself, but I need to get there and back on the bike as well, so am willing to sacrifice little of the dirt capability.
- anybody with R willing to meet up and swap bike with me for a while to let me get a feel for the R?
- is there a long range tank available for this bike? I cannot find anything on internet - there is some brazilian tank (gilimoto?) mentioned, but I cannot find it on their website.
I would love to get some feedback on R from people who know it - in the context of the type or riding described above.
Ta
