XT Alan

I'll cut out the ballet talk. I didn't realise that there was a risk of getting into Honda territory. Thanks for the warning Pete. Phew :shock: ........lucky escape

I was in Brecon on Friday watching my daughter dancing in the theatre (she is a ballerina - must take after the milkman!!). It is a really nice town.

Hi Pete, No, it was dry all day here. I had a few drops of rain near Tregaron - not enough to even dampen the road. You'll have to move to this side of the hills....... :wink:

Hi, Just had a great ride. Start with a mug of tea on the Prom in Aberystwyth.......Trawscoed..............Tregaron (remote market town)............Strata Florida (NT tended old abbey).................Teifi Lakes and off road to the back of Lake Claerwen and back....................Devil's Bridge for a coffee....................Aberystwyth Prom for a mug of tea. Mileage 95. Cars seen, once out of Aber, less than 20. Bikes on route - nil.

I also rode along with them for a few miles. A great crowd: waving, smiling and having fun. It's a great form of sport and, boys being boys they get seriously dirty. If anyone is about, I'll be having a spin around the Elan Valley tomorrow, if the weather is reasonable. I might have a traily, but I am still reluctant to let it get dirty until I have waved my magic wand over all the vulnerable to corrosion areas of the bike.

It looks like a beauty. Have fun!

I merely observed that there was no rev counter on the XT660R. With an engine like this it isn't particularly needed in my opinion. The coolant level might not a problem, my dealer say it is normal on a new bike. I have topped it up and will see how it goes. What is a strange/stupid bit of design, however, is having to take off all the side panels to top the coolant up. A one minute job becomes a 15 minute job.

I'll be allowed out soon . Should be there (David Jones) around 11.00.

Sorry to hear about that. Its easily done and its happened to all of us at one time or another. Sounds like not too much damage at least.

Mine never used a drop. I heard about a few bikes with this problem, something to do with the rings I think, which Suzuki sorted. I know its hard for a confirmed Anti Suzuki-ist to believe :shock: , but the B12 is an exceptionally good machine - great engine, OK handling, good build, great gearbox. The half-faired S is not exactly good looking though, I have to admit. Talking of ugly: the new Fazers are real dogs. How can the firm that makes the beautiful R1 do this to what was a funky looking bike in its first incarnation? As well as Road Tests, how about the ugliest bikes on earth? Triumph Tiger does it for me :wink:

I'm not sure yet. Sometime in the morning, after I've done my chores :roll: Did I tell you that I was married to Attilla The Hun's scariest daughter? :wink:

First get this out of the way - I Love This Bike. It is my 27th bike, but the first Yamaha I have owned. Buying it wasn't a logical decision. I had a year old CB1300 that was irritating me with a succession of little faults and basically got so peeved I wanted to get rid of it. I got the XT as a straight swap. I'd always wanted a trail type bike (some vague hard man fantasy, I suppose) and said to myself "What the hell!". Observations: 1- Its condition on delivery was distinctly average. Marked plastics, chip on the rear wheel rim. I have complained and hope, at least, to get a new back wheel. Bikers are still 2nd class citizens, go to a showroom and see if you can find a single new bike that isn't in some way marked. Go to a car showroom and the difference is obvious. 2 - Performance. This is not a fast bike. I am still running in, but I will be amazed if it ever sees 100 mph on its digital speedo. There is no rev counter by the way. The power delivery is lazy and relaxed, There is very little vibration and the mirrors are clear. All day 70 mph cruising will be no problem. 3 - Handling. The on road handling is simply brilliant. Hard to believe, but it is a lot better than my CB1300. Any given corner can be taken 5 mph faster. 110 mph sweepers might be a problem though :wink: 4 - Brakes. What brakes? After the CB these stoppers are very weak. 5 - Living with it. Very comfortable and relaxed riding position. A bit tall. Lights are very good. Fuel consumtion is, so far, 74 mpg. Coolant level has fallen and I have been told that this is normal - I'll accept that this is OK for the time being. 6- Build Quality - Apart from the aforementioned plastics, seems to be rather good with no obvious weak spots. As good as any other make I would say. 7 - Bad points - Not much underseat storage space. Not enough room to keep the manual, yet Yamaha tell you to keep it with the bike at all times.......... err. To conclude - This bike has character. I try to keep my bikes for three years. They don't all make it because they usually aren't good enough. This one is looking promising.

Hi, I think that it might be a good idea to write road tests on the bikes we own. This way people browsing the site would get an owner's eye view of machines, which will in almost all cases be at least as useful to folks as the tests they read in magazines. A case in point: None of the various little gremlins that afflict the CB1300 I owned (I was not alone) have ever been mentioned in a magazine test, and the CB has been tested by most if not all of them.

Dunno! I'm going to David Jones to sort a couple of things.

Hi Folks, I've just been to watch a section on the Welsh 2 Day. Good fun. I would say I saw a couple of hundred going through. A sprinkling of Yamaha WFs and Hondas, but mainly Suzuki DRZs and KTMs. KTMs seems to be the weapon of choice. Sad to see so few 2 strokes :cry: The smell of Castrol R must be the best smell of all time ........

OK. Here goes: I would like to see a smaller more nimble FJR. Say 750cc. Shaft Drive. 180 kilos or less, putting out 90 bhp and 60 ft lbs. Able to cruise comfortably at a day long 80mph. With an emphasis on quality of manufacture and components that could take a bit of bad weather without dissolving at the thought of salt, rather than lots of gizmos. Priced below £6500. With a complete set of reasonably priced after market add ons. Marketed as a bike for long term ownership, with a guarantee that it wouldn't be superceded by a new model every two minutes. A modern day Divvy.

The XT660 is pretty close to perfect for me. For perfection? It could do with being 50 lbs lighter and have little lower seat height. The Suzuki V Strom is a great road touring bike I reckon, but off road? - too heavy and breakable. The SV 650 motor is superb, like (sorry XTreme) most Suzuki engines.

There is no specific speed which is right for any situation. Assuming everything else is good - road surface, camber etc - you should still never have a specific speed in mind for even a known stretch of road. Hence your visible stopping distance is the only safe guideline to follow.

Never go faster than your stopping distance allows, THIS you should always be able to see. This will prevent unexpected hazards which could appear on any of the repeated trips/passes through the series of bends. This isn't a speed question, it is a visibility question.

The R5 was a good looker although I seem to recall that it wasn't a particularly good bike. Those days when the Japanese manufacturers were all trying new stuff were really good. Remember the Honda 400 auto which also came out around that time? Not to mention the CX500 shafty. Does anyone (anyone as old as me, in other words) remember Tohastsus in the 60s? They were the fastest of all the small (up to 125cc) Japanese bikes.

I was a hospital porter in the holidays while I was a student. Helping undertakers move dead bodies and dealing with clinical waste etc, put me off hospitals and all things medical. Life is horrible enough without watching it on TV.

Hailwood was great. But, as you will recall, he couldn't cope with the first Honda 500. Redman went straight out on this bucking bronco of a bike and won. Honda, as is their way, inexplicably stopped Redman racing 500s after this. I've always remembered this, which is why I rate Redman so highly. + of course his 6 world championships and 6 TT wins.

I like Motul spray lube. It's clear, it sticks and it's very lubey.

Hi, I though that I'd start an argument Here are my top 5: 1) Freddy Spencer 2) Jarno Saarinen 3) Doctor Rossi 4) Jim Redman 5) Kenny Roberts (Snr) Let's rumble :roll:

Nice pics Pete. They do the area justice. How do you upload pics? I have some nice ones of the valley. Alan PS I am Welsh. A Bangor Boy who strayed down South :roll: