XT Alan

The Sportsbike riders have missed my point almost entirely! An idiot is someone who is "incapable of rational conduct" Oxford English Dictionary. I defy anyone (even Pete :shock: ) to remain rational while seated on an R1. If you have a bike that CAN do 0-60 in 3.0? seconds, top out at 170 mph+ and handle like a race bike, you WILL sooner or later have a go. Not to do so when you have bought a bike that exists to do this and ONLY this is NOT rational. To do this when you do not have the skills to cope with these speeds is also NOT rational, it is SUICIDAL. This is not bigotry, this is rational thought. If any of you think that you DO have the skill to cope with an R1 consider this: 4 years ago a journalist lapped the IOM TT Course at 105mph on a standard (straight out of the showroom with NO modifications at all) CBR600. Therefore the new R1 could certainly manage a lap between 110 mph and 115 mph. If anyone here has this level of riding skill, an R1 is THE RIGHT BIKE FOR YOU. If you DO NOT have this skill, then riding an R1 to its full potential is extremely dangerous to yourself and others. PS As pieces of engineering and beauty, these Supersports bikes are wonderful awe inspiring machines. PPS The fastest I have ever gone on a bike is 150 mph in a very straight line - no skill invlolved. Interesting fact is that at this speed all helmet noise and buffeting stops and it does not FEEL that fast. Until you hit something or fall off I suppose :roll:

You know what to do YamaHead. Buy the trail bike, get a rich relative to ride it down Porlock Hill or such like, after checking their will or taking out insurance and let those drum brakes do the rest :wink: Then you can get all the bikes your heart desires with the proceeds.

Agreed. The South West is great biking country. I love the coast road from St Ives to Westward Ho! I used to camp at a great site in Westward Ho! but it is now the site of a housing estate :evil:

It's interesting how many sports bikes are on the roads. My last bike, before I went all sensible with the XT660R, was an 03 CB1300. The speed and power of this bike were awesome. Overtakes from 50 - 100 -50 were over in the blink of an eye. Nothing on 4 wheels could get close coming off a bend or roundabout. The ease of reducing Subaru WRXs to a dot in the mirrors or sweeping past BMW M5s was staggering and addictive. Now, I am old and reasonably mature, but I still indulged in this behaviour more than was prudent. Who could resist sweeping past an "on it" Mercedes CLK 55 AMG on a wave of torque as I once did? But believe it or not this kind of riding gets boring quite quickly. That's all this bike could do and because it was a naked machine, all the fun was over at relatively low speeds (---mph!!!!). So, the obvious next step is into the Super League! Yamaha R1, GSXR 1000, Blade, ZX10. Now the fun can be had at 120 mph +. Only one problem: Try to have fun at this speed on the public roads and you WILL sooner or later lose your licence or get killed. So here's the point: All these Super Sports Bikes CAN do is SPEED. Speed is WHY they exist. They are so fast that they only come on song at 100 mph+. If you have one you WILL use its performance, otherwise WHAT IS THE POINT? Moral 1: Only an idiot buys a 170+mph bike (and pays all that insurance and puts up with all the discomfort) and sticks to normal safe speeds. Moral 2: Only an idiot thinks that he/she can cope with 120mph on the public roads. Bottom Line - Therefore ALL Super Sports Riders are IDIOTS, whether they ride slowly or fast :shock: But then, we already knew that didn't we?

They say that it is a very good bike and put it on a par with the Beemer GS650 and better than the Suzuki DR400. Worth buying the Mag or at least reading the test. I find Ride to be one of the better Mags. I'm a bit of a Mag junky and I keep buying MCN (life long habit), God knows why, it is just terrible.

Well you all know my thoughts on the XT660R. It is a fantastic bike. In Brief: Top Speed - 100mph+ on the clock = 95 mph real top speed. All day 70/75 I know cos I've done it. Acceleration - very brisk up to 75. An A Road traffic destroyer!!! Handling - STUNNING, a lot better than my old CB1300 which is known as the best handling bike in its class, able to run rings round an XJR. On any given bend up to 80mph the XT is significantly more stable and therefore faster. Economy - OUTSTANDING my WORST mpg is 68. Gentle riding will see 80 mpg. 200 mile tank range. Comfort - All day long. Excellent seat, good position. Weather protection - none, but Yamaha make aftermarket screen (2 sizes). It is a little hard work at Motorway speed because of the very upright position, but hey we're men not mice! Vibration - smooth below 75 mph. Above 80 very rough and unpleasant, makes you fillings rattle. Fuel Injection - snatchy at low revs. Why are Suzuki the only company who make good FI sytems? Gearbox - Good! Very precise. Brakes - OK. Improving with miles. Off Road - Heavy, but lots of poke, so actually pretty good if you don't get too ambitious. Cost - pricey for what it is. (Yammys seem overpriced generally) No 2nd hands around yet. Lights - Good. Build Quality - Strong so far - no issues. Plastics - crap cosmetics compared to a Road Bike. Cheapo spokes. Cleans up well. I spend a lot of time "preping" my new bikes for a hard life - Vinyl on all rubbing points and forks + hard wax on all shiny bits + ACF 50 (it works!) everywhere. The time spent pays off down the line. In my opinion - this is the best "do everything" bike on the market. Read about the old XT (same as Pete's) in this month's Ride. The TT600 uses the old XT motor and might be a better bet if you are planning a lot of off road use.

Exactly 30 years ago before the View Point, where Pete took this picture, was built, two mates and I camped about 400 yards from this spot. On the hill, down and to the left Pete, there is a "cut" in the hillside. Here we sheltered from the wind and rain and slept in our wax Belstaffs and Bin Bags. All we had to keep us warm was Newcastle Brown Ale. I was on a Triumph 650 Tiger, Mark was on a Ducati 450 Desmo Single and Steve was on an RD250. I lived in London at the time and this was our second explore through Wales. The year before we were on K4 Honda 250s and instead of Bin Bags, we had a plastic sheet and masking tape AND OF COURSE Newcastle Brown. We spent all our money on bikes, petrol and beer, things like tents and food were a luxury.

I wouldn't argue that the Beemer may be a little better off road, but Beemers ain't as well made as they used to be and I would back Yamaha build quality and reliability against a Beemer any day of the week. The new GS1200 has already had FOUR recalls and the 650 is a pretty flimsy bikF. The Honda XR650 is a much more specialised off road bike than the XT, but as a true dual purpose machine the Yammie has it beat, it is a brilliant road bike and a reasonable bike for soft trails. I wouldn't fancy 300 miles in a day on the Honda. The XR's true rival is the Yammy WF450 or Honda's CRF250 or one of the KTMs.

DK have several used Serows in stock. Between £2K and £3K.

Sorry Pete, This is something I never do. Golden Rule: never let anyone ride your bike and never ride anyone elses, unless they don't care if you drop it or whatever. Wasn't today perfect? One of the only completely great summer days this year.

I have no point of comparison between the new and the old XTs What I can say, is that the new XT's engine take a heck of a lot of running in. Mine still feels tight even at 2000 miles +. It is pretty smooth up to about 75 mph, but at 80+ the engine is VERY rough. Speed wise, it is brisk not fast. It'll run with a Golf GTI and the like up to about 70 then lose out completely above this speed. Any road bike 500cc and above will slaughter it in straight line acceleration. Top speed will be 100 mph on the clock I reckon, but in reality this will translate to 95 mph tops. Slow in these modern times. My CB1300 was barely working at 100mph+ on a wiff of throttle. Like I said, ithe XT is a great bike, but it isn't perfect.

My staff of highly skilled international researchers tell me that it is a Yamaha 650/Harley clone from around 1981 8) :roll: :shock: :? :arrow: Anyone else have any info :?:

FLX? What cc is it? Is it a stroker? I've never heard of one. Maybe it's an import. Try putting the model name into a search engine.

The ZX10 front wheel fiasco is the latest in a long line of worrying problems with new models from the Big Four. We, Joe Public, are doing the manufacturers' development work for them. By memory - I can recall Suzuki's TL100s' Rotary Damper problems, Hayabusa rear sub frames breaking, 01 Bandit 12s drinking oil due to faulty pistons, Honda's first Varaderos needing new engines, their first new Pans also needing new engines and frame modifications due to heat build up, R1s with clutch basket problems. It's a long list. Then there were the Triumph Daytonas that needed new frames, the TTs with Fuel Injection woes. Harley's V Rod has problems I've been told. All this is because the makers are in a style and performance war and they are rushing new underdeveloped bikes onto the market for fear of losing market share. The 1000 and 600 Super Sports are so close that every two years they have to have major upgrades just to stay in touch with one another. The GSXR1000 was "King Of The Castle" last year - this year it is in the discount bin relying on on a limited edition paint job. The R6 is the sports tourer of the class. Yamaha's WR450 is having yet another series of major updates to stay on the pace. The new Fazer 600 is a horrible stylistic MV Brutale imitation bodge job. Honda's beautiful VFR750 has slowly become a over specced, VTEC powerbanded bloater. Even BMW are changing models and formats with increasing frequency and, from what I hear, they are not exactly the last word in build quality or reliability. as they once were. Ducatis were always delicate pieces of crap, as were Laverdas, Benellis, Nortons, BSAs and the rest of the Brit Bike Industry. Now the Japanese are also losing the plot. Still, never mind, THE CHINESE ARE COMING.

The Co-op car park burger van does the best hot dogs on the planet, by the way.

You just don't understand how strong the wind in Wales can get :shock: when all the Welsh choirs start singing in the same direction :!:

Have a look at Givi's site. They have a large range of screens. Also Busters do screens from various makers, as do Gericke and M&P. Screens are very hit and miss. The benefits of decreased wind pressure are often/usually) cancelled out by increased wind noise and turbulence. I had a Givi on my CB1300 - after 20 miles I binned it, the increased wind noise and turbulence were horrendous. Others who used the same screen had no problems. Your height, your natural riding position and your helmet will all be factors in the equation. So, don't spend too much.

I've heard that the 900's gearbox is better than the 850's. The 850 isn't that good at holding off corrosion and they can look tatty (particularly the exhausts) very quickly if not cleaned regularly and thoroughly. Also I think that the headlights are not the best. In all other respects they seem to be an excellent bike. I rode one (a 900) for about 20miles and it was pretty good, though not the quickest handling bike in the world. I would have thought that the Fazer 1000 is a better overall package.

I ride alone 80% of the time I would say. I like exploring and getting away from people, as my working life can get quite stressed. To be completely alone is hard these days and a bike is a very good way of getting quiteness into your life. On big journeys, I enjoy being out with good friends and sharing the experiences that happen along the way. In Scotland we had a real laugh sitting around in front of our tents talking about the meaning of life and what we had seen in the day...........wonderful! I dislike the "quick dash" to the coast mentality and stay away from these places and the people who go to them. I am a bike sport addict and go to race meetings - Motocross, Road Racing, Trials etc etc

Just in case you all think that I am too biased, I should point out that the XT is hard work on Motorways. 75 mph+ over any distance is seriously hard work and it kills your arms: It + rider have the aerodynamics of a brick. If you are into big fast tarmaced/paved distance work the XTs are not as good as dedicated tourer. On a weekend to the South of France and back any half decent faired road bike would kill the XT. blow it into the weeds. If, on the other hand, you are planning to cross Africa between January and April, the XT is the right tool for the job. Additional Edit - On my recent trip to Scotland 150 Motorway miles were tolerable because we kept to 75 mph and we were fresh. Day in day out would be a different matter entirely.

2600 ish. Engine is still tight at 80 mph. Smooth as silk up to 75 mph, then the vibes kick in. I changed oil and filter at 1200. Will do an oil change at 3000 miles. I've always done double the manufacturer's intervals and will stay with this. I'm still on mineral oil by the way. Good for running in.

Super Sport - Ducati 999 - off the pace and really UGLY. On a £s per puke basis this bike ROCKS :roll: 600 Sport - Triumph TT Tourer - Ducati STs - Would you tour with Italian electrics? Hugga Mugga - Honda Valkyrie, Suzuki VL1500 Intruder. Retro - Kawasaki 650 - Get a life Mr K. Giant Trail - Ducati Multistrada - Who's kidding who? This bike is a joke! Mid Trail - Aprilia Pegaso Small Trail - MZ 125 Big Utility - BMW R850R Classic Medium Utility - Monster 600 Small Utility - Honda 125cc Varadero Exotica - Buells are really poor

ET James are a hoot! I bought a kidney belt from them before I went to Scotland. I* asked the "old boy" why the grey Sinisalo was £2 more expensive than the identical blue one. He said "there is a reason, but I can't remember it, so I'll give you a 2 pound discount". Hey, its Mid-Wales - where everyone makes up their own rules. David Jones are the closest to normal in this part of the World. If you want normal head South to Cardiff or Swansea or head for England. Aberystwyth is even more weird - I NEVER use anyone from there to do anything EVER EVER EVER!!!!! Not even to service a strimmer!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Life is TOOOOO Short :wink:

Motomerlin have new 03 models.

On the Super Sports. The ZX10 is right at the front, and sometimes winning, in British Superbike races straight out of the box without factory support. Even the starter motors are still in place. To me this indicates that the stock bike is definitely the "mostest" in terms of pure speed and handling. Weighed against this is the beautiful, highly evolved but slower R1. Hence - dead heat.