New bike time,

[chris-red]

Right time to stop talking about a new bike and actually do it.

I'm looking for a new bike to get to work on and do the occasional 200mile trip, after blowing up the GS after the Mayday run I have to do it I have been looking at TDM850's and XT660's but am still not sure.


Ideally I would like a supermoto with long service int's (6k miles) the XT660X seems perfect but they are a little pricey I don't really wanna spend over 2k I was looking at the older xt600 which have the different style wheels (big skinny one at the front) which look terrifing to corner on road.

Should I stick to the TDM or is it worth paying that bit extra for a XTX? what at bikes like the old XT and transalp's etc like to corner on?
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[G]

I still don't understand why anyone would actually want to buy a XT660 .

Sure, if it was £1k, it'd make a reasonable 'hack' kinda bike.

But otherwise, there's so many alternatives out there that do a similar kind of thing for a lot less money.

A hornet or SV with wide bars and a slightly dipped front end, for example.

The XTX will handle a bit more 'road bike' like than the trail wheel'd ones; however if you get decent road tyres on the trail wheels, you've still got plenty of grip (enough for knee-down from that height and more.)

For that kind of bike, I would be looking at a KLR or BMW F650 maybe - DR650 is a bit lighter. Also consider the CCM644 which will cost you a bit more, but gives you a lot less weight than the XT along with a DR650 engine and decent suspension.

If you're talking of spending a decent amount of money, the BMW G650 is definitely worth considering. It uses a F650 engine putting out a claimed 53hp (more than the XT) and weighs a claimed dry 144kg (33kg less than the XT!) yet still has the 6000 mile service intervals and 60mpg. Half-decent suspension, too.
You can get it in proper-off road, soft-road and supermoto trim. Lots are available for £4k with low miles, a few less than that.

The 2000+ TE610 is definitely worth a look, but the 2006+ (electric start) ones are very, very hard to find second hand.
The new KTM690 SMC and Enduro versions cost almost £6k, but should make decent road bikes.

Edit; doubt that's made it much simpler, why the long service intervals, out of interest? Usually the ones with tighter ones you don't need to do much every 3/4 thousand miles anyway.

[chris-red]

[Wave2k]

Get a TL1000R, cheap to buy and insure for young folk .
Oh and ive got a DRZ for sale if you're intrested
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Ducati 1299 Panigale
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[G]

If you want a bike that will 'comfortable' sit at 100, then a supermoto is not for you. Something like the TDM or other bigger-cc bike would be a better bet if you want a tall bike still.
Even the Duke III that I recently test rode (claimed to be the most powerful production single cylinder bike sold so far) didn't feel that great at speed due to the high position and low gearing.

How about the V-storm 650 or kwak alternative if avoiding suzuki; though not sure how cheap you can get them? They don't weigh much more than the XT and should have a much more willing engine for road use.

The issue I have with the XT is it's weight - it's really, really heavy for a big single; losing most of the advantages you get from one.
Sure, most won't find it a problem when moving and some may not even notice the difference, but I wouldn't want to be paying all that money for it.

Are you thinking of the CCM 640 or 644? The suzuki engined 644 I think has 4k mile service intervals and that engine, at least, has been used in various round-the-world trips, etc. The 640 has a rotax engine which has a much worse reputation.

Even 3k oil service I wouldn't think should be /that/ bad - you're talking maybe an hour every three months.

[chris-red]

[G]

I still suspect you're considering the reputation of the rotax CCM - the suzuki engined one should be ok. Especially if someone's gone over it and tightened everything up .

Anyway, the (old, this year's is a 800cc twin) F650 will have the same problem as single cylinder supermotos. I'm not a fan of them because they're slow and heavy. Just like the XTX.

Probably not a bike you'd want to trust to doing 1000m a month, but if you could find one a Highland would be a very interesting and 'different' choice.
https://www.highland.se/pages.asp?pageID=25&childPage=9
Claimed at 164kg (so a chunk lighter than the XTX), but with a 950cc twin making 85hp.

A lot of the 'adventure' bikes that in reality are for soft-off roading are in quite high demand as often soft-off roading is all people quite reasonably want to do when going around the world - and also make good bikes for general use as you want, as well as for posing, pretending you've been around the world .
Moving up from there, there's all the litre-ish twins. What about a cagiva elephant if you want cheapness - though not sure about reliability when you mix cagiva and ducati.

[chris-red]

[G]

The larger supermotos are fine on motorways - just not at 100mph .

CCMs are definitely worth a look and I'd definitely go for the DS versions to get the muddy-wheels options, however as a purely 'fun bike', I might be tempted to look for a bit lighter bike so you can do a bit more reasonable off-roading too.

Oh and the canyon is the /new/ elephant!

[chris-red]

[mad4it028]

that would be a 604 rotax not a 640 ive owned both the 604 and the 644 both are great fun but build quality is shite if you insist on the ccm go for the 404 uses the drz engine but imo looks 100% better than the drz steer clear of the ccm 600+ as they just shack them seves to bits there shite
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