Anyone had a Yamaha XT600?

Mario_Kempes · Trackday Trickster Joined: 12 Jun 2013 Karma :

Got a new job out of town last October and thinking of getting a second bike for the commute. It's only 32kms a day all in. Mostly through gridlock traffic.

Rather than just get a cheap burgman 400 or something I thought a DR650, XR650 or XT600 type thing would be more fun Giving me the option to go off road sometimes.

Seen a few early '90s XTs for about 900€ and would be looking to pay about 600 -700. This guy's selling 2 for example.

https://motos.coches.net/foto-yamaha-xt-600-e-blanco-barcelona-5584131-1.aspx

Internet says they're bullet proof but are they good for commuting and occasional dirt?

G · The Voice of Reason Joined: 02 Feb 2002 Karma :

First off; how tight is the Traffic? If it's Barcelona, it doesn't seem that bad. In constricted UK towns and cities I've found the wider bars of dirt bikes means there's gaps you just can't go for on one which you could on a sports bike with narrow clipons.

Otherwise, if you want to have one bike that does dirt and a 10 mile commute through town, seems like a decent choice. XR650R is more dirt focused by a chunk (after I started typing I added the R, remembering the L model which is more road focused.)

Mario_Kempes · Trackday Trickster Joined: 12 Jun 2013 Karma :

Commute's mostly on a congested motorway where you'll be lucky to hit the speed limit half a dozen times a week.

In terms of filtering I think it's doable. There's queues of bikes filtering through the traffic all day every day. Mostly maxi-scooters but also BMW GSes and those big dull nakeds that BMW make which are really popular here. They frequently are kitted out with the BMW panniers and they still fire through the traffic so I don't see the wider bars being a problem.

The only hassle is getting one for a decent price. Went to see one earlier. It was alright (just under 40K kms) but teh guy wouldn't shift from 1300. It's a 23 year old budget bike!

I'll bide my time. There's no rush and, in a country with 26% unemployment, it shouldn't be too hard to get someone to take my money.

G · The Voice of Reason Joined: 02 Feb 2002 Karma :

I've ridden the motorways around Barcelona etc with panniers that made the bike over a metre wide and no problem filtering, so for that you're fine.

However, it's not ideal for cases where you can be going the speed limit - it'll definitely not be it's happiest and prolonged periods of high revs could cause problems.