Hi All,

Many thanks to those who replied to my post in the XT Tech forum. I'm moving here as it's more appropriate.

I have a shortlist of bikes for a RTW off road trip with lots of stops planned to unload luggage and play on more challenging trails. I'd appreciate any comments on these bikes from those in the know.

1. Honda XR650L: Not as hard to get hold of as I first thought, heavy-ish, heard some reports of poor fuel consumption.

2. Yamaha TT600E: Easy to get, slightly cheaper than the XR650L, heavy-ish, heard some reports of leaky forks, spares cheaper than honda.

3. Honda XR400 with E-Start kit from joe racer products in the US: Lighter, same power and torque as TT600E. Higher compression 9.3 vs 8.3 for the others, oil carried in frame (not sure if this should worry me or not), sub-frame may need strengthening to carry load?, bad fuel consumption?, cheapest although e-start kit adds 1300USD

All are air cooled (simple) and seem to have bullet proof reliability as far as I can gather. I couldn't find power & torque and compression ratio figures for the XR650L so if anyone knows...I'll most likely go for a new one rather than a used one unless it is nearly new especially for the XR650L and TT which are easier to get new.

Thanks Andy.

Andy, I know I am beginning to sound like a parrot here, but have you tried any of these bikes for comfort? I worked in the trade ( mechanic ) and used to have grown men crying in agony demanding refunds after short rides on off-roaders. This may not be the case for you, but so many riders chose the bike for the trip rather than the bike for them - and that can be costly.
These bikes are indeed normally very reliable and easy to service - very, very expensive spares though, especially Honda.
Test ride!

Hi John,

I have ridden a TT600E which I found very comfortable and the slightly lower seat height than the R helped too. I haven't ridden the others although I would guess that the XR4 may be similar to a DRZ4 which I have ridden. Not as comfortable as the TT600E but still not bad. Doubt I'll find a XR650L to test ride as they seem rare in the UK.

Cheers Andy.

What about Yamaha XT600E ?

I owned a '99 XT600E for a year and rode to Switzlerand from Calais in a day. I only have two comments to make of the XT600E from that trip:

1. aching back side after 200 miles or so - but an hours rest sorted that out.

2. 80mph is easily maintable on the flat but going up the 'slight' hills on the autoroute slowed the poor bike down to 65mph sometimes.

So something with a little more power might be better, eg F650GS? Or go ok, I could go slower - but I wasn't alone! Anyway, that's the bike I'm considering as it has to do the daily commute too.