XT600E or Tenere ?
 

Due to the general very high prices of bikes in Denmark and the limited availablity of used enduro bikes I have narrowed it down the the Yamaha XT 600 for a longer trip (either europe / africa or Ameracas have not decided yet).

However there are several options:

1) XT 600 E late 1990's with 30.000-40.000 km's (USD 6500)
2) XT 600 Z Tenere 3AJ with 45.000 km's (USD 6000)
3) XT 600 Z 'Ur' Tenere 55W with 65.000 km's but recently rebuild engine.(USD 4500)

4) I could buy a next to new XT 600 E (USD 8500-9000)

My brain tells me option 1 or 4 would give me less trouble but will also be the most expensive options. However my heart tells me the Tenere as I in some unrational way find it a more 'cool' and adventurous bike. It also has the larger tank, but I could just fit the acerbis 23 l on the 600 E.

Any suggestions and comments on the options will be greatly appreciated!

This one is not on your list, but could you stretch your wallet to include a 10 year old xtz660 Tenere (I think it was produced from '94-'99)? One of my all time favourites.
http://www.heikkil.com/tenere/xtz660.jpg

The 750 Super Tenere is a bit big. If you are really concerned about costs, have you considered an XT 350 or a Honda 350 TT (have its subframes strengthened befor putting panniers on them)?

My rules of thumb, for a cheap one cylindered offroad/adventure/enduro bike (I live in Norway which has bike prices allmost as horrendous as in Denmark):

Less than ten years old (still parts availability in years to come).
About 40K or less kiometers.
Looks well cared for, preferably with a complete service history.

Or, older but with a recently complete engine and electronics overhaul (with receipts).:scooter:

Check with GiorgioXT or one of the other guys with expert knowledge over at the XT part of this forum. Try posting your question there.

And good luck!

Thanks for the input. I posted now in the XT600 forum instead (Sorry for double posting)

I did consider the XT 660 but somehow it seems a quite heavy and much more road oriented machine than the XT600E/Tenere. I want to be able to go everywhere and would also like a machine that is easily handled. I also tried out the XT350 and I really liked it but I fear it may feel to small in the long run when fully loaded.

which bike
 

hi, in my opinion i would go for the 3aj tenere, it has the same engine as the xt e but has electric start, but the set up of the bike is more geared for long distance on/off road riding, ie tank size and riding postion.
I wouldn't pay 6000 or even 4500 usd for one though, that seems a bit steep.
maybe you could import one from germany, there seems to be loads nocking about there and all the second hand parts you can shake a stick at.

cheaper bikes!
 

Hi,
if you are from Denmark you should lokk for used bikes in Germany, you find interesting XT 600 or Tenere around 1500 Euros, check it out!
www.mobile.de for example!

I think the Tenere 3AJ is still one of the best bikes!

Jens

Thanks for the feedback! I am considering importing from Germany as the market is much larger and there are more low milage bikes than here.

I don´t want to either, but the danish registration tax is allmost 200 % of the value of the bike (a danish official will determine the value of the bike by inspection) so a USD 1500 bike from Germany becomes a USD 4500 bike in Denmark. On top of this comes transportation by truck (about USD 300).

Have you Danes never been tempted to have a revolution?

Xt600e?
 

Hi,

I would go for the XT600E they are very reliable and not so old. The Tenere is nice and more comfortable but now old and a lot of people had their hands on. Depends also on your size for the Tenere you should be at least 1,75 mtr.

The XT600K (3TB) is my favor bike, runs even without battery. I have got one since 1998 an never had trouble with it. It is not to uncomfortable und with Acerbis Tank the range is also okay. The XT600E is also easyer to ride if the terain gets tuff. But with the short wheelbase also not so stabile, but you get used to that

But if bikes are so expensive, why don´t you buy one out of Denmark and start riding from there. Here in South Africa it is no problem to buy one and register them. New grey XT 600 E you get for 39000 Rand that are 5200 Euro.

Second hand bikes you can find by www.autotrader.co.za or by www.600.xt.ms

regards

Thomas

I'd go with the 3AJ. Out of the box, it's better suited for long distance travelling (which of course doesn't mean that you cannot modify any other XT600 to suit your needs but it requires time, effort and money). The 23l gas tank is just incredible, I usually tend to get 430-450km before I have to switch to reserve (two-up with lots of luggage that is) and then another 50km before I'm down to completely nothing, so you should be fine in almost every country except maybe for Australia. The seat itself is very comfortable although you should consider adding a sheepskin for better comfort on looooooooong days.
Also, the engine itself is, at least compared to the new XTs, very uncomplicated and simple - you will find a mechanic able to fix it everywhere in the world. And last but not least, the 3AJ comes with an electric starter and no kick starter at first, but you can simply add that. I have therefore the comfort of not having to kick if my leg feels sore (or if I simply don't feel like it) but also the comfort of not having to push-start the bike if my battery dies on me.
There are a few things I would definitely change though. For example, you wanna get rid of the fuel pump because once you're down to no gas left you'll have major trouble starting the bike (impossible with electric starter only and you'll get a sore leg from kicking - it took me almost two hours to get it running again; apparantly the engine somehow manages to flood completely and you have to kick it all out again). If you check out the German XT-Forums there are a lot threads about the nonexistent necessity of said fuel pump.

You should definitely consider not buying it in Denmark but purchasing it in Germany and start your trip from here. There are a LOT of good 3AJ Ténérés in Northern Germany for as low as 1000€. It's definitely cheaper to spend one or two weeks in Germany, do some maintenance and work on the bike and then start your trip rather then importing it to Denmark and pay the 200% luxury tax.

PS: I thought that for older bikes there is no luxury tax? A friend of mine sold his XJ600 to a Dane and the Dane mentioned that there was no luxury tax on a bike as old as this - and it was a mid-90s bike.

3aj
 

Hmm,

Move abroad is my answer..!
In France winter is only about 3 days long, good good for biking !

A work permit 100 €
A cheap caravan 500 €
And a bloody wonderful 3AJ is 1500€
------------------------------------
+
2100€ inclusive tax


Matt

Thanks for the input! I did lurk around on mobile.de and see a lot of nice bikes. If I was to buy a bike in Germany and not importing it to Denmark, and then start from Germany I would have to register the bike Germany and get a German licence plate. Do you know if thats possible for a Dane/foreigner?

That's an excellent question. In theory, and thanks to the European Union, it should be possible with some paperwork. Worst case: You might have to get registered as resident in Germany in order to get it done but again, thanks to the European Union, that should be easy (and still cheaper than the Danish luxury tax).
I'll call the registration office (KFZ Zulassungsstelle) as soon as possible and try to find out whether this is actually possible or not. In the meantime, I'd advise you to write the ADAC an email, they should be able to give you some advice.

Thanks a lot. I wrote ADAC and their answer is that it is possible, however the bike must be registred on export plates witch has a time limit of maximum 12 months. Here's a quote from the answer I got:


"Purchasing and registering a car in Germany

Vehicles bought by someone not having permanent home in Germany must be registered and exported with export plates (called Ausfuhrkennzeichen or Zollkennzeichen).

Before a vehicle can be registered, a third party insurance policy must be taken out. The validity of the third party insurance policy can be for a minimum of 15 days and up to a maximum of twelve months. The policies can be obtained at any ADAC office.

The current insurance premiums are as follows;

Car, mobile home
80 € for 15 days
160 € per month

Motorcycle
40 € for 15 days
55 € per month

Extensions of validity are only available in exceptional cases. Should such a case arise, further inquiries must be made at an ADAC office and at the vehicle registration office. An extension may then be granted but only at the discretion of the licensing authorities.

At the vehicle registration office you must present your passport, a valid insurance policy, the bill of contract and a document showing the history of the vehicle, ("Fahrzeugbrief" or Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil II)

Most car dealers will assist you with registration formalities.

The costs for having a car registered are about 45 €.

It is possible to sell a car that was bought in Germany in any other country. However, import regulations and additional customs duties, which vary from country to country, must be taken into consideration."

Ack that's gonna be expensive. What if you simply registered a permanent residency in Germany? All you'd need is a friend who is willing to 'share' his or her appartment with you and voilá. Should be quite easy these days and might save you a lot of money.
Other than that I'm pretty much out of ideas :(