Hi,
Have read the reviews for this bike and it looks like a good choice for RTW... except for the small tank.
Has anyone fitted a bigger tank?
Cheers for any suggestions
JP

Check touratech.

From what iv heard, the 660 is a little fragile for a RTW trip. The XT600 is a better bike for this but makes 10bhp less power.

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www.touringted.com

Thanks mate!
There are these 2 guys who went to Nepal and India.
I am still looking around for a bike that will get me places with the occassional off-road stints,
The 660 looks basic enough and does not cost the earth
Have you seen the bike break down anytime?
JP

I have a mate who has the 660 supermoto (same engine & chassic) He curses it as it cuts out on him round corners and the build quality is shite.

i have a XT600E... 100 year old engine design which is tried and tested to the hill and beyond. There are no surprises when it comes to the XT..Sure there are faster more powerful bikes, but the XT wins on no compromise reliabilty etc

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I think you'll find the XT600 motor is older than 100 years. I heard Noah used one in the Ark as an auxillary. Still going today by all accounts.

I also have an XT600E. I don't think the XT660R offers enough to compete with the F650GSD at a similar price. Here an XT660R if you could get one is only 2K less than a beemer. Go for an F650 much more aftermarket support.
Andy.

If you want parts for the XT660R go to www.offtheroad.de

26 Ltr tank available.

One feature I like about the XT660 is the inbuilt diagnostics to deal with electrical faults. Still reading lots of reports about surging and stalling which put me off.

Right.......that's enough slagging off my bike for one day.

I bought it on eBay at 1 year old with 200 miles on the clock. It lived in the seller's house and was immaculate.
It's now 18 months older and has 20,000 miles on the clock. It has never given me any cause for concern. Went down through Africa on the Atlantic route and later a few weeks around Europe and up the Stella Alpina.
Service work is really easy. Unlike the F650 GS, any EFI fault codes can be read-out on the digital speedo assembly without having to pay a dealer to plug it in to a high-tech diagnostic box. The air filter & battery can be accessed in seconds, without having to remove plastic panels, which in turn mean finding the toolkit.
Accessories are plentiful:- Decent bashplate, engine bars, center stand, taller screen, Touratech wider footrests and pannier frames (in stock & arrived within 3 days!), rear carrier, Acerbis heavy-duty handguards etc, etc.
It regularly gives over 60 mpg and will easily pull the ton. What more do you want? Oh, it's quite comfortable, too.

I've had 3 F650's over the years, a few R80/100 GS's, R1100 GS and a couple of K series and they have all given me no-end of problems. I will never have another BMW and have no idea why they have such a loyal following - the chain's on the "wrong" side for a start, and the Dakar leans over so far on the sidestand it's in danger of falling over, the plastic toolbox/tailpiece looses its lid.......and did I mention the appauling headlight?
But then, I'm more than happy with the XT660 and have no plans to change. I would like a larger fuel tank, but refuse to pay €849 for the O-T-R- offering.
Just a few thoughts there.............

Im now also thinking of selling my XT600E for a 660R

I slagged off the 660 without having a close look.

I went to see one in a dealer today and the build looked just as good, if not a little better than my 600E

I still dont like the dodgy fuel injection cutting out and 550 quid for a tank

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I am too considering buying a XT660R, I hope to go for a long test ride later this week.

What i have seen so far and from what my mate say's of his f650, i am sure the build quality cannot be that bad.

The price of the XT is also near to 2000 quid cheaper than the Dakar, there seams to be plenty of accessories or mods you can buy / make and it weighs about 15 kilo less.

If any body as any further info i would be intrested to hear from them.

Thanks

Simon

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simonp

The guys from Metal Mule were in the early phases of developing a larger tank with Acerbis as a partner. I was told this at the NEC Bike show. May be worth giving them a call to see if there is any progress.

Off The Road use Glass Fibre for their tanks, Acerbis would be much stronger.

Any idea how to use the diagnostics though? Or where to find out?

Trilam...
Have a search through the tech thread - there has been at least one recently about the little buttons that are onboard the XT660.

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Dave

Incorrect. Offtheroad uses moulded carbon fibre tanks. Virtually indestructable. I know this for a fact, since I have one .

I've on the other hand been told that the reason Acerbis's xt600 tank is so relatively cheap, is because it is made of...yes, glass fibre. I don't know if this is true. It's only a rumor.