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12 Jan 2010
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Join Date: Nov 2004
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ian
I think that with a few mods the XChallenge would make a great overland bike for trips with a large amount of off-tarmac going - relatively lightweight and smooth (for a single) and strong motor. Weak points? All resolvable with enough £££: fuel range springs to mind. Talking of springs, is the air shock OK? Wheel rims: seen a few pics of badly dented ones. Gear lever?: see advrider. Last but probably most important for me: reminds me of the early G/S....which I always wanted....
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Pretty much sums it up. Great engine, fuel injected, great economy, runs on 76 octane fuel, no maintenance required apart from oil and filter every 10k km.
Fuel range ... buy an additional tank.
Gear lever ... change it to a steel F650 single lever.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JMo (& piglet)
Anyone who races one has swapped the air shock for a coil...
The dented rims could just be due to it being a heavy bike, hitting stuff hard...
I'd say it would be a great bike for modifying into an extreme terrain overlander - as you say, you can get a big tank for them now, bash plates etc.
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Coil over shock works very well with the bike. I went for Hyperpro, but understand Wilbers and Ohlins also do them.
Rims were nowhere near as bad as some of the complaining out there would imply. They are good enough for challenging adventure biking. And the wheels are a lot sturdier than G650 Dakar wheels / rims.
And yes you can get all the aftermarket touring bits for them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JMo (& piglet)
So I bought a new Tenere which has everything fitted already...
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Well yes, its 50 kgs heavier and uses 20% more fuel, but if you are into that ... 
I put 50,000 km on mine last year, about half of that was off road. A lot more detail on prepping my X-Challenge is here:
RTW X-Challenge Adventurization
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12 Jan 2010
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Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: California
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Quote:
Originally Posted by colebatch
Well yes, its 50 kgs heavier and uses 20% more fuel, but if you are into that ... |
Yeah yeah - don't get me started Walt' x
Oh, ok then - steel subframe (that is actually the main frame), decent pillion provision, comfy seat, luggage capacity, 23 litre tank, fairing & screen, twin headlights, twin front discs, cush-drive rear hub, and an engine that is every bit as frugal as the G650...
Basically everything that you've fitted to yours, as standard... and it's 30Kg more, not 50Kg... and have you weighed yours will all those extra bits on?
I'm just saying there are other bikes out there that will do the same job...
Jen xx
ps. changing that front sprocket then... how long? x
pps. I love Walt, I love his bike, and I love what he's done with it and on it - he knows this is gentle ribbing x
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12 Jan 2010
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Registered Users
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Join Date: Nov 2004
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JMo (& piglet)
Yeah yeah - don't get me started Walt' x
Oh, ok then - steel subframe (that is actually the main frame), decent pillion provision, comfy seat, luggage capacity, 23 litre tank, fairing & screen, twin headlights, twin front discs, cush-drive rear hub, and an engine that is every bit as frugal as the G650...
Basically everything that you've fitted to yours, as standard... and it's 30Kg more, not 50Kg... and have you weighed yours will all those extra bits on?
I'm just saying there are other bikes out there that will do the same job...
Jen xx
ps. changing that front sprocket then... how long? x
pps. I love Walt, I love his bike, and I love what he's done with it and on it - he knows this is gentle ribbing x
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Ahem ... X-Challenge comes with a cush drive rear hub ... 
Now look here young lady ... as for fuel consumption, I rode a month with an 07 XT660R (I assume same engine) and it drank 17 litres when I drank 14, drank 21 litres when I drank 17. That's more than 20% worse consumption for same speed, same roads. Admittedly on good roads (fast gravel or asphalt) the consumption and range penalty on the XT was only 5-10%, but it was 20-25% on tougher roads! By Yamaha's own admission, they have used a very "simple" FI system on that engine. They built it "cheap".
To be fair (and you know I am a very fair man Jen) I will give you the fact that it is cheap, solid and probably pretty reliable. But I wouldn't trade my X for two of them! I think as long as you have that bike, you should consider renaming yourself to JMo and the Elephant. 
Is there an anti knock sensor in the XT engine? Will it run on 76 / 80 octane fuel? (sorry i should clarify ... thats actually a serious question  )
PS... love what you did with your front end.
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12 Jan 2010
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Quote:
Originally Posted by colebatch
Ahem ... X-Challenge comes with a cush drive rear hub ... |
Hee hee - yes, I actually thought that after I wrote it... but I'm sure you get my point - the Tenere has a lot of the equipment you've fitted to yours (and that you'd want to fit to any large capacity trail bike) as standard, and at a significantly lower price?
I'm not sure how the fuel consumption compares back to back, but while I was in the US I would regularly get 200-210 miles to 16 litres (with 7 litres still to go on reserve) over mixed riding.
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I think as long as you have that bike, you should consider renaming yourself to JMo and the Elephant.
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Ho ho - I like it! - although I prefer 'The Sofa' - if you've seen last month's TBM, you'll know why...
(the blue and yellow paint scheme looks like IKEA!)
Quote:
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Is there an anti knock sensor in the XT engine? Will it run on 76 / 80 octane fuel? (sorry i should clarify ... thats actually a serious question )
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Not sure if there is knock sensor as such, but it ran fine on the crappy 81-85 octane stuff you get in rural USA... seriously, the fueling is spot on with the new Tenere - I've taken it from -282ft to 14,110ft, -20°C to 44°C, and it never skipped, coughed or missed a beat...
Quote:
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PS... love what you did with your front end.
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Yeah... you love what it did to all of it, you just won't admit it xx
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12 Jan 2010
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JMo (& piglet)
Yeah... you love what it did to all of it, you just won't admit it xx
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No Jen, you know thats not true!. But I DO love the fork conversion ... and OK I also love the KTM low front fender. Amazing that no-one else in the world seems to make a decent low front fender and everything in rallys from BMWs to Yamahas to KTM 530s seem to run with the 990 front fender. Its one of my projects this year ... to fit one to the X.
(I am even more amazed that people with this good low front fender as stock (KTM 950/990 adventure folks) get rid of them thinking a high fender looks more macho / off-roady.)
PS did I mention the X-Challenge come stock with a proper size rear wheel? 
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12 Jan 2010
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I know what you mean about the KTM front fender - but I guess it's because very few 'off-road' bikes have a low fender these days, especially with USD forks - in fact I think KTM are the only one?!
You can buy some very tasty carbon fibre low fenders from the rally-bike kit manufacturers, but they are silly money - €300-400 typically, which is why Meca'system conversions tend to use the plastic KTM one (around £110) - mind you, they do stitch you up for the price of their mounting brackets (if you have single front disc pair of forks) - that itself is about $85 as I recall!
I'm sure you could fabricate something very similar to mount the KTM fender to the BMW forks?
Hope to catch up with you at Horizons, or in the Pyrenees later this year? I might even let you have a go on my bike! (so you can eat your words x)
Toot toot!
Jen x
ps. Plenty of tyre options for 17" rims these days too you know - hee hee x
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12 Jan 2010
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81-85 MON isn't too bad. It's in the 90's RON if I'm correct.
JMo, I thought you said the dual front disks are a downside in other threads, with them being really overkill and slow the suspension down off road.
Don't really understand the dual front disk, as most other bikes in the same class do fine with one.
Colebatch, the Xc doesn't have a knock sensor, does it? My Dakar doesn't, and I thought it was the same motor with some minor refinements, like weight and a few more HP.
What Europe's thing with low fenders. Have you guys not had it fill up with mud to the point of it not letting the front wheel turn?
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