What's so special about the Yam XT?
 

Or put this another way, why is there a technical forum for just about every manufacturer of bike but not for Yamaha as such?

Or,
Is there no-one riding any other Yamaha on their travels? (TDM, Fazer, FJR etc etc).

Is this some type of historical anomoly or is there a logic that I am missing?

Full of questions today:
Will there ever be a forum for two wheels less an engine i.e. Bicycles? From a quick look around the web I can see why there may not be - there are various good resources there already.
On the other hand, the same can be said about motorcycling webpages!! :rolleyes2:

Lots of other RTW Yams out there!
 

I agree! There are several other Yamaha's out there that make pretty decent
RTW or LD bikes. Just ask Lois On The Loose!

XT660
XT225 Serow
XT250
XTZ 750/850 Tenere' twin
WR450 and 250 (coming as street legal?)
Various Tenere' singles
TDM 850/900 twin
TT600 and TT500
XT500

Why call the forum XT600? Should just be "Yamaha".
Just my opinion, but this really is a "Grant" issue and certainly does not represent any sort of problem or priority issue. I'd let the inmates decide.

Patrick:mchappy:

Rubbish
 

Bollocks!

XTs rule.

A pox on your firstborn!

How dare you go travelling on anything else!

Sorry - I've had mine for 20 years and can't imagine going off on anything else.

Old, sad, and stuck in my ways, I know.

Mind you - I fancy that LC8 engine ....

This is totally historical - originally way back when in 99 when the HUBB started (HU site started in 97) there was only a bike tech forum, then we split it up when we got more traffic - and there was a volunteer to moderate a Yam XT600 forum - so that's what it was.

The trouble with changing it to "Yamaha" is that all the links to the forum will break - otoh, gotta happen sooner or later, so better sooner!

Consider it done.

See the new Bicycles forum!
And start posting! :)

Oops!
 

That was quick Grant!

Breaking all of the links in previous posts was never the intention of course, and perhaps there is some way of keeping them? I would suggest a new forum for Yamaha (where discussion of any other Yam bike can go) and keeping the XT site until the day that no one wants it any more or hell freeezes over!

Thanks for the push-bike forum; can't see anyway of posting in there BTW....... :rolleyes2:
(I don't see a "forum tools" drop down menu is what I mean).

oops! :innocent: Bicycle Forum glitch fixed.

Re XT / Yam etc - could keep it at xt forum, and add Yam - but eventually it has to be done, so it's now done! :) Nothing fatal, links will catch up eventually.

Let's just say the Yam XT is a mean deam riding machine hehe...mine is from 1990 but has less than 7000miles on it and had only one or two major problems because it did stay about 2 years on the rain with just a plastiv cover over and....problems such as good battery but there was no spark on the spark plug and this one now that might be a wasted battery or the rectifier&regulator either of them ain't too good because the battery dies out of power after about 20miles of riding and wont E-start because the battery is too weak [killed the solenoid but already got one new all because of not enough power on the battery...]

Just wished one thing...if it was 80lbs lighter it would be way better...

XT forum gone??
 

Many of us that use the XT600 Forum are trying to figure out what happened. I am disappointed that the forum is no longer model specific. It was the one place where you could get information on the bike in English. One of the keys to a forum's success is the right people being able to find the right place. With the switch to a general Yamaha classification we may not be able to attract new members because the forum will not come up when one searches for "XT600" in Google, Yahoo!, etc. Many long time members will be confused by the disappearance (like me). If we must continue to be organized in such a way that it is classified as a General Yamaha Tech forum, is it possible to create a sticky thread of the XT600 content or a way to index the XT600 content. Any other suggestions on how we can maintain continuity? Thanks.

Are you happy now?????
 

Looks like some of you have whined a little, with nothing better to do, and screwed up a good thing. I don't blame Grant, (thank you Grant for administrating,) he apparently has sat on this XT model specific anomaly of a forum for some time, waiting for someone to bitch about it. Now here we are!

I don't know if this is the end of an era or what, but I do know when you do a Google search for "XT600" you come up with a lot of garbage. This forum was a diamond in that garbage because when you seen "Yamaha XT600 Technical Forum" you knew you were in the right place. I certainly hope it doesn't change much more that the obvious or get watered down with the technical details of Razz scooters and outboard motors.

OK, so enough of my own whining. I subscribed to this forum a couple years ago when I got my beloved 88 XT600. The bike (and maybe me) would be dead, collecting rust in the back yard without the knowledge I've gained from this forum. Thank you all (yes, even Walkabout and mollydog who stirred this up.)

There are no other model specific forums on the HUBB....tell me why the XT should be the only one to have a specific forum? Hmmm?

Maybe we should have a Vstrom Forum?....more Vstroms are on the road doing RTW than XTs. Or how about a R1200GS forum? See where this goes?

Are you saying there are no othere XT forums out there? Better keep looking.
And WHO are the "Right People"?

Keep in mind, Horizons is a World travelers' site that provides a broad range of information....it's not a motorcycle technical site. The Tech forums are simply a gift from Grant...an extra if you will, to help travlers learn more about their travel bikes or find an appropriate one (Which Bike?)

So...its not ALL ABOUT THE XT600 is it? Being from the US, I'm surprised you'd care....we haven't had XT's since 1990.

New Members?
Your logic is upside down. Not only will the word still be out there regards info on the XT on HU, but most of the NEW MEMEBERS will come from folks looking for info on all the other Yamaha models used by travelers. See my post further back in this thread for a complete list. If you look at trends you'll see more and more riders are choosing smaller bikes like the XT250. A great choice for many people.

You have continuity....never lost it. The HUBB has been around for 6 or 7 years now. Most serious travelers know of it and tell others. So, in fact, the success of the forum as a whole has allowed the Yamaha forum to be more popular, and it will continue to grow.

Patrick:mchappy:

XT600 Forum Alive!!
 

I'm not whining nor am I saying that there should be a model specific forum for every bike out there. The XT has been one of the more practical traveling bikes. Hence the existence of XT Forum. You couldn't of had a Vstrom Forum 10 years ago. I appreciate Grant's hosting the forum. It's a great resource that I would not want to do without. You're right, there are other forums out there, but none as good as the one on HU. Fortunately, I also speak German so I am able to use Klaus's forum as a resource. Many people are not so equipped.

I don't even know how long the XT600 forum has been around. Certainly longer than the Vstrom has been available. That should count for something, historically. Because the XT600 was/has not been available here in the states, I have become dependent upon the knowledge of my overseas comrades whom have more experience with the model.

As far as not caring about the XT. Well, I have 3 34L XT600Z Teneres and a 1991 XTZ750 Super Tenere. All of which I service without the parts support of Yamaha because they do not import parts for models that were not imported into the US. Fortunately, I am still able to buy parts here for my 2 43F XT600's. That makes 6 XT's total. How's that for commitment to a model!!

The majority of the discussion on the Yam Tech resource still involves the XT600. I hope that the change to a general forum does not affect the membership negatively. I would prefer that it went back to the way it was but I am just one person. I still be around no matter what happens.

Thanks for your input.

Regards, Troy.

XT600 Forum Lives
 

BTW. The XT600 Forum is the second most active forum on the HUBB. It helped make the HUBB what it is today. I think the XT600 deserves better treatment than just being thrown in with a bunch of other Yamahas!! :-)

I'm listening... see the Forum description now :)

Better?

More Comments? Note we can create sub-forums for Vstroms, XT's and whatever else MAKES SENSE - a forum with 6 posts a year never gets looked at.

Hello Grant,
I would think there is a place for sub-divisions of each of the tech forums, so that bike relevant info can be found by everyone who is interested in only their particular cherished machine.
Maybe there can be sub-forums within BMW, Yam, Suzuki, Honda etc etc for specific bikes - should there be one for the XT600 and another for the XT660? (very different technologies).

For myself, I first got involved in this whole website when I had problems with my TT600R and I valued the tech info that was available in the XT section - however that relates to the engine of course, otherwise they are not very similar.
Just further thoughts after my earlier post, shown here,
(So, the sub-forum would be "XT600/TT600R"????!!)

Man, I hate to disagree with a Veteran HUBBer. As stated in my earlier post, you folks are the only reason my XT is on the road. However, why would you shoot down the existence of the one model specific forum as opposed to posting questions to whether there might be interest in trying to get others started?

If you've got a better search engine than I do (or better yet a list of URL's,) please pass it along. I have yet to find another XT600 model specific forum in English.
The "Right People" would be those with specific XT600 knowledge, not those telling what fixed WR's, Hondas, Suzuki's, etc. IE bad info mixed with possible good.
We haven't had them since 1990 is the exact reason to keep a XT600 model specific forum. Info is scarcer all the time and way, way spread out. Sorting through the vast Internet for info on a 20 year old bike is terribly time consuming without a specifically named place to look.

It appears that Grant is still listening. Again, I appreciate his administration. It seems to me that rather than watering down a popular forum that has been standard for many on the HUB for years, maybe creating an additional forum. Possibly "Other Yamaha Tech," sorry I'm sure there are better names.
I don't know anything about post counts or views or any of that, but it seems as though popularity should dictate. If, by chance, another forum was started and the "XT600 Technical Forum" was kept as it was, the numbers could tell the true story.

Thanks for listening to my rant :funmeterno:

Burl

Hey, as usual, I'm just talking off the top of my head....and responding to what seemed "fair and balanced" regards HU protocol. I really have no dog at all in this thing.

If you want to know what I really think...go back to my first post in this thread and read the very last line: "Let The Inmates Decide". And so it should be.

Looks to me like Grant is bending over backwards to accomodate you guys.

I don't, however, think the XT tech forum "made HU what it is". I think you might find a few hundred members here who would disagree with that concept. Have you ever attended an HU rally? :innocent:

I didn't realize info was so scarce on the XT. Since Yam have produced it in the rest of the world all these years. Be cool to import a "modern" one from the EU or Canada. I saw a few XTs/660's on Europe trips. Nice bikes for sure.

Sounds to me like an XT specific forum could be made to run at a profit.
Hack a V bulletin site together and Voila!
Rallies, Rides, Camp outs, Tshirts, farkles, a few sponsors? Whadya' figure?

There are 3 major Vstrom specific sites, one is doing pretty well. Vstrom guys even have 2 national rallies every year now.

Patrick:scooter:

Lies, damn lies, and statistics
 

That got me looking at the hits alongside the various bikes that are discussed in here: I spent a whole 10 minutes or so, certainly no more in looking.
Yes, the XT has lots in total ("historically"), but here are some statistics (figures as of today of course):-

Kawasaki.
KLE - 4500 and 2000 are the viewings of the two most popular threads. Didn't bother looking for the KLR in there.

Suzuki.
DR650 - 12000 (wow, what was that all about?) and 1000 viewings.
DL650/1000 - didn't bother looking, someone else can do it (but viewing of some recent posts there are also into 1000s)!

Yamaha.
XT600 - 2000 and 1500 (and this 1500 is in the last couple of days for the replacement bike, the 2008 660Z Tenere - nothing like the XT600).

TT600R - 1000 and 1800 (quite a way back, has not been discussed a lot recently).

Interesting figures for the two most popular threads for what are considered to be popular offroad/dual sport/adventure bikes in any case.

I deduce that if the XT600 deserves it's own thread, then so do all of the bikes listed here (and probably others that are not listed - didn't bother with Honda for example, nor BMW - what interest will there be in a new 800GS and it's technical detail??).

Just been looking at the thread for the F800GS - nearly 20 000 people have viewed this single thread (is that big or what?!)

For completeness
 

There is another view on this topic expressed in post number 11 of this thread:-

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...404#post150298

XT600 Lives
 

I certainly don't think that the XT600 Forum made HU what it is. Grant can take credit for that. But the discussion around the XT600 had been an important part of the HUBB.

I am not sure why the argument continues to be made that the XT600 should not have it's own forum because other bikes don't have their own. Historically, other bikes have not had their own forum here but the XT600 has had it's own. Few people complained, or even cared. Then this thread was started and a week later the long existing XT Forum was 'gone'.

Eliminating the XT600 Forum is like telling a Vstrom forum that now they have to sort through a bunch of DRZ information to glean what they need. can you imagine the uproar (Suzuki owners are, historically, a bunch of whiners). I don't have to point out that even though they are both Suzukis, they are different bikes.

I would prefer the XT600 forum be renewed and hopefully restore the continuity of links. The forum should include everything XT (TT600, XT600Z, XT600, XT600E, XT660Z, XTZ750, etc). If that can't be done, no worries. The XT600 content remains strong on the Yamaha Tech forum. I hope that it continues to be a resource.

I'll still be around. I like the HUBB and it helps me imagine that someday I might travel the world. Thanks to everyone for making the HUBB what it is, a great community of knowledgable motorcyclists.

Sub Forums
 

I'm not a computer/web site guy AT ALL...but on other boards I have seen them do sub-forums to handle this.

So you would have Yamaha....but on a Google search it would show the
XT sub forum on HU. Could that work?

Like:
Forum:Yamaha
Sub-Forums:
XT600
XT660
XT250
Tenere'
XTZ750
TDM 850

And so on ....

As to which bikes deserve a subforum and what you do with with bikes that don't get their own subforum.....well, Grant will have to work that out.
I imagine this is a lot of work.

Anyway...

Patrick

Hi Motomedic - I haven't seen anyone argue to get rid of the XT forum (please see above). Seems to me that the whole tech forums could develop along the lines that Mollydog identifies and is seen in lots of other websites; I suppose it depends on how much people see this website as being related to technical issues as it is to RTW/longish-distance riding discussion - there is room for both IMHO but, therefore, the website needs to develop along these lines. :thumbup1:

I'll chime in here w/ my .02 cents worth. When I looked at buying my 1990 XT600 second hand, I was worried about a pretty much complete lack of information in English on the web. Thanks to Google & finding the wonderful XT600 tech section of this website, I have been able to troubleshoot a few issues & find information/advise specific to my bike.

And while there aren't specific sub-forums on here for other bikes, almost all of those bikes have healthy independent forums on the web in English, something the XT600 does not. Thank you Grant for hosting the XT600 English forums, I hope they can stay around.

--JOsh in the US, riding a "forgotten" bike

A rose is but a rose by any other name
 

And you still can, exactly as I did back in Mar 07 when I had some trouble with a TT600R that uses a 3AJ engine; nothing has changed except the title of the forum!!

[QUOTE=
Eliminating the XT600 Forum is like telling a Vstrom forum that now they have to sort through a bunch of DRZ information to glean what they need. can you imagine the uproar (Suzuki owners are, historically, a bunch of whiners). I don't have to point out that even though they are both Suzukis, they are different bikes.

I would prefer the XT600 forum be renewed and hopefully restore the continuity of links. The forum should include everything XT (TT600, XT600Z, XT600, XT600E, XT660Z, XTZ750, etc).
[/QUOTE]

But surely, if you want info for an XTZ750, you would then have to wade through a load of XT600 stuff to find what you need.
It strikes me that nothing much has changed apart from the title. The old XT forum was never just XT stuff, it DID contain info on many other Yamaha bikes, and the name change simply reflects this.

Search engines
 

I am fine with the change just as long as everyone agrees to not leave the forum. It appears that a link to the forum comes up when searching for "XT600 forum" on Google and Yahoo!. Good. That will help others find the diamond in the rough that the forum has been. Now where's that damn horse?

Folks come and go, and opinions go round and round ......................
 

............... but the HUBB just goes on!:D

I came across this thread from a few years ago and did a quick google search. So, here in the UK at least, the "XT600" forum still comes up at the top of the list.

xt600 forum - Google Search

whew! :) Good!