I picked up a second hand XT660 a few weeks ago, I kept going around in circles so I jumped in boots and all as the saying goes and XT is a wonderful bike, actually I have enjoyed riding it more than I thought I would. A bit of back ground may help qualify this, I recently sold my KTM 640 SM, I really wanted to like it as it was probably the ‘best’ of the road oriented supermotards but it was just too narrowly focused for me. It was a blast to ride hard on tight twisty roads but the rest of the time it wasn’t much fun and it sat in the garage not being used much. The XT is just the opposite I look for excuses to go out on it, just down the road or a whole days riding. It is remarkably smooth for a single, it will do 80 mph happily on the motorway, (personally I find motorways terminally boring and only use them as a last resort) I took the XT on a 4,000 km, (2,500 mile) 2 week trip around Scotland and it was perfect, I find it very comfortable, 6 – 8 hour riding days are no problems, even through it only has a 15 litre fuel tank at the 40 – 60 mph speeds we were riding at most of the time the fuel light came on around 130 miles, there is 5 litres left which means it would do just over 200 miles on a thankful.. One of the big attractions for my is the riding position which feels like a dirt bike so it really encourages off road exploring, the 17” wheels and road tires do limit the off road performance but as long as it was dry and I didn’t try and ride at “proper dirt bike” speeds I never had any problems. Obviously some 17” adventure tyres would help improve the capability but this highlights another point. Even through it has road tyres on it, it is still very capable off road, as long as you are realistic. I saw some old photos recently of 1940s and 1950s Harleys axle deep in snow, motorcyclists were tougher back than but the point is they weren’t concerned about have the prefect bike or the “right” tyres, they just got out there and went riding for the sheer enjoyment of it.
Before I got the XT I was concerned about the weight but it really isn’t a big deal, yes on the spec sheet it looks heavy and under powered but out there in the real world it is a much better bike than it would appear to be, somehow it brings out the essence of motorcycling, the simple pleasure of just going for a ride for the sake of it and enjoying the freedom that it brings. The XT is cheap, reliable, fun to ride and, for me any way, it brought back the simple pleasures of motorcycling, riding and exploring just because you can. This isn’t mean to be a “XT660 is the best bike in the world” rant, it hopefully will just help to inspire others that the bike doesn’t matter, it’s the getting out there and riding that puts the smile on our faces. Would I still like a twin? Sure, why not. But in the mean time I hope to wear out many sets of tyres enjoying the single cylinder Yamaha. How where are my keys, its warm and sunny so I’m going riding . . . . .