I can comment on this one.

I sold my ‘07 XT660R last summer and now ride a ’00 XT600E. I have been riding thumpers, XT’s and others for 30 years, so I know a little about them in general.

XT660R – excellent on the blacktop, very comfortable. Not much of an offroad bike, too heavy and has road-biased geometry. As for the “snatchy” FI, yes it was annoying when I got the bike, but new rear hub rubbers and rightly adjusted chain took care of that pretty much. For me, the snatchy FI is a non-issue but you have to replace the rear hub rubbers when they start to wear.

XT600E, less power but lighter weight. Not as comfortable on the road, but not bad. Unlike the XT660R I would call the XT600E a dual sport, as it is semi useable off road. Ultra rugged and simple design.

Which do I prefer? The 600E hands down. Why? I ride everything, including some dirt and trails. The XT660R shines on the blacktop, but not offroad. I like the ultra simple XT600E, if something brakes I probably can fix it by the side of the road. Even if the XT660R has one excellent reliability record, it is a FI bike with lots of extra things to fail. I know of guys being stuck because of a faulty tilt sensor or a ECU computer. Personally I don´t need that.

But if my riding was long range blacktop riding, without dirt or trails, I would consider the XT660R.

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Yamaha XT600E '01, Honda XR400 '03, Yamaha XT550 '83