Anyways, this is how I saw it;
The 955i Tiger now has the perfect set up for long distance touring and for carrying a pillion.
The DRZ is a cracking bike for playing in the mud.
The older 885 Sprint and 885 Tiger, whilst spending most of their days retired in the garage, I'm going to keep just because, or until I can bring myself to sell them.
I felt there was a hole in my set up; a bike which would take me solo and in reasonable comfort to mid Wales/Lakes/Scotland/Morocco and be good enough to take on tougher trails. I also wanted a lighter weight, economical, nippy commuter. The Tiger is just a too top heavy beast to be taken seriously for these purposes and the DRZ would just induce piles.
The bike I decided to fill that hole was the Yamaha XT660Z Tenere.
Time was spent on MCN (too many 'already sold' bikes on that site), Bike Trader (mostly dealers asking way to much) and on Ebay where I spotted a 2008 model in light coffee/dark beige with 1250 miles on the clock. There was no reserve, no buy it now, no after market kit just a sound looking clean bike owned by a guy down near Portsmouth.
To cut a long bidding process short I 'won' the XT at £3729 which all things considered is a bloody great price – new XT's are being touted around £6700 by dealers.
Next step was a train down to Portsmouth to be picked up by the seller and onto his house to meet up with the new steed. First impressions...I loved the colour and the bike had that glow and shine of a brand new showroom model. My instincts were telling me this was a good buy and couldn't wait for the ride home – I reckon buying a bike with a long ride home is an added bonus.
Now, bearing in mind my criteria for buying the machine what I'd expected was a bike that would sit comfortably and stress free on the motorway at around 70mph. First big surprise; the 660 is seriously comfortable and happy sitting at 80mph, in fact I found it as stress free as the Tiger at this speed.
So, first riding impressions;
The ergonomics are perfect for my 6ft 2in frame. There's nothing I need to change, plus this is the first bike where I can stand up on the pegs and all feels perfectly balanced and natural.
The power delivery is smooth and soft. This is no sports bike, nor does it pretend to be.
The gearing is a on the high side but not enough to get me thinking of changing sprockets – for now at least.
There's little wind noise or buffeting up to 80mph – maybe I am just the right size for the 660.
Flicks nice and quick in traffic but all over road handling is nowhere near as planted or smooth as the Tiger. It takes a heavier push on the bars to get the 660 to turn but once it's leaning you get a confident feel that you're going to go where you want and come out the other side.
Amazed by the comfort and cruise ability up to 80mph
In summary, it's early days but this appears to be the right bike for what I wanted and a whole lot more.
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