xt660z or 690 enduro r

[jim cadyMember]

Hi oldbulls,

I have the tenere and have been very happy with it,and im aware that it can be improved with more mods etc.
Mine still has standard suspension/exhaust no steering damper.And until recently it still had the metzler tourance tyres on it.

After reading Eagle 02s recent post about steering damper fitup im now a little confused as what to do in the future as i had thought that the 690 was pretty much good to go as is.

Im asking this question as i had originally liked the look of the 690,but being a learner rider i had to get something learner legal.

The problem being i do find the weight of the ten a little heavy in tighter trails and given that i still have to spend quite a few dollars on it to bring it up to par[TBs bike] i thought the solution might be the 690.But if the 690 requires costly mods to i guess ill just have to master the ten.

Thanks for your thoughts james.

[Brendon CarreMember]

Hey James, it does’nt matter what bike you have a steering damper is a good mod if you plan on riding sand and outback roads, the ten would benefit just as much as a 690 or any other bike for that matter.
I dont think there is a bike out of the box that does’nt need mods suspension, tyres, wheels etc its just a matter of how you want to set it up and how many dollars you want to spend.

[Nick JacksonMember]

In my opinion it depends totally on what you ride for the majority of the time , the Ten is great on fast opens dirt roads down to flowing twin track but too heavy for very tight stuff. The 690 is good in the tight stuff but after riding Mickps 690 I wouldnt want to ride fast dirt roads all day. Each has their place

As Boulder said a decent steering dampener is a big advantage on an Adv bike and I don’t think theirs a bike out their that has one fitted stock.

Nick

[jim cadyMember]

Thanks for the reply Boulder,

I guess where im coming from is that ive still got 6 months on p plates so cant get the 690 just yet anyway.
So in the mean time the teneres it,the question for me is whether or not to mod and farkle away or save the dollars,and when the license allows, get the lighter 690 to compensate for a lack of riding ability.

Like i said before im really happy with the tenere i just struggle with it in slow/tight situations.So my thoughts were that the 690 may be more manageable in similiar conditions.

But like you say if all bikes need xtras i might just mod the ten.

[jim cadyMember]

Hey nickj,

I hear you in regard to fast open dirt roads,as most of my riding is done up through St albans common to Bucketty/Wattagans,and bitumen to and from.

Not being able to afford to run two bikes i just figured the 690 might just tick a few extra boxs for me.

That said,after reading your opinion on the 690s ability on fast dirt roads im not so sure.I do enjoy that sort of riding and even get a kick out of some the twisty roads in my area.

I suppose im wondering whether it would be money well spent and transform the ten in to a better bike
along the lines that both you and TB have done,and once done how much of an improvement/difference
can be expected.

After reading the coffs coast ride report where there were 6/7 adv riders to 40 dirtbike riders [just guessing numbers] makes me wonder whether its more fun single track,which is why i find myself asking the question,bearing in mind its all new to me.

[Jeffrey SmithMember]

As Nick has said, it depends on what riding you want to do.

You can spend some money on the Ten and improve it’s handling but it will never be a single track weapon (and obviously was never meant to be).

Conversely, the 690 is better at the tighter stuff but you can spend some money on things like a more comfortable seat, a screen and bigger tanks for long haul stuff. The biggest downfall of the 690 is the subframe or lack there of which has been known to cause dramas when heavily loaded.

If you only do day trips and the odd overnighter then maybe the 690 is the way to go (and as I type this I am starting to convince myself to change from the Tenere to the 690 ).

Another option could be the DR650 as well (just to confuse you a bit more)

In the end it is all a matter of personal preference but the is no bike that is perfect for all applications (that’s why I have 2).

[ChrisMember]

I’d personally be looking at which bike has the better aftermarket parts available and their availability that would be a big decision of mine now that I am actually considering an ADV bike 👿 👿

[jim cadyMember]

Yeah,thanks Jeffro
Throw another bike in the mix just to make it easier :laugh:

Penny for your thoughts Chris,which bike are you leaning towards.?

[Dwayne OMember]

Well I might be a tad biased on this topic :laugh:
But it has been mentioned on here by someone of prominence that ,,,

A 660Z was once a Dream Bike of mine :laugh:
Yes, I rode TB`s a few times and was hooked and saving towards a purchase :whistle:
But I eventually came to a similar conclusion to yourself, that it was a handful of bike in tight, slow stuff and I wanted to be able to go where I liked to go rather than where the bike dictated…

I have spent some $$$ on extra gear for my 690, but shopped around for secondhand near new or cheap buys and am slowly building it up over the past 2 years.. The Damper was a classic result of not wanting to spend $895, so I wrote the idea off and now the superceded model was available heaps cheaper (more than $400 off)
Also no big tanks for me,, just add a bladder and roll it up.
Seat too hard on longer multi day rides,,,, buy an Airhawk and strap it on as needed (got that cheap too) :laugh:

What the guys have already said is spot on,, there is no bike that will do it all straight out of the box in comfort.. In any case,, building the machine and adding farkles is all part of the fun right ???? :woohoo:

Good Luck mate whatever way you end up in deciding

[GregMember]

Biased yes Eags :laugh:

Everyone has covered everything but;

My thoughts

Its all about what sort of rider you are, where you want to ride, how you ride and how many miles you will do before you replace said bike. With the riding I have done with my Tenere the 690 would have been better for me about 5% of the time.
As for cost of setup I just purchased what I wanted, could have done it cheaper like Eagle with second hand maybe but (no offence Eags ) I dont ride once a month and have done 50k in just over two years so I needed it and just got it. Not many around being used like mine when I got mine so setup wasnt as cheap as it could have been now.
It been covered here before but the 690 wont do what I want to do with carrying weight etc. BTW I reckon the 690 is a more modern version of the XR650R if you look at what they were built for and their stats, and I have a XR650R. The Tenere is cheap to look after, spares are cheap goes anywhere, doesnt wear you out, cruises well, stable at speed, can ride for 12hrs a day with out a sore arse

TB

[jim cadyMember]

Thanks for the info eagle,

Looks like i will just have to brush up on my technique, :unsure: practise makes perfect so they say.

[jim cadyMember]

Sorry guys, :whistle:

Didnt mean to open up a can of worms[although i did realize there would be favouritism]. 😆

It wasnt meant as a vs argument more the fact the pilot not being up to the job just yet. :blush:

However looking forward to getting out on a ride for some tips real soon. :cheer:

[Dwayne OMember]

:laugh: No offence taken TB ,,, and I am not really biased at all

All good James,, no problems with a bit of subjective bater at all,, that`s one ofthe good things we do here …

I might add that the only secondhand stuff I have on the 690 is a set of Touratech racks that were 5 rides old and I got for $350 (half price of retail)
And an Airhawk cushion that was literally 10 mins old as it didn`t fit another duys bike well enough & he bought another size , saved $50 there too

I just shop around or wait for stuff to be reduced where I can

Cheers bud

[AndrewMember]

James, get a BMW :whistle:

That way you can get the piss taken out of you all day just like i do

😆 😆

[Nick JacksonMember]

Ace wrote:

James, get a BMW :whistle:

That way you can get the piss taken out of you all day just like i do

😆 😆

Apart from the piss taking Ace , when I rode Adv Steves BMW 800 around the high country earlier this year I found it very very capable and fairly easy to ride , TB didn’t hold me up too much and I had a ball

Not a patch on riding the Tenere when it gets really aggressive though

Nick

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