First day out on the XTZ690N

[winddown]

I wonder what the 'N' stands for?  Anyway today the rain cleared so I took off for a 100k ride around the backroads near home in SE QLD.  These were all sealed roads but are bumpy backroads and after 400mm of rain in the past week had their share of potholes and gravel washes.   I did pass some gravel roads and felt the desire to turn up a few but I have zero experience on dirt and no crash bars yet so I stayed on the predictable stuff.  The first thing I noticed was how light the bike seems when swinging back and forth through corners, and I also began to experience the anti-squat effect where it became much more planted in them under acceleration.   I haven't read all the user manual yet so have no idea what they recommend for running the bike in but I kept the revs between 4k and 8k and gave it as much stick as I could in that range. 

 

The suspension settings  williestreet suggested were excellent, much more stable, though as some report, jittery.  I can live with jittery, not with wallowy.  As I rode up and down the hills I came across lots of gravel wash, nothing heavy but the sort of thing that would have given me the bug-eye on my little sportbike.  I'll get back to that comparison later.  Anyway I just "rode over them" assuming that now I was on the best adventure bike in the world it would be no drama, and they weren't.  The rear moved a bit here and there but I ignored it as I believe that's what it's supposed to do lol.  A few times I stood up and leaned in the opposite direction as I see on the vids and though I felt awkward up there and didn't really know how to behave, it was a good feeling and I am sure I had more traction.  That was in sweeping corners at 100km/h, funnily enough the wind didn't seem a problem at all standing up.  Sitting down there is hardly any wind feel.  Once I felt buffeted but it was a serious crosswind and when I pushed my head to the side of the screen and it went away lol.  

 

I found the riding position, I'm 185cm, 6-foot, to be fine, though I did notice it seemed better the closer to the tank I was, there is quite a bit of latitude as to where I can sit.  My right arm got sore ten minutes from home and I was wishing it had cruse control so I could have stretched it.   I don't know what could have lead to that?  I parked at the local dam at one point to have a look at the overflow, the bike is not heavy moving but I felt I needed to be very aware when going slow and parking up, especially on gravel as I did.  I can flat foot the T7 but I think it could get away from me very fast if I made the wrong approach on sloping ground.  I can't wait to get the crash bars so I can mess around in the dirt, practicing slow maneuvering,  U-turns, that sort of thing.  

 

As I said earlier, comparing it to my bmw-rr, it's a monster!  It stands very high and though they weigh the same 200kg it seems heavier just sitting on it with my legs straight when stopped or going slow.  I'm used to the sport bike where being stopped  my legs are in nearly the same position as when sitting up on the T7.  Much different, I'll definitely be careful going slow.  I found the power to be excellent!  More than enough, more than enough to get me into trouble too if I let it   I'm looking forward to laying some of that power down on the dirt roads, which is half the reason I got it, to have fun!  Anyway those are the first impressions of an adventure bike noob, much practice in the months ahead.

 

A question about crash bars guys.  Are the Yamaha ones that bolt to those rear engine lugs as bad as some suggest?  Is there a real chance I could damage the engine case, even with the proper spacer fitted between them?  Parts here in Oz are limited and the aftermarket bars I look into are always out of stock.  I don't mind waiting but I can get the factory ones tomorrow.   I'm near Brisbane, SS, if anyone cares to recommend a supplier for after market.

Cheers.

 

Edited March 4, 2022 by winddown

[Tenerider]

Great report, thanks mate!

I'll pick up mine soon, and will be very careful when doing slow speed maneuvers.

 

Regarding the break-in, Yamaha recommends not to rev higher than 5k "for longer time" (don't remember the words exactly). This is for 0-1000km.

1000-1600km revs should not be higher than 6k for longer time.

[boop]

On 3/4/2022 at 4:26 AM, winddown said:

As I said earlier, comparing it to my bmw-rr, it's a monster!  It stands very high and though they weigh the same 200kg it seems heavier just sitting on it with my legs straight when stopped or going slow.  I'm used to the sport bike where being stopped  my legs are in nearly the same position as when sitting up on the T7.  Much different, I'll definitely be careful going slow. 

 

As a complete beginner, someone gave me a tip recently that made a big difference. He said, when you're stopping, be a tripod - commit to one side (usually left) and full-on take your butt off the bike to be able to stand on your left leg. It removes a lot of the uncertainty of trying to keep the bike level and tipping from leg to leg as the weight of the bike shifts. You commit to one side and that's it, no more tipping around from side to side. Hope this is useful!

 

[thepointchris]

On 3/4/2022 at 1:26 AM, winddown said:

I wonder what the 'N' stands for?  Anyway today the rain cleared so I took off for a 100k ride around the backroads near home in SE QLD.  These were all sealed roads but are bumpy backroads and after 400mm of rain in the past week had their share of potholes and gravel washes.   I did pass some gravel roads and felt the desire to turn up a few but I have zero experience on dirt and no crash bars yet so I stayed on the predictable stuff.  The first thing I noticed was how light the bike seems when swinging back and forth through corners, and I also began to experience the anti-squat effect where it became much more planted in them under acceleration.   I haven't read all the user manual yet so have no idea what they recommend for running the bike in but I kept the revs between 4k and 8k and gave it as much stick as I could in that range. 

 

The suspension settings  williestreet suggested were excellent, much more stable, though as some report, jittery.  I can live with jittery, not with wallowy.  As I rode up and down the hills I came across lots of gravel wash, nothing heavy but the sort of thing that would have given me the bug-eye on my little sportbike.  I'll get back to that comparison later.  Anyway I just "rode over them" assuming that now I was on the best adventure bike in the world it would be no drama, and they weren't.  The rear moved a bit here and there but I ignored it as I believe that's what it's supposed to do lol.  A few times I stood up and leaned in the opposite direction as I see on the vids and though I felt awkward up there and didn't really know how to behave, it was a good feeling and I am sure I had more traction.  That was in sweeping corners at 100km/h, funnily enough the wind didn't seem a problem at all standing up.  Sitting down there is hardly any wind feel.  Once I felt buffeted but it was a serious crosswind and when I pushed my head to the side of the screen and it went away lol.  

 

I found the riding position, I'm 185cm, 6-foot, to be fine, though I did notice it seemed better the closer to the tank I was, there is quite a bit of latitude as to where I can sit.  My right arm got sore ten minutes from home and I was wishing it had cruse control so I could have stretched it.   I don't know what could have lead to that?  I parked at the local dam at one point to have a look at the overflow, the bike is not heavy moving but I felt I needed to be very aware when going slow and parking up, especially on gravel as I did.  I can flat foot the T7 but I think it could get away from me very fast if I made the wrong approach on sloping ground.  I can't wait to get the crash bars so I can mess around in the dirt, practicing slow maneuvering,  U-turns, that sort of thing.  

 

As I said earlier, comparing it to my bmw-rr, it's a monster!  It stands very high and though they weigh the same 200kg it seems heavier just sitting on it with my legs straight when stopped or going slow.  I'm used to the sport bike where being stopped  my legs are in nearly the same position as when sitting up on the T7.  Much different, I'll definitely be careful going slow.  I found the power to be excellent!  More than enough, more than enough to get me into trouble too if I let it   I'm looking forward to laying some of that power down on the dirt roads, which is half the reason I got it, to have fun!  Anyway those are the first impressions of an adventure bike noob, much practice in the months ahead.

 

A question about crash bars guys.  Are the Yamaha ones that bolt to those rear engine lugs as bad as some suggest?  Is there a real chance I could damage the engine case, even with the proper spacer fitted between them?  Parts here in Oz are limited and the aftermarket bars I look into are always out of stock.  I don't mind waiting but I can get the factory ones tomorrow.   I'm near Brisbane, SS, if anyone cares to recommend a supplier for after market.

Cheers.

 

White Paintwork, Red Speedblock, Gold Rims, deadly combo. Wish my '21 White was this colorway. 

[winddown]

17 hours ago, thepointchris said:

White Paintwork, Red Speedblock, Gold Rims, deadly combo. Wish my '21 White was this colorway. 

 

It's evolving too.  But I actually prefer the 21 White color scheme, especially the rear plastics.

 

 

This pipe is on it's way from the states

 

[CoreCass]

On 5/26/2022 at 10:21 PM, winddown said:

 

It's evolving too.  But I actually prefer the 21 White color scheme, especially the rear plastics.

 

 

This pipe is on it's way from the states

 

you could order one i guess.

BW3-F1731-00-P1

COVER, SIDE 3 on the 20 /21 model. no stickers if you order it.

 

Edited June 8, 2022 by CoreCass