Finally. It's coming. XT700

[EricV]

And maybe that's the niche they want to fill? The new KLR.

Of course, if they put a light weight shaft drive on it, it would be the only one in the class with a shaft and they could ignore the bike for a decade and it would still be the only shaft drive in the class. There really is no reason not to have a shaft for the weight of the bike. The hoons will go to the new Honda 450. The aging demographic of riders that want low maintenance, lighter weight, still bulletproof ADV bikes is pretty large.

 

[shmitty]

Yeah, unless the Moto Guzzi V850 TT makes it here.

 

[Tenman]

That Guzzi is a good looking machine. I see a few drawbacks. Such as air cooled cylinders sticking out to smother you with heat. Love the front fender is it keeps the sh=t off of you and doesn't bust out the headlight. Dealer availabiltiy and price. I didn;t see a power rating but I bet it is more than adequate.

 

[shredmeister]

I do like it! Looks to have a cabled clutch instead of hydraulic, my minor complaint. Pretty sure I'll end up with one as I come from a dirt riding background.

 

[greg the pole]

The FJ is a good bike. Shit suspension, but the rest of the package is excellent.
Never owned an FJR, but ridden one. Stupid fast, easy bake oven. Loved by many.

The Tenere will never get a fair shake against the competition. A lot to do with latest and greatest bikes that are up against it, and who happens to pay for the magazines advertising.

I loved my ST, but needed something a bit lighter, and with higher clearance. For road riding, gravel, and mild quad trails it was awesome.
The AT is a different animal off road. The 21/18 wheels are a huge help. Overall pleased as punch with it after a great season.

The T7 missed the mark for me.

BTW...rode through redding this year. Found a great sandwich show in the west side of town..forgot the name of it..
Will likely ride from Calgary to Fort Bragg in mid may next year. Can't wait!

 

[greg the pole]

And maybe that's the niche they want to fill? The new KLR.

Of course, if they put a light weight shaft drive on it, it would be the only one in the class with a shaft and they could ignore the bike for a decade and it would still be the only shaft drive in the class. There really is no reason not to have a shaft for the weight of the bike. The hoons will go to the new Honda 450. The aging demographic of riders that want low maintenance, lighter weight, still bulletproof ADV bikes is pretty large.

They will never put a shaft on it. It's a FZ07 with a bespoke frame, and a swing arm.
It's like saying that they would slap a shaft on the FZ/FJ/MT-09 forum. Not going to happen. With the MT-09 Tracer GT appearing, moving more towards a FJR, it's still the same platform as back in 2014. Same engine, same brakes, full adjustable 41mm fork, should step up to a 43mm fork with the extra weight. It wouldn't make sense for them. They are getting their money's worth it out of the 07 and 09 platforms.

I don't see the big deal with chain. I spray it every 600km. I've adjusted it once in 13k km.

My shaft wasn't exactly maintenance free.

 

[EricV]

I agree, I don't see them doing a shaft T7. Just saying, if they did, it would be the only one and it would sell. 600km... That's really cute. So three times a day for some of my riding. What I used to do on the FZ-1 was spray the chain at lunch, then at the end of the day when it's still warm. I let it go a little longer than you do. Every 500-600 miles was fine for me.

 

[RonH]

My chain drive motorcycles, no longer ridden but still sitting around, I could get 50,000 miles out of a chain, but that meant really special care. Any dusty conditions or rain meant frequent lubing, and by frequent I don't mean every 200 miles, more like 20 miles. I will never go back to chain or carbs. Two things that I've seen way too much of the last 50yrs. I can't believe they still sell chain drive on any motorcycle and anyone still would buy that crap.

 

[greg the pole]

I agree, I don't see them doing a shaft T7. Just saying, if they did, it would be the only one and it would sell. 600km... That's really cute. So three times a day for some of my riding. What I used to do on the FZ-1 was spray the chain at lunch, then at the end of the day when it's still warm. I let it go a little longer than you do. Every 500-600 miles was fine for me.

lol...i'm not a distance guy. 17k km a year for me is lots. But then again we ride april to november if we're lucky. More like may to October.
And i'm on my dirt bike twice a week in the summer, and one a week all winter, weathe permitting.

The AT has a counter on the dash, so you set it at any given amount, and it counts down to when you need to do the chain.
600km could be streched, but with varying conditions, Its a good default for me.

Reg. the T7, Yamaha is playing the long game with both the parallel twin and the triple (to some extent with the 300 single) and will use the same motors/drivetrains in many models to come.

 

[greg the pole]

My chain drive motorcycles, no longer ridden but still sitting around, I could get 50,000 miles out of a chain, but that meant really special care. Any dusty conditions or rain meant frequent lubing, and by frequent I don't mean every 200 miles, more like 20 miles. I will never go back to chain or carbs. Two things that I've seen way too much of the last 50yrs. I can't believe they still sell chain drive on any motorcycle and anyone still would buy that crap.

too funny. For me getting 25k km out a chain is a good run. I'm not bothered to get more miles out of one. Life is too short.
If you ride off road, or want anything slated towards off road, or large DS/ADV you have no choice but chain. EFI is obv. taking over 4s.
My last two 2S were carbed. NO other choice. No real drama either, and we ride in all sorts of weather and elevation.
My next one will likely be the direct port injection.

 

[WJBertrand]

An enclosed chain drive always seemed like the ideal solution to me. More efficient power transfer than a shaft, clean (with the enclosure), quiet, and lightweight. If the enclosure also included an oil bath and a tensioner, maintenance would be comparable to a shaft. Yamaha briefly offered an enclosed chain on the early XV920 standard bikes back in the '80s. Wonder why no one does anymore?

 

[EricV]

IIRC, enclosed chain was efficient and long lived. Also was a pain in the butt when tire change came around. I briefly owned one of those XV920 Viragos, but mine was shaft drive. It was cursed with the 'starter issue', so I didn't keep it long.

 

[Stridey]

Don't get me wrong, I think it will be a great bike for a lot of people, especially if the price is right. Just that I think they missed the opportunity to produce a near-perfect ADV bike. For example, I don't need to ride it to know the tank is too small. There are plenty of times I would have been stranded on the Super Tenere if the tank range had been only 350km. And 350km is probably the best case, being more off-road focused, it's going to be taken off-road more (duh). What's the fuel consumption going to be like in sand or mud? It's always possible to carry extra fuel, but it's a hassle and the bike already has pretty limited carrying capacity.

They are going to lose a chunk of the market just because they couldn't add 3-4 litres more fuel capacity. Most other things could be fixed pretty easily, but not that. KTM 790 has 20 litres, why do they know what is needed, and Yamaha didn't?

I’ve just reviewed the KTM 790 Adventure in Jan 19 Issue of UK’s Bike mag and the tank is 20 litres (4.5 UK gallon 5.4 US gallon) but with a big BUT!

The tank utilises a one piece looking wrap around plastic cover that drops down each side of the engine and seems to link in with the engine sump guard. Looks vulnerable to me and why haven’t other manufacturers gone down this route before? KTM state they have done extensive desert testing fitted twin fans to radiators but how will that stand up when it’s let loose on the general population with real world testing with causing excessive heat as it covers the engine I wonder? I assume the fuel will be in the lower side parts as well or maybe they are just side crash guards?

More images of the plastic low slung horseshoe fuel tank.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[HeliMark]

I’ve just reviewed the KTM 690 Adventure in Jan 19 Issue of UK’s Bike mag and the tank is 20 litres (4.5 UK gallon 5.4 US gallon) but with a big BUT!

The tank utilises a one piece looking wrap around plastic cover that drops down each side of the engine and seems to link in with the engine sump guard. Looks vulnerable to me and why haven’t other manufacturers gone down this route before? KTM state they have done extensive desert testing fitted twin fans to radiators but how will that stand up when it’s let loose on the general population with real world testing with causing excessive heat as it covers the engine I wonder? I assume the fuel will be in the lower side parts as well or maybe they are just side crash guards?

More images of the plastic low slung horseshoe fuel tank.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Wow, no thank you. I can see a rock doing some serious damage to the tank. And the heat? Hot day, trying to get through a tough area, I could easily see a vapor issue in the fuel lines. Plus, with the engine enclosed like that, the heat is directed straight up to the rider at slow speeds.

 

[EricV]

Just a minor point, that's not the KTM 690, it's the 790 Adventure. If they were having rear subframe break issues with the 690's stock rear tank mounts, I wonder how similar the rear mounts are on the 790 and if it will only be worse?

As to the lower wings of the 790 fuel tank, the aftermarket will step up with guards of all kinds, it's just a matter of them getting bikes to do R&D on. It also appears that the lower wings are protected by some kind of OEM attachment to the factory skid plate. Probably only another layer of plastic, but better than nothing! Probably be fine for the riders only needing gravel guards for their ADV touring needs.

 

[dcstrom]

Just a minor point, that's not the KTM 690, it's the 790 Adventure. If they were having rear subframe break issues with the 690's stock rear tank mounts, I wonder how similar the rear mounts are on the 790 and if it will only be worse?

As to the lower wings of the 790 fuel tank, the aftermarket will step up with guards of all kinds, it's just a matter of them getting bikes to do R&D on. It also appears that the lower wings are protected by some kind of OEM attachment to the factory skid plate. Probably only another layer of plastic, but better than nothing! Probably be fine for the riders only needing gravel guards for their ADV touring needs.

I imagine the tank must have gone though all sorts of testing, not only by KTM but also by TUV and other Euro bodies responsible for vehicle safety?

 

[Stridey]

Just a minor point, that's not the KTM 690, it's the 790 Adventure. If they were having rear subframe break issues with the 690's stock rear tank mounts, I wonder how similar the rear mounts are on the 790 and if it will only be worse?

As to the lower wings of the 790 fuel tank, the aftermarket will step up with guards of all kinds, it's just a matter of them getting bikes to do R&D on. It also appears that the lower wings are protected by some kind of OEM attachment to the factory skid plate. Probably only another layer of plastic, but better than nothing! Probably be fine for the riders only needing gravel guards for their ADV touring needs.

Thanks for correcting my typo Eric!
I’ll amend that now.


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[Stridey]

I imagine the tank must have gone though all sorts of testing, not only by KTM but also by TUV and other Euro bodies responsible for vehicle safety?

I hope some body has!



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[Dogdaze]

I hope some body has!



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TüV is pretty thorough, but not infallible, so may bend to manufacturer pressure.......... They only test for road scenarios not someone hitting a boulder on a trail in the middle of nowhere causing a puncture and possible leak followed by an explosion. Just scratch resistant from hurtling down the road at 100kph on it's side.

 

[greg the pole]

I’ve just reviewed the KTM 790 Adventure in Jan 19 Issue of UK’s Bike mag and the tank is 20 litres (4.5 UK gallon 5.4 US gallon) but with a big BUT!

The tank utilises a one piece looking wrap around plastic cover that drops down each side of the engine and seems to link in with the engine sump guard. Looks vulnerable to me and why haven’t other manufacturers gone down this route before? KTM state they have done extensive desert testing fitted twin fans to radiators but how will that stand up when it’s let loose on the general population with real world testing with causing excessive heat as it covers the engine I wonder? I assume the fuel will be in the lower side parts as well or maybe they are just side crash guards?

More images of the plastic low slung horseshoe fuel tank.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

if the tank is made out of the same material as their off road bikes it will last. But the tank wrapping around the motor like that might give it issues along the lines of the 950 super enduro, which had a tendency to boil and vapor lock fuel