Post by bultaco on Dec 19, 2008 23:06:05 GMT -8
Review of Yamaha XT600E Offroad Bike By pursang on 13th Nov 2008
Year Manufactured 1999
Length of ownership 3 months.
Build quality 10/10
Reliability 10/10
Value for money 10/10
Overall value 10/10
Good Points.
Electric start. suspension grease fittings. wicked bullitproof engine with great power and loads of grunt.
Bad Points.
No oil drain plugs on the forks. bad brake caliper design makes replacing pads way more difficult than it should be. no rim locks. Awesome suspension but needs more travel. stock gearing is too high. could use more aluminum parts to keep the weight down.
General Comments.
My 1999 Yamaha XT600E is one of the wickedest (dirt bikes) ever made, the engine starts awesome everytime, it has loads of grunt, runs crisp and comes onto the cam really nice with 45hp, some have said the bike is underpowered, but it's not, with 15/45s = 3.00 it's over geared. For serious off road riding it has to work against the overly high stock gearing and makes climbing steep rocky and tight stuff a real challenge. maby 15/45s are alright if you spend all day on the highway, but many times I found myself staying in 4th even at high speeds to avoid lugging in 5th. switching to 14/47s = 3.36 turns the bike into a off road monster! It tightens all the gears up and especially makes 2nd a lot more useful, the bike still has loads of top end speed and could use even lower gearing. With electric start and a battery the bike is not surprisingly heavy, 379lbs with a full tank, even so I find it continually astonishing the suspensions ability to suck up the roughest nastiest most rock strewn terrain without missing a beat, truely amazing considering it only has 8.8" front and 7.9" rear travel. the handling is very predictable and turns in much like a motocrosser, with the front tire giving some warning before washing out, maby a little twitchy but still nice! Thanks Yamaha! brakes are pretty good and mostly a one finger affair. I highly recommend this bike.
Year Manufactured 1999
Length of ownership 3 months.
Build quality 10/10
Reliability 10/10
Value for money 10/10
Overall value 10/10
Good Points.
Electric start. suspension grease fittings. wicked bullitproof engine with great power and loads of grunt.
Bad Points.
No oil drain plugs on the forks. bad brake caliper design makes replacing pads way more difficult than it should be. no rim locks. Awesome suspension but needs more travel. stock gearing is too high. could use more aluminum parts to keep the weight down.
General Comments.
My 1999 Yamaha XT600E is one of the wickedest (dirt bikes) ever made, the engine starts awesome everytime, it has loads of grunt, runs crisp and comes onto the cam really nice with 45hp, some have said the bike is underpowered, but it's not, with 15/45s = 3.00 it's over geared. For serious off road riding it has to work against the overly high stock gearing and makes climbing steep rocky and tight stuff a real challenge. maby 15/45s are alright if you spend all day on the highway, but many times I found myself staying in 4th even at high speeds to avoid lugging in 5th. switching to 14/47s = 3.36 turns the bike into a off road monster! It tightens all the gears up and especially makes 2nd a lot more useful, the bike still has loads of top end speed and could use even lower gearing. With electric start and a battery the bike is not surprisingly heavy, 379lbs with a full tank, even so I find it continually astonishing the suspensions ability to suck up the roughest nastiest most rock strewn terrain without missing a beat, truely amazing considering it only has 8.8" front and 7.9" rear travel. the handling is very predictable and turns in much like a motocrosser, with the front tire giving some warning before washing out, maby a little twitchy but still nice! Thanks Yamaha! brakes are pretty good and mostly a one finger affair. I highly recommend this bike.