Yamaha XT600E

Got my XT600 in 2004 and a few minor services - one battery change

a few cosmetic fixes and she still goes strong - I'm looking at the XT660 it's time for a new one and I think the xt660 will be a good replacement ?

HAD THE XT200 , THE XT550 , the DT175 and will stick with Yamaha for reliable no nonsense riding .

FUEL CONSUMPTION - plus/minus 145KM on a tank is not too shabby.

I've had many bikes ranging from customs, naked road bikes and trails. I was impressed with the BMW 650 dakar but it was too tall and it had water pump issues. I bought this yamaha xt600 because i was very impressed with the xt225 serrow i had before it. The only reason i changed it was that i wanted more realistic power for the roads. I managed to find a late registered 2007 one with only 2000 miles on the clock!!! The mileage was in km's but the speedo was in miles so wasn't that bothered. Anyway as soon as i rode this bike i liked it, it put a smile on my face. Its a basic but sensible bike and very enjoyable to ride. Even the seat hieght was fine for my short arse 5 foot 6 inches. Maintenance is very easy and its very cheap to run at 70 mpg. These engines are great and bullet proof, air cooled so just change the oil every 3000 miles and you have a very reliable bike. I won't be parting with mine in a hurry, very happy with it and would recommend to others :-)

I bought this second hand with 2 previous owners and 16,000 kms/miles on the clock. I'm unsure of the mileage because someone at some time has added a converter onto the speedo drive.

I read many reviews on the big trailies before finally buying the XT, choices included Honda XL600/650 (i'd had 250's and they were solid), Kawasaki KLR600/650 and Suzuki DR600/650. I finally settled on the XT purely and simply because it's bulletproof (like most of the above), it's simple, no fuss design is easy to maintain and most of all, it's a kick-start only model (so even less to go wrong).

It had new road knobbly's on and although they gave a very surprising amount of grip on the road, the front lasted around 500 miles.

I've ridden it mainly on-road but have taken it off-road as well. It performs fine on the road but gets a little scary when touching 90 on the knobbleys. Off-road it has performed great on rocky ground, doesn't mind water but needs a little momentum to ride on very muddy ground.

I've got a spare set of wheels to add tyres biased more to road riding, this should give me a good all-rounder with both sets.

Spares are incredibly cheap, a service will (done yourself) leave you with change from £40!

Tyres - shop around - can be had for £120 road and £90 off-road with tubes around a fiver.

Will update the review over time but ovrall I'm very impressed!

ive had my xt600e for 2 years now never failed me every day go to and from work 20miles a day. i love the way bike just sails through the traffic it also feels like your sitting on top of a throne so hight up you can see all around for dangers.i get around 55miles per gallon wich i think is good for a 600cc. and yes i know its basic motorbike but very reliable. the new xt,s after 2003 seem to have bad reviews about cutting out ,doint know why? so my final thought is (old is gold);)

ive had my xt600e for 2 years now never failed me every day go to and from work 20miles a day. i love the way bike just sails through the traffic it also feels like your sitting on top of a throne so hight up you can see all around for dangers.i get around 55miles per gallon wich i think is good for a 600cc. and yes i know its basic motorbike but very reliable. the new xt,s after 2003 seem to have bad reviews about cutting out ,doint know why? so my final thought is (old is gold);)

If you want a third world adventure tourer there is no better bike. Incredibly tough, extremely reliable, and very capable on the roughest of roads. Lots of fun riding on tarmac too, IMHO, even though it is not the fastest or best handling road bike. Not much fun on the motorway - but who buys a bike to ride on motorways.

Stick an Acerbis 23 litre tank and luggage on it and you are ready to tackle any country in the world...

I have owned the honda xr650r,kawasaki lkr 650,suzuki drz 400 and in my opinion the yamaha xt 600 is the better bike by far, the weight is just right and well balanced and sounds nice but without too much noise.

The Yamaha XT600E survived some of Lesotho's worst roads. This bike will become a collectors item before long! One of the best off/on road bikes ever made. Good points are Reliability. Awesome power. Smooth. Only bad point is a bit on the heavy side.

The XT600E will go on until you give up, this is an ultra reliable bike, economical, easy to maintain. If you want something fun to commute with, this is the bike, it's loads of fun. However it's not the fastest bike out there, but that's not what the XT is about anyway. If it survives Africa, It'll survive anything, believe me.

I think this bike is just GREAT and it's a shame that Yamaha haven't come up with anything that effectively replaces it after they went out of production in 2004. The XTZ is just NOT the same, it's heavier, bulkier and not half aas much as a blast to ride. My only complaint is it's recurrent habit of frying the solenoid every 6000miles or so. I bought the bike in 2005 for about 4000 quid and haven't regretted once . . . except when I had to push it home after the solenoid died for the third damn time. Anybody got any ideas as to how I could solve this problem or what may be causing it?