New XT700Z?
 

Hi guys,

I recently read that the current XTZ 660 is to be discontinued soon and most likely will be replacd by new Z based on the MT07 similarly to the MT03 in the past.
Have you heard anything? Because if so that will be really nice product.

Thanks

I hope things do take that route. Because I think some of the problem here in Oz is the fact that a lot of the marketing is focused on the bike as LAMS approved ( learner legal ) hence the 660cc and a bit strangled . Now I don't know many people willing to part with around $15000 just to get a full licence then chop it in for a go faster GSXR or something similar. When you can pick up a CB500 for nearly half the price & is bit more user friendly to start off on. They are also going to have the likes of Triumph to contend with as they are bringing some of their 675 models down to 660 for learners too.
So I'd say the market for these bikes is more with people who already have their full licence, so something not plastered with L plates when you walk in the show room & built to run like it should would be much more appealing to most.

+ I had a Mt-07 as a loan bike while mine was in for a service & it has a sweet little motor.

Heard the same in South Africa. No more XT660Z's available at our local Yamaha dealer. Waiting for the new models.

There's no doubt the proposed new model Tenere would be nice. And maybe made in Japan.

But in this age of instant power, there's room for big singles, imo. I know it shows my age, but I basically started off on British big singles. Over the years have always returned to single pot bikes, in spite of the fact that they have relatively narrow usable rev ranges.

BSAs, Matchless, Yamahas, Hondas and Huskys have all had a home with me at one time or another. Multis are nice, but for me a big single does it all provided it proves reliable.

Here in Oz draconian speed limits rigidly enforced discourage fast bikes (not that we shouldn't own them anyway!), but regardless of that I'm happy enough with what I've got. I look around every now and then, but can't think of anything I want to replace my bike with, including a multi-cylinder adventure bike.

Which doesn't mean that Yamaha shouldn't build a middleweight multi. Good on them.

One positive thing I will be able re-flash the MT07 for all the bolt on mods, I am already doing MT/FZ09's + Tracer/FJ09's, I have been doing them for a while now.

This is what the FZ07 mapping looks like in the OEM ECU:

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/a...psrlmprt6r.jpg

I can see that's where yamah are goin with the tenere possibly but after loads of hmming and haaaing over the tenere, after a 2 up, 1 week trip around Scotland I'm sticking with it a bit longer. I've always like big singles as they give me a good bit of fun but at low mph however they do struggle with the standard high speed mile munching, vibration, lack of power issue.

A mt 07 motored tenere would solve a lot of this but would it still have the same soul and character as the 660 motor? I don't think so

The imminent introduction of an MT-07 based XT is nothing to do with marketing, what people want/desire, or for that matter what Yamaha want to do. Their hand has been forced by the bureaucrats in Brussels. In its current state, the XT660 motor will not pass the new Euro 4 emissions regulations which come into force on 1st January 2017. Europe is by far its biggest market and it would be simply too expensive for Yamaha to make the engine compliant. That's not to say the 660 in some form or other won't continue to be built/sold in developing markets with lower (or no) emissions regs. I fancy India as a possible home for future production. The coffin lid hasn't been nailed down just yet!

Any new XT700/XT-07 will undoubtedly be a nice bike and worthy of the name, but won't really be a true/direct replacement for the 660 as it fits into sector of the market, the same niche as the Tiger 800 and GS 800. Hopefully the trump card it will have on those two is that, although giving away 100cc, it will be considerably cheaper - just like the MT-07 is.

Looking on the bright side, with current XT range very likely being the last ever Yamaha big singles, they'll soon become classics, demand will increase and the value of our bikes will start to climb...

Is it possible that it does have a lot to to do with marketing etc? Because it seems to me that if people didn't want an XT700, and if marketing research didn't warrant a production go-ahead order, then there's no way Yamaha would be building this bike.

It also makes business sense if the same basic 700 engine can be used to afford economy of scale. And I wonder if the current XT sales are where Yamaha want them to be? If not, the factory will simply move on to where they think the money is.

Just my thoughts for what they're worth.

I don't doubt this to be the case, but where does it leave AJP and their PR7 bike which is said to be using the XT660 engine and due for launch this year?

I suspect Yamaha are encoraged enough by sales of their MT range to have the confidence to use the platform as widely as possible. If they make the bike light enough, off road friendly enough and at the right price, I'll be very interested in one. But all too often, you get excited, then the bike that actually does come out is too heavy or too road focussed. But I think they have a great opportunity here to steal a big share of the market.

EU type approval rules are less strict for low volume producers, so unlike Yamaha, AJP don't have to jump through the same hoops. This is why Norton for example can continue to sell bikes with what is essentially a sixty year old motor.

Also, don't be surprised to find that AJP have already cut a deal with Yamaha to bulk buy a batch of engines, or even agree to purchase the remaining stock of 660 motors should production end at Motori Minarelli. This is generally how small producers like CCM have got hold of their (Rotax/Suzuki) engines over the years.

Alternatively, I suspect production will go to Asia and AJP will source them from there much as CCM do with their ex-BMW Kymco Taiwanese 450s.

It's all guesswork though. What actually happens only time will tell...

XT700Z Tenere testing??
 

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/n...-07-tnr-spied/

So it has begun....???

Such mix feelings about this. I love my single but it seems Yamaha has been listening. So much to like here. If they can keep the weight down and the suspension is as good as we hope then this can be the giant killer.

Jac sounds like you are turning....... don't do it stay single.....

Fear not its still 2 years away. Only time will tell wether the smoothness of a twin and the extra ponies will make up for the singles low down torque and sound. We will see

Another link http://www.advpulse.com/adv-bikes/ya...mpaign=profile

But I like my single so much...

Ciao
Solitario

And one more: http://adventurebikerider.com/news/1...ere-spied.html

Ciao
Solitario

I was very impressed in the MT07's motor it has quite a bit of torque for a parallel twin & was so smooth.

Xtz700�
 

I hope the mto7 version is lighter and lower than the 660, the number of people that I have met recently that say " I nearly bought one of those but too high for me" as for weight try moving an xtz660 on softish ground with the engine off on your own, ie reversing it. Real heart attack effort. The Africa twin is a really nice bike but I can't see me daring to take one off road due to the size and weight.:024:

Chances are any new ADV bike over 650cc will be
more road based as that is what the market want...
the fact is less than 20% of ADV bikes over 650cc
ever go offroad.... So theres the market road based
ADV look alike bikes....
Do yer build a bike for the 20% or the 80%...

Got to give Honda the thumbs up for the new AT but it
is more road based than the earlyer models...
they also have a new NX650 Dominator style ADV bike
in the wings for sometime in 2017.....

Even on this forum how meany times have I read
I use my ten for commuting not really into offroad riding...


pete

Wonder when it will be produced and ready to sell?
Wonder what the price would be, we in South Africa is at the mercy of the Rand vs the mighty Dollar - that hurts
No more XT660Z's, ill hang on to mine for now, quite happy with it, thanks

That may well apply to the UK market but not to many other parts of the world where being able to cope with rough roads is reality. Yamaha is a world player

Weight and horsepower will always be an issue, it all depends on what you want to do with your bike, for me my Tenere does everything I want a bike to do. The weight and horsepower ain't an issue for me with the Tenere and this testmule looks very promising! And I rode the MT-07 on several occasions and I liked the smoothness of the engine very much.

heres abit of info....

http://adventurebikerider.com/news/1...ere-spied.html