BF wants a Uly - X or XT ?

[Lohani]

now that they are nearly half off, the bf has decided he wants a long distance enduro touring type bike
and it was a bmw something vs the uly... with the uly being so cheap, its won hands down

however we juuuuust got back from the 2 dealerships out here, and he can flat foot on the xt, not the x.. but hes reading that the suspension seems beefier on the xt
and he wants something he could go offroadish with
will the xt be ok with the lesser suspension, or would he be better off with the X and not quite flat footed?

basically.. how big of a difference is the suspension between the 2 bikes
any info would be appreciated
i did do a QUICK search on "uly x v xt" and didnt see anything


thanks in advance for any and ll help/advice!
hes trying to get out and pick one up today, as a bunch of them are already listed as SOLD
lol

~Lohani

[1001yos]

Definately XT
You can upgrade later with aftermarket parts. The XT comes with a host of attractive options that the "X" does not. (Like bags that are worth over 1000$ aftermarket)

[AdventureUly]

I went for the X as I wanted something that could charge down dirt tracks and I was not going to use the hard bags. The mud guards are a bit different as well, but you could probably get hold of an X mud guard with little problems.

I have added the heated grips to my X and the tall screen, it's now all the bike i will ever need.

Oh, my old Oxford Sport Luggage fits on my X, not perfectly but it fits.[up]

[unrealtrip]

I went with the XT also for several reasons, one of which being that heightwise it is a much better fit for me, at 5'11" with a 32" inseam, than the X which I had to be a little more on my toes with.

There are actually some big differences between the two most importantly with the suspension. The X has about an inch more height due to the suspension which is tuned with off road in mind, that said it is not tuned as well as the XT's suspension is for the street where the XT outperforms. Where the XT's suspension will eat up the street, the X's will feel soft and you'll get much more pronounced nose diving when stopping, however off road it will feel much more supple than the stiff XT. Another big difference is in the wheels, the wheels on the X have about an additional 1 lb of mass to them, beefing them up for off road use so that they don't crack on rock impact at speed, added beefiness the XT's rims do not have. That weight difference however makes a big difference in rotating mass, making the XT easier to stop than the X. There is also a difference in the geometry, where the X's is a little steeper, the XT's rake is a hair less with the idea that it is a bit more touring oriented than the X, though both models have some pretty radical geometry compared to most bikes, making them super sensitive to suspension changes.

In the bodywork department the X is again more suited for trail work with its plastics that protect the lower exposed forks while the XT does not offer as full coverage, however the parts are a direct bolt on to the XT should you choose to add them, which is something I did. The XT offers a list of very nice things that anyone interested in doing longer rides will eventually add such as the bags, windscreen and heated grips so that is something to consider as well.

They are both awesome bikes and as you've seen the time to buy is now, your BF just needs to decide what he is more interested in. Me, I realistically know that I'm going to spend the bulk of my time on the street with some dirt roads thrown in there, because of that, I wanted the model that would perform best in the environment it would be most used in, for me that was the XT. :)

[SylvanSlayer]

X has bigger forks up front (45mm vs 47mm) and the front fender does something, the little hugger on the front tire on XT does nothing on wet roads. Also the rims On the X are much stronger.

[unrealtrip]

Sylvan Slayer, have you ridden an XT in the rain? I ask because the hugger actually does exceptionally well and I just rode in heavy downpours on Monday in fact. The rims are definitely beefier on the X, but they do have the added weight to consider.

[bikelit]

Because of the front end, man up and get the X. Forget that added weight on the rim crap, you'll never notice it. The bigger forks work excellent street or dirt plus the steering lock is much greater, improving tight situations. Any "fork dive" problem is a joke to anyone with a dirt bike background. The X has come with heated grips since 2008.