XT version worth it?

[Beeroclock]

Hi all

on the verge of purchase now (on a 650).. hopefully... Just wondering whether the XT is worth the extra - I get the belly pan and hand guards - but seeing as though I'll basically be using it for tarmac - beside perhaps the occasion off road track - are the spoke wheels worth the extra?

Thanks Philip

[2112]

Spoked wheels look fantastic on an adventure style bike, but are a complete pain to keep clean. Miss just one wash after a ride on salted roads and they can go orange really quickly...

[Beeroclock]

Pretty much what I was thinking...

[Fat Rat]

[bigpie]

Aren't all new 650s now beaky?

[Stonec0ld]

Yeah the beakless glee is no more

[hotbulb]

Doesn't the poultry industry have some sort of de-beaking device? 

[user650]

Dingerb68 has a method of removing the beak on a Gleek useing the back of another bike (sorry Pete)   

[In me shed]

+1 on keeping the spokes clean, mine are minging until tomorrow when I will have a few hours spare to clean them.

[jbaptista]

I'm going to buy the new 650 too, and I don't think it's worth the extra money. But you can ask for "gifts" to the dealer. I'm going to have the same gel seat of vl1000, hand guards, and metal belly pan, and maybe a helmet, ihihi.

The rims are beautiful but a pain to keep it clean.

[old git]

I'm old enough to remember when just about every bike had spoked wheels. One piece wheels were considered fairly high tech and commanded a price premium.
How things have changed - old tech spoked wheels are now sold at a premium.

Spoked wheels are fine if you do serious offroading but on top of cleaning issues, spoke tension needs to be maintained, spokes seize and often corrode. Many spoked wheels currently fitted to modern motorcycles still require inner tubes which is another step back to the dark ages.

IMO spoked wheels are more suited to a horse drawn cart than a modern road going motorcycle.

[TLPower]

Well put that man. My Nail has Behr spoked wheels fitted as standard. 16 years old, I've never had a loose spoke or a broken one. They look good when they're clean, but a proper pain to maintain. I'm changing them to Enkei forged as I've had 2 punctures in the rear and they go down way too fast. Admitedly the spoke wheels on the Stroms use tubeless rims, still a faff.