It was recommended not to use loctite on the retaining bolts for the T-Rex light guard due to the way the nuts are held in place. I currently don't have my bike to investigate the issue with using blue loctite. For now, I recommend what another rider suggested, avoid loctite. Once I have my bike back I will investigate this.
Enjoying your channel and following the Tuareg ownership. Have thousands of dirt adventure miles on my DR650 but very interested in the Tuareg for good reasons. Might pull the trigger but meanwhile I’m watching you!
Some great ideas for the T660! I was planning to get SW-Motech crash bars and ski plate for my T660, but after watching this I may wait to see what you come up with. Double-Take mirrors have much better visibility than OEM and are crash tolerant, as you know. I know you had a leaky counter-shaft seal, and hope you can get out soon. I came from a VStrom 650 to the T660, and wow, night and day difference in riding experience, and would never go back.
The T660 is a blast to ride. I pick it up in two weeks. I am working on the skid plate video. Hope to have it out next week. I really like the T-Rex racing skid plate. It took some work to get it to fit with the Givi crash bars. I like how it all came out.
Thanks for the video, I went with Trexracing upper crash bars/ gp mucci skid plate and the HDB handguards. I was thinking of going with the Trex for skidplate, like the oil filter access panel but really like the look and protection from the mucci. Keep up the great work, you brought up some good points to make sure to consider for protecting my 660. Cheers.
Thanks Matt. I've got the same bike and hoping I don't have the issues you did recently. Part of me keeps saying "DR650 DR650" but the Aprilia is certainly fun to ride.
The Tuareg is soooo much fun to ride. I am hoping it was one time quirk. We will see. The DR650 is bullet proof and parts are a plenty. You can't get anymore reliable.
@@advmatt Yes. I had a fuel sensor go out on mine and it took almost three months for my dealer to get one in. So I would be leery of riding it on a long trip around the world. I'd likely pick up a DR650 for that. However getting a DR close to a Toureg in capabilities would cost a fair amount as well. But whatever you are riding, it is fun doing it.
@@mart7404 yeah, I am not sure I would try tobride around the world on the Tuareg without having loads of extra time to wait for parts if the need arises. There are better choices, but for adventure touring BDRs in the states, it's a perfect choice that might leave you with some adventurous issues.
I was thinking that those mirrors stick out when you were going over the handguards. Great job going around the tire bike. I am very interested in knowing the weight once you are finsihed protecting it. - Frank
I wouldnt be without a chain guide. Mirrors, everybody gets those double take mirrors, I've never bothered , thinking I'll replace them when they break. Hope your bike is solid when you get it back from repair.
I am with you on the mirrors. I have purchased them once but all my other bikes stayed stock. The bike is fixed, just need time to fly out and get it. Riding home the hottest time of the year, that should be a real treat.
Remove your Loctite-ed screws from the T Rex headlight guard instantly. The nuts those screws attach to are only held by a 3 sided plastic molding, they will turn in their mount and the screws will not unbolt.
@@advmatt I just last month tried to remove my headlight guard and found the lower right bolt frozen and the nut just spins. The only way I can see to extract the bolt is to remove the dash and hold the nut incasement with some needle nose vice grips. I will JB weld the nuts in when I finally go in to remove them. I did this with the windshield nuts. Oh and my bolt had no thread lock of any kind just sprayed with WD last time I had them out.
@@azlong4596 good to know. It appears I will have issues trying to remove them. Thanks for providing the detailed information. I might make a small modification to provide a more secure mount.
@@anxiousappliance it looked like a metal insert. I will need to take a closer look when I get my bike back. I have some thoughts to improve this. The blue loctite I use breaks loose pretty easy, but doesn't vibrate loose.
I picked up the Tuareg about two months ago. It broke down on me and is now at a dealership in California. I had to fly home. I will pick it up next week. I still have the 390 Adv. I took it out two weeks ago. I have been mixing up which one I ride. Right now, I ride the bike I have with me now.
I couldn't help myself and picked up a 660 as well. It has the Givi crash bars on it. Have you dropped yours with the crash bars installed? I'm concerned it won't keep the plastics off the ground. I have the blue/white paint job that I'd like to keep unscratched :)
@@luciano136 I have not dropped mine on the crash bars. I also have crash bars bags adding extra width. With good handguards I think that might be as good as it gets. Great decision!
@@advmatt I'll add crash bar bags as well. Anything you found that fits well? I still have the Molle ones from my 390, but not sure if those will fit properly on the 660.
Matt, when installing your Acerbis X-Factor hand guards did you have any issues with locating the clamps at the inner mounting point so as to not interfere with your levers, brake line, and wiring harness? I run my levers in a downward orientation so my hand, wrist, and forearm and in a somewhat straight line when standing on the pegs. Any clearance issues? Thanks!
Yeah, I did run into some issues. I solved this by flipping over the inner clamps. Instead of the clamp going underneath everything it goes over everything. I had no clearance issues once I did this.
I would like your feedback after you put on crash bar bags and put some weight up front. I have a 2022 tuareg when I put weight up front in the crash bar bags and put a more aggressive tire up front, started getting a severe wobble around 85mph, I tried a number of different things, but when I took the weight off the front end the wobble cleared up.
I rode over 1200 miles with the bags mounted to the crash bars. I had a heavy tool kit on one side and a tire repair kit on the other. I rarely ride over about 80 mph but did hit 85 a few times passing without any issues. I still have the stock tires on. When I have full knobby tires I don't ride that fast.
A better more durable hand guard is the HDB offroad hand guards. and you can install turn signals in the hand guards and they have a trick fold in mirror set up as well.
Yep, those were the ones I was referring to in the video. I could not remember what they were called. I could only recall it was a Colorado company. The are pretty slick.
@@advmatt Way more durable. you can move your turn signals into the guards and they have a trick flip out mirror set up. Best hand guards on the market..
@@anna_m540 try this link for Givi crashbars. www.tradeinn.com/motardinn/en/givi-aprilia-tuareg-660-2021-2023-tubular-engine-guard/141002715/p?id_producte=143713895&country=us&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw7ZO0BhDYARIsAFttkCh6qZtvMg2rdYfuJhhZTImS0gADvdpCkSsbJX7XbJxPDmXHWpR1sL0aAo19EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
The bike is fixed, it took two weeks. I pick it up in three weeks. I will have a final report from my experience and 1200 mile test ride on my way home to make sure the seal is holding.
It was recommended not to use loctite on the retaining bolts for the T-Rex light guard due to the way the nuts are held in place. I currently don't have my bike to investigate the issue with using blue loctite. For now, I recommend what another rider suggested, avoid loctite. Once I have my bike back I will investigate this.
Enjoying your channel and following the Tuareg ownership. Have thousands of dirt adventure miles on my DR650 but very interested in the Tuareg for good reasons. Might pull the trigger but meanwhile I’m watching you!
Awesome, thanks for watching. I have a lot content on this bike coming.
Some great ideas for the T660! I was planning to get SW-Motech crash bars and ski plate for my T660, but after watching this I may wait to see what you come up with. Double-Take mirrors have much better visibility than OEM and are crash tolerant, as you know. I know you had a leaky counter-shaft seal, and hope you can get out soon. I came from a VStrom 650 to the T660, and wow, night and day difference in riding experience, and would never go back.
The T660 is a blast to ride. I pick it up in two weeks. I am working on the skid plate video. Hope to have it out next week. I really like the T-Rex racing skid plate. It took some work to get it to fit with the Givi crash bars. I like how it all came out.
Thanks for the video, I went with Trexracing upper crash bars/ gp mucci skid plate and the HDB handguards. I was thinking of going with the Trex for skidplate, like the oil filter access panel but really like the look and protection from the mucci. Keep up the great work, you brought up some good points to make sure to consider for protecting my 660. Cheers.
The GP Mucci skid plate is badass. I really like howbit looks. You have a great setup.
Thanks Matt. I've got the same bike and hoping I don't have the issues you did recently. Part of me keeps saying "DR650 DR650" but the Aprilia is certainly fun to ride.
The Tuareg is soooo much fun to ride. I am hoping it was one time quirk. We will see. The DR650 is bullet proof and parts are a plenty. You can't get anymore reliable.
@@advmatt Yes. I had a fuel sensor go out on mine and it took almost three months for my dealer to get one in. So I would be leery of riding it on a long trip around the world. I'd likely pick up a DR650 for that. However getting a DR close to a Toureg in capabilities would cost a fair amount as well. But whatever you are riding, it is fun doing it.
@@mart7404 yeah, I am not sure I would try tobride around the world on the Tuareg without having loads of extra time to wait for parts if the need arises. There are better choices, but for adventure touring BDRs in the states, it's a perfect choice that might leave you with some adventurous issues.
I was thinking that those mirrors stick out when you were going over the handguards.
Great job going around the tire bike. I am very interested in knowing the weight once you are finsihed protecting it. - Frank
I will let you know where it ends up.
Thanks for the video.
I wouldnt be without a chain guide. Mirrors, everybody gets those double take mirrors, I've never bothered , thinking I'll replace them when they break.
Hope your bike is solid when you get it back from repair.
I am with you on the mirrors. I have purchased them once but all my other bikes stayed stock. The bike is fixed, just need time to fly out and get it. Riding home the hottest time of the year, that should be a real treat.
i would also get the kickstand bypass switch dongle other than that i think your good
I will look into that too. Great suggestion. I don't usually do the bypass but I might on this bike.
@@advmatt I guess it could leave you stranded if you break it
I second this! I've seen it fail on an F800GS and a Yamaha T7, so that was my first purchase for my Tuareg.
@@americandirtrider7662 thanks for supporting the recommendation. I will get one ordered.
@@advmatt I just have mine in my tool roll for when it happens. It's cheap and an easy on the trail fix.
Remove your Loctite-ed screws from the T Rex headlight guard instantly. The nuts those screws attach to are only held by a 3 sided plastic molding, they will turn in their mount and the screws will not unbolt.
When I finally get the bike back I will take a close look at it. It might be too late.
@@advmatt I just last month tried to remove my headlight guard and found the lower right bolt frozen and the nut just spins. The only way I can see to extract the bolt is to remove the dash and hold the nut incasement with some needle nose vice grips. I will JB weld the nuts in when I finally go in to remove them. I did this with the windshield nuts. Oh and my bolt had no thread lock of any kind just sprayed with WD last time I had them out.
@@azlong4596 good to know. It appears I will have issues trying to remove them. Thanks for providing the detailed information. I might make a small modification to provide a more secure mount.
loctite and plastic - so bad. Learned the hard way.
@@anxiousappliance it looked like a metal insert. I will need to take a closer look when I get my bike back. I have some thoughts to improve this. The blue loctite I use breaks loose pretty easy, but doesn't vibrate loose.
Did i miss something ?
Is the tuareg 660 your new bike ? And the ktm 390 gone ?
Thanks for all you do for us who watch your video's.
I picked up the Tuareg about two months ago. It broke down on me and is now at a dealership in California. I had to fly home. I will pick it up next week. I still have the 390 Adv. I took it out two weeks ago. I have been mixing up which one I ride. Right now, I ride the bike I have with me now.
I couldn't help myself and picked up a 660 as well. It has the Givi crash bars on it. Have you dropped yours with the crash bars installed? I'm concerned it won't keep the plastics off the ground. I have the blue/white paint job that I'd like to keep unscratched :)
@@luciano136 I have not dropped mine on the crash bars. I also have crash bars bags adding extra width. With good handguards I think that might be as good as it gets. Great decision!
@@advmatt I'll add crash bar bags as well. Anything you found that fits well? I still have the Molle ones from my 390, but not sure if those will fit properly on the 660.
@luciano136 I really like the Nelson Rigg bags, I am using them now.
@@advmatt I'll check those out! Thanks so much!
Matt, when installing your Acerbis X-Factor hand guards did you have any issues with locating the clamps at the inner mounting point so as to not interfere with your levers, brake line, and wiring harness? I run my levers in a downward orientation so my hand, wrist, and forearm and in a somewhat straight line when standing on the pegs. Any clearance issues? Thanks!
Yeah, I did run into some issues. I solved this by flipping over the inner clamps. Instead of the clamp going underneath everything it goes over everything. I had no clearance issues once I did this.
I would like your feedback after you put on crash bar bags and put some weight up front. I have a 2022 tuareg when I put weight up front in the crash bar bags and put a more aggressive tire up front, started getting a severe wobble around 85mph, I tried a number of different things, but when I took the weight off the front end the wobble cleared up.
I rode over 1200 miles with the bags mounted to the crash bars. I had a heavy tool kit on one side and a tire repair kit on the other. I rarely ride over about 80 mph but did hit 85 a few times passing without any issues. I still have the stock tires on. When I have full knobby tires I don't ride that fast.
What tail pack are you using
@@ishymoto3179 the Nelson Rigg hurricane tail bag in the smaller size, I think 18l, not 25L.
A better more durable hand guard is the HDB offroad hand guards. and you can install turn signals in the hand guards and they have a trick fold in mirror set up as well.
Yep, those were the ones I was referring to in the video. I could not remember what they were called. I could only recall it was a Colorado company. The are pretty slick.
@@advmatt Way more durable. you can move your turn signals into the guards and they have a trick flip out mirror set up. Best hand guards on the market..
Do you have a link to the lower crash bar? I think you said they were GV?
@@anna_m540 try this link for Givi crashbars. www.tradeinn.com/motardinn/en/givi-aprilia-tuareg-660-2021-2023-tubular-engine-guard/141002715/p?id_producte=143713895&country=us&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw7ZO0BhDYARIsAFttkCh6qZtvMg2rdYfuJhhZTImS0gADvdpCkSsbJX7XbJxPDmXHWpR1sL0aAo19EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
The Protection Package you need is called "extended warranty" lol
Yep, I have that too.
I'm surprised you didn't replace your skid plate
I did replace it. It will be a separate video. There is a bit of B roll showing it.
Guessing the dealer got you fixed up with the oil leak?
This was filmed before the incident. The bike is fixed, but I can't fly out to get it for three weeks.
Hope the dealership/warranty treated you right... they've got to know we're all watching how they treat you prior to getting one.
The bike is fixed, it took two weeks. I pick it up in three weeks. I will have a final report from my experience and 1200 mile test ride on my way home to make sure the seal is holding.
Needs 7th gear for highway use!
That goes for every small and mid size adventure bike I have ever ridden.
@@advmatt not so for the Honda Transalp 750 it has one of if not the best gearbox ratios in the industry
@@cliftonsr I haven't had the pleasure of riding this bike yet. I look forward to it.
Simple. Just change the front sprocket 🤷