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BMW F650GS 2000-2007


RantMachine
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Mine is a 2000 model, so it's a single spark. Got it from a friend of our very own ActingStrange, for the very appealing price of £1000. It was in need of some work, so the final cost to me is nearer £1500 because I'm mechanically incompetent and had to pay a garage to do it up :oops:


I'll start off with the engine. It's pretty straight to the point. Key goes in, turns, here's 90% of your torque now have fun. So much as look at the throttle, there's the last 10%. And that's pretty much what this thing is all about - even more torque and less horsepower than similar displacement cruisers like the Dragstar or the Shadow. Going uphill into strong wind taking a pillion and carrying 20kg of camping gear? I hadn't noticed. No, really - you just don't feel any difference. The engine pulls just as well when we're both on the bike with all of our crap as it does when I'm commuting in the morning. But, if you want horsepower by the bucketload, don't buy one of these! Seriously, how did you even get as far as reading this review? This is NOT the bike for you. But if you want a bike that can deliver anything up to the national speed limit irrespective of how much you pile on it or how much you throw at it, look no further. It'll carry on up to 80 without a fuss, but past that it starts getting rather reluctant and vibrates like a 125 hitting its redline. Also, rolling off the throttle slows the bike down almost as fast as slamming your foot onto the rear brake. Maybe that'll be why these bikes have a reputation for brutalising their chain.

Oh, the lower gears are insanely short. Bit annoying at first, but you get used to it. Makes city riding a little bit frustrating at times.


Handling of the bike was kind of surprising at first, mainly because of how low slung the weight of it is and how stable it feels for a relatively tall bike. The bike is insanely sure-footed, not one wobble when crawling along in traffic at a speed that would embarrass the average hedgehog, and ridiculously confidence inspiring on bad road surfaces. Standard dual-sport fare I guess. It loves to dive on its forks, so I've had to start being a little more mindful of sharp corners, and revise my braking habits (read: bother using the rear brake sometimes).


Some notes on the general design of it: The dial for adjusting the preload is a really nice touch, especially as I'm constantly hopping between commuting on the A14 and long two-up rides on beaten up country lanes. The similar dial for adjusting the headlight angle is not so smart, if you have big hands like I do. Fitting my hand between the instruments and the bars hurts like hell :x

Seat is insanely comfy for both rider and passenger, riding position great for long rides (and occasionally standing on the pegs to fart in your pillion's face), and all the reviewers who badged it as too vibey for prolonged motorway riding obviously need to try going at 60mph on a VanVan for a few hours to gain some perspective. Protection from the elements is a mixed bag; mine has an aftermarket screen, which directs any airflow right at my throat. Need to sort that. The stock screen is even smaller - I know that not everyone riding this bike will be 6'4", but I still can't imagine the stock screen achieves much. Oh, and believe me, this bike likes to get messy. Everything from your shoulders down to your knees will stay pretty dry, but from the knee down gets utterly soaked. If you have a pillion on a rainy day, make sure you fit the topbox or the water kicked up at the back end will try its best to drown them. Cleaning the bike is almost pointless, because it gets filthy quicker than Pig Pen in Peanuts. But really, a clean adventure bike is just doing it wrong :P


Waffled on long enough, quick summary time:


Good Points

- Laughs in the face of bad road surfaces, hills, strong winds and additional weight

- Unbelievably well behaved engine, handy if you don't want to piss of the neighbours when commuting at 7am every morning

- Very comfy ride, irrespective of road surface

- Spectacular fuel economy, more or less even with my old 125

- Incredibly stable

- Some nice design features for altering the bike on the go, very handy for a bike that gets used for a bit of everything

- Loads of engine braking, and stock brakes give more than adequate stopping power

- Looks absolutely awesome, if you're into your adventure bikes

- Pillion seat allegedly brings a certain Beach Boys song to mind

- A2 legal


Bad Points

- Rather lacking in the ponies department

- Unbelievably well behaved engine, frustrating if you want to make fun noises

- Makes unholy noises when going at 30, no matter what gear you're in. Either sounds like it's insanely angry or drowning in mud.

- Needs a bit more care when cornering than most

- Possibly the last bike to look at if you're a speed demon

- Experience with ordering parts from BMW themselves has thus far been diabolical

- Sometimes my mind drifts to my DAS on a CBF600, which could probably go faster than the F650 without leaving 3rd :lol:


In summary;

Great "first big bike".

AMAZING A2 bike.

Nice complement to something a little more sporty if you want a second (or third, fourth, or tenth given some of our members) bike in the garage with more of a "go anywhere do anything" aesthetic.


1779922_1387099648224890_376613568_n.jpg


(I'm tired as hell so will probably realise tomorrow that some of this is crap and make some follow up posts in the future)

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  • 2 years later...

Wow...

It's almost as if I wrote this myself (well, except for the error-free language, of course...)

This covers about 99% of my own experience with my BMW F650 GS.

Mine is from 2002, so also a single-spark still. After 2003 BMW equipped it with a twin-spark head.

And it is the 'Dakar' model, which is technically the same, only it has a bit larger ground-clearing, thanks to the 21 inch front wheel and the longer front suspencion.


I bought it in october 2010 to be used for my daily trip to work (and back !) as well as for holydays and biker meetings both in NL and abroad.

It never let me down, though I use it summer and winter, and since I don't have a carport or so, it 'sleeps' outside under a tarp.

As stated above, it is a very practical machine. Can be used on motorways, country roads, in the city and even off-road, if not too extreme.

Solo or with a passenger plus lots and lots of (holiday) luggage, without hardly any influence on performance or fuel consumption..

And... it is 'ugly enough' to carry topcase and side panniers; these additions won't spoil the 'looks' of the bike in any way... :lol:

The 'clock' stands on 93000 something kilometres, of which I did ± 73,000.

I'm planning to keep it at least till 100,000 kms.


Well, I think everything has been said in RantMachine's review so I'll just add some pictures to illustrate the 'workhorse' character of my Dakar.

I like these kinds of bikes and I never cared much for 'racy' bikes.

So I was a bit suprised that a young chap, not even half my age, could appriciate my F650 GS for what it is,

and even wrote a nice and balanced (other word for positive) review.


Well done.


Quote RM: Cleaning the bike is almost pointless


Dakar-Bagger.jpg


Quote RM: a clean adventure bike is just doing it wrong :P

O-t: So I never cleaned it, but if you have it serviced in winter, the dealer would clean and polish it for you... ! No charge !

And that's how it every now and then looks like a beautiful bike... even...


dakar-beauty.jpg


Quote RM: and occasionally standing on the pegs (I left the 'fart' remark out if you don't mind)


Dakar-off-road.jpg


Quote RM: Going uphill into strong wind taking a pillion and carrying 20kg of camping gear? I hadn't noticed.


Pakezel%20Dakar.jpg


Oh... just 1 remark still, I don't know how it is in the UK, but having a BMW serviced by an official BMW dealer is,

as we would say in Holland, "stinking expensive"... Well, compared to most Jap bikes...

And where the F650GS is concerned, it is even more expensive since it is a very complex machine to service...

Oh... That was 2 remarks... :mrgreen:

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Quote RM: Cleaning the bike is almost pointless


Dakar-Bagger.jpg

 

I'd forgotten I wrote this! That bit in particular cracked me up, perfect photo to go with the quote :lol:


A couple of follow-up notes I should add, for anyone considering buying one:

- The service schedule says the valves need looking at every 6,000 miles, but common consensus is that you can easily get away with 12,000. Some people prefer to change the oil a little more frequently than BMW recommend, but it isn't essential.

- I literally can't say enough good things about the tank range and long distance comfort on this bike. I've also taken multiple pillions on the bike (often over a few hundred miles) and had no complaints. The shift in weight as the tank drains feels a bit weird at first, but is fine once you get used to it.

- Check the oil, and check if the owner has replaced the coolant pump at any point. It's the only bit of these things that has a reputation for going awry. Some of them never go wrong, some of them do it every few years... seems like luck of the draw. Mine was unfortunately one of the ones that does it frequently.

- The OEM seals on the swingarm pivot aren't spectacular (I think this issue is exclusive to the non-Dakar model), and if the previous owner has been servicing it at home there's a chance that the pivot may not have been re-greased over the years. Aftermarket seals are available, but if the pivot has seized in place... walk away. The only way to get it out and replace the bearings is splitting the crank case. Also, I'd recommend using marine grease for this and the shock linkage bearings. They can get pretty grim at times and it'll help them last a lot better.

- If anyone DOES look at buying one, I'd be happy to help them check it out. I could dismantle and reassemble one of these with one hand behind my back and my eyes closed.

- ...EXCEPT the head bearings, which you need a special tool to access, which BMW only supply to dealerships. And as OT noted, dealership work isn't cheap.

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In reviews in the Dutch BMW GS forum the strong points mentioned bij you, are confirmed many times.

Of course owners mentionend a variety of 'problems', but most of them as isolated cases.

However there are 2 Major flaws according to these reviews.

One being the coolant pump, as you mentioned, and the other one concerns the steering head bearings.

I never had any problems with the pump (knock on wood, wood, wood), but I had the steering head bearings replaced twice.

The 1st time at 25,000 kms and the 2nd time at about 85,000 kms.

Mine has always been serviced by the dealer, since I do not have the knowhow, the tools nor a place to do this myself.

But that was ok for me, because when I was working I had a 'budget' from the company, plus I could use a replacement bike from the dealer.

And now that I'm not working the milage has gone down considerably, so it doesn't need much servicing anyway.


And here is the latest picture I took, just some 2 hours ago.

This is how my poor little Dakar must try to get through the winter.

But hey... if he dislikes it, he should not have become a motorbike... :mrgreen:


http://snellbos.nl/onewebmedia/Dakar-hoes.jpg

Edited by old-timer
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