2012 BMW G650GS Sertao Owners

Max BMW, here in the North East.. There's one in CT, NY, NH.

Great way to get rid of a bunch of weight and do away with the pita task of checking battery fluid levels. Can't believe BMW still hasn't switched to a maintenance-free type.

...just curious here. Articles suggest a gap between first and second gears, making crawling at low speeds offroad a bit of an exercise. The bike seems to run fine on fwy. up to 80+mph. Has anyone tried any alternate gearing yet to aid the low speed (first gear) off roadability???

I bought mine at max in troy. Nice bunch of guys.

I see the center stand on your's. Is that from bmw? I need one

Definetly kool people to deal with... I brought mine in Troy but picked it up in Brookfield, CT. I spent most of my day in Troy riding around on their test bikes, and that was fun. Andy is a trip, good guy to just hang out with. Steve in Sales made it happen for me.

Definelty do business with again..

I bought mine from Steve too. Is your center stand from BMW or Touratech?

Sorry missed your question, no its from SWmoto. TT had ran out. Got a bunch of goodies arriving today

I don't understand it either. On top of that, is 1980's suspension tech really where it's at? For that price, I'd want some upside down forks in the 45mm+ variety and a real shock on the back.

And when was a taller seat height a win when off roading or at stoplights unless you're over 6' tall? Narrower, I can see if carving through the woods, but on bikes this big? Length and wheel base might be better for stability. Taller only matters if it's in actual wind protection.

Now for my new Sertao, well guys I was shopping on Craigslist last week and guess what's on there, a 2001 Dakar with 15,000 miles on it forsale. The seller bought it new in 2001 and has keep it completely original just like the day he picked it up at the dealer. He had all the paperwork on the bike with every bill for maintenance that the BMW dealer did over the last 10-11 years. Truly a great fine, new tires, chain, sprockets, and a bill for $1800.00 for all the service work done including the above at 14,000 miles. Now I'm one pickey dude so you know this bike was like new, no scratches, dents, whatever's, so I guess my new Sertao is on hold for the time being, I just didn't think I would find a Dakar this nice. I like reading about the Sertao and it's still in my future, I just don't have to buy one today now that I have the old style one.

John

Congrats! I have been logging some miles in the past couple of days . It is what it is..... a nice little adventure bike. I'm not looking to catch big air or smoke singletrack with it. I have the tkc 80's on it and they love my dirt road and it still scoots nice down the pavement. nuff said. It is an awesome bike for what bmw built it for.

Cool, thanks. I'll look into it and get one coming. Thanks

I ordered my center stand from BMW when I purchased the Sertao, I heard it was built better than the SW Moto, but I have nothing to corroborate that with.

I'm looking forward to my first ride out, I have the feeling this bike will do everything I want of it.

Yeah, I'm psyched on how great it runs and how smooth it is over the road. We're in full on mud season right now so I am staying off the dirt roads till they dry up some.

...so I guess nobody has messed with the gearing or got it in some low geared climbs?
How 'bout the rims? It's fairly well known that the 800GS had rims that were easily prone to bending.
I'm willing to consider this bike over my '09 KLR but not without some more insights. I do get out into the backcountry on some gnarled jeep roads and don't just put-put along.

I own a Dakar, essentially the same bike as a Sertao, and I don't see much advantage in spending a big chunk of cash to trade in your late-model KLR for one unless you want ABS. Have you read this comparison?

http://www.gearthoughts.com/2008/10/bmw-f650gs-dakar-vs-kawasaki-klr650.html

I've had for about a week mostly street/Hwy miles, looking to get into some dirt this weekend. Overall, the bike runs great as is but depending on where you ride off road will be the deciding factor. Personally, I couldve gone w/ a New KLR and be fine but I really wasn't into the looks that much. I think the old Dakars and the new Sertao look a lot better in my opinion. Seriously the bike is capable and you can feel it while riding. I'm planning to do alot of Dual Sport events this season in the North East, PB300 & Birkshires Bike BIke adv. All are big bike friendly, but that doesn't mean that it's an easy ride. Just throw mother nature to the mix and you'll have an adventure for sure. The thought of picking up the beast in sand or mud sounds very appealing to me .

If you want it go buy it. I did.

alskee750

It seams that the KLR owners who are always comparing their KLR's to the BMW 650's are mostly looking at the price difference between the two bikes and trying to justify the price difference in the BMW being that much better bike for more dollar. Your trying to make it make sense and it will never do that, BMW riders buy BMW because it a BMW, not letting cost be the number one factor in bike buying, but letting the feeling of owing a BMW satisfy their riding wants, it's just a BMW thing. Have you ridden a BMW, you might just like it, but then again they're not for everyone.
John

EFI, Single Cylinder, and Proven Reliability were the big deciding factors for me. I'd say Styling also factored in as BMWs are some of nicest looking bikes. (my KLR was affectionately referred to as 'the pig' on many occasions)

Obviously the fact that BMW Motorrad sales are strong shows that consumers are willing to pay more for an incremental step up in refinement/features. The same emotion explains why people buy 911s when you can get similar performance from a Corvette half the price. If price was my #1 criteria i would have purchased a KLR hands down.

I've owned a KLR650 and KLX250s, so I'm looking forward to getting in the saddle and testing out the Sertao, including muddy single track.