This just in, seems BMW are bringing back the single cylinder 650GS with 48 bhp for 2011. Nice! I like thumpers more than parallel twins and the 650 Dakar I had before was a sweet bike. Of course the cast wheels would have to go and makes me question the off road capabilities of the bike, but it sure looks like a nice commuter/back road touring/light off road tool. More pictures here: http://hellforleathermagazine.com/2010/10/meet-the-2011-bmw-g650gs-same-as-the-old-g650gs/?gal=1#/4 An ADV version with spoked wheels, knobbies, sump guard, hand guards etc is what we'd really want though...
I'm waiting for the first one to slot in a set of XChallenge forks, a Hyperpro or Ohlins shock and an 18" wheel in the rear.
I'm waiting for all y'all to buy spoke rims for em, and post the cast rims for sale cheap so I can have a second rims for the street on my 07 .... I hope the cast rims fit... fingers crossed
Agree, it looks great w/o losing its lineage. Wish BMW would just offer a ADV package for all the GS bikes (G650, F800, R1200) instead of having a slick G and a confusing F650/F800. Drop in a set of Xforks and suspension, TKC's, protection and gearing and it will increase it's base market.
Not the Xchallenge. It has a 21" with USD forks. You'd be better off doing the Yamaha fork front end conversion. But why pay top dollar for shiny new plastic when you could do it Waaaay cheaper with an older F650GS found all day long for under $4K? You could just buy the wonky headlight/instrument/windshield and call it a day.
I'm pretty dissapointed with what BMW has done for this model, it's just an F650 (single) with a facelift. If you read the press release they go on about it having tried and tested mechanicals.... ie they didn't do a thing. Not that there's anything wrong with the old F650 (I ride a Funduro) but they could have at least thrown on some USD forks or something.
Can someone please tell me the rationale for the weight, additional cost and complexity of dual exhaust on a single?
Same as before, not really a dual exhaust but a catalytic converter piece of crap on the right side. Weighs too much and looks lame.
It is kinda lazy on their part for not redesigning that aspect of the bike too. Still looks like my 2003 Dakar in the backend.
True, they just came up as my first thought as I expect them to slot straight in (and although not top-notch, they are way better than the stock Dakar forks).
as much as i like the looks of this bike it still has the same POS water pump........you know the one that fails every 20,000 miles or so. BMW really needs to address this issue but then again, they won't admit to FD failures on bikes that cost easily twice as much as the G650. nice bike but the same old water pump design is what would prevent me from buying one.
The same question has been asked about use of a (true) dual exhaust on the TE-630. Traditionally, dual exhausts on a single allow designers to tune in more mid-range torque, not that they always take advantage of the opportunity. Today, duals make it easier to make effective catalysts to meet emissions requirements, at the expense of more weight.
I think it's a decent face-lift. I always wanted to see wheels like that! Whats the price? Is this one made in china like the other model?
I think BMW have hit the nail on the head here. There was nothing much wrong with the old F650gs and the parallel twin version was... crap. There, I said it. I had the 800gs and that was crap too. I said it again... This is a lazy redesign of a bike that didn't need redesigning. Also redesigning cost money and so does research , neither have gone into this which is why they're planning to sell it cheap, cheap enough to be financially competitive against the Jap-crap. I will be interested if there's a "Dakar" version but even without it this is a good basis for a true adventure capable bike.
I reckon they will do a "better" version and call it "Adventure" as Dakar just isn't relevant any more. Anyway, BMW are pretty good with the options list now, that's where they make their money. You may be able to turn the G650gs into a decent bike by ticking the right boxes... and paying the right amount.
I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned this yet... ...the engine on this has been de-tuned down to 48HP. I've read elsewhere that this will meet a new Euro-restriction on certain moto-licenses. I'm wondering how the tuning was done? If the G650 engine is mostly intact from the X-challenge days then maybe it would be a simple FI map change at the dealer to put it back to 52+HP...?
