For all you BMW F650 gs (not Dakar) riders out there I have a question upon how much can your bike take? From first glance it seems that it's too road orientated to be in the ADV market with low travel on its ront and rear suspension and high weight in comparison to a KTM 640 Adventure, DR650, etc witch are in its price range and capacity bracket. But it is extremly popular in the duel sport market. How can it live up to its popularity?
it can do what ever you want. go into the f650 dakar thread and see where the lads have taken the bikes, some places even mx bikes would struggle
I suspect b/c it is mostly used for longer distance casual touring, at least when compared to KTM 690, DR, XR, KLR bikes. IMO it is not anywhere close to an offroad bike. Very heavy, not offroad suspension, etc.
I agree with you - my wife has one and I don't see it as being much of an "off road" bike, but more of a bike that you can comfortably take down dirt and gravel roads. That said, I've seen people take them places I don't have the skills to take a trials bike. I just don't understand why they would want to other than because they're there, the bike is there and they just have a burning desire to see what's on the other side.
The F650GS is a very good "all-rounder". I find it to be a very comfortable light tourer and have ridden to Alaska with it. It's also very nimble in the twisties and fun bike to ride. It's much too heavy to be ridden fast off-road, no matter what you do to the suspension but is good at exploring down unpaved roads. Where you can take it is only limited by the rider, but I think that's true with any motorcycle.
Depends on what you mean by take it? If you are going to beat the bike like an enduro or MX bike you might want to look at the 525/690 series bikes. My wife has a F650GS single (which is what I am assuming you are talking about as the new F650's are detuned 800 twins) and just this morning I took it on the same paths I take my 690 and attempted to ride it in the same manner. The suspension bottomed out on me twice. Caught about 2' of air and it compressed fully. Also, the brakes on this thing BLOW compared to the 690. The 690 NEVER bottoms out on this little jump and where there is a need to stop, it does. Also, depending on the yr BMW and the way it is optioned you will have to contend with ABS. While a good idea on the street, not so wise on the dirt. The ABS can be shut off but you have to stop, disengage it, then ride on to wherever, AND everytime you start the bike, the ABS defaults to ON. Ya may forget to shut it off which is not a good idea ever on the dirt. To re-engage the ABS you have to turn the bike OFF then back on again. PITA if you ask me. With all that said, the DAKAR the same but differrent. 21 in tire in the front and more than sure there is more but, since you are asking about a non-dakar the point is moot. As stated, a good all-around bike. Great for long trips. Gets over 50 MPG, or at least when the wife drives it does. Will make and maintain highway and expressway speeds ALL DAY long without a hitch. The power isn't all that but if you get the torque sprocket kit, it goats up hills pretty good, if not seems to run out of steam at the top of most of our climbs. Oh and it is comfy. F650 seat compared to the KTM's is like comparing a lay -z- boy to a BRICK! Its thick at the tank though. So if you are used to riding MX and crowding the tank in a turn, it will feel a lot different. The bike itself is heavy. Don't have the weight handy but compared to the 690, heavy or, at least feels that way. Another short coming are the footpegs. One would think a dual sport bike woudl come with wide pegs. NOPE. So standing becomes a chore on the skinny pegs. Its good for the wife. Keeps her out of trouble on the street and in the dirt. No so much for me, need more POWER!
What is this mythical "ADV market"? From what I've seen, the old F650GS is a lot like the current KLR but with a smoother engine. Both are heavy and come with relatively short travel suspensions yet people still manage to get off their couches and ride them to far away places.
What Mojaveboxer said. I don't think it's that popular to the ADV market, but it depends what you consider that market to be. BMW marketed it also to be more of a street bike. An introduction to the brand really. Most F's I've seen usually stay on the road and dirt roads at best. Not that much double trail and very few single trail. It'll do it, but as pointed out, not at speed and it'll take a lot of rider input.
Back in the olden days people rode rigid suspended bikes with hardly any brakes and the reliability of drunken politician across continents before paved roads traversed the world. Dirt Bike magazine once took an Electra-glide around a motocross track for about 30 laps and nothing broke. In the late 60s I put knobbies on a Bonneville an called it a dirt bike. Surely that fine modern Beemer could be no worse.
any bikes will go anywahere, sure look at nick sanders taking an r1 throught he desert. most comes down to rider ability and the bike choosen just helps make life easier. the bike does not make you better off road rider get bike you want and like and enjoy it, other point with bmw is they last for ever, yes i am biased, i have takena kle500 up some serious single tracks and people taught was mad, you can take any bike any where just makes life harder if have heavier bike
Having had an XR650R, and a Gas Gas 300EX and Now a BMW F650 Dak. if you want a trail bike get the Gas Gas, if you want a distance dirt bike get the XR650R (fire roads and ATV trails bow before this thing) if you want an all around bike that will carry you on 400 mile days, with a mix of highway, back road, dirt road, and mild trail. get the F650 Dak here is the deal good center of gravity only helps so much when tossing around a 450 pound chunk of metal. after 4 hours of trail riding on the 330 pound XR I was near dead. I could sling the 230 pound all day and not be trashed. I could not imagine doing a full day of trail on the Dak. I have however done a days worth of mixed riding, and have done an hour of lower level trail. Hope this helps sort out some normal in this thread
EXACTLY ! .... so many people get so wrapped up in technological theories that they forget what is actually possible ... and they may forget they were supposed to be having fun ... you don't need 'technology' to have fun People raced scrambles and motocross on bikes with 2" of travel (once the guy sat on it) ... they raced the Baja 1000 on them .. they crossed the continent ... when ALLLLLLLL riding ... was "adventure" riding ... it was all an adventure .... because there weren't any fancy interstate highways ... most roads were dirt. In that context ... a BMW F650 is the worlds fastest - best suspended motocross bike ... (maybe the heaviest too ... but )
Hi all, wife has a 2008 f650, about ten grand on the clock and lots of it off road. By off road I mean gravel and some not too rough single track. Bike has held up very well, I think it combines highway and gravel driving into a smooth powerful bike that will take you a long way from home and when you see something down a cart path to check out you can go for it. It is heavy though but with that come some advantages too, bike is nimble, hauls a respectable load ot gear and still has tons of git up and go.
