So we've all heard/seen the 650 xchallenge...let's see your XCOUNTRY!

[danielks]

Originally Posted by leafman60

1.
I have a sport exhaust (Akrapovic racer full titanium system), I also have a Uni foam filter ( I think better than K&N) and I do have the Booster Plug. I run the standard sparkplugs.

I have the lid off the airbox and I have an air scoop to direct oncoming air to the filter.

Mine runs like a bat out of hell. For me, the Booster Plug helped the tractability of the motor. I also added the 17-tooth front sprocket.

Leafman!!! thank you for!!!

Akra system is too expensive... here in Brazil, found it for U$ 3200.00 .... and not in stock.... this isn't a deal!! I thinking about to get a LeoVince (Snooker advice - and liked it cause of the possibility of changes in exhaustion) or to built one rally look exhaust (I do preffer) in a bike shop here...
I'll try the KN... will get an UniFoam later.... Any subjections about KN ?

I tought something about to made an scoop on the air box.... can you post or pm a pic of yourS? is it inside the fairing ?

Why the 17 sprocket? the engine got too brute ?

Regards!

[noisytoys]

Dust has gone here, whore through a set of rear brake pads in a few hours of mud covered road and track sliding.
Need a real knobbie up front!, Tips anyone?

[snooker]

Daniel,

Air filter... Any seasoned off road person I know (bike or 4 wheels) avoids a fabric filter like K&N for dusty or sandy off road conditions. Sure they flow better but there is a reason and they just can't trap fine dirt as well as a properly oiled foam filter. I like the Uni. I left the top on the airbox but I added a sheet of Uni filter element (green fine filter) that I cut to size and put it over the filter as a prefilter - it is very easy to clean that way and don't have to clean the main filter which is harder. Works well. Obviously I'm not trying to achieve maximum performance. I'm happy with the performance and want to maximize fuel mileage and engine filtration/protection and keep it simple to maintain.

You can use a biodegradable oil like NoToil or J&P or Yamaha or whatever and clean it up with a filter cleaner and water in a sink in your hotel room. Safely. I use NoToil spray oil and clean it with a little bit of powdered Oxyclean in a small 5 quart plastic bucket with warm water. The days of using gasoline to clean it are over! finally.

I think Leafman is one of a very few who like the 17 sprocket. I'm frankly a bit shocked by that and I'm willing to bet most offroad people like to go down to the 15. It just depends on how slow you ride in first gear and how fast you ride in 5th gear. When I'm crawling up slickrock in Moab I have even used a 14 tooth for a short trip. I'm happy going 80mph on a 15 but hey we all have opinions.

Exhaust... Forget the Akra, crazy prices. For me the Leo is still working fine, you just have to beef up the mounting system at the top of the muffler so there is no way it can sag and melt your coolant hose at the front of the pipe. See my mods page for ideas, there are other better ideas out there.

Auxiliary lights... People seem to love HID lights. I went the opposite path. I wanted LOW current draw, reasonable light output and CHEAP. I went with 2 of the modest model 30 LED lights from sanjoh at AdvMonster.com for $60 each or so... and you can read my Aux Light MOD for more details. The early models sanjoh sold reportedly had quite a few failures. I personally believe this was due to running the drivers at a very high current to achieve the most light output. My solution to this is to also install his $45 LED Dimmer module which is waterproof and has a wireless remote control fob. It also has a high beam bypass control input that I wired to my high beam so that when my high beam is on it always outputs 100%. The beauty of this is you can aim the light for proper location for high beam but set the dimmer to only output say 30% when you are in low beam mode, so in daytime cars can see you a bit because they are on and aimed a bit high but it does not stress the lights at all running at this low PWM duty cycle. In this "low" mode I measured the current draw at only 0.25 amps for both of them! Then hit the high beams at night and WOW they are bright! When both of them are on 100% I measured them to pull only 1.4 amps. That's the equivalence of each one being 7.5 watts!

I've had them on a year now and no problems at all.

[snooker]

Originally Posted by noisytoys

Dust has gone here, whore through a set of rear brake pads in a few hours of mud covered road and track sliding.
Need a real knobbie up front!, Tips anyone?

Don't really understand your situation and question. Are you saying the dust is gone and it is now mud, so MUD on radiator, REAR pads worn, but want a more aggressive knobby for the FRONT tire? Are these 3 different questions?

Are you running the stock 19" front rim size and the stock low cut fender? If so to cut the mud off of the radiator more you might try the Wunderlich Extenda Fender. I don't run in much mud but it works great for me and others that DO run in mud, I hear. Here is a pic:



For 19" front tires, your choices are limited. I still think the most aggressive semi-knobby is the TKC80 (shown above) but I'm not really current on anything new out there perhaps. Kenda Big Block also but they may wear quicly?
For a rear 17" knobby I don't think you can beat a Dunlop D606 based on what I read here. It is the only serious knobby I have tried though. I have been trying Mefo Explorer lately and I've got 5000 commuter pavement miles on my rear and it is showing a lot of wear finally. Yet is decent off road. Amazing tire really. Might try a Heidenau rear next. or not. What say ye Geoffrey?

[leafman60]

Originally Posted by danielks

Leafman!!! thank you for!!!

Akra system is too expensive... here in Brazil, found it for U$ 3200.00 .... and not in stock.... this isn't a deal!! I thinking about to get a LeoVince (Snooker advice - and liked it cause of the possibility of changes in exhaustion) or to built one rally look exhaust (I do preffer) in a bike shop here...
I'll try the KN... will get an UniFoam later.... Any subjections about KN ?

I tought something about to made an scoop on the air box.... can you post or pm a pic of yourS? is it inside the fairing ?

Why the 17 sprocket? the engine got too brute ?

Regards!

Daniel, hey man !

Yes, I agree the Akra is crazy expensive. The Lleo V should be just fine. I have used them on other bikes.

My scoop is something I fashioned under the plastic cover that allows a direct shot of oncoming air into the filter.

I don't know about the K&N. I've used them many times on different bikes but they were all street bikes. I have read and heard stories about them not filtering as well as many people think.

The Uni foams are supposed to be as free-flowing as K&N and they are supposed to filter better, epecially in heavy dirt/dust situations.

I LOVE the 17T sprocket. My engine pulls hard down low. I use my XCo as a dual-sport. To me, that means street and dirt. I run it regularly on single track trails and dirt roads but I also use it as somewhat of a sport bike. I also use the XCo for long distance trips.

The 17T sprocket is awesome. Of course, the prime benefit of the bigger gear is for high-speed running. It helps the motor settle-down into a more-relaxed cadence.

Although, I do not use the bike as a pure dirt bike for severe off-road situations, it does surprisingly well on dirt with the 17T. I rarely bog down for want of a lower gear and, it allows me often to avoid having to shift gears.

Yes, if you want to run hard-core dirt trails, rock cliffs or clay pits etc, or like to make jumps into the air, a smaller sprocket would obviously be better. For me, the XCo is not the bike for that.

Anyway, the best advice is -try it. Satisfaction no doubt depends on a person's riding preferences. Several of my friends have reluctantly tried the bigger cog and they have all kept with it.


This is the sort of off-road running I do and the 17T works great-










After that, I can then run the twsities -



Or, run 8-10 hours on the interstate ( and 80 would be slow, lol)-

[catneck]

Finally have 1 in the garage, been looking for awhile. Will be a winter commuter.

[purdsam]

Nice looking ride. You'll love it. I use mine to commute to work in Houston and really enjoy it.
--Sam

Originally Posted by catneck

Finally have 1 in the garage, been looking for awhile. Will be a winter commuter.

[catneck]

Looking for both owners and shop manuals, as the bike came with neither.

[tbarstow]

Originally Posted by catneck

Looking for both owners and shop manuals, as the bike came with neither.

The owners manual doesn't have much in it. Buy the shop manual from BMW. It is worth the price .

[danielks]

Leafman!

I do not use my XCo as a heavy off road enduro bike.... so, will fit the KN, and fell it...

Thinking about to hand made a rally look exhaust!

the scoop... you have opened an hole in the plastic part that covers the air filter? thinking about to do it, plus install a filter foam on the opening to help on the filtering.

I also run anakees os my 8Gs... it´s very nice on twisty roads!!!


Snooker! as I said to Leaf... I don´t use my Xco as a heavy off road bike... will try the KN, but will buy a foam too....

the 17 sprocket is out of my plans, since I like the bike response, and not use it for long travels....

Will look for something about the lights!!!

I´ve read all your moods! congrats for it! helps a lot!!!!

Catneck! congrats for the bike!

I´ve got a service manual (CD) on the ebay....
gelps a lot if you like to do it yourself maintenance.... http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-G650-X-M...070943&vxp=mtr

and is cheap too!!!!

Regards to all

[snooker]

Yeah the RepRom is the way to go. I wasn't sure you could still find one on eBay. Even if just for the various torque settings of things.

[catneck]

This is my primary bike now. Nice light commuter, with enough power to have some fun. And amazing economy. Early morning ride found a glaring (literally) issue. The windshield mounts far enough forward to catch a great deal of the headlight beam and funnel it right to my line of sight. Cobbed up a headlight brow, fixed. Bought the RepRom, looking forward to opening up the X.

[mcgiggle]

Crossing the Darien Gap two weeks ago

[danielks]

Catneck!

I had the same issue with a touratech headlight protector..... the glare come right to my eyes... fixed easily... some blacknylon tape on the up face... doesn't look so good, but works!

[Tracks1]

Originally Posted by catneck

Finally have 1 in the garage, been looking for awhile. Will be a winter commuter.

The bike looks great.
David