2011 Bmw G650gs

[Dash2]

i havent had any problems with the rims and ive got around 12k on mine, original tires too. just getting ready to buy a new set of tires. mostly paved roads and a few dirt roads. i havent read of any problems with them on any other sites either.

[Cal]

Originally Posted by Steez

Happy New Years everyone!

Just curious if you current owners could give me an update on how the cast wheels are faring. Has anyone actually dented the rims? I know when the bike first launched everyone was apprehensive of them.

I'm very interested in this bike, and if the wheels are doing well it looks promising!

I would say it depends on the terrain you are riding. My friend Audrey has 2011 with the cast rims and while in Mongolia riding the hwy hit a very large pot hole and severly dented both rims at the same time. She was able to put in tubes and ride for a couple of 1000 more kms and said she did not even notice the wheels being out of balance!! She has since gotten to Japan and received new wheels to continue on the trip!

[Steez]

Thanks for the input guys. During work months of the year I typically commute and do minor forest roads/tracks. But, in the summer months I try to take a few weeks off and do some real adventuring (TAT 2 years ago, and hopefully Alaska or even South America This upcoming August).

Cal, Does Audrey have a blog? Is she doing a rtw? Haven't heard of anyone doing intense global travel on the new G650GS yet.

[Cal]

Steez
Its Ekke and Audrey Kok and I was wrong about the G650gs she is riding a 2012 f650gs the twin...but it does have the cast rims which she has since replaced.
They have a blog http://www.ekke-audrey.ca/ I had breakfast with them at Xmas has they were home for a short time waiting for the bikes to arrive in their new destination.
cheers

[Lost Rider]

Originally Posted by Steez

Happy New Years everyone!

Just curious if you current owners could give me an update on how the cast wheels are faring. Has anyone actually dented the rims? I know when the bike first launched everyone was apprehensive of them.

I'm very interested in this bike, and if the wheels are doing well it looks promising!

After many thousands of miles of dirt roads with countless large rock impacts I can't help but say the G650GS wheels are pretty strong. I've watched Nancy plow into large enough rocks many times to buck her right off the bike at speeds and there's no damage to the wheels. Her bike took the same punishment as my bike with the strongest wheels money can buy, Woody's Superlace, on the Tour of Idaho, CDR, many Death Valley trips and on the TAT, all the while running somewhat low pressures of 18-22 psi.
Matter of fact her bike has taken more abuse than my F800GS did without bending the wheels, my F800 front wheel was far from round not that long into ownership.

Methinks that hitting a large pothole on a highway hard enough to bend the rear wheel isn't a fair assessment of strength, potholes are generally square with sharp edges and can bend even the toughest wheels.... I've hit a lot of things riding off road very hard and never bend a rear wheel. Must have been some impact.
Living/riding in Chicago for years taught me all too well about what a pothole can do to any wheels, car or bike. The fact that she was able to ride the bike to get help says more about how strong they are than the fast that they bent in the first place IMO.

[Steez]

Thanks for the link Cal. I'll definitely spend some time reading up on their journey!

Lost, that sounds like a glowing review. Something about the G650gs just looks...right, I guess you could say. Great photo as well! Very inspiring!

Normally all my dualsporting has been on 250s, but where I am in life right now I seem to be riding more and more slab, sadly...

[Lost Rider]

Originally Posted by Steez

Thanks for the link Cal. I'll definitely spend some time reading up on their journey!

Lost, that sounds like a glowing review. Something about the G650gs just looks...right, I guess you could say. Great photo as well! Very inspiring!

Normally all my dualsporting has been on 250s, but where I am in life right now I seem to be riding more and more slab, sadly...

thanks, glad to help out. Of course there's lot of variables like most things MC related, I've just witnessed a hell of a lot of pretty demanding riding on this bike and no bent wheels.

The GS will be quite different on dirt than any 250, I recently bought a CRF250L for Nancy and it's a hell of a lot easier for her to ride when the going gets tough. But with that said the 650GS is more than capable of good dirty fun, and the 250 wouldn't be very fun for long miles on the slab.
Think momentum instead of finesse.
The main problem ds'ing the gs is with the under seat fuel tank, it's pretty wide and makes standing up a little awkward, especially with the tiny stock foot pegs, we have Pivotpegs on it now and that helped quite a bit. Bar risers were a must have also to get the standing position comfy, but that's subjective depending on your height.

One thing is for sure, the GS is a great all around bike, especially on the highway to get to the trails.

Good luck.

[alskee750]

Has anyone replaced there handlebars yet? My bike went over and there is a bent on them on the left side. Going to try to straighten them back up or just replace them with Renthals or something similiar. I've narrow them down to Renthals:

ROAD HIGH 28" (width) 4.7" (Heights) 4" (Rise) 4" (Sweep)
ROAD MEDIUM 28.5" (width) 4.5" (Heights) 3" (Rise) 4" (Sweep)
VINTAGE/DESERT 33" (width) 4.6" (Heights) 3" (Rise) 3" (Sweep)

Haven't measured my OEM bars yet but searching results looks like these are the closes that I can find. So with that said has anyone have any pictures and reviews of these bars?

Thanks..

[mramosc]

Hello All!
I got a G650GS some time ago as my first bike and I'm loving it!
I have been reading this forum for a while, and really I enjoy seen how others also love their G650s.
I wanted to buy some fairing crash bars, and for what I see in the pictures in this forum, pretty much everybody has the ones sold by Touratech,
http://www.touratech-usa.com/Store/3...Sertao-2001-on
but these other ones just came out and they do look good too.
http://www.sierrabmwonline.com/produ...09-1000-p-3132

What do you guys think? Thanks very much.

[copter105]

Hey guys I had a little bang up and damaged the front wheel and fork tubes. In the interest of saving money, you guys got any recomendations for new fork tubes and a cheaper wheel? The tire is just fine but the wheel is damaged.
Thanks inmates!

[alskee750]

Originally Posted by copter105

Hey guys I had a little bang up and damaged the front wheel and fork tubes. In the interest of saving money, you guys got any recomendations for new fork tubes and a cheaper wheel? The tire is just fine but the wheel is damaged.
Thanks inmates!

Not sure if you do any off road, but if you do go the YZ fork route. Upgrade to Woody Wheels and you can make your own Dakar setup. My 2cents...

Fork Info: http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=399113
Woody Wheels: www.woodyswheelworks.com

[UnsafeHOTADVENTURE]

Originally Posted by copter105

Hey guys I had a little bang up and damaged the front wheel and fork tubes. In the interest of saving money, you guys got any recomendations for new fork tubes and a cheaper wheel? The tire is just fine but the wheel is damaged.
Thanks inmates!

Just had a very similar thing happen to me.

Like the above post I went with yamaha forks. For the price of stock forks you can easily find yamaha forks and wheels. It all depends on how you want to use your bike though. I found a set complete with tripple trees from an 04 yz250 on ebay and now im looking at a new rear shock to match. Probably going to go with hyperpro since they are a bit cheaper than ohlins. Anybody have anything to say about hyperpro shocks? it would be cool if somebody has some experience with both hyperpro and ohlins :)
Has anyone done the yamaha swap with the newer G models yet? Im sort of praying that everything is the same as the DAKARs and will swap without too much trouble.
Also since my bike is the standard G650 not the sertao will I run into any problems lifting the bike a few inches with the yamaha forks and new rear shock? Other than new brake lines what should I be looking out for?

Thanks
-Zach

[alskee750]

Originally Posted by UnsafeHOTADVENTURE

Also since my bike is the standard G650 not the sertao will I run into any problems lifting the bike a few inches with the yamaha forks and new rear shock? Other than new brake lines what should I be looking out for?

Thanks
-Zach

Zach

Go over to the Sertao thread one of the guys there swamp is doing a conversion as we speak. He's posting most of the info there w/ pics. I have a Sertao, both motos are identical. The only difference is rims and ground clearance.

[MarkWAau]

Originally Posted by mramosc

Hello All!
I got a G650GS some time ago as my first bike and I'm loving it!
I have been reading this forum for a while, and really I enjoy seen how others also love their G650s.
I wanted to buy some fairing crash bars, and for what I see in the pictures in this forum, pretty much everybody has the ones sold by Touratech,
http://www.touratech-usa.com/Store/3...Sertao-2001-on
but these other ones just came out and they do look good too.
http://www.sierrabmwonline.com/produ...09-1000-p-3132

What do you guys think? Thanks very much.

I currently use the BMW engine crashbars / plate and have the upper touratech bar. The touratech bar is a different diameter to the lower BMW bar + the powdercoating is a different colour (I had this recoated). The bar through Sierra looks really good as it looks about the same diameter as the BMW engine bar and the same colour. More importantly, it seems to provide a little more protection. I'd err towards this one especially if you have the standard BMW lower engine protection fitted.

[Lost Rider]

Originally Posted by copter105

Hey guys I had a little bang up and damaged the front wheel and fork tubes. In the interest of saving money, you guys got any recomendations for new fork tubes and a cheaper wheel? The tire is just fine but the wheel is damaged.
Thanks inmates!

Woody's very well might be able to just repair your wheel instead of replacing it for a fraction of the cost, just ask him. He has a Ask Woody thread going in Vendors.




Our G650GS is still going strong and trouble free!

Lost in Death Valley 2013 from Lost Rider on Vimeo.