F650 GS owners, help to answer a few questions, please.

[Timpo]

Hello F650 GS owners.
Can you please help answer a few questions about F650 GS:-

Price new in 2007 (57 reg)?
The comfort pack is?
Seat height, standard?
Seat height, factory lowered?
If female, was seat height an issue (with your height)?
Availablity of engine bars? Manufactured by?
Availability of bodywork bars? Manufactured by?
Any prices available for the above protection systems?
What other accessories are 'must have' items?
And how have you found your machine in general running terms?

Thanks in advance.

Sarah Teach is looking for a bike and I have found a machine with low mileage.
She is 5'1" with 30" inside leg, so if any girlies can help me guage if we need to lower a machine or will standard ride height be fine.

Regards.
Timpo.

 

[John Armstrong]

I use the SW Motec bars on my 06 Dakar, available from Motohaus.

Oil temp gauge that fits the oil filler cap gives an indication of engine temp, but doesn't reflect the water temp.

I reckon to have a 31" trouser inside leg length ( and 6'2" height) and the Dakar is easier for me to get on / off have feet on the ground compared to the 07 GSA. So if Sarah has a 30" inside leg, then the GS with high seat would I'd guess be more comfortable.

Getting a Puig screen of ebay as the standard Dakar one funnels the air at my throat / shoulders, not so much fun in the wet and windy weather.

BM topbox, fits easily onto the rack that's already there, locks using the ignition key, is fairly roomy, but isn't 100% waterproof.

I paid £4300 for the Dakar with 8000 miles, ABS, centre stand, TT mudguard, 5 months warranty left and a touring scottoiler fitted.

 

[Timpo]

I use.............

Thanks John.

Anymore information please from the F650 GS owners on UKGSER. I'm looking for the answers to the specific questions in post #1.....

Timpo.

 

[Gaz]

Timpo,
the main F650 forum is the Chain Gang, found here, mostly US though,

http://www.f650.com/

 

[oblertone]

Or you could try ...

... here, which is the UK F650 site

 

[John Armstrong]

Timpo,
the main F650 forum is the Chain Gang, found here, mostly US though,

http://www.f650.com/

UK version is: http://www.f650.co.uk/ more usefull for prices, but the US FAQ's are a gold mine, and are linked from the UK site.

 

[snoopy]

Price depends what extras it has on it ... heated grips, abs?

If you go for the Dakar model Micky can advise on lowering it. It has a better screen on it and holds value better.

 

[Timpo]

Price depends what extras it has on it ... heated grips, abs?

If you go for the Dakar model Micky can advise on lowering it. It has a better screen on it and holds value better.

Snoopy my ol' china, we're going for a 57 reg F650 GS, with comfort pack, and standard seat height, my questions are for that model, not a Dakar.
A Dakar is not low enough for ST and a Dakar is lowered, the sidestand and mainstand will need work as the arc struck be the stands penatrates too far into the ground, and she will not be able to park the bike safely. Her safety is my no1 priority!
I am not worried about resale value as it will last her for years.
And concidering that you have slated the Dakar on Axegrinder's thread, I am suprised that you are now pro-Dakar again.
Thanks anyway.

Timpo.

 

[Timpo]

Price new in 2007 (57 reg)?
The comfort pack is?
Seat height, standard?
Seat height, factory lowered?
If female, was seat height an issue (with your height)?
Availablity of engine bars? Manufactured by?
Availability of bodywork bars? Manufactured by?
Any prices available for the above protection systems?
What other accessories are 'must have' items?
And how have you found your machine in general running terms?

Any information to answer these questions posted above is really what I am after, but thanks for the replies so far.
I all ready have a bike in my sights hence I need to know specific details of price/year/spec/bling/tat/general ergonomics.
Regards.
Timpo.

 

[John Armstrong]

Back on track If you go here: http://www.bmw-motorrad.co.uk/uk/en/index.html click on "fascination" and then select "catalogues" there's the F650 one to download. In it it states for the F650:

Seat height unladen 780 mm
Special equipment
750 mm low seat
820 mm high seat

Rider step length unladen 1800 mm
Special equipment
1710 mm low seat
1880 mm high seat

Rider step length AFAIK is the length a piece of string would need to be to go from the floor on one side, over the seat and onto the floor on the other side.

HTH.

 

[Timpo]

Back on track If you go here: http://www.bmw-motorrad.co.uk/uk/en/index.html click on "fascination" and then select "catalogues" there's the F650 one to download. In it it states for the F650:

That's handy, cheers.
Timpo.

 

[(RIP) The Wilbur]

Price new in 2007 = £5355

Comfort pack = Heated grips, ABS, Center stand.

My Scottoiler Touring Kit is the best accessory fitted to mine.

Cannot comment on seat height for the shorter rider, as I have a raised seat on mine.

Likewise, cannot comment on Engine bars & the like as I do not use them.

As a Bike, I have few complaints. Most annoying trick is the pessimistic fuel warning light. Best is probably the fuel consumption (70 - 82mpg).

I did 2 years & 18k miles on an ex Off Road School bike, before trading up to a new 2Spark in 2004, & have it as my only transport. No regrets.

 

[Timpo]

Price new in 2007 = £5355

Comfort pack = Heated grips, ABS, Center stand.

My Scottoiler Touring Kit is the best accessory fitted to mine.

Cannot comment on seat height for the shorter rider, as I have a raised seat on mine.

Likewise, cannot comment on Engine bars & the like as I do not use them.

As a Bike, I have few complaints. Most annoying trick is the pessimistic fuel warning light. Best is probably the fuel consumption (70 - 82mpg).

I did 2 years & 18k miles on an ex Off Road School bike, before trading up to a new 2Spark in 2004, & have it as my only transport. No regrets.

Great stuff.....

Timpo.

 

[brassmonkey001]

The Dakar is higher than the GS and then there are two heights of seat available - the standard GS and the standard Dakar. The seats are interchangeable i.e. you can put a Dakar seat on a GS to raise it a bit or put a GS seat on a Dakar to lower it a bit.
There is also a factory lowered version available but you need to specify this when ordering new - there are not many of these about.

I have a 29" leg and I ride a Dakar with a lower seat. It was still a bit tall so I lowered the bike with Kouba links.
I reckon she should be just fine with the GS.

+1 on the Scottoiler and the heated grips.

 

[Flipfly]

As per Brassmonkey, Kouba links are worth a go if seat height is a problem. Thankfully I'm fat enough to squash the suspension

I picked up a set of TT crash bars which are ok and work but have an issue with cracking on some (the quality is not brill). I had to go for them as my Dak has the standard BM ones at the bottom and only the TT ones will fit. You will be ok with the Motech bars as long as you haven't got the BM lowers on and they are better quality.

The paint on the forks and engine is flaky (as with all BMs) and if she has small hands the levers are non adjustable so can be a bit of a stretch.

Reliability has been 100% on mine, but the alarm tried to set fire to the bike so disconnect it if your going to go laning on it.

Chain Guide is an essential in my book as it just makes sure that the chain doesn't come off if it decides to stretch whilst you are out. TT do them.

Good luck with the purchase if you go ahead with it.

 

[Noiseboy]

Timpo IIRC the comfort pack also incuded a hazard warning circuit.

Not something that seems important but often very useful, as im sure your aware.

Cheers Tom

 

[Timpo]

This is all really useful information Folks, thanks very much....

Timpo.

 

[PhysioJo]

I have an 04 reg, bought from a BMW dealer last Sept with 10,000 miles on the clock for £4,000.

Great 'first' bike . Came with:

Heated grips - essential
ABS - useful
Tourances - great for a mix of town and occasional fords etc
BMW top box - large enough for my helmet and trousers, everything stayed dry even when I dropped the bike in a ford.
Accessory power socket - makes it easy to plug in the satnav or heated jacket.

Would echo the comment about the fuel low light.

Have replaced the screen with a Dakar one for increased protection. It is better but I do find motorway driving a trial after about an hour as the wind blast is wearing. Am looking at other solutions to that.

The clutch is quite a reach, even with it on its closest adjustment. The main problem with that is that I can't indicate/cancel indicators if I'm also trying to manage the clutch.

Although I can pick it up if I have to (see below), I cannot put it onto it's centre stand without help. These seem to be particularly difficult on the F650 - I can manage my other halfs 1200GS without any problem.

Doesn't need engine bars and seems to 'bounce' quite happily if dropped. Also, as a women, there always seems to be a man, or two, around to pick it up for me!

Next things on my 'wish list' are hand guards and a Scottoiler.

I'm 5'4" with a 32" inside leg (approx) and have no problems with the height. I can comfortably put both feet down. Just remember that most of us women are lighter than blokes so you'll need to set the suspension on its lowest.

If you want more female specific perspectives why not post on 'Heels on Wheels' as well?

Hope that helps.

Jo

 

[Timpo]

If you want more female specific perspectives why not post on 'Heels on Wheels' as well?
Hope that helps.

Jo

Yes it does help PhysioJo, thanks a lot........

Timpo.

 

[Gizmo*]

My GF has an 05, she's 5'1 no idea of inside leg but you also have to consider the width of the seat anyway. Standard seat and at first she had kouba links, forks dropped through about 20mm to match. With this combo bike was hard to get on centre stand. Over time we've gradually increased height and ended up using max preload so she now has the koubas removed and preload reduced and it ios a bit easier to get onto the stand.

ABS, Heated grips, panniers, engine bars, handguards and extra socket fitted, the heated grips and handguards are things she likes most but we do ride a lot in colder months.

One other small addition was a raised brake lever, standard lever sits fairly low and requires a lot of movement for a small foot, bike came with a 15mm platform on pedal and i tried removing it and she preferred the raised one

One thing she did find helped was the Daytona boots with extra height, these gave her a lot more confidence than the old Dainese race boots she was wearing.

We bought the GS cos she did her training and test on one, dropped it a few times without damage, she's never dropped her own bike but likes having the engine bars just in case.

Went for ABS version as it gave her a bit more confidence in case she got braking wrong, she's never had ABS used though

3 weeks after passing her test she rode most of north west Scotland and as far up as Tongue, bike was easy for her to ride and 18 months on she's still happy riding it, no desire to "move on" the GS still does every thing she wants.

We tend to fuel at same time so her light doesn't come on, range is linked to my gs12.

Only thing we are changing is the screen, we now tour a lot more so a bigger screen with a bit more protection should mean we can do more distance each day without her getting too tired, she does find the buffeting tiring on windy days. We've ordered a wunderlich ergo for it.

Average over 60 mpg, had fork legs replaced for pitting under warranty, no other issues, main dealer serviced but thats been reasonably priced, tourances fitted when oem tyre squared off at about 8000 miles.