new player with many questions

[snaphappyninja]

howdy all,

just got mine at the weekend and so far am loving it. it's a Dakar on an 06 plate so a pretty new one

just wanted to check one thing with you all; fuel economy. i'd read somewhere that these things were pretty frugal and could get figures of about 70mpg. on my first tank i reckon i got about 55mpg with the fuel warning light coming on at about 150miles...is this bad? should i be worried or looking to get it fixed? or is this about average?

also anything else i should know? what are the standard quirks/faults/issues? any must have accessories? why is the sky blue?

ok maybe not the last one but any answers or advice you can give me would be more than welcome

 

[LOLGEOFF]

You are so lucky Tarka's turned in his sherrif's badge, welcome to the site. The 70mpg fuel consumption figure is easily achievable but you'll have more fun when you're around the 55mpg mark.

As for the other stuff do a search for what you are interested in and I'm sure you'll find umpteen people with differing views on any particular subject.

 

[BLUEJAY]

howdy all,

just got mine at the weekend and so far am loving it. it's a Dakar on an 06 plate so a pretty new one

just wanted to check one thing with you all; fuel economy. i'd read somewhere that these things were pretty frugal and could get figures of about 70mpg. on my first tank i reckon i got about 55mpg with the fuel warning light coming on at about 150miles...is this bad? should i be worried or looking to get it fixed? or is this about average?

also anything else i should know? what are the standard quirks/faults/issues? any must have accessories? why is the sky blue?

ok maybe not the last one but any answers or advice you can give me would be more than welcome

Welcome to the site and congrats on your bike.

I usually get between 70 and 85 Mpg, depending on the kind of use.
Normally 180-200 miles before the light comes up...

As Lolgeoff said, it depends on the way you run the engine (lower rpm/higher gear equals to lower fuel consumption...)

I have a 2003 GS Model (single spark) and so far I had no particular issue.
The bike runs fine and very cheap in doing so.

Must-have accessories? ...again, it depends on your use.

For road use a MUST (to me) are without doubts a good screen (Mine's a dark Dakar type) and the rear "box". Also useful would be a good tank bag...and the chase goes on and on.....

Enjoy your ride.

 

[G.C.]

The 70mpg fuel consumption figure is easily achievable but you'll have more fun when you're around the 55mpg mark..

The only time I achieved anything close to 70 mpg was when I was 2 up and attempting to ride smoothly. 55 mpg was about my average.
The engine likes to be worked. (I did not say “ride it like you……it !)

As for the other stuff do a search for what you are interested in and I'm sure you'll find umpteen people with differing views on any particular subject.

What he said
Welcome to the site.

 

[LOLGEOFF]

The engine likes to be worked. (I did not say “ride it like you……it !)

Whoops...... You have a good memory Sir.

 

[talltony]

I've had as little as 45mpg to as much as 75mpg but 55-60 is the norm.
As for accessories,the first thing I did was to lengthen the side stand(in their wisdom bmw fit the standard GS stand to the Dakar,or have they changed that on the twin sparks?)
That was soon followed by progressive fork springs,a centre stand and bar risers.Then luggage and racks,engine bars,driving lights,gps,19" front wheel,Airhawk seat cushion,modified screen mounting (still not right,but better...)
Welcome to the world of the 650........
Tony

 

[richc]

I'm getting about 55mpg on a new '07 Dakar. I prefer to measure smiles-per-mile (SPM) and I know this bike gets more SPM's than anything I've ridden, and I've been riding for over 45 years.

All your questions can be answered by going here

http://f650.com/phpBB2/

and then to the FAQs here

http://faq.f650.com/

I haven't read all the FAQs, but I'm sure they explain why the sky is blue.

They also sell a set of 3 DVD's for doing your own service on BMW's little bike, they $7.50 US. These are very useful.

 

[Dave Hall]

I thrash the balls off mine and I`ve never had less than 60mpg...the most I got was 78mpg tooling round the borders where I could`nt get into top gear.

I just cant consider swapping it for anything else.

 

[Corkonian]

I bought an ex-demo '06 Dakar a few weeks ago - first bike but well happy with it.

richc: the 3 DVD's can be downloaded for free - the torrent is available from the site - they just ask that you let the files available for download for as long as it took you to do it.

They're well worth the download
It's one of the best sites I've seen on the net on any subject.