Thumper's new lease of life.

[Pip]

Hey guys,

Think I might make this a continual thread so people can see the benefits and possible draw backs of buying an ex-motorad off road training bike.

It's my first bike and very happy with it so far. It's a 2007 F650GS, it looks like something out of Mad-Max at the moment, but if you look through the cosmetics, there appears to be a pretty good bike underneath. Everything appears to look straight, and that will be my first undertaking, to make sure the skeleton is good. I'll post some pics sometime soon.

I bought it as it offered the BMW experience at a price I could afford, also I see it as a bike I can tinker with and learn all the stuff about bike mechanics that cars don't offer. I also own a british sports car and am handy with a spanner.

So my intention is to create this thread and record, what's been done, found, and price to rectify, also who helped me sort out me probs to give other newbies an indication of the fonts of all knowledge.

Maybe it will be a great positive thread, maybe it will turn into a nightmare as I strip and rebuild and find some very bent expensive parts, god I hope it's the earlier.

The intention is to pass to the SWMBO for the summer with a more race oriented bike coming in for me. The SWMBO's called it "Thumper", and so that's what I now have to call "her".

So overall Thumper looks a good deal, for me at least. Fingers crossed

More posts to follow

P

 

[GS TRV]

bring it on

get the fotos up asap

 

[Pip]

Photo's to follow soon. Forgot to add, the bike is to be used almost daily over the winter and so needs to be kept in a roadworthy state.

OK, I started with having to get a stand to enable a safe strip. Motorrad remove these for some reason. Being impatient I decided that I wanted to get on with a prelim strip ASAP and found that BMW was quickest and cheapest way to get hold of a new one. I didn't investigate too deeply for this bit, I'm sure a 2nd hand would have come up if I'd looked through the usual suspects.

Talking to the nice people at Vines they recommended I join the BMW owners club as you get 10% discount on parts by being a member. £25 quid to join. I see this as a long term spend to save.

http://bmw-club.org.uk

Next step get the centre stand, £93 quid all in for stand, bolts, washers and spacers. This includes the 10% discount.

At the same time I got an upper fairing (holds the headlight) and instrument panel cover (the silver bit). These cost £33.

The reason I bought the headlight fairing and instrument panel early was to enable me to have a look at the allignment of the cockpit area as I have a funny feeling something may be bent up there. The instrument panel has a minor lean to one side.

If something is bent then I should find that with a new fairing and the number of positions it's bolted to other panels which also bolt to the main frame (i.e. the side trim panels), I should be able to see if I have a misalignment in the headlight area.

As the current headlight fairing is cracked to buggery and has been patched using cable ties, it's geometry is not accurate enough to use as a indicator. This damage does not bode well, ABS is pretty shock resistant.

The stand took half hour to put on and makes maintenance so much easier.

Ok so now I have a bike that stands up straight and I can begin stripping off the panels to see the underlying state. Side panels off, instrument panel and headlight fairing removed, no probs. Lots of dust, but nothing that would indicate a bodge patch up. Except for..........

 

[Timolgra]

The reason I bought the headlight fairing and instrument panel early was to enable me to have a look at the allignment of the cockpit area as I have a funny feeling something may be bent up there. The instrument panel has a minor lean to one side.

If something is bent then I should find that with a new fairing and the number of positions it's bolted to other panels which also bolt to the main frame (i.e. the side trim panels), I should be able to see if I have a misalignment in the headlight area.

The cockpit alignment is difficult since it only needs a slight twist to look wrong, you may be better off getting new mountings.

 

[Pip]

The cockpit alignment is difficult since it only needs a slight twist to look wrong, you may be better off getting new mountings.

Do you mean the fairing bracket (46637678933), the circular bracket that attaches to the front of the headset and all cockpit parts connect to?

Because now that I have stripped and attempted to rebuild. The offside all lines up. But the nearside is not as expected. The fairing bracket looks ok, no paint cracks or evidence of yield.

The left trim panel location holes (the two that locate behind the silver indicator stalk panels and align with the headlight fairing), are broken off. but comparing to the right side these holes would appear to be about half an inch out. Likewise the lower front mounting point, where the left trimpanel attaches to the lower headlight fairing point (underneath), is also out by about half an inch out. Everything else is lining up nicely.

Thinking that with new trim panels I'm still gonna have the same problem, and so unless the frame is bent, it must be the fairing bracket, ouch approx £100 to replace.

Visual checks of the handle bars, to yokes, to wheel and general handling all look fine, but I am a newbie to bikes and so any way to check geometry would be much appreciated.

 

[Timolgra]

I think it may be the fairing bracket, i used to have a Dakar 650 and the cockpit was very slightly out but to be honest i learnt to live with it, it depends how bad yours is though.

 

[Pip]

It's more the fact that the left trim won't bolt on correctly at the three front points and I'll have to file chunks out to get the thing to fit. That's not my way, if the fairing bracket is bent, then I'd rather either bend it back, (somewhat of a complex part to get right), or more realistically replace it.

As long as it is the bracket and not some deeper issue

If I could figure some way to confirm that before I spend another 100 quid

 

[Timolgra]

It's more the fact that the left trim won't bolt on correctly at the three front points and I'll have to file chunks out to get the thing to fit. That's not my way, if the fairing bracket is bent, then I'd rather either bend it back, (somewhat of a complex part to get right), or more realistically replace it.

As long as it is the bracket and not some deeper issue

If I could figure some way to confirm that before I spend another 100 quid

I can't picture the bracket but would have a go at bending it back using the bolt holes you know are correct as a datum

 

[Pip]

http://www.maxbmwmotorcycles.com/fiche/FicheZoom.asp?image=Diagrams/B0003932.png

Ere are, I think this may work

 

[komatias]

Good luck with the fettling! The front round looking Headlight frame is the first to deform in an off. The points that it mounts to on the frame are sturdy but the bracket can be bent into any shape you can imagine. If you want the bike to be top notch, pay the price (£100?) otherwise remove it, clamp it in a vice somehow and straighten it. Not worth the effort to file anything and find out you over did it or you could have just bent it like this or that.

Keep an eye on the swarf in the oil. The off-road school bikes live part of their life on their side which starves the main bearings (journal bearings in fact, no balls or rollers) of oil. If you see that you have too much swarf on the sump magnet and there is a very disturbing noise like a coffee grinder coming from the middle part of the big end....well.... it can get expensive....


(Don't let my last point ruin your fun though, its just something to keep in mind.)


Enjoy it and keep it revving above 2000rpm otherwise you will think its sux

 

[Pip]

Good luck with the fettling! The front round looking Headlight frame is the first to deform in an off. The points that it mounts to on the frame are sturdy but the bracket can be bent into any shape you can imagine. If you want the bike to be top notch, pay the price (£100?) otherwise remove it, clamp it in a vice somehow and straighten it. Not worth the effort to file anything and find out you over did it or you could have just bent it like this or that.

Keep an eye on the swarf in the oil. The off-road school bikes live part of their life on their side which starves the main bearings (journal bearings in fact, no balls or rollers) of oil. If you see that you have too much swarf on the sump magnet and there is a very disturbing noise like a coffee grinder coming from the middle part of the big end....well.... it can get expensive....


(Don't let my last point ruin your fun though, its just something to keep in mind.)


Enjoy it and keep it revving above 2000rpm otherwise you will think its sux

Cheers for the advice. Think I'll have a go at straightning first, what have i got to lose. Oh yeah £100.

Is the sump magnet attached to the oil drain plug? Or is it somewhere else. I'm doing an oil and filter change this weekend anyway just to be sure that it's all clean. I guess a good mineral 10w40 is the most advised replacement.

Not being used to how a "normal" 650 sounds, it's difficult to tell if I have a 652cc coffee grinder as an engine, but I guess it would sound worse at start up and under heavy load if the main bearing was on it's way out.

I'll keep an eye on it. Thanks for the advice. If it did go I'd hope that would come under the warranty. But you seem to never know with BMW.

P

So far £125 quid plus bike. Bargain.

 

[Colt]

sounds an interesting project Pip.
good on yer for having a go.
BUT "I didn't investigate too deeply for this bit, I'm sure a 2nd hand would have come up if I'd looked through the usual suspects."
Send me a pm,before you go spending on new bits
i may well have a few bits you can use

 

[komatias]

So far £125 quid plus bike. Bargain.

Hehe..you're still young... I have bought my Dakar 4 times already

I can vouch for Colt, he seems to have the eyes of a hawk when picking up bargains and hens teeth and a freeking warehouse to store them all in Failing that ebay and the fora (pl. forum) are a good resource.

I am sure you are aware of f650.co.uk and f650.com