Lowered F650gs for two up riding?
 

Hi Folks,

Just bought a 2008 f650gs that's been lowered ,was wondering does anyone ride one these with a pillion as the max recommended load is 150kg and the wife and I take most of that up. Just wondered what the handling would be like being close to the max load .

Thanks for any advice :clap:

Neil

twin or single cyl??
 

That will be the twin cyl version of the F650GS??
(I think the single stopped selling around 2007).

There was a 2005 F650GS single cyl with factory lowered suspension in my garage until about a year ago - do you mean that bike perhaps?

Hi

It's the f650gs twin 800cc model ,factory lowered and lower seat.

Cheers

Neil

Yep, we had the lowered seat also, come to think of it.

As far as the single cyl is concerned, I can't recommend riding two up for any great distance as being a great experience - it felt overloaded with a pillion on board so I only ever rode that bike with either a passenger or luggage, but never both.
Two up for "day out" type riding and with luggage for longer rides.

With a pillion on board I could, and did, easily scrape the side stand on left hand bends. I didn't need to put my knee down to make some sparks fly. :innocent:

AFAIK and remember the factory lowered suspension cannot be reversed (except at stupidly high expense I guess) and it includes a shorter shock absorber so there is less overall travel available.

I hope this helps in your own decisions.

Hi Neil
I have the twin model but it's not lowered & I only ride solo. It has standard BMW suspension and I keep it on (almost) the lowest setting.
But when loaded with 2 aluminium panniers and lightweight camping gear, my bike drops about an inch (making it the ideal height for me) so I would imagine 2-up would make a big difference unless you jacked up the suspension quite a bit.
Have you tried experimenting riding 2 up with and without luggage?
Also try different suspension settings.

If you find it's bottoming out on a bumpy road or wallowing in corners then you may have to consider buying a different suspension unit to the standard BMW one. There's quite a few to choose from on the market but ensure you get proper informed advice rather than just talk from a salesman :)

Oh, & post this question on the UKGSer forum - you'll receive lots of advice there! :thumbup1:

Thanks very much for the advice folks , I think you're right Elaine I'll just have to wait and see how it performs .

Cheers

Neil :thumbup1:

I used to have the pre-load turned right up as hard as it would go when riding two up (and it still grounded out the side stand on the left) but I don't recall there being any other adjustment on the single cyl suspension.
Perhaps the twin has more to fiddle with?