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Which Bike? Comments and Questions on what is the best bike for YOU, for YOUR trip. Note that we believe that ANY bike will do, so please remember that it's all down to PERSONAL OPINION. Technical Questions for all brands go in their own forum.
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  #1  
Old 23 Mar 2007
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BMW g 650 x country

Any of you have an opinion about this new enduro BMW?
It looks not bad, an improvement of the classic F 650 GS, save for the small tank (9,5 l).
Let me know what you think.
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Old 23 Mar 2007
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I'm interested too

I agree that it is an interesting machine, but wish it didn't have that silly 9.5 litre fuel tank limitation.

I will be very interested to see what is in the BMW accessories package to fit the XCountry in particular. Of the three, only the XCountry has any chance of being any sort of long-distance tourer, at least for shorter people, because the other two models are ridiculously tall -- more for fashion purposes, I feel, than to make them any more suited for the sorts of territory where they will do the majority of their riding. The XMoto supermoto machine is a stupid poser's toy, with a wooden plank suspended four feet in the air for a seat; the 'dirt' model is even taller, and far too heavy to be a serious dirt bike.

To give you an idea how tall they are, when I visited a BMW showroom, the staff guy there told me that the XCountry, which has easily the lowest seat of the three new 650s, is FAR taller than the 1200GS!

But with a small screen to deflect some of the wind and after-market luggage, the XCountry might be an option, even if the seating position is not nearly so comfortable as the 'old' F650 model. I am looking forward to reading some real-world tests, as the 'first look' articles in the press don't really tell us much about how the XCountry handles real road conditions.

ron
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Old 23 Mar 2007
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you can read lots about the bike here:
Ma, look what I bought this weekend! - ADVrider
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Old 25 Sep 2010
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Having owned a 1200 and currently an X-country and F800gs I can categorically state it is the lowest of them all. It's a brilliant bike, very reliable and very cheap to run returning unbelievable milage on a run (three fills of £5-£6 returned 260 miles two up at speeds around 80mph on motorways). It is a little cramped but nothing else inspires my confidence. I have no doubt that my bike will always do what I need it to do. The tank size is an issue but I see 80miles around town and 100 on a run easily for about £6 so it's not a huge problem as my XT engined Pegaso does the same mileage from a 16ltr tank.
This bike is very misunderstood. Lets get this straight. This is not a dirt bike, it's a competition bike built so that BMW can carry on winning rallies that the 800 is not eligible to enter because it's a twin. The G650 Challenge is built for that, the Xmoto and Country are the same bike with tweaks, different gearing, wheels and bodywork and built so the investment in building this machine attracts at least some sales to offset the costs. I bought the Country because of the seat, I can ride this all day and because it's built to a high standard to be reliable and durable. So far I've loved owning it and it's been the best bike I've had in years. My 800 is faster but not as capable in the dirt and not as sure footed or trustworthy. My biggest issue is availability of accessories but I'm working on that.
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Old 25 Sep 2010
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blueron View Post
...
I am looking forward to reading some real-world tests, as the 'first look' articles in the press don't really tell us much about how the XCountry handles real road conditions.

ron
Granted, its not the X-Country, but here is a link to a real world test of a 650 XChallenge, by Sir Walter Colebatch . Doesn't get any more real world than that... You'll get the idea. Great bikes!
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Last edited by T.REX63; 25 Sep 2010 at 17:06.
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Old 26 Sep 2010
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was just about to post that link

With the bullet proof 650cc rotax engine, low weight (140kg) and high tier items used this bike is very high on my list as my next bike
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