It's human nature to complain, less so to praise.

I've had nothing but exemplary service from the five BMW dealers I've put my bikes into.

During the 80,000km and two years of ownership of myfrst R1200GS I had a couple of warranty issues but I have to admit they were really down to my ill-treatment of the bike.

The current R1200GSA has 48,000km on the clock. I've just returned from a 12,700 km return trip to Senegal. Absolutely no problems, I didn't even have to top up the oil.

Tim

Jeez this thread just exploded since I last checked it.....
 

I completely agree.

It's very tiring to have this comparison and people getting all fired up like they're talking about which football team is better. Brand loyalty really scares me sometimes.
Like I said on the first round on the circle of this thread, not all of these claims are clear as to what the basis of the information is.
'ABS, leaking seals, water pumps knackered and the headlamp sub frame breaking through fatigue' All but the headlamp sub frame (hate to think what happened to that bike as I've never heard of that one but a little welding easily takes care of that one) are well known, and if you have a little knowledge of maintaining your own bike shouldn't need professional help. If you get caught without the spares for those issues, you deserve to wait forever for them.

I'm not sure what type of traveler are found in SA (there are many kinds), but I'm starting to think a lot of people who think a bit to lightly about a trip like this and expect a stock BMW can do the job. Awesome marketing from BMW, but if a customer believes everything they get (s)told we're in trouble.

From my experience, no stock bike can do this, and all need preventative measures to known issues. Hence, can we stop mentioning things like water pump, fork seals and ABS (who needs it anyway) as it's kind of like saying:'Oh my god, my chain is all worn' and don't add to this thread (Walkabout, I have some hope still we can fix this thread). When they get mentioned I'm thinking the owner might not really know what they are doing. And when mentioning electrical issues, can we get a bit more specific? Side stand switch, voltage regulator (not sure why I keep motioning this one as I rarely hear of a failing one), etc. So again we can sift through the known issues and get a better idea. And even then, maybe a little background of what might have caused it. Lots of crashes, un-ordinary vibrations, exposure to salty water, drowned, etc. Reason why I say this is that we had issues with our ignition and switch gear on the Tenere after rainy days, so now we cover them up each night with the poncho. Problem solved. Maybe a few questions you could ask those guys at Dakar Motos Ted. I think I might be repeating myself here.

I haven't taken this bike out for a big trip yet, but also as mentioned am doing a ''lot'' of work on it to prevent known failures, protect things and speed up maintenance. This work makes me very confident that short of what's inside the Rotax I know this bike inside out. That way I'm not at all fussed of a fracture in the headlight frame, fork seals and ABS.

10 or so bolts plus the body parts and you're at the headlight frame. That probably is quite a bit more than a DR, XT, XL, XR, KLR (not the new one) but not than a Tenere fairing which was a royal pain. How do I know? I actually took it through 13 time zones. The amount of times I didn't have to take that tank off. And off course it's always full.
I'm not saying this to jerk myself off, but just because who needs this stressed thread if there is no un-circumstantial evidence.
I like to think this forum was set up to provide constructive information about overland travel with you own transport, mainly a motorbike. Something the KTM thread provides.

Oh, and while we are talking about this, could we all please be more specific in the Description of your current trip, or a major trip section our profiles? Or is this not public viewable? It can’t take to long to write maybe to and from or the distance traveled maybe. It really helps to assess the persons background and put a bit of context on the reply, dig, comment, opinion, etc.

Ah, but Simon, you gloss over the inadequacies of your bike choice as well. You mentioned previously about how you stuck to paved roads - whereas some of us seek out the dirt. You mentioned how you crossed one pass at 4000+ meters where the bike labored under its lack of power - whereas some of us have spent days, if not weeks, riding at 4000+ meters, reaching 5000+ meters multiple times. You asked the HUBB readers to help you achieve greater warmth when you wanted to retrieve you bike from Ushuaia, when most of us would have just plugged our heated jackets into the electrics - but alas, you couldn't plug anything into the "electrics" on your little bike. Not that a bigger bike would have prevented you from getting run down on Paso Garibaldi in winter, but a bigger bike allows one to accelerate out of trouble, whereas your little bike probably placed you in more danger than even you were aware of (just the nature of your riding on a small bike).

So you compromised your ride, in favor of smaller-cheaper-standard 3rd world issue. You don't know what you missed by not being able to essentially venture into the 'road less traveled'.

Not that you are in the wrong here - just, there are tradeoffs you made, which some of us aren't willing to accept.

I ride with a few BMW dealer mechanics and one head service writer. You guys (and gals) simply would not believe the things their customers come up with to complain about .... and demand be fixed under "warranty'.

So if a thread about "your" bike points out its faults you take your "toys" and go home? :rolleyes2: hmmmmmmm?

I've seen plenty of objective feedback. How much documentation do you need? How specific do you want to get before you take someone's account as credible? This thread, seems to me, is not the definitive, objective tome about the F650. It's merely a casual observation of what a couple travelers' have observed. Like most threads, others chimed in. Are they not free to do so?

Ted is credible, so is Maria.

Perhaps a NEW thread is called for? Something like:
The Unbreakable F650 From Alaska To Usuhia
Be sure to include The Smelly Biker account! It's priceless!

I disagree. Many of the posters here own a F650 or have owned BMW's and some have given a thumbs up on the bike.

As for me, I have ridden and reviewed many BMW's including the F650.
The point is the majority of BMW owners I've met know next to nothing about their bikes, its history or model evolution. Most let dealers do servicing. RTW folks are a bit different. (but not for long)


Patrick :wheelchair:
Not On The Road

I've been riding and skipped over a few or more posts before making this one.

If you go on long trips, especially ones involving a lot of off road riding, there are few smarter choices in bikes to make other than those you can fix yourself, or those that can be fixed by a basic mechanic shop. It's actually very simple.

Expectations are our own, as are most of the problems we incur.
Self sufficiency is a choice, and even made blindly, it's still ours.

Did your Pod skip a note, the paleteria hasn't your favorite sprinkles?

It's only the foolish who do not deal well with the inconveniences.

bmw 650 Dakar
 

Hi everyone
Have just returned to Spain after 7,000 miles to Gambia and back.Was worried that I would have problems with leaded fuel ( no unleaded after Dakhla in the Western Sahara ).
No problems so far.
Does anyone know if it will be a problem in the future vis a vis the catalytic converter ?would appreciate any feedback.
The bike is 17 months old &,has just done 22,000 miles,no problems so far

Cheers Paul

take the cat off...
 

continued use of leaded fuel will render your cat useless after a while - the bike will still run but the emissions won't be getting catalysed properly. Ditch the cat and then you can put it back on if required for MOTs etc.

Given that your bike has been running on unleaded the only way to see if the cat is still OK would be to get the emmisions checked.

Thanks mate
I think the cat is in the false can so,do,nt know how to ditch it.
Will leave it for now & keep my fingers crossed.
Do you know what the procedure is for replacing it?

Cheers Paul

I wouldn't worry about it if it will still run but not as clean. The only advantage I can see is the extra room for another tool/ parts compartment where the exhaust used to be.

I'll be using mine and get it replace after my trip. Can't affort a Staintune at this moment, and it's not a priority. Rear shock is.

Have a look over at the FAQ's for aftermarket exhausts. Plenty of possibilities.

Hey guys, I left my cat on the bike and have run several thousand miles on leaded fuel in Africa and elsewhere without any problems. I haven't heard of anyone having any problems either. H.

Did you have any problems running low octane fuel with the normal fuel map or did you have you fuel map changed?

My dealer reckons they can't change the fuel map, and I can't find the reference in the chain gang FAQ's anymore either so I wasn't going to worry about it.

Hi Tmot, No, no problems. I (and others) ran 76 octane leaded fuel at altitudes exceeding 4,000 meters in South America and never had a problem- and still don't. I ran low octane leaded fuel in Africa as well without trouble. I bought fuel from drums a couple times and filtered it at the nozzle with a small piece of T-shirt. If they are running a siphon, see that the entry point stays well above the bottom of the barrel- no doubt there will be no filter there. Safe ride! H.

2 water pumps, 1 ignition coil, 1 clutch, 4 sets of wheel bearings, 2 sets of head bearings, 1 stock shock rebuild, 1 gearbox rebuild (bearing went), all the touratech stuff broke, 5 chain/sprocket sets, intake hose, 3 fork seals, 2 fuel injectors, 5 clutch cables, handlebars, 4 cam chain tensioners, lost count of broken mirrors, cant be bothered to count brake pads, 1 fuel pump.... other stuff I've forgotten.

90000 miles of bad roads, drowned in rivers, riding salt lakes, hit by cars, dropped countless times, overloaded, fed bad fuel and sat on by fat people.

After all its taken me through I cant complain and after a bit of TLC it'll be ready for the next ride. :-)

I was waiting for you to join in. Now we need some of the other long timers like Renedian to share some of there feedback.

The wheel bearings, head bearings, stock shock rebuild, chain/sprocket sets, fork seals, clutch cables, handlebars, broken mirrors and brake pads are wearible items.

Interesting how you kept the stock shock with all the added weight though. 2 water pumps and head bearing in 90k of abuse aren't too bad.

The clutch, gearbox rebuild (bearing went), fuel injectors, cam chain tensioners, fuel pump is less good though. What do you reckon caused some of these. Dodgy fuel for the fuel pump and injectors?

What do you mean by intake hose? The intake manifold? If so, that happens across bikes but still dodgy how prone to damage they are. Wonder if that is because of them drying out.