Hi Ted, hope all is fine for you! Where are you?

As the very unhappy owner of a F650, 2004 model, that just had to be towed away yesterday....

As you know I´ve had my share of bike problems since my trip started with ABS, seals, electrics, speedo, master cilynder ... you name it...

Now yesterday while I spent 4 hours waiting for a tow truck to pick me up, 60km from Bariloche I had lots of time to think!
Seriously considering another bike for my next trip (London - Sydney). I am sick and tired of snobby BWM attitude and utter comtempt for their customers and also of the bad low quality gear that started desintegrating within weeks of buying them (2 santiago suits and 1 pair of boots boots... all awful!) .
Not helped by really bad attitude of BMW dealers and the incompetence of their workshop (See my blog to find more: entry "the day BWM tried to kill me" gives you an idea!)

By now I tell you I HATE BMW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And... I did not have notorious problems with my rear schock or water pump because I replaced them all before starting my trip! (Recommend White power shocks, superb!)

However, the Rotax engine is very good. No complaint there. For the rest I agree with Ted, something like a DR650 would be maybe a better choice.

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Maria

www.franglais-riders.com

I’m getting a little fatigued of the BMW bashing, model bashing, etc.

Look, not EVERY F650 is crap NOR is the DR650 the greatest bike in the world. Both bikes have been produced for long periods of time and they’ve had a variety of upgrades that make them fairly different every five years or so.

If you pick an F650 from 2002-2007, it will be different than an F650 from 1998-2002, etc. Do your research and don’t trust the sales/marketing guys…its your ass that will be on the side of the road waiting for a two truck…IF you happen to be lucky enough to have one available in the area you’re riding in.

No bike is perfect, but based on the trip(terrain, duration, etc) you’re taking…get to know your bike beforehand and be prepared to deal with minor issues along the way...part of the adventure!

Now if your final drive goes…that’s another thing! BUT I agree…the current BMW stuff and dealers are crap

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edde
93 BMW K75s
www.motoedde.com

Bashing? Maria is in no way bashing, she is simply reacting to her R E A L I T Y, which is well documented here.

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

Another great review of the DR650 Mollydog which would look good on that thread, but, as a check on reality for the UK, I have just looked at UK ebay for a DR650.

There are a total of 2 available right now: the 1991 bike has 30000 miles declared while the 1992 model has an unknown mileage and number of previous owners. That's it, nothing else available among about 5800 bikes for sale (that's 0.034% of bikes offered for sale).

I've looked at the dealers' lists before (haven't bothered today) and the situation can be similar with them but with higher asking prices.

If Maria wants to bring one back from South Amer, fair enough but the new twin cyl F650GS will be in the showrooms next weekend = 71 HP on tap for an asking price of £5300.
All I am saying is that things move on.

Still off topic: I have read quite a bit of derogatory comment about BMW dealerships in other countries (in here and elsewhere), but in the UK, on average, everything else being equal, blah blah, I believe that they are considered to be better than your average back street bike shop - top dollar prices yes, but good service and attention to the customer: there may be an exception, but that is about what I hear from BMW owners here in the UK.

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Dave

This is new to me; I didn’t know that a lot of BMW parts (except Xchallenge) were made in China. What parts are you talking about?

MollyDog,
Don't selectively take my quotes out of context...reread the point I was making in this post and EVERY post I've made on this thread: BMW's made since 2002 have faced questions of durability IRRELEVANT of model(F650, 1150/1200 GS), etc. Going to Chinese manufactured parts may actually help in an odd way...

IF the Chinese get clear cut instructions on design, quality expectations, and a defined manufacturing process...they can produce very high quality stuff...look at the IBM Thinkpad for example...IBM controlled every aspect of the process for years and produced some the most durable laptops out there.

Relative to the DR, reread my post again...every 5 years a "variety" of things have changed on the DR...and in total during that time period they can be considered significant, depending on the purchaser of that vehicle.
How often have these DR's consistently seen 50k-100k miles...and still going strong? I'm curious...

Its unfortuntate what's happening to Maria and I've kept up with her trip, BUT her bike is post 2002 and she's choosing BMW dealers part of the time. As I've said in prior posts as have many many others, having a pleasant experience with one nowadays is an exceptional experience. Luckily, I've got a couple good local ones...I see on rare occasion...which is why I ride an old K75

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edde
93 BMW K75s
www.motoedde.com

I'm not at all surprised to see some BMW bashing - I think they're the company that has labeled itself as THE great adventure motorcycling company and perhaps the bikes don't really live up to it for various reasons these days.

My experience has been limited to a 40000 mile Americas tour on an Africa Twin. Not the whole picture by any means but I regularly noticed that in the various bike shops I visited to get my AT serviced I the other travelers with BMWs were having repairs carried out.

On the whole there was a feeling of disgruntlement among these riders at the service provided by local BMW dealerships - some bikes had warranty cover too. The output shaft seal seems like an inexpensive item that a dealer should stock and yet I recall three occasions where riders were left high and dry waiting for parts to be shipped from Europe.

More recently I look at the bikes Ewan and Charlie (and Claudio) have used. Hardly inspirational reliability and something that the BMW marketing guys would be cringing about. That said I would have been interested to have seen how they would have got on with the KTMs.

I want a motorcycle that I can ride for 50000 miles anywhere I want without doing anything other than routine service work. I'm not sure BMW can do that anymore. It's interesting looking through the Bike tech forums to see which bikes are best suited to this adventure motorcycling lark...... they're not German.

You should be in politics Edde

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

Ok guys...

My thread title wasnt thought out as well as it should of been and my objective was to start this thread as a place that BMW F650 owners could tell me about their experiences...

Sadly, y opinion of the 650´s is only getting worse.

Im at Dakar Motos waiting for pollos birthday party and some spares and many a F650 owner is turning up and passing thorugh etc...

Nearly everyone of them is cursing the bike. All with failing ABS, leaking seals, water pumps knackered and the headlamp subframe breaking through fatigue. Bits and pieces breaking and falling off..

Now of course, all bikes suffer and have their faults but not to this extent...

I am prepared to take the flak for saýing this the F650 is NOT a good bike. I wouldnt touch one with a shi*ty stick.

Thier only saving grace seems to be comfort and good fuel consumpion (which is easily rivalled by a Vstrom or Transalp)

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Well, I’m still pretty sure that the F650 has practically no parts from China. So I feel that the statement is false.
The X-serie will be (or is) produced in China and the G450 in Taiwan but that doesn’t matter for the quality of the old 650.
I agree that the parts from China can be as good (or bad) as parts from Europe – it’s BMWs quality-control (or lack of) which decides this.
It should be interesting to see how the new F650 and F800 will do. I’m afraid that they will not be as good as the old airheads, time will show.



I think we are getting closer to the real issue here. Yes, BMW is more expensive then the Suzuki but it also lasts a lot longer.
When a BMW has 100kkm on the clock you can still sell it for 30-60% of what you gave for it without doing a major overhaul first. That makes owning a BMW cheaper then most other bikes.
A friend of mine will start to rebuild a 650 with 140kkm on the clock. He will not rebuild the engine because cylinders and rings are still within tolerances and the cylinder head looks good. He will rebuild it because he wants a custom built bike with great suspension and a 1000km petrol range.

For me it’s out of the question to buy a bike with an estimated lifespan less then 150kkm. My current bike has 193kkm on the clock (but it was rebuilt at 180kkm).

Somehow I feel its true.

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!