Just to round things off, here's a picture of the new arrival. I'm starting to get used to how to ride it. It's not short of power, it just needs a bit of work to find it. Comparing it to the XT on roads I ride often, it's a good bit faster.



Thanks to everyone for their advice and observations.

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2006 XT660R daily ride, 1994 XT600E about to be reborn, Blog: http://goingfastgettingnowhere.blogspot.com/

Just as a way off topic, I tried asking around for a fenda extenda, about 6-7 years ago, for that stubby front fender, and there was not one to be had; Pyramid didn't make one and, at that time, had no intention of doing so (from the mouth of one of their senior reps/owners of the business at the BMF show).

Could all be different nowadays - I learnt to live with it!! The beak extension to the rear of the forks, combined with the aluminium bash plate, do a pretty good job of keeping the crap off the front of the engine.

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Dave

And better than the XT (on MPG alone), now you are familiar with the 650GS?!!
How are you getting on with the Beemer BlackDZ??

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Dave

Well ...

+ It's comfier, it's got better fuel economy (70 vs 53 average), it's got a higher cruising speed, brakes are slightly better, looks are growing on me, OEM panniers very useful

- Not much character, my lawnmower sounds more exciting, floppy low-speed handling, riding position too low even with Dakar high seat, sundry electrical issues, ABS means dealer has to bleed brakes (apparently), too much plastic to remove for basic maintenance tasks.

I haven't had anyone on the back yet, so I am reserving judgement on that. It's a good little bike, and it's growing on me, but it doesn't light my fire like the XT does. Perhaps it's a bit too civilised. The jury is still out, but it's doing the job so far. I had a hairy moment a couple of weeks ago when I hit a sea of mud on a fast corner in the dark, and it looked after me. (A colleague who hit the same section of road 10 minutes later wrote her car off against a tree, so the GS got major brownie points for that.)

It's mainly a positive picture, I guess, but I am also slightly underwhelmed. Overall, I like it, but not massively. People tell me that BMWs need time and miles for their qualities to show through, so perhaps I should give it a while.

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2006 XT660R daily ride, 1994 XT600E about to be reborn, Blog: http://goingfastgettingnowhere.blogspot.com/

Nice report therein.
Personally, I didn't have an issue with the "lack of character" in the exhaust note - given plenty of throttle, at speed, the 650 responds well and that was the important thing for me during my riding.
It can be fixed with an after market exhaust if it really niggles and that can also remove the cat converter at the same time.

Yep, I never liked the plastics which are not those of a "true" off road bike; nor the removal of loads of fastenings to get at the battery!
On the other hand, the plastic material is no different to that fitted to many other bikes.

I didn't have to contend with ABS which seems to be desirable for all BMWs nowadays but I have never had a bike with it, so I reserve judgement about such trickery.
That is not a criticism on my part of either Beemer or ABS: we are stuck with it for future manufacturing.
I've read elsewhere about this recommendation for bleeding ABS by (main) dealers but I am not sure where it started i.e. could it be something of a BMW "marketing" thing?? However, it does seem clear that the ABS must be bled properly in order that the system continues to function correctly = with moisture in the system it can corrode internally I believe (needs corroboration on that point).

But, I can identify with your feelings about the GS - two up it performs in a very similar way to use as a single rider, surprisingly to me given the smallish engine size (in western european terms that is).

ps Use an Air Hawk or removable gel pad to raise the seating position - easy to place in position and remove as necessary

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Dave

I'm considering a better exhaust and dumping the cat, but then the other half of my brain says keep it bog standard and spend the money on refurbishing the XT. There's nothing actually wrong with the BM that needs expensive rectification, just mild personal preference.

The ABS is a bit of an issue. Given the choice, I would always opt to do without it, but it's there and I'll live with it. The problem is that (so I am told) it needs a dealer to plug something into the ABS module to open an internal valve to allow bleeding and even simple fluid replacement. Not being able to bleed the brakes after a bit of maintenance, or flush through some new fluid, is a headache - especially considering that the nearest BMW dealer is 100 miles away. The rear ABS is way too sensitive, and I can feel the rear brake pulsing even with normal 'brisk' riding on dry Tarmac. I haven't activated the front yet, even with heavy braking in the wet, which I suppose is a good thing.

The actual riding position, which was too low for me with the standard seat, has been rectified by buying a Dakar seat. What I meant was that I still feel too low in relation to the ground. Ultimately, I should have got a Dakar with the higher suspension and 21" front wheel. The GS still feels like riding a roller skate. But as I said earlier, the swap for the Sprint was a blinding good deal, and I shouldn't complain. It was this bike or nothing, and I am glad I made the change. There is probably an XT660Z somewhere in my future, though.

Good to hear about the 2-up capability. That will be tested next summer.

Thanks for your input. I appreciate your comments

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2006 XT660R daily ride, 1994 XT600E about to be reborn, Blog: http://goingfastgettingnowhere.blogspot.com/