BMW F650GS/Dakar

[Kaben]

Has anyonehere experienced one of these bikes?

Im looking into getting one for the trip linked in my sig.
They seem to be pretty indestructible,good tank range/mpg and have plenty of scope for touring accesories.

However being a single they are quite vibey or -so ive read.

Anyone ridden one for a decent amount of time? How are they? are they comfy? are the vibes ok to live with?Also what do they sound like? Cant find a sound bite/decent video on one of them anywhere.

Basically mini-review the bike here pls!

Any help greatly appreciated

(Went on a F650 forum, but they all seem to be very conservative BMW owners on there and dont want to bad mouth the bike for anything......bit biased)
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[stinkwheel]

I had a ride of one about a week ago, not for very long though.

There are some vibes once the speed gets up but nothing massivley intrusive. Nowhere near as bad as my MZ supermoto and you could do some reasonable mileage on that.

The saddle is big and squidgy so you shouldn't get a numb backside and you can pile a load of luggage on them. They start running out of steam over 80mph but will do the ton if you push it. I got the impression that it would sit at 80 all day long. I reckon if you were two-up with luggage, it might struggle at motorway speeds as they aren't all that powerful.

Wide bars, adequatley sized screen to keep the wind off you and long travel suspension make the ride very comfy. I found it tipped into corners a bit ponderously compared to what I was expecting, all makes for very smooth and surprise free progress through corners though.

The engine is a rotax so you should have no trouble there, the gearbox is a bit clunky compared to a Japanese one but you soon get used to it. The one I was riding was a five speed gearbox and it could really have used a sixth.

I would have thought it would cope very well with a European tour, especially if you get into some crappier roads but perhaps doesn't have the legendary "thousand mile day" capabilities of the bigger BMWs purely because it can't sit at three figure speeds for hours at a time.
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I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Finglonga]

Might be or interest to you....HERE
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[TheShaggyDA]

For the price its sister, the Aprilia Pegaso 650, is supposed to be better value. Tempted by one myself, but with a 33" seat height and a 29" inside leg, I'd need platforms.
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[mchaggis]

Having not ridden it enough to tell you really all that much about it, I can say that the F650 is dead dead comfy and has quality built through and through. My Mum manages fine on it now that she's used to it, and she's only 5'8". It is the older ST model, but they're as good as the same apart from the fuel tank being under the seat instead, which would make it even easier to manage.

You are right though, most BMW riders seem to have a certain air of smug superiority about them.
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[Shamrock]

You looked at the Suzuki V-Storm 650?

Its big brother is supposed to be good?!