BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

Okay, there is NO way I can justify the cost of an R1200R with our short season. Seriously would like a F650GS. I ride solo, weigh 180 pounds, am 61 years young, ride at least 95% of the time on paved roads. I currently ride an '07 Bandit 650. Just want a bike with a soul, warranty and ABS! HELP!
Cheers all. Lyle

Great bikes they are.

The design of this bike has changed somehat, the used F650GS model on the market is a single cylinder thumper that gets 80mpg. The Philadelphia Police are now riding them along side the Harley guys.

The new GS is the 2 cylinder 650.

As with all things BMW, if you want a new one, go test ride it!

The G650GS is a single 650. The F650GS is actually an 800cc twin. The latter is the one on the shopping list. If I was going for a 650 single, I'd go with a DR650 and pocket half the $$!

First time in motorcycle history a model number was changed retro actively.

The "G" now was the "F" since the 1997 F650GS "F"unduro.

The new F650GS is a nice bike with a great motor. I'm very tempted to p/u a F800GS primarily for the suspension. The motors are nearly identical with minor tuning differences (650 has more tourque, 800 has more HP). The F650 is of course cheaper and more road oriented. I think I'd like to make a super-moto out of the F800GS. Of course my riding season is a fair bit longer than yours. Personally, I wouldn't hesitate to consider a new F650GS. Good luck with your choices.

cheers,

I feel a lot better on the 650 than the 800. It's just that much shorter. Don't want to piss with the suspension. On the 650, I wont have to. Just get a low seat.
Lyle

sjbmw wrote:First time in motorcycle history a model number was changed retro actively.

The "G" now was the "F" since the 1997 F650GS "F"unduro.

Pretty simple compared to the alphabet soup that is Harley Davidson!

My son and I rented two of these last month in Anchorage and rode them down to Homer, spent the night, rode back next day; so I have 500 miles of recent experience on F 650 GS (Twin). We both liked the bike. My home bike is an R1200R. The F I rented had an Aeroflow wind screen probably 17 inches and worked great. The bike is much lighter than the R12; we easily ran high cruise speeds but felt blown about a bit by side winds. The R12 is a lot more bike.

Only bike as F bike would be fine. I would note that you would have no problem with serious shopping buying a used R12; I'd go all the way back to 2007. That's the one I have. I think both bikes are bullet proof. A prudent offer on a used R12 might do it.

The R12 ABS is "integrated". The F bike is not. The ABS on the F bike has a switch and could be switched off. The F bike can go off road and part of the highway deal was that our rentals had what looked to be dual sport tread. The R 12 is not advertised as off road and the ABS cannot be switched off.

I personally feel that a lot of the benefit of the ABS on the R12 is the fact that it is integratated....pull on the front brake alone and it automatically applies the correct amount of rear brake; both up to the limit where the ABS kicks in. The R12's simply stop. I mean STOP.

Do not go back to the R1150R or R1100R; the R1200R is the bike and it is light years from the earlier especially in the brake dept. Not enough change in the current R12 to justify new.

I have a 2010 F650GS twin as my only bike and it now has 21,000 miles on it. I put off giving her a name, but it looks like she's here to stay so she is officially "Little Chubb". I took her out to California last June and rode up the PCH almost to Oregon then cut across through southern Oregon and back home.

As stated in an earlier post, the bike is light and on the slab with big trucks and high speed travelers, she gets buffeted about much more than my old R1150R. This will cause fatigue quickly so I usually stay on state and US highways when touring. They are nicer and more scenic anyway for my riding taste. I use a 18" Cee Bailey screen and that helps keep off the wind blast from my face and protects somewhat from the light rain.

I get routinely between 58 and 61 mpg of regular gas with a range of about 200 miles before needing to fill up the 4.2 gal. tank. The bike runs smooth and powerful up to about 75 miles per hour and from there it begins a vibration that really make the hands and arms tired. I mean it will pull out and pass with a really nice throttle response and accelerates quickly to 90 or 100, but not sustainable as a slab eater.

The valves were still in spec when I checked them at 12000 miles and in a few K more I'll check them again. Oil change is the easiest I have ever had it. Everything, [filter and oil] in an easy 15 minutes session! It has always taken an exact 3 quarts to get it right where it needs to be. Perfect! I love this bike.

Edit: I opted for no ABS and probably really need it, but this bike skids as straight as any I have ever ridden. LOL

I rode the F650CS ("scarver") as my only bike for a few years - 2004 to 2007. The G650GS is much the same package. Only slight frame differences (similar geometry but the GS has a longer rear) and chain final drive are the main differences - so not much!

I found it very easy to live with and kinda miss it now it's gone. It will tour quite well and has plenty of "poke" until it runs out of puff (earlier than a 1200, but still easily over 100mph). There are good pannier and top box options - I had frames fabricated to take the GS luggage on my CS and they worked well.

A few comments ...

- get ABS. The rear disc will lock very readily and ABS will fix that.

- get a good, compact torx wrench kit. The single (even the chinese one now in the G650GS) has great character but it does vibrate bolts loose - it's a single after all. A quick 'nip around' every so often solves most ills!

- carry a spare fuel cap (even a temporary one) on any long trip - unless the soft alloy on the cap hinge is fixed now, it can break easily and leave you stranded.

- go to f650.com (the chain gang) - lotsa of expertise, great FAQ, off-the-wall humour

The 650 single is a great motor and will tour at solid speeds all day without fuss. The single buzz and the lower torque will make for somewhat shorter days than a large, telelever boxer - but in my experience the comfortable day range is more like 400-450 miles versus 500-600 miles on the boxer (I have done 1000miles in a day on the single: that was a chore). The lighter weight plays a factor - the single does bounce about somewhat, where the heavier, better suspended boxer tends to stay planted. But overall, there's not a lot in it. I never had any real problem keeping up with my R1150GS riding mates on multi-day trips around Australia's bumpy back roads.

The Tiger 800 ABS is in the running. Love that engine.

So, what did you do ?

Hi Ace didn't know you were on this site, I sometimes miss the 2001 F650gs but then I remember the awful vibration , terrible seats ( I tried three seats and if I did it again I would use the Seatconcepts)Having said that the 650 really handled well on slab and dirt (depending on tires )and she was like a pack mule as far as hauling. Have friends that ride these bikes some very long distances and swear by them. I am 5'7" which is a little short but the bikes are fairly light. I have a friend that has a 2012 DR650 he likes better but the BMW seems to always come out on top if you consider touring as well.Ride safe.Mike

Used RT.
Best of all the worlds and more wind protection. Extend your season!

i had a 2007 F650GS single and currently in addition to my '07 R12R have a 2009 G650GS single and a 2001 F650GS twin.

the single is a great motor and has no problem running 90mph all day every day on the slab. if you change the gearing you can reduce most of the vibration the big single makes but even without changing the gearing the vibration is not bad at all. the gas mileage on the single is fantastic and i averaged around 60-65 mpg on my '07. the one down side of the single is finding a windshield that creates a pocket of clam air around you. i experimented with many different windshields and for me the Ermax worked the best. some of the singles had water pump problems and although parts are cheap replacing the water pump can be a time consuming job. overall they are very reliable bikes and you can easily live with a 650 single as your only bike, i did and put almost 40,000 on mine in 3 years.

my '07



the '09 that i recently picked up. for some reason my daughter thinks it's her's



the 650 twin is much smoother then the single, has more power and overall a nicer bike. it doesn't get the same mileage as the single, but does have a range of approx 180-200 miles. the windshield options for the twin are much better then for the single. i have tried many different windshields and for me i found the MadStad works the best. Aeroflow makes some nice options for weather protection as well, including huge hand guards, duct deflectors and leg guards, which transform the 650 twin into a "mini RT". there have been reports of some twins having water pump problems but in 12,000 miles i haven't experienced any.

my 650 twin



if i had to choose one bike as my only bike hands down it would be the 650 twin.

Sweet looking rides!