BMW F 650 Dual Sport Reviews on Cycle Insider (9)
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I love my BMW F650 It's funny to drive this bike. She's a king on bad gravelled roads (I call my bike Dolly), still it's a good bike on the highway. Maybe not the hottest babe for speeding, but not the worst eighter :o) And when it comes to and end...she's not half as expencive to own as my wife...hehe... ;o)

I have a 1999 F650 with 30,000 miles on the odometer. This is the same bike as the 2000 model year. It broke down once when the aftermarket carb jets died. I also threw one chain while going 80mph but that was my fault. I tried to save money with a cheap chain. I have the Ron Woods timing advance and the staintune exhaust on my bike. This does a very good job of making the bike quicker. Despite the single cylinder, it is smooth enough on the highway to make out a police car in it's mirrors. But, the handlebars get a little buzzey over 70mph. This bike has no problems keeping up on the highway. It accelerates strongly right up it's max and cruising all day at 80mph is no problem if your butt can take it. Some dealers do not do a good job after the sale. This being said I have only praise for Hebert Cycles in Baton Rouge and have had no problems with dealer support. The model bike needs it's valve clearance checked every 6,000 miles. This is the expensive part. BMW allows for four hours plus about $40 in parts for a servicing. This is of course assuming that none of the valves need shimmed. Those people with a moderate amount of shop skills can download most of the information to do this service work from www.f650.com. My bike has also had the dust guard come loose in the ignition system. But I got lucky and was able to fish it out with a tweezer. This occurred after 2.5 years and with 24,000 miles on the odometer. It was covered by the warranty. The part does have to come from Germany though, as BMW does not allow anyone but the factory to put together ignition cylinders as a security precaution. I hope this might help someone in the future with their decision. Dave

I have owned my 2001 F650GS for one year now and it has been great. The bike has 6000 miles now and hasn't needed anything but the normal maintinence. The folks here at my local dealer have been super. I ride the bike everyday. It has never let me down. I did a lot of research before buying this bike. I'm very happy with my decision.

I bought my my F650 5 months ago. And I must say it is great for the all around towner. It also can hold its own on the highway. I took a 450 mile trip and it held nice and smooth at 75. Although my rear end was a little sore after 200 miles so I suggest a pad or maybe a Corbin seat. The only other down side is since it is a BMW (Bring Money With) it can get a little more expensive at major mile check ups. But BMW does have a rep for longevity.

When I was looking for just the right first bike, I thought I found it with the 99' F650. Not a cruiser, not a crotch rocket, just a good fun bike. It was at first, until I took my first passenger for a ride. We stopped for gas, and upon removing the key from the ignition, the plastic dust guard popped out. The bike would not start and we were left stranded. First of all, why a plastic dust guard. If the bike would have been fixed within a week, it wouldn't have been so bad. That was June 15, 2001. It is now July 14, 2001 and I am sitting here writing this instead of riding on a pretty day. Getting parts for this bike is a pain in the neck. The supplier in Germany said it would be another 2 to 4 weeks before the part comes in. I may have a lemon, but this has left a bitter taste in my mouth and my next bike will not be a "Beemer."

The F650GS which I have just got is the bike that convinced me to stay with BMW forever. and it is about $3000 cheaper in Canada, I believe because Germans like our beer.

Yes, as the above caption says, I would love to own one if only the stupid bean counters at BMW would let me. Perhaps the coming recession will change their stupid teutonic minds! To potential buyers of a BMW, you can apply for credit; the only question is why?

I have had so much trouble with this bike since I bought it. It has some kind of electrical problems that not even the dealer was able to fix. The started went bad and the dealer changed it. They even changed the ignition switch as an attempt to fix the bike. The bike just dies sometimes and it does not start. It lacks power. My brother's KLR-650 has more kick than this bike. I was about to trade it in but the resale price was too low that I decided to keep it and deal with the electrical problems. If I had a choice I would have bought the Kawasaki instead (KLR650) a much better bike.

I am a 29-yr-old girl and this is my first bike ever. I got it 6 mo. ago and I learned how to ride bikes in one day. As you ride it, little by little it becomes lighter, you start feeling confident with the weight and the handling is incredible. I live in New York City and I could not think of a better bike to ride through traffic. I have taken my 650 on longer rides outside the city and it is powerful, reliable and amazingly beautiful. Everybody wants a ride!!!