I had an 97 BMW F650, the carburated type, built by Aprilia in Italy. The 'new' ones are BMW-built, in Germany. The first set of BMW-built (the 2nd generation F650's) had serious fuel injection issues when launched, but word is the bugs are fixed now. All BMW 650's have BMW-spec 4 valve heads while the Aprilias uses/used a 5-valve head design. There are other internal engine changes imposed by BMW with durability in mind (crank journals, bearings, etc). Either way, the engine is origianally a Rotax (Bombardier) design, first class stuff.
The bike is expensive, for you are buying the BMW name printed in the manual and the badges that comes glued literally everwhere (so everyone can see it's a beemer).
The F650 is not an off-road bike. The Dakar, with a bit more suspension travel and the optional Pirellis fares better on the dirt, but no matter what the glossy brochures say or show, these bikes are not meant for crossing the Darien gap or the bog accross the field. They go fairly well on fire roads, smooth dirt roads, perform great in canyon roads (you will be amazed) and cruise effortlessy at 65-75mph all day long.
Mechanically, the engine is bullet-proof (salvo for the FI issue on the problematic models), BUT if there is an electronic gremlin, plan on having a BMW motorcycle dealer nearby... Fit and finish is very good and the controls are extremely teutonic.
Think electrics by Siemens & Bosch as opposed to Denso/Marelli. Hell, at least it's not Lucas, the Prince of Darkness.
There is a lot of plastic and fasteners all over the bike, so access to mechanical items under the skin usually involves a fair amount of time and swearing when taking things apart.
Think carburator & gravity (KLR/ Yamaha XT) vs. fuel injection & sealed electronic pump driven by FI module under the cowl.
Suspension is by Showa, Japan. Brakes are Brembo, Italy. So, yes, while you pay for the German badge, you buy a bike suspened by a Honda subsidiary, stopped by an italian company and driven by an engine designed by a Canadian company.
Is it a 'true' BMW motorcycle? Hummm... Is it a good bike? Hell yes.
So:
- if you are an experienced rider and plan on going on a round-the world adventure, get yourself a KLR 650.
- if you are an experienced rider and plan crusing around town on the weekends with an occasional 1k mi. road trip somewhere in the 1st world and money is not an issue, get an F650 by all means.
- if you are an experienced, rich, rider and vibration, money and chiropractor is not an issue, get a KTM 640 LC4.
- if you are somewhat experienced and want a bike to fool around on the dirt but still be able to go to 7-11 for a frostie (street legal), get yourself a Suzuki/Kawasaki (they are the same now that it's just one company) KLR/DRZ 400 flavor of the day.
- If you are new to bikes and dual-purpose, get yourself a used 150-250cc japanese 4-stroke dirt bike and trash it first before spendinga $8K+ on a bike you are not sure is right for you.
For good info on the beemer 650 look here :
http://www.f650.com
For info on dual purpose bikes in general, look here:
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tripplan/bike/
Remember: it's not what you ride. It's the fact that you ride.
Cheers
