possible F650GS purchase

[GrimReaper]

 Hi all,i just found that baby in the local CL.2001 BMW F650GS.24K miles,Dakar windshield,Touratech engine guard,Vario cases,new tires,water pump and so on.the price 2700 usd.i simply cant refuse the offer .
  is anybody has experience with this bikes?AFAK they are great

[Ed Miller]

I've never seen one anywhere near that cheap around here.  A guy here at work let me ride his and I really liked it.  I didn't take it off road, but did ride on some crummy pavement and it has way better suspension than my bikes.

[DeeG]

That's a heck of a price.  Specially with all them goodies on it.

We're pretty happy with our baby GS's.  Comfy, good ergo's, decent mileage.  Lots of farkles to stick on.  

They are a little more maintenance intensive than an airhead.   I'm gonna guess that 93.8% of all maintenance starts with removing the front Tupperware.  And there are three, yes three, oil drain locations. Valve adjustment requires draining oil and radiator fluid.  My first attempt at doing valve adjustment and oil change took two days.  It went a little quicker on the second bike.  

Good news is, there is a forum dedicated to all the versions of the bike:

http://www.f650.com/

You don't have to buy a membership to visit the forum, but its such a great resource that to me, the $50 lifetime 'membership' was cheap.

Not a great picture, but here's mine, loaded (as usual) for a camping/shopping trip in Montana.

[nhmaf]

I believe suecanada had one of these thumpers before her foray into an R1100RT and then the new F650GS, right Sue?    I seem to recall you were riding one when we met in Wisconsin..

[msbuck]

Graham had the earliest version - 1996 - the first one to hit North Carolina.  He LOVED the bike!  We traveled from Maine to Key West on it.  He rode it so much he neglected his R100...then he felt bad about that and traded it in on the Laverda so he could start riding his R100 again.  If I were to buy another BMW that would be the one for me.  

[GrimReaper]

well guys i bought it.$2500 also has ABS.It was dirty as hell and i spend a few hours to clean it.This little one is one fun bike.I did a 100 miles first day and could not be happier
   DeeG what kind of tail and tank bag you are using?

[suecanada]

Sorry to be late on this thread but yes, nhmaf is right. I owned a used (NC) F650GS single AFTER I got overwhelmed with the R1100RT which didn't take long!!!
Dee G is right about the tupperware and the oil holes. Other than that, it was a bit buzzy going along the Interstates. Looked like a big sparkler was waving behind me on Interstates when in actuality it was a big 18 wheeler's lights!! Took this bike on my big western trip following the Wisconsin national. Nice bike to ride in twisties..Tail of Dragon and CO. Very reliable. Sold it to David's Doctor right here!
Oh yeah..I remember...here's some advice: changing the vario bags was a royal pain so I decided to leave 'em big. Took two of us to slide the two parts to change from small to big. Plastic does not slide easily on plastic...probably had some fine dust particles in-between.
Advice 2: put rubber washers to dampen vibration on any aux. lights. I broke the mounting on the Bestrestproducts IPF lights. One morning in ND we noticed that the light was just hanging there like an eyeball dislodged from it's socket..yuk!!

What a price you got!!! I paid $6500 I Think for a twin spark 2005 in Fall of '06.

[DeeG]

  DeeG what kind of tail and tank bag you are using?

This is the tail bag set up, its awesome.  But I didn't pay THAT much for it..... yikes!

http://www.gatewaybmw.com/shop/soft-bag/

You can use both bags seperately and they hold sooo much stuff.  The rear bag fits perfectly over the stock rack on the back of the bike.  Only downside is, if you need to access the little compartment to take the seat off, you have to take the bag off.  

Tank bag is a Cortec. I have two or three different sized ones, depending on how far we're going.  I stuck a piece of soft memory foam under the bag to take up the 'space' between the odd shaped tank and the bag, so it doesn't flop around too much.  I do have the BMW bag that fits the bike, got it from a friend who sold his GS.  To mount the Cortec, I picked up the bracket for the BMW bag. It bolts to the very front of the faux tank. If you want , I can get the part number.....got it around here somewhere....... for the back of the bag, I ran a piece of web/strap around the frame and added a buckle to the end.  I can get a close up of that as well if needed.

Close up of the tank bag w/o the memory foam underneath:





The other GS we have has the system cases on it. I hate them. Too small and the pretty exterior dents real easy.  Mine has the Moto-Sport racks and their universal mounting kit.  Stuck on a set of Ortlieb Dry Bags.  I can haul almost anything now.  

[GrimReaper]

 Hi Sue,you are right about the vario bags,What a PITA to change them.
 Well Saturday i stopped at the local dealer to see my buddy Dave and what a surprise.He immediately recognized the bike.So the history is kinda strange
  However Dave told me that the bike belonged to the manager of the service dept. of the dealer and he rebuild the engine about 20k miles mark.Dave told me that he did not remember why they rebuild it,but assure me that they use brand new parts :-? He said that they put new jug,piston,rings,head and so on.Probably the engine seized.So sad that the old service dept manager is no longer there.
  Its like i have a new engine in it with 4k miles.The time will tell.I get 60 mpg over first tank(what a mileage)
  The bike is fun,but still not that much as the little R65,which BTW is a lot taller compare to the F

[suecanada]

One question SinCity...do you find that even though the F650GS is not as tall, the centre of gravity is higher and makes it seem heavier up top???
The R65 has a pretty low Cof G and this really helps manoeuvering confidence.

[GrimReaper]

Yes Sue its a little bit more top heavy,but that is Ok with me.Actually i like it a lot

[Semper Gumby]

My Friend BOXER is riding around the US on an F650 RIGHT NOW.

His website is here >>>> http://slablog.net/.

Check it out!