Agility

Does one require a huge bike to go touring? The BMW F 650 performs adequately, maybe not with regards to velocity, but it excells in agility, flexibility and manouverability due to its lighter weight. Initial worries about chain wear proved unneccesary, as maintainance of the chain with appropriate lube gave me 4000 trouble free miles in the first month of ownership without needing to adjust the chain at all.

The fuel range was an adequate 200-250 miles, considering the size of the underseat tank, and savings at the petrol station in comparison to earlier owned motorcyles with regards to the refuelling cost/mileage ratio did not go unnoticed. The general nature of this bike also put the fun factor back into riding, and seemed a lot less serious than other models. Unfortunalely the fun turned into grief as a serious breakdown disabled the bike after one months riding. Not being familiar with this model, I had the bike looked over by a BMW mechanic soon after purchase, but even he had missed the fact that the front sprocket had not been replaced properly under the previous owner, and with a low quality aftermarket part, which resulted in the output shaft being worn. I named the bike Agility, after its main characteristic, but through no fault of its own a more fitting name would have been Waterloo! Although I had bought it elsewhere, and had rejected a Dakar offered to me by my local dealer, he still prepared a very reasonable quote for the cost of the repair, and was more than helpfull with regard to getting me back on two wheels.

Morale of the story, if you want to buy a beemer, buy new!!! There are too many want-to-be mechanics out there manipulating the workings of their motorcycles, and BMWs seem to be easy victims, largely due to their complexity. You could critisize me for taking them off-road, but I am only using them as seen in BMW brochures and according to what it says on the tin, label or whatever.

The worn shaft which was the result of someone fitting the front sprocket incorrectly during the previous riders ownership, before I bought the motorcycle. The add said ''New chain and sprockets", I wish now he had not bothered. I am glad though that it lasted me for 4000 miles. The previous owner has also not replied to my emails, asking him which garage is to blame for this. My advice is that if you buy a second hand motorcycle, check the condition of these items first, and if the owner refuses some minor disassembly, just walk away, please!!! I only rode the motorcycle for six weeks, and it has already cost me 1235 pounds in breakdown repairs, which includes a gaskett failing in the second week of riding. The throttle cable was replaced and the valvue clearances were also adjusted.

The first accessory I obtained for my Dakar was this GPS unit from Garmin, which helps with navigation, records trips and stores way-points and the lockable GPS bracket from Touratech. This excellent kit also reduces the effects of vibrations on the GPS, which if bought from Touratech, contains special adhesive to seal parts to prepare the unit for motorcycle use.

Soon after I got it back from the output shaft replacement I used my Dakar what it was made for, going off-road.

The motorcycle is perfectly suited for going off-road, easy to manouver and easy to pick up after having dropped it on a slippery byway on a rainy day.

As I have very long legs and almost all motorcycles have a far to low seat for me, I obtained an altered seat from "The Wilbur", on the www.f650.co.uk forum. One can choose how much more padding one wants to have, and I had another 5cm put in, bringing the seat height to 920mm. The modified seat prevents the "sliding into the tank" and allows for more seating positions on long rides.

Checking the battery

Maintainance to the chain roller

New cam chain tensioner piston

Installing of a grease nipple for the steering and its first use

Lubrication can solve starter switch problems

Unfortunately starting problems and a rattling sound persisted, and units causing these were repaired or replaced. Upon my request a grease nipple for the steerings lubrication was added, and the missing plate at the back of the swing arm replaced.

Unfortunately the shock absorber also had problems, which I had fixed at a local garage together with other faults, and had the last service done to prepare it for sale to a trader, as I did not want to invest any more money into used motorcycles. As repairing and maintaining 3 different used BMW over 18 months cost me a small fortune, I had to accept a bargain offer at my local Yamaha dealer, an brand new XT 660 R for just 3600 pounds.