A different sort of beemer

[shad_68]

Nope, not the usual 3- or 5-series etc., this is a real beemer*.





What you have here is a '97 F650 with 650cc of thumping single-cylinder goodness chucking out 48hp.
Me and my dad bought it from a friend, first owner who took it to every inspection, good condition, only ~24.000km on the clock, and topcase as well as the original BMW cases for the sides. All for a price a good couple of hundred €s below usual offers on the market.
It wasn't ridden for about a year, but it just passed the MOT without any problems. The tires need replacing though, still the first set and they're right on the edge of what's acceptable.

It has to be restricted to 34hp too (which is bloody expensive at the BMW dealer) before I am allowed to ride it with my fresh licence, so for now it's exclusively for my dad.

Oh, and before anyone else mentions it: German/Italian cooperation with an austrian heart? This can only go well...

*Even though it's driven by a chain and doesn't have a flat engine.

[Buba]

Not a huge fan of the thing, but enjoy it anyway! To be fair to it: It was by far the slowest bike I have ever ridden except the thing from driving school... The first thing I did when I got my license was trash my Dads 1100 BMW round, illegally of course...

[Redliner]

Not my kind of bike, but a nice one nonetheless.
Congrats!

[shad_68]

It actually isn't really what I wanted originally either, I was looking for more of a 'true' enduro machine (the dream was/is a Yamaha XT600). But the offer was just too good to pass on

[edkwon]

I thought beemers = bikes and bimmers = cars

[Lupin_IV]

Originally Posted by edkwon

I thought beemers = bikes and bimmers = cars

Only to people who have already burned out most of the logic center of their brains (particularly anyone who feels an owners' group for a popular brand of vehicles is a necessary thing*). Otherwise, Beemer may be applied to any BMW product, and bimmer is just nonsense - the name of the letter B is not pronounced bih in English or German.

*Seriously, leave the owners' groups for unusual cars.

[NecroJoe]

Originally Posted by Lupin_IV

Only to people who have already burned out most of the logic center of their brains (particularly anyone who feels an owners' group for a popular brand of vehicles is a necessary thing*). Otherwise, Beemer may be applied to any BMW product, and bimmer is just nonsense - the name of the letter B is not pronounced bih in English or German.

*Seriously, leave the owners' groups for unusual cars.

Isn't the magazine called "Bimmer"?

[Lupin_IV]

Originally Posted by NecroJoe

Isn't the magazine called "Bimmer"?

*Double-checks*
Yep, assertion being backed up.

[freeferrarisdonotexist]

Nice choice. Looks like a good all-rounder.

Out of curiosity... The YBR is easy to get attached to and I could see a reason for brand loyalty. So why the BMW instead of another Yami?

[shad_68]

Originally Posted by freeferrarisdonotexist

Out of curiosity... The YBR is easy to get attached to and I could see a reason for brand loyalty. So why the BMW instead of another Yami?

The Ybbie is indeed a very likeable little runaround, it's got everything needed to put a smile on your face - two wheels, an engine, and a nice bit of agility.
My dad and I definately plan to keep it, it's just perfect for doodling through town.
The second bike is because a) it means we won't have to argue who gets to ride all the time, and b) it picks up where the Ybbie eventually does fall a bit short, i.e. doing trips.

You're right about the brand loyality too, I was looking at other Yamaha's first - originally the XT660, but those are still too new, no decently priced used ones around. So I set my eyes on the XT600 (which I came to desire even more than a 660), but there aren't that many offers and a lot of them are rubbish. I found a very nice, but still not perfect, XT600 for 2400€ - actually a quite decent price.
But our friend wanted even less than that for the BMW - he basically went to the BMW dealer, asked how much he'd give him for it, and told us the same price - and it's got more power, more equipment and a 100% trustworthy history. It was just one of those offers you can't refuse.
Plus - but this is just speculation - due to the below-market price we paid, I guess we'd be able to sell it off again with only a very small loss... i.e. when something really nice pops up.

[tigger]

Originally Posted by shad_68

It actually isn't really what I wanted originally either, I was looking for more of a 'true' enduro machine (the dream was/is a Yamaha XT600). But the offer was just too good to pass on

I've heard that those bimmer enduros are pretty tough. There's a guy around the corner from me who has one just like yours, with aluminum hard bags on it and a different windshield. He rides it weekly, it's pretty beat up and always covered in dirt, but I never see him working on it. Unlike his old Triumph and his friends Harleys. I bet that 650 thumper pulls like hell too.

Anyway, it looks like a fun bike.

[Der Stig]

Awesome! My friend's Dad has a BMW bike too; they're cool machines. I thought that they all had shaft drives, not chain though.

[shad_68]

Yeah, the F650 is a bit like the bastard child in the family of BMW bikes.
It's basically the first thumper since the war, and the first chain driven BMW ever, so apparently it caused quite an uproar from 'real BMW enthusiasts' (think Morris Marina Owner's club ).
That unusual layout, from what I read, basically came about because some BMW excecs popped down to the Aprilia plant, saw the Pegaso and liked it, combined it with the idea to make a cheap entry model - and whoop, the F650 was born!
So in large part, the F650 was actually built by Aprilia to BMW's spec, and the engine is a unit bought from Rotax (like in the Pegaso).

I've heard that those bimmer enduros are pretty tough.

The probably are, but I was more talking about the looks. Yeah I'm shallow.
Also, the windshield is one of the thing I dislike most about the looks, already thought about looking around for smaller screens.

[tigger]

Originally Posted by shad_68

It's basically the first thumper since the war, and the first chain driven BMW ever, so apparently it caused quite an uproar from 'real BMW enthusiasts' (think Morris Marina Owner's club ).

I can see that.

Originally Posted by shad_68

probably are, but I was more talking about the looks. Yeah I'm shallow.
Also, the windshield is one of the thing I dislike most about the looks, already thought about looking around for smaller screens.

I was going to go talk to my old neighbor about his BMW, but he was at work. His wife told me that he actually sold it a couple weeks ago and bought a brand new "supermotard" Husqvarna SM 610. I know even less about those than I do about BMWs, but it certainly looks fun.

[shad_68]

Originally Posted by tigger

His wife told me that he actually sold it a couple weeks ago and bought a brand new "supermotard" Husqvarna SM 610. I know even less about those than I do about BMWs, but it certainly looks fun.

Well, that's quite a change from the BMW I guess.
Even if Husqvarna is owned BMW, from what I heard they're much further up on the 'extreme scale' - light, powerful, spartanic - quite the hooligan bikes.

Phoned two garages I've been recommended about the restriction today. The first is actually a BMW specialist, just without an official dealer contract. Still, the price he told me was much better than the BMW dealer's - about 50€ cheaper. But they're so busy I'd have to wait at least 3 weeks...
Luckily, the second garage told me the same price, and said I could just pop by, leave the bike there, and take it back the next day.
I'll still have to wait till next week though, since my dad is very busy this week and he'll have to take it there.

[edkwon]

Originally Posted by Lupin_IV

Only to people who have already burned out most of the logic center of their brains (particularly anyone who feels an owners' group for a popular brand of vehicles is a necessary thing*). Otherwise, Beemer may be applied to any BMW product, and bimmer is just nonsense - the name of the letter B is not pronounced bih in English or German.

*Seriously, leave the owners' groups for unusual cars.

Don't look at me, this is what BMW owners say. I think its ridiculous too.

[Dsemaj]

Beemer = Any BMW

No need to be jealous of our proper BMWs, just because you can't afford a car!

[shad_68]

Originally Posted by Dsemaj

No need to be jealous of our proper BMWs, just because you can't afford a car!

Ohhh the badge drama, this is like a Beemer civil war.

[shad_68]

Originally Posted by shad_68

I'll still have to wait till next week though, since my dad is very busy this week and he'll have to take it there.

Sooo, finally we got around to dropping the bike off at the garage on friday, picked it up this morning and got the restriction signed off at the DMV. So now I can actually even ride it!
And so I did! Not that much, and I took it very gently, firstly because it is obviously a great unknown to me, and secondly it's on absolutely fresh tires too.
But still, first impression?
Compared to the littletiny Yammie it feels HUGE.. as in, just physically, the way you sit on it, the height, somehow it just feels very big, and nicely planted on the road.
In the corners it suddenly didn't feel like its size and nearly 200kg weight any more imo (although, as I said, I took it very gentle), but actually rather light on its feet.
And the engine... for me the power is just immense. And since it's a big ol' single, the torque seems to be avaible pretty much everywhere in the rev range. Very different to the Ybbie, where you can easily feel it has it's sweet spot in the upper middle of the range... but with the Beemer, I twist the throttle, and it just goes.
Also, it's actually quite civilised in the 'sound' department - it has a catalytic converter, no hooligan exhaust and is actually relatively quiet when it goes past you. But when you sit on it, it seems to hammer and thud away down there, growling and thundering - when I got home and off it, I felt like Thor.

[shad_68]

Bumpity-bump!

Took a more fancy shot than the ones in the OP of the Beemer all dressed up the other day, so I thought I'd post it here.