2 year owner
Written: May 20 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: perfect for freeway commuting
Cons: maintenance costs, clunky gearbox, chain drive
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| lambjams's Full Review: 2000 BMW F 650 |
First let me describe my motorcycle history; I've owned a Honda CB100, Honda XL350, Honda Ascot 500 and now a BMW F650. This is the largest engine I've owned thus far, so I can't compare it to similar motorcycles, but I can tell you what I do and don't like about the bike.
I live in the San Francisco Bay Area where a motorcycle is the ideal mode of commuting and finding parking space. The F650 is excellent in Bay Area freeway traffic, which generally runs 70-85 mph. Even with a passenger and going up hills, there is plenty of torque to quickly zip around cars which are going 70 mph. Though the styling is enduro the bike is really too heavy for serious offroad. It is great for fire roads and other less-maintained thoroughfares. The upright sitting position and wide handlebars are comfortable and allow for easy maneuvering. (note: the ST version is too low for me at 5'10", making my foot at an awkward angle for shifting) The longest trip I've taken was from SF to Santa Barbara (about 6-7 hours). I got a bit tired of sitting on the bike and my hands were a little numb. The vibration isn't bad, but since it's a single cylinder, it's not as smooth as multi-cylinder bikes (you get torque instead!).
The plastic City Bags (storage) are o.k. sized for a notebook computer and a few essentials, but too small for a weekend trip. The standard rack sucks for attaching bungees. Optional Jessie Bags would be better for trips, but they're too damned expensive (and the attachment brackets can only be used for those bags, which are a bit large to carry around daily.
Now for nuts & bolts... I didn't think the price of the bike was bad, but the routine maintenance was more than I expected. After the first few check-ups, it's only every 6000 miles, but it seems every time I go in, it's $300-$400. Lets see... in two years (29,000 miles) I've spent $4106 on maintenance (this includes a coupla hundred for a city bag which was stolen and replacing locks when I whacked one on a post). I've gone through a couple sets of tires.
The chain requires frequent lubing, and my second chain is due for replacement; shaft drive would be much better. I'm not thrilled with the helmet lock--just a thin cable which slips over a peg under the seat. The two major problems were fixed while under warranty. One was an oil leak which took several trips to the shop to fix; they finally ended up replacing my drive shaft. The second issue is a clunky gearbox. I've heard clunky gearboxes are common on beemers, but there was much difficulty getting from neutral into first, and occasional slipping out of first into neutral. Oddly enough, when they replaced my driveshaft (and they had to reinstall the gears), this made my shifting much crisper. ...but just the other day it popped out of first again--this has been uncommon, but I hope it's not starting up again!
All in all, I've really enjoyed this bike. I love the fact that the BMW dealer gives me a loaner when they're working on my bike, but for the cost of maintenance, they should! This convenience factor makes up for the few maintenance woes I've had, but I'm not sure if it completely covers the shop fees.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
lambjams
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Member: James Lamb
Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 0 members
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