BMW G650 X series input (vs. DR650)

[Junkie]

2.5 is pretty normal on a real dirtbike

 

[Tri750]

Thx, kind of my point . i don’t think anyone wanting a real dirt bike would put the X series or the F650 in that group .

 

[Junkie]

the G650Xchallenge is much closer to a dirtbike than the F650GS (single) though, right?

on the G the seat is narrow and goes way up over the tank, on the F the seat looks like a typical streetbike/standard seat.

the G appears to have 10.6/10.6 travel, vs 8.3/8.3 for the F650GS

is it a real dirtbike? no, but it's a lot closer to one than anything else BMW makes (other than the G450X)

 

[Tri750]

It is, yes.
But as already suggested, you may look for an early F650GS Dakar and remove all the excess weight.
The only issues they or any of that gen bike had was the reg/rectifier and Ricks Electric makes an aftermarket one .
The rear master is so tiny and plastic bodied, they sell a kit for it, and it needs an AGM battery like a MotoBatt. Oh. Uni makes a foam air filter for it too.

 

[kuksul08]

is that good ?
the early F650GS had a 4.6 gallon tank and got 55-62+, the X series was hardly a bike you would “load up” and take for a day of trail riding or to the desert .
At least in Fresno anyway , the ones we sold were for commuting with the hopes of a bit of trails or fire roads but like many “Adventure Tour” bikes, most never got their tires dirty .

Compared to most other street bikes, I'd say it's comparable. Heck a Tuono can only go 100 miles on a tank.

For a long distance trip out in the desert... probably not. I would want 200+ plus some extra storage. The benefit of the good mileage though is that any extra fuel you take (or if you get the Touratech larger fuel tank) it greatly expands your mileage.

 

[Tri750]

well, they only make the big tank kit for the X Challenge and it’s 800+
so , i think i would go Japanese , but i’m not a dirt guy by any means so i’ll back out of this discussion ,

 

[Rumbo Sur]

Thanks for letting us know where you're coming from. But please accept the possibility that there are a few of us that like the way the XR650L handles both on the street and in the dirt. I'm one of those.

Sure, if you get it set up right, the XR650L can handle OK. But based on the MANY expert dirt riders I know ... and who I've ridden with ... their comments (and things I witnessed) on their former XR650L's, it is not a pretty picture overall.

The XR650L is a pretty good Desert bike in a straight line (but not even close to the Husaberg 550 I tested for City Bike years ago). IMO, it's not as good on tight, technical trails (tall, top heavy)

But biggest downsides I saw were engine failures from over heating. Oil cooler a must. Back then (early 90's) none of the guys I knew riding XR650L's ran oil coolers. Most ended up with broken or bent sub frames and as mentioned, a few failed top ends due to low oil. (Bikes still ran, but noisy and smoky, hard starting) I ran low on oil on my bike. Put in Mexican oil, had to rebuild top end once home from Baja. Under heavy load/high RPM's the Honda's drink oil.

The DR's strengths over the XRL is its motor and for some, its lower seat height. Its engine is smoother, more capable on the highway, runs cooler, and doesnt seem to burn much if any oil. Seat height is an advantage for those with short inseams or who feel more confident being able to put a foot down easier (newer offroad riders). The XRL is not as smooth, and you need to keep on top of its oil. An oil cooler is a must if used an adventure bike with thousands of miles pavement. Its also significantly taller which may put off newer riders offroad in very slow technical terrain.

Agreed, but I would add that the DR650 (which burns NO oil in most cases) is a far more reliable bike over long term.

XRL's strength over its DR is its suspension and handling. Its a real dirt bike and miles ahead the DR offroad, especially the desert. They are completely different categories, arent comparable. In the desert I wouldnt even be in the same gear on the DR over the same terrain as I would be on the XRL. The DR simple couldnt handle rough terrain at speed.

It's true, in stock form the XR650L is the better Desert bike. Stock, the DR650 is mushy, no damping and too low. But it's not that hard or expensive to upgrade the DR650 to make it as good or better than XR650L in the Desert. A better shock, DDC fork valves transform it's handling off road.

At race pace the XR650L will be better in the Desert due mostly to in extra 2 inches of ground clearance. In the woods or a fire road, IMHO, a well set up DR650 turns better, slides better and won't high side you like the XR650L can do.

Granted, there is LOTS you can do on the Honda to make it better ... doing this right brings it into a whole 'nother class. So yes, at race pace it's better in FAST Desert terrain, Baja, Mojave, Nevada. (I've ridden my DR there numerous times)

The DR didnt stay in my garage after that particular Baja trip. The XRL did. For me I would have to spend so much money with forks and a shock swap to start to even get the DR's suspension on par for my needs offroad that the bike makes no sense for me. XRL handles and performs in another league offroad in comparison.

I don't know what sort of set up you did your DR ... but a properly modded DR is quite good off road ... won't match XR-L at race pace in Desert setting, but 100% better over stock DR650.

For the OP and others who more want to expand the distance on the pavement they can travel in comfort with the ability to explore forest roads... the DR makes sense. It sounds like its the perfect bike for the OP. Want to build dirt skills, keep the DRZ or even better buy a proper dirt only bike.

Spot on. After 5 trips into Baja on my DR650, I came to really trust the bike.
After my dark history with the Honda, I could not get there with XR-L, as good as it could be going straight through rocky Desert.

As a long range travel bike, IMO, a well set up DR650 wins on ALL fronts. Runs cool no matter what, uses NO oil up to at least 60K miles, super strong sub frame and chassis for luggage, just keeps running.

Fitting an oil cooler to the XR650L would really help (I guess?). DR650 comes stock with one.

 

[Rumbo Sur]

The bmw X series had a small fuel tank too and the fork was non-anything.
They gave a small almost cult following due to the low seat height and reliability. Prices should be low. X Challenge with that silly air bladder in the rear, what a mistake.

Sadly, NO X series bikes sold well;not here in N. America nor in EU.
The only reason the X Challenge (and X Country) have a sort of "Icon" status is due to World Class Russian Adventure Hero, Walter Colebatch. He made this bike notable ... but essentially rebuilt and redesigned the bike from top to bottom. (see his ride reports on ADV Rider)

X Challenge never caught on the way something like the DR650 has. The DR went from a Zero bike in the 90's to early 2000's ... to a HERO bike by mid 2000's to now.

Sounds like OP has moved on, won't be entertaining any of the BMW X bikes. I hope he doesn't get stupid and buy a Funduro, F650 Dakar or G650. All those bikes weigh about 60 lbs. MORE than the DR650 and Honda XR650L.

 

[Tri750]

Ok, one more general comment .
I worked at the BMW dealer in Fresno for 13 yr.
The Fresno PD rode the R1100RT-P, the R1150RT-P and rides BMW today.
Back in ‘’04 or so the PD got a big grant from the Fed’s to hire 30 more Motors and equip them .
They transferred some guys to Motors, hired some etc, when they went to order the bikes, the City Council had voted to “borrow” some of the grant money !
They only had money for 15, 1150’s.
BUT they could buy 35 F650GS-PD’s The police version of the injected F650GS.
Well, they did .
Was only supposed to be for 3 yr but stretched to 5.
We had Corbin make 5/6 tall seats for the big guys, bought Works springs for the rear shocks and forks of about half of them, bigger screens from Cee Bailey, and away they went !
Some of those bikes racked up 45-60k miles in the 5 years with no engine failures, we never pulled a head, we did replace 1 engine that got punctured by a railroad track i think .
These guys road the graveyard shift.
When the money was paid back and the bikes were retired, the city sold the 650’s at auction and as late as 2014, there were still 2 running around town.
Who knows, they may still be out there .
Ok, end of folk lore.

 

[Z3n]

If you legit want to learn to be a better dirt rider, buy a cheap actual dirtbike. You can find plated 250s floating around in the 2-3.5k range, find one that looks reasonably well maintained. Any new dirt rider is gonna struggle learning the proper techniques on a bike over 270 pounds or so, learning curve will go massively up and you'll take a lot more time to get comfortable. Plated bikes retain value quite well, so you can eventually flog it for something else, based on the amount of off roading you wanna do.

If you're just "casually offroading", ie, riding double track around to remote campsites, just buy a V-Strom and be done with it. People claim they're doing "90/10" dirt street or whatever, but are you really going to be doing 1000 dirt miles for every week of commuting you do?

 

[SFMCjohn]

People claim they're doing "90/10" dirt street or whatever, but are you really going to be doing 1000 dirt miles for every week of commuting you do?

... matty and I were being honest with ourselves
and claiming 90% street/10% dirt ( ... well, graded dirt roads, anyway ...)

... he's up in the Sierras and we don't
think the DL650 would work where he
wants to explore ... arty

... the real trick for me to improve my dirt skills
would be to buy a dirt bike and
do family enduros for a couple seasons and then get a finisher's
pin in my first enduro ...

(more honesty = dirtbike/family enduros is never gonna happen for me ... )

 

[matty]

I was out of cell and Internet range there for a couple of days but I'm still here, just quietly taking notes.
John, that map you posted earlier is exactly where I've been taking my inappropriate motorcycle. I've discovered some great swim holes to wash off the dust.
Guosph, I'll gladly take you up on your offer to practice as soon as I'm ready.
And I do get the virtue of starting and practicing on a smaller dirt bike, when I did Mystery School some years back, it was great fun and practice slipping and sliding and crashing a small bike. Doing things that I might be a little more scared to try on a bigger bike.
And again, a big thanks for everything that has been shared thus far.

 

[FreeRyde]

Rambo Sur: " I know you want a 650X BMW, but... DR 650 THE BEST! (Once you throw 2,000 dollars in parts at it) WOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!"

Do you and HadesOmega ever get together and stare at eachothers DR's while slowly pelvic thrusting?

 

[Surj]

blah blah blah...I tested for City Bike years ago...blah blah blah.

I wish you'd stop name dropping CityBike, or at least spell it right.

You have zero association with the mag. I generally don't bother to read your posts because they're so face-palmy. We don't need some know-it-all has-been trying to bolster his street cred and nonsensical POVs with the CityBike (no space, see?) name.

Thanks.

 

[Gary856]

8 years ago I narrowly missed out on a great DR650 deal and I’ve had a smoldering obsession with the DR ever since. Rumbo is one of those guys who keeps fanning my DR flame. If I ever get one and not like it it'll be his fault.

 

[Jalopyshoppe]

8 years ago I narrowly missed out on a great DR650 deal and I’ve had a smoldering obsession with the DR ever since. Rumbo is one of those guys who keeps fanning my DR flame. If I ever get one and not like it it'll be his fault.

Funny, I liked DR's a lot until he wouldn't shut up with the anecdotes and biased opinions. At this point I'd ride a bicycle before I bought a DR, just to distance myself from people like him.

 

[Gary856]

Funny, I liked DR's a lot until he wouldn't shut up with the anecdotes and biased opinions. At this point I'd ride a bicycle before I bought a DR, just to distance myself from people like him.

less competition for those who want it. In theory, a DR650 could replace my WR250F, 690SM and R1200GS all at once.

 

[Eric B]

DR 650 is the best - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VJMYMC4jxKM

 

[SFMCjohn]

DR 650 is the best - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VJMYMC4jxKM

[YOUTUBE]VJMYMC4jxKM[/YOUTUBE]

DR 650 is the best! arty

... you DR-fan-bashers better watch out,
or I'm going to start posting pics
of KLRs and my black leather club vest ...
that'll put a fork in this thread, for sure ... laughing

(I'd love to see Surj's CityBike disavowal wish-list ... )

 

[Surj]

(I'd love to see Surj's CityBike disavowal wish-list ... )

It may surprise you to hear it's not that long.

And also, I think the DR is an ok bike, for the record.