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buying a Dakar advice needed

manybikes

New member
Just sold my 04 1150 GSA...sad...but it was time.

I do mostly highway but want to do more back road type stuff, my wife comes on the occasional day ride.

The 1150 GSA was a wonderful bike but it just started to get bigger and bigger as I got...ahem....older.

I have owned Ninja's and a Ducati Multistrada in the past so I know what some raw performance feels like.

I know the thumper is no power demon (I have ridden them), but then again in the mountain twisties a lot of HP doesn't do you much good.

I will be looking at a 2004 650 Dakar with 3500 miles...that's right...the owner claims it's true...showroom condition.

Has the alu bmw side cases and the bmw tank bag.

asking $6000.00 (cad)

Seems like a good deal to me....need some opinions.
 
I'll chime in and say it sounds like a great deal. I'm not sure how prices translate up there, but sounds close.

My wife has an '05 F650GS (standard frame) and it's a very nice bike. Very rideable and enjoyable. Coming from an '04 RT I found that the engine just needs to be spun up a little more for enjoyable performance.

On hers, I find highway miles very doable and backroads fun.

It's possible to change the drive ratios with different sprockets. I do not know if the Dakar versions were geared differently or not.

The "aluminum" bags that came with her bike are plastic similar to the hex head GS vario bags. The aluminum is just a trim piece glued to the outer surface. They were good bags. A little persnickety with regards to mounting and opening. Felt like something was always getting ready to break inside. But never did.

The BMW tank bag fits perfectly and since the fuel is under the seat, you don't have to remove it every time you fuel up.

I believe the Dakar came with the 21" front wheel and no front fender.

Much more information available on the Chaingangs website. That's why I attempted to respond to your question because there doesn't seem to be much activity on here.
 
I bought an '01 Dakar last year. It was my summer travel bike last year. We rode about 25,000 miles touring all over the US and Canada. I have my choice of either of a couple of K75s, an R1150R, and the Dakar this year and am again touring on the Dakar.

I travel loaded fairly heavy since we are on the road between 4 and 5 months. I get a low of 50 mpg and as much as 65 mpg depending on speeds, winds, etc. Typical is between 55 and 60 mpg. It will run 80 on the Texas Interstate just fine, and is very happy in the Arkansas twisties (today) too.
 
Thanks for the input all.
I blinked on the Dakar I was dealing on and it sold before I could get to it.
This is the problem when dealing at a distance...I won't buy sight unseen so I had my plane ticket ready but someone showed up with cash and I lost it...grrrrr.

Well, back on the hunt, I may be hard pressed to find a similar deal though.
 
I bought an '01 Dakar last year. It was my summer travel bike last year. We rode about 25,000 miles touring all over the US and Canada. I have my choice of either of a couple of K75s, an R1150R, and the Dakar this year and am again touring on the Dakar.

I travel loaded fairly heavy since we are on the road between 4 and 5 months. I get a low of 50 mpg and as much as 65 mpg depending on speeds, winds, etc. Typical is between 55 and 60 mpg. It will run 80 on the Texas Interstate just fine, and is very happy in the Arkansas twisties (today) too.

Paul, I am planning to replace my chain and sprockets on my 18,000 mile service. I am considering dropping teeth from the rear and / or increasing teeth on the front for a better ride on the interstate. I am really happy with the smoothness up to about 60, but get a slight buzz over 70 mph. Do you have any experience or opinion on this? I have talked to more than one F650GS owner who have said they loved higher gearing. When I talked to a BMW dealer about it, he tried to talk me out of it saying I would have to do a lot more shifting.

Since I will be replacing these anyway, this is a no cost mod, so I need to figure out what I want to do within about 3,000 miles.
 
Paul, I am planning to replace my chain and sprockets on my 18,000 mile service. I am considering dropping teeth from the rear and / or increasing teeth on the front for a better ride on the interstate. I am really happy with the smoothness up to about 60, but get a slight buzz over 70 mph. Do you have any experience or opinion on this? I have talked to more than one F650GS owner who have said they loved higher gearing. When I talked to a BMW dealer about it, he tried to talk me out of it saying I would have to do a lot more shifting.

Since I will be replacing these anyway, this is a no cost mod, so I need to figure out what I want to do within about 3,000 miles.

I have the stock gearing and find it OK. I do very little Interstate but lots of 70 and 75 mph stuff. If I did anything I would just drop the rear one or two teeth.
 
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