• Welcome Guest! If you are already a member of the BMW MOA, please log in to the forum in the upper right hand corner of this page. Check "Remember Me?" if you wish to stay logged in.

    We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMWMOA forum provides. Why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the club magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMWMOA offers?

    Want to read the MOA monthly magazine for free? Take a 3-month test ride of the magazine; check here for details.

  • NOTE. Some content will be hidden from you. If you want to view all content, you must register for the forum if you are not a member, or if a member, you must be logged in.

Bad Advice - 1997 F650

ewebbinaro

Adirondack Adventurer
Brother is looking at 1997 F650, first BMW and (first ride as adult)

They want $1,900, which I said seems high, but they have new tires, trunk and saddle bags.

Then he said it has 19k and I said "keep looking!"

Did I give my brother bad advice? Would you buy, haggle, or pass?
 
I got mine for $2k last year. Similar set up with 2x miles. It needed a little bit of work and I was riding it right away. It’s hard to find a road-capable adventure bike that’s simple to maintain and with a proven engine platform.

Value is in the eye of the beholder.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I would have said that was a decent buy with low miles. My buddy bought one new and he's still flogging it around with minimal issues. Not a bad machine with a terrible name. Who thought "Funduro" was catchy?
 
I would have said that was a decent buy with low miles. My buddy bought one new and he's still flogging it around with minimal issues. Not a bad machine with a terrible name. Who thought "Funduro" was catchy?

I agree. We had two of them. I bought one new and put 66,600 miles on it. We bought a red one for Voni later. It had 27,000 miles on it when she bought it and 55,500 when we sold it. The only maintenance on either bike was all routine maintenance, chains and sprockets, tires, and steering head bearings once on mine at about 60,000 miles. We used them for our second trip to and from Alaska. We sold them both as a pair to the same buyer.

The mileage at 19,000 miles is low mileage. Assuming decent maintenance I think the asking price is not out of line at all. The only downside is the carburetors (yes - 2 of them for one cylinder) rather than fuel injection.
 
Thanks All!

Thanks all for setting me straight! We're off to NH this weekend to look at the bike.
 
Alternate Winner

Just before the weekend the seller let my brother know he got a better offer and bike was gone :(

But nearby we found a 2001 F650GS with OEM panniers and 17k miles. Was able to get price down to $2,300 based on some leaking fluids and soft brakes.
IMG_20210601_094806542.jpg

Brakes were easy fix, the fluid was shot and a full changeover brought them back to life.(See brown pasty fluid that came out. Yes lots of bubble too!)
IMG_20210525_191126481_HDR.jpg

But the leaking fluid has me slightly more concerned. The old oil was black, but the new oil is creaming a bit. Not a full on cappuccino, but suspiciously close.
IMG_20210528_151451190_HDR.jpeg

Might just be agitated air from the change over, might it be some leaking coolant and shot gaskets? Trouble for another thread I suppose!
 
The old oil was black, but the new oil is creaming a bit. Not a full on cappuccino, but suspiciously close.
Might just be agitated air from the change over, might it be some leaking coolant and shot gaskets?

When you took this picture was it right after startup? Take the bike for a ride to get the motor fully warmed up and then look at the oil window when you stop. I suspect it'll be fine.
 
When you took this picture was it right after startup? Take the bike for a ride to get the motor fully warmed up and then look at the oil window when you stop. I suspect it'll be fine.

Thanks @bcs1100s!

Yes indeed. Weather here has been quite crap as of late. Cold and wet, so the bike's been in my garage. TOday's drying out, so I'll give it a good spin and see how it looks.
 
There is moisture in the oil. It might be from some other source but is probably coolant. So the question becomes which seals or gaskets can allow coolant to contaminate the oil. The head gasket is an obvious possibility. I am not sure of the design of the water pump and whether a seal or gasket could be the source. Those are however the two most obvious possibilities to me.
 
There is moisture in the oil. It might be from some other source but is probably coolant. So the question becomes which seals or gaskets can allow coolant to contaminate the oil. The head gasket is an obvious possibility. I am not sure of the design of the water pump and whether a seal or gasket could be the source. Those are however the two most obvious possibilities to me.

It is most likely the water pump seal, they are known to go bad at under 30K miles.
 
Thanks Community!

pglaves said:
There is moisture in the oil. It might be from some other source but is probably coolant. So the question becomes which seals or gaskets can allow coolant to contaminate the oil. The head gasket is an obvious possibility. I am not sure of the design of the water pump and whether a seal or gasket could be the source. Those are however the two most obvious possibilities to me.

Alas, I feared this..

everything you need to know about these bikes can be found at F650.com (originally the Chain Gang site started by MOA Ambassador Steve Johnson, may he RIP)

Thanks for the pointer. I was reading the content over there lightly (skimmed) before, but dug in again. I'm not sure my water pump seals are bad, but it seems I have a few signs, and maybe just a good idea anyway.
 
I would just go for a nice long ride before worrying about anything. The old oil didn't show signs of water contamination, right? And it was clearly old?
 
I have a 2002 650GS that is factory lowered and fuel injected.
It was bought for my wife who no longer rides.
I have put on Happy Trail pannier rack, soft Ortlieb bags and a custom trunk.
My main ride is an 1150RT so this one doesn't get out much.
My daughter probably has ridden it more than my wife.
It has been up Mt. Washington twice.
If you are interested let me know and I will send pictures or answers.
I don't know mileage off hand, as I am at work.
 

Went for a nice long ride on Friday. after about ~3 hours the oil was not frothy, but did have teeny tiny bubbles you could just barely see. I am not sure if the oil itself is also brown, or just appears because of said tiny bubbles.

I read up on changing out the seals on the water pump and honestly doesn't seem like a bad project (outside of the first 73 steps to drain oil on an old GS, lol).

But my brother is also threatening to buy it off me (one test ride was all it took!) so I'm going to hold off until he decides.


Really appreciate all the experience and perspective shared here!
 
Back
Top