Looking at a '01 F650GS

[ChrisM47]

Regards from sunny south Florida, where the women are beautiful and the children are inside on the xbox.

My friend is asking my opinion as he looks for a good used dual sport. He's a returning rider, a pro horse trainer with physical skills, wanting a 50/50 road/trail machine. He's found a 2001 F650 GS with 17K mi., asking price is $3850. It looks well cared for, has new chain and sprockets, engine bars, Jesse bags and an aftermarket windshield. I'm a BMW guy, having had a FYK100 and now a '99 RT, but I don't know much about this model. I'm telling him I think he'll be happier with this BMW than a 2010 KLR he was considering. But other than the maintenance history and the current state of the tires, batteries and fluids I don't know what to look for on the 650GS.

Are there any issues in the electrics, FI, motor, trans or clutch on this model year?

He intends to use the machine for transportation to his horse training clinics around the state as his F250 fuel costs are taking too much of his income. If the 650 gets approx. 50mpg vs 16mpg for his truck he'll save approx. $1500 in fuel in 10,000 miles (his expected annual miles). Even with insurance, tires and maintenance costs the fuel savings may offset the cost of the bike in about 3.5 years, not counting other savings on truck tires etc.. Factor in the joys of riding and the bike pays for itself every time he rides..

Thanks for any info or advice.

Chris Muscarella
Palm City, FL
MOA 151543

1985 K100 (gone but not forgotten)
1999 R100RT (current affair)

Ride often, ride safe, be seen.

 

[pglaves]

With 10K in highway miles the F650 is clearly superior to the KLR. $3800 sounds high to me. I'd think $3,000 about tops.

 

[ChrisM47]

With 10K in highway miles the F650 is clearly superior to the KLR. $3800 sounds high to me. I'd think $3,000 about tops.

Thanks for your input Paul. I haven't ridden or owned a thumper since the 70's (Honda XL350) so I wondered about the highway performance. My friend is now leaning toward a 2010 KLR with 2500 mi. for the same price. It was first sold in 2012 and is practically new.

I'm thinking of buying the 650GS for a daily rider and Florida back roads camping, saving the 1100RT for longer trips.
You didn't mention any mechanical/electrical issues to check. I read that the 2001 engines were made in house by BMW. I keep vehicles a long time and the Nikasil cylinders concern me. Mostly my ignorance of how they wear and are serviced. I'm used to old school bore/hone/ring jobs. Can Nikasil be resurfaced or are the cylinders just replaced?

$3000? I'd go for that. The Jesse bags add some value for me.

Chris Muscarella
Palm City, FL
MOA 151543

1985 K100 (gone but not forgotten)
1999 R100RT (current affair)

Ride often, ride safe, be seen.

 

[arbolmano]

Nikisil has proven to be a winner. Many luddite Airheads consider swapping out conventional jugs for them to
be an upgrade. The Rotax motor has a most stellar reputation. I'd agree with Paul on $3000 except..... price those Jesse's......hot item.
And for a commuter or camp mobile right handy. I'd advise to ride both bikes and decide which you like better. KLRs are very popular.

 

[pglaves]

I would not be at all concerned about Nikisil. Out of many thousands of bikes since the '80s there have been a handful of failures but they almost always show up in the very few first miles. On the other hand I have seen cylinders with more than 300,000 miles in which the factory crosshatch was still plainly visible.

 

[pglaves]

I'd agree with Paul on $3000 except..... price those Jesse's......hot item.

That and the low (17,000) miles could easily make me wrong (low).

 

[f650624]

Unless your friend will be riding in the 75+ mph range on the road and flogging the 650 to get there, you should change the estimated mpg to 60+. If he is conservative and is under 60 mph he should get mileage that is near 70 mpg. But riding conservatively isn't much fun.

 

[rdhudson]

I think the price is OK considering the bags and mileage. $3000 would be a steal IMHO. The first year F650GS was prone to surge at low throttle opening but a plug change will help or eliminate it and the computer can be flash updated to help too. Check on the lower left side of the engine where there is a weep hole to let one know if the water or oil seal on the water pump is leaking. If dirty poke a wire up it. Dry is good. Wet is an afternoon repair but small money. I hate to say it since this site is so quiet but come over to F650.com and join a large group of knowledge and help. BTW that engine is an anvil.... it will wear but you won't notice it in your lifetime!

 

[Mossy_Crk]

I ride an '01 Dakar with around 60,000 miles. As long as you keep enough gas and not too much oil the engine is pretty bullet proof. The standard maintenance issues are ever present. Change the oil, coolant, brake fluid, air filter, etc. The thumper is hard on drive chains, but not terribly so. 15k miles is pretty common. Valve checks are important early on but don't seem to change much unless you don't keep the air filter clean and start sucking in a bunch of dirt. I haven't had to adjust the valves on mine since about 12k.

The bike runs hot compared to a lot of other bike. Don't freak out when your right thigh starts warming up as the fan kicks on.

Anytime I start thinking I have problems creeping in with my clutch, I tend to realize it's time for an oil change anyway. I am not gentle with my clutch and it's given me no problems.

There can be some electrical issues. First thing to do is change out the spark plug with an extended tip iridium plug (I like NGK). It's silly what a difference that will make if your specific bike likes to surge/stall. I ride in lots of raid and have finally had some water intrusion into the dash electronics, specifically the odometer display. There's not much to be done about it. There are some other issues reported, but there are fixes for those.

Doing your own maintenance on this bike is annoying, but very doable at home. Oil changes begin with removing the left front turn signal...really. a little Oil in the air box is ok, a lot is bad. There's a drain for this you should dump every now and then.

Replace the battery with an AGM. The drain tube from lead acid batteries tends to dry out and shrink pulling off the battery. When that happens you'll join the rest of us with battery acid tattoos on the right hand side cover.

The headlight is around 1 candlepower. If dark hour riding is in the future, get a better bulb or additional lighting. My stock bulb lasted until this spring.

If he only gets 50mpg he's doing something really wrong. The engine can run all day at freeway speeds, but it's not happy about it. You'll pay for wringing out the engine with serious vibrations and lower miles per gallon.

I have ridden mine hard offroad since I bought it 10 yrs ago. I imagine this one will be in much better shape than mine and mine would easily cross the country right now.

 

[mneblett]

He intends to use the machine for transportation to his horse training clinics around the state as his F250 fuel costs are taking too much of his income.

How much highway riding? My wife had an '01 F650 Dakar that she loved (license plate: "A HOOT"), but ultimately traded up to an '01 R1150GS because she was wringing the 650's neck trying to keep up with my K12LT at 65-70 mph.

If your friend is contemplating a significant amount of highway miles, he likely would be better off with something that is smoother and stronger at speed (e.g., an F700/800 twin or other brand equivalent).

 

[ChrisM47]

Thanks to you all for the advice - I'm going to add an F650 to my garage and keep the R1100RT. At 89K miles the RT couldn't run any better. All it needs is a seat upgrade.

Although my friend is undecided on the model, he is saying it will be a BMW, partly because of the help on this forum and from the MOA community. The ability to keep up with us on the highway is leading him towards a G650 or G800 twin.

BTW, I just guessed at the 50MPG as a conservative figure for an example of how much he would save over the F250 fuel cost. Maybe that would still apply for a G650- G800 twin.

If a 400+lb. F650 hauls 200lb of rider/gear 60 miles on 128 ounces of "gas", that = 2.1333 oz./mile! I'll call mine "Double Shot".

 

[Ibgary6]

My G650Gs, 2014 is giving me about 72 MPG after 10,000 miles. Living in Colorado may help because of the elevation. My best tank got 85 mpg, my worst around 65, that was on the interstate doing about 85.

☝

 

[releek]

Mine just turned 32,000 today and still running good.

 

[johncanty]

My G650Gs, 2014 is giving me about 72 MPG after 10,000 miles. Living in Colorado may help because of the elevation. My best tank got 85 mpg, my worst around 65, that was on the interstate doing about 85.

☝

2014 G650GS with 100 pounds of gear and 250 pounds of lard butt rider. Kansas (west of Salina) typical speed was 75 with slowdowns to 65 due to a strong south wind that nearly killed me. That tank got me 55 Mpg, coming out of the rockies into Utah I got close to 85mpg at near 80 the whole way.

This bike defies the laws of physics, if you don't buy it you will be sorry.