Am I a Kool-Aid Drinker?

I picked her up Labor Day weekend from a fella in Mission Viejo, Kalifornia.

A new (to me) with lots of farkles, 1997 BMW F650.

Russell seat, weird azz tank bag, R1150GS hand guards, ThrottleMeister...

Buell Ulysses rear turn signals, Jesse luggage, Ohlins rear suspension...



Flush mount turn signals, goofy stickers of places I haven't been to (yet)...



The test ride (can you see the grin?)


She needs a little work on the carbs (never been rebuilt in 11 years) but I got her for a song. Previous owner kept immaculate maintenance records. Complete OEM tool kit. Service manual. Binder of notes and web pages pertaining to the model. The guy gave me more spare parts than I could carry. The wife was thrilled about having greasy parts tossed into the back of our CRV.

Now I can finally find out what's "over that yonder hill..."

Looks like a neat toy. Time to explore the desert SW in ways you never imagined. Have fun!

Dude! You got rid of your FJR for that!?!?

Dude! You got rid of your FJR for that!?!?

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Well, the guy did throw in a magic bean stalk too. How could I say no?

Actually, I picked up the Feej today. The Beemer is my "backup" bike so I won't be without bike for the next rally/gathering/perfect-bike-riding-day when the Feej is sick. At least, that's the argument I used with the wife (yes, it worked).

Besides, like worldbound4now said... There's lot's of desert out here that I want to explore. I've tried the Feej on some pretty nasty dirt roads and I gotta say, a dirt bike she ain't.

Dems is knobby tires !!!!

and dat be a chain drive - no whip?

Nice!!

congrats on the new toy.

We hope to be doing some adventure riding soon as well but with the shaft!

To answer your question, YES, you are..

Jawohl eeksnake, es ein Beemer und you have drank the Kool-Aid. Very nice first year F650, I love that stout Rotax engine!

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=107221 Ride dirt in Mexico with Zonies, you've the perfect moto for it.

Ah, memories. I sold my '99 F650 back in July to buy my FJR - it was a good bike and probably one of the best ones you can own for an "all-rounder", but the FJR trumps it on highway behavior. That '97 looks like it's in pristine shape.

You're going to have a ball - hook up with the Chain Gang over at F650.com and introduce yourself and that'll pretty much take care of supplying all the maintenance knowledge you're ever going to need for that bike (though I will admit to taking it in to an indie shop to have my carbs re-worked once).

Based on your last photo, save up your pennies for a new rear shock - you're going to want a lot more clearance on that back tire and the OEM shock is pretty soft and probably about toast after 11 years. I put a Wilbers on mine and loved it.

eeksnake said:

The Beemer is my "backup" bike so I won't be without bike for the next rally/gathering/perfect-bike-riding-day when the Feej is sick. At least, that's the argument I used with the wife (yes, it worked).

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Sssschewww! Ok. As a 2nd bike, very cool.

I just hope your 650GS doesn't have the same problem as THIS ONE DID.

SkooterG said:

I just hope your 650GS doesn't have the same problem as THIS ONE DID.

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Which is why it's good he doesn't have a GS, just a regular old F650. The "Classic" F650s are /way/ more reliable than the newer F650GS models once you've got the plug caps and voltage rectifier replaced.

You're going to have a ball - hook up with the Chain Gang over at F650.com <snip>

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Actually, that's where I found this bike. Bought it from "beemergary". Fantastic site. I've already been studying the maintenance DVDs.

Based on your last photo, save up your pennies for a new rear shock - you're going to want a lot more clearance on that back tire and the OEM shock is pretty soft and probably about toast after 11 years. I put a Wilbers on mine and loved it.

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Guess I need to make some adjustments. It has an Ohlins on it now. He gave me the OEM shock along with a butt-load of spare parts.

I just hope your 650GS doesn't have the same problem as THIS ONE DID.

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(Edit - PhilMills beat me to it.)

Yikes! I hope not too. What a way to end a great trip.

From what I gathered, this has happened to a couple of early model F650GS. Mine's not a GS, but a "Classic" or "Funduro." It has a completely different fork design. Still... I'm heading to the parking lot to practice riding a wheelie... Just in case.

Looks like a great adventure beemerdons. I've already got a few plans in the works for next year. I need to sit down and do some "figuring".

Dang it dcarver... I knew it! Someone must have slipped it into my camelbak when I wasn't looking.

That's a lot like the Pegaso I just sold off. Fun little bikes, and that one is fitted out nicely.

You will want to play with the carbs. Probably a lot if the PO(s) never got them straightened out. The main problem I found was the CV carbs were set up way too lean on the bottom end. You can safely go up two jet sizes on the pilots. It will start, idle and cruise a lot better after you get those set right.

Here's a question for the Kool-aide drinking crowd:

Why is it that beemer guys all seem to like sticking butt-ugly stickers all over their bikes?

Sheesh...

I have worked on a few of those and you really need to keep an eye on the air filter. It is just a flat piece of foam and is easy to get a hole in it. I can tell you that is about the most expensive single to rebuild you have seen. The last one I did was over 1100.00 in parts just for the top end all caused buy a hole in the air filter.It ran on dust and dirt in Alaska until it ran out of compression. Other than that they are a great bike.

FJRay said:

I have worked on a few of those and you really need to keep an eye on the air filter. It is just a flat piece of foam and is easy to get a hole in it. I can tell you that is about the most expensive single to rebuild you have seen. The last one I did was over 1100.00 in parts just for the top end all caused buy a hole in the air filter.It ran on dust and dirt in Alaska until it ran out of compression. Other than that they are a great bike.

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Ray, was that a mouse hole?

Fred W said:

FJRay said:

I have worked on a few of those and you really need to keep an eye on the air filter. It is just a flat piece of foam and is easy to get a hole in it. I can tell you that is about the most expensive single to rebuild you have seen. The last one I did was over 1100.00 in parts just for the top end all caused buy a hole in the air filter.It ran on dust and dirt in Alaska until it ran out of compression. Other than that they are a great bike.

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Ray, was that a mouse hole?

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Could have been. I did not see it until I picked up the bike up in the Ukon and trailered it back to my shop. Buy that time every thing was full of dirt so I didn't thikl to look for evidence of rodents. I checked into aftermarket filters but that one was only used for one or two years so there wasn't one around. I would just keep a spare in a zip lock bag and change it if needed. It is really just a flat piece of foam maybe 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick and is sandwiched into a plastic frame.