Looking for motorcycle advice - UPDATE pg3 bought one!

June 04, 2026, 04:55 PM

92fstech

quote:
Heated grips will extend your riding into the late fall or early spring and come in handy...

Yeah, I can imagine they'll be nice then. Not so nice now when it's 85 degrees out, though! I got all my BMV paperwork done this morning and of course immediately took the bike out, but couldn't figure out why my hands were getting so warm...then I realized that those weird BMW buttons work the opposite direction from what I thought, lol.

I put about 100 miles on the bike today. I'm really loving it. It's light and easy to lean through the curves, and has plenty of get up and go when you want it, but it's also happy to cruise along at 45-50mph. I'm definitely not regretting the decision to go this route over the KLR.

June 04, 2026, 06:17 PM

nhracecraft

VERY Nice...Congrats on the acquisition, Sir!

June 04, 2026, 08:07 PM

SigSAC

I'm not sure of that model, but the R1200GS series remembers the handlebar heat settings between rides. I usually turn it off as I'm getting near my destination.

June 04, 2026, 08:42 PM

P250UA5

Congrats, good looking bike. Which model is it?
I always liked the cyborg looking front end on those F bikes.

June 04, 2026, 08:47 PM

92fstech

I just found a little gem in the back of the owner's manual.

The person I bought it from was the second owner. It had 39300 miles on it when I picked it up. In the back of the owner's manual is a service records section, and it's full. There are stamped entries from the dealer all the way up through 36,734 miles. So the most recent owner put less than 3k miles on it, and the first guy did all the recommended factory service intervals at the dealer. This was a well cared-for bike.

June 04, 2026, 08:48 PM

92fstech

quote:
Originally posted by P250UA5:
Congrats, good looking bike. Which model is it?
I always liked the cyborg looking front end on those F bikes.

2009 F650GS twin...which is not a 650, it's an 800. Which only makes sense to Germans, lol.

June 05, 2026, 06:42 AM

Browndrake

Nice! I think you made a great choice.

On another note.....I'm assuming you saw that bear cross US 131? I have travelled that route more times than I can count and have never seen a bear. In all my time in northern MI I have only seen one bear and that was in Grayling on the side of a dirt road. You were lucky indeed to have seen that!

June 05, 2026, 06:50 AM

Powers77

quote:
Originally posted by Ronin101:
Nice bike.. I think you made the right choice. Much better then the KLR. Im jealous..

I'd second this opinion. I owned a KLR as one of the dozen or so bikes I've owned. It just did not resonate with me. Probably put less than 1000 miles on it as a result.
I really wanted to like it but found it just Meh on about everything.

June 05, 2026, 01:52 PM

92fstech

quote:
Originally posted by Browndrake:
Nice! I think you made a great choice.

On another note.....I'm assuming you saw that bear cross US 131? I have travelled that route more times than I can count and have never seen a bear. In all my time in northern MI I have only seen one bear and that was in Grayling on the side of a dirt road. You were lucky indeed to have seen that!

Yeah, it was on 131 just south of Cadillac. We've been that way probably 30-40 times and I've never seen one either. We just missed one once in the UP and stopped for some hunters and dogs who were after it, but never actually saw the bear.

Funny thing, about 14 years ago I hit a deer on that same stretch of 131 on our way up to the UP for vacation. 10:00 in the morning, damn thing just jumped out into the road...kinda like the bear but it was moving faster and I had less warning. It destroyed the grille, passenger-side headlight, and fender on the van. I ended up bending the fender out of the wheel by hand and zip-tied a headlight assembly in place that I bought at Autozone to finish the trip.

Always an adventure in Michigan.

June 05, 2026, 02:14 PM

P250UA5

quote:
Originally posted by 92fstech:
quote:
Originally posted by P250UA5:
Congrats, good looking bike. Which model is it?
I always liked the cyborg looking front end on those F bikes.

2009 F650GS twin...which is not a 650, it's an 800. Which only makes sense to Germans, lol.

Is it just an ECU tune between the F650 F700 & F800? All using the same engine?
Wiki says 70/75/85hp respectively for each.

Unrelated to this, I always liked the look of the F650CS
Took a hard look at an F800R at one point as well.

June 05, 2026, 03:13 PM

92fstech

From what I've read, there's a different cam profile as well as an ECU tune. The 650's cam isn't quite as aggressive as the one in the 800.

The throttle is a little touchy at low RPM, and it engine brakes really hard if you let off the throttle...it doesn't really like to coast. It seems happiest at about 3,000RPM or above, which is taking me a bit to get used to. It cruises great down the road, but takes some getting used to in town at lower speeds.

June 05, 2026, 06:16 PM

P250UA5

Making me want to add a bike back to the garage

June 05, 2026, 08:50 PM

ridewv

A lot of "IIRC" here but regarding the F650 twin and F800, the F650 makes about the same power and torque up through most of the rev range as the F800 so the higher max rating on the F800 comes from revving it over 7000 rpm. I typically changed up around 4000-5000. Torque is a better comparison and the dyno tests I recall showed the two bikes roughly equal. I believe the F650 twin uses 87 octane while the F800 specs 91. The F650's 19" front 17" rear cast wheels with tubeless tires was perfect for street and moderate off road. The F800GS's 21" front was a little better off road but not as good on road, and unlike the F650 it required inner tubes so flats couldn't be plugged. All the above made me feel the F650 was the better motorcycle for real world riding and I hope you enjoy it for many miles.

As far as the touchy throttle make sure there is almost no slack in the throttle cables and the chain slack is correct and not loose.

June 05, 2026, 09:01 PM

92fstech

quote:
Originally posted by P250UA5:
Making me want to add a bike back to the garage

I don't think that's a decision you'd regret!

quote:
Originally posted by ridewv:
A lot of "IIRC" here but regarding the F650 twin and F800, the F650 makes about the same power and torque up through most of the rev range as the F800 so the higher max rating on the F800 comes from revving it over 7000 rpm. I typically changed up around 4000-5000. Torque is a better comparison and the dyno tests I recall showed the two bikes roughly equal. I believe the F650 twin uses 87 octane while the F800 specs 91. The F650's 19" front 17" rear cast wheels with tubeless tires was perfect for street and moderate off road. The F800GS's 21" front was a little better off road but not as good on road, and unlike the F650 it required inner tubes so flats couldn't be plugged. All the above made me feel the F650 was the better motorcycle for real world riding and I hope you enjoy it for many miles.

As far as the touchy throttle make sure there is almost no slack in the throttle cables and the chain slack is correct and not loose.

I think your memory is correct, or at least it jives with everything that I read in my research leading up to buying the 650. On paper at least the 650 definitely fits my goals for the bike better than the 800, and it also didn't hurt my decision that although used 650s were few and far between, the ones I did find were priced between $2 and $4k less than the 800s.

Thanks for the tip on the throttle cable and chain. One of the first thing I did after bringing it home was adjust the chain tension, but I will check the throttle cable as well.

June 06, 2026, 08:52 PM

92fstech

quote:
Originally posted by ridewv:

As far as the touchy throttle make sure there is almost no slack in the throttle cables and the chain slack is correct and not loose.

You, sir, are the man! I tightened up the chain to the tight end of the tolerance range, and adjusted all the slack out of the throttle, and it made a world of difference! So much smoother now.

June 06, 2026, 09:43 PM

ridewv

Good to hear! For throttle slack you want just a bit at the tightest point (as you move the bars from lock to lock). That will allow for the cable slightly lengthening as it warms up from engine heat. Most bikes I've bought (new or used) have had too much slack there and often not enough for the clutch cable as the bars are swung lock to lock.

That's a nice motorcycle I hope you're enjoying it.

June 08, 2026, 08:02 AM

92fstech

Changed the oil last night. Holy hell, these Germans...that's gotta be the weirdest oil change I've ever done...or at least the weirdest procedure to check it. I have to admit, though, if you follow the book it works as described.

The bike calls for 3.1 quarts, and you've gotta make sure the oil is properly rated for a wet clutch. No problem, makes sense. So you add the oil, but when you check it on the dipstick nothing is there. You have to go warm it up for a few miles, put the bike back on the stand, and then check it. Also, don't screw the dipstick in when checking the oil, just let it sit on top of the threads in the hole. I was amazed how much it came up on the stick just from heating it up...but I've also never seen an oil change procedure so particular about the details and order of operations. It's so very...German.