nklr: looking for riding amigos for baja and/or copper canyon

[Pat Schmid]

Nope. The F650 GS Dakar is about 100 pounds heavier than the KLR (Motorcycle Consumer News scales weighed it in at just under 450 lbs), has a taller 1st gear on a five speed box with a sofa for a seat. The OEM fuel injection stumbles, stutters, surges and stalls at embaressing moments offroad. And a KLR650 will run circles around it in the dirt. Pat G'ville, NV --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Mike Peplinski" wrote:

> > Doesn't aren't you pretty much describe the BMW F650 GS? This is one

fine

> bike, but pricey and you have to deal with BMW mechanics. HOwever, you > wouldn't have to deal with the Kawa mechanics. Life is just one big > trade-off. > >

[Al Maurine]

Nope. The F650 GS Dakar is about 100 pounds heavier than the KLR (Motorcycle Consumer News scales weighed it in at just under 450 lbs), has a taller 1st gear on a five speed box with a sofa for a seat. The OEM fuel injection stumbles, stutters, surges and stalls at embaressing moments offroad. And a KLR650 will run circles around it in the dirt. Not so! THe F650 'Dakar' is only about 30/40 lbs heavier if that. It carries the fuel under the seat and is much easier to handle on the trail not having 6 gals. of gas moving around up high. I have the Staintune exhaust and did the air box mod on it to get a good 5/7 hp more .. and it gets an honest 70 mpg on the trails. Last year I rode it to the Spokane MOA rally .. 4500 miles RT for me and I was usually cooking along at 85 mph .. per GPS .. that got me an overall 60 mpg for the trip average. THe F650 will litterally run away from a KLR .. all depends on the rider really though. THe Dakar is taller then the KLR .. and the seat sucks! Replaced mine with a used Corbin. THe fuel injection on my bike has been flawless these past 15K miles .. not like the other BMW bikes .. I know, I had one and sold it because of the crappy fuel injection. To think you can get one of these for $8500 is dreaming .. I have the original sticker that the PO gave me .. the bike with some crash bars and fork gaiters went for $10030 out the door .. Yikes! And I picked it up two years later with 3000 miles on it for $5K! Most BMW mechanics will tell you .. on the side .. that the old carburated F650 was the better bike .. but BMW got their hands on the engine and now the top end is all BMW with the bottom end is being built by Rotax .. did you all see where the new BMW 800 twin has an engine being built by Bombadier of Canada! Al Maurine 94 R100M 'Mystic' 01 F650 'Dakar' 01 KLR650 (gone but obviously not forgotten)

[Pat Schmid]

Al, I accept the challenge. The next time you are out here along the Eastern Sierras around Tahoe we will see which bikes handles the off road better. No pavement, all dirt. A mixture of fire road, quad trails and single track that has been used in a national enduro 'A' loop. I've come across a lot of FS650 Dakars in the AMA DS rides I've done and every one of them have struggled with the designated route, let alone trying the 'A' routes with the rest of the big boys. Pat G'ville, NV

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Al Maurine wrote: > Not so! THe F650 'Dakar' is only about 30/40 lbs > heavier if that. It carries the fuel under the seat > and is much easier to handle on the trail not having 6 > gals. of gas moving around up high. I have the > Staintune exhaust and did the air box mod on it to get > a good 5/7 hp more .. and it gets an honest 70 mpg on > the trails. Last year I rode it to the Spokane MOA > rally .. 4500 miles RT for me and I was usually > cooking along at 85 mph .. per GPS .. that got me an > overall 60 mpg for the trip average. THe F650 will > litterally run away from a KLR .. all depends on the > rider really though.

[Jud Jones]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Pat Schmid" wrote:

> > Al, > I accept the challenge. The next time you are out here along the > Eastern Sierras around Tahoe we will see which bikes handles the off > road better. No pavement, all dirt. A mixture of fire road, quad > trails and single track that has been used in a national enduro 'A' loop. > > I've come across a lot of FS650 Dakars in the AMA DS rides I've done > and every one of them have struggled with the designated route, let > alone trying the 'A' routes with the rest of the big boys. >

That has generally been my experience as well. However, every once in a while I get out on a trail ride with somebody who can ride on an F650. Some guys can manage quite well in places where I know I would struggle on the same bike. Makes me glad I chose to ride something more in keeping with my skills.

[Stuart Mumford]

> -----Original Message----- > > Al, > I accept the challenge. The next time you are out here along the > Eastern Sierras around Tahoe we will see which bikes handles the off > road better. No pavement, all dirt. A mixture of fire road, quad > trails and single track that has been used in a national enduro 'A' loop. > > I've come across a lot of FS650 Dakars in the AMA DS rides I've done > and every one of them have struggled with the designated route, let > alone trying the 'A' routes with the rest of the big boys. > > Pat > G'ville, NV > > --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Al Maurine wrote: > > Not so! THe F650 'Dakar' is only about 30/40 lbs > > heavier if that. It carries the fuel under the seat > > and is much easier to handle on the trail not having 6 > > gals. of gas moving around up high. I have the > > Staintune exhaust and did the air box mod on it to get > > a good 5/7 hp more .. and it gets an honest 70 mpg on > > the trails. Last year I rode it to the Spokane MOA > > rally .. 4500 miles RT for me and I was usually > > cooking along at 85 mph .. per GPS .. that got me an > > overall 60 mpg for the trip average. THe F650 will > > litterally run away from a KLR .. all depends on the > > rider really though. >

Hi Pat, I'm going to have to agree with Al on this one. I reckon the riders you have seen on F650s are the limiting factor. I too thought that the F650s were not up to snuff, but I had my mind changed for me on LA-B-V a couple of years ago. Two guys on well sorted F650s absolutley flew the whole time, including the tough stuff. One of them I had seen on this ride a couple of times before, on an older BMW P/D with a 9 gallon tank. Maybe the lighter weight set him free, I don't know, but those guys were definitely far from "struggling". Cheers CA Stu

[Rodney Copeland]

I ride with 3 Dakars and they have a great time in the same nonsense I take my KLR through. Rod http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/zrod73026/detail?.dir=c3ed&.dnm=658c.jpg &.src=ph --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Stuart Mumford" wrote:

> > > -----Original Message----- > > > > Al, > > I accept the challenge. The next time you are out here along the > > Eastern Sierras around Tahoe we will see which bikes handles the

off

> > road better. No pavement, all dirt. A mixture of fire road, quad > > trails and single track that has been used in a national

enduro 'A' loop.

> > > > I've come across a lot of FS650 Dakars in the AMA DS rides I've

done

> > and every one of them have struggled with the designated route,

let

> > alone trying the 'A' routes with the rest of the big boys. > > > > Pat > > G'ville, NV > > > > --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Al Maurine

wrote:

> > > Not so! THe F650 'Dakar' is only about 30/40 lbs > > > heavier if that. It carries the fuel under the seat > > > and is much easier to handle on the trail not having 6 > > > gals. of gas moving around up high. I have the > > > Staintune exhaust and did the air box mod on it to get > > > a good 5/7 hp more .. and it gets an honest 70 mpg on > > > the trails. Last year I rode it to the Spokane MOA > > > rally .. 4500 miles RT for me and I was usually > > > cooking along at 85 mph .. per GPS .. that got me an > > > overall 60 mpg for the trip average. THe F650 will > > > litterally run away from a KLR .. all depends on the > > > rider really though. > > > > > Hi Pat, > I'm going to have to agree with Al on this one. I reckon the riders

you have

> seen on F650s are the limiting factor. I too thought that the F650s

were not

> up to snuff, but I had my mind changed for me on LA-B-V a couple

of years

> ago. > Two guys on well sorted F650s absolutley flew the whole time,

including the

> tough stuff. > One of them I had seen on this ride a couple of times before, on an

older

> BMW P/D with a 9 gallon tank. Maybe the lighter weight set him

free, I don't

> know, but those guys were definitely far from "struggling". > > Cheers > CA Stu

[Andrus Chesley]

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47645 I'd have a hard time following these guys on a Sherpa. Or DRZ400S I used to have. It's the rider more than the bike. The bike will help out equal riders only. Too many years to wanna talk about it I used to do wierd things on a '69 Norton Commando and even broke the frame in half. Andy in SW Louisiana

[Jeff Saline]

Andy, You didn't happen to ride in CT back in '74 did you? I rode a few times back then with a guy on a Commando who would jump it sometimes 10 feet in the air. A few times he'd land and we'd hear spokes popping. I don't think the rest of us ever broke a spoke on our bikes. Jeff Saline ABC # 4412 South Dakota Airmarshal Airheads Beemer Club www.airheads.org The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota 75 R90/6, 03 KLR650, 79 R100RT On Thu, 08 Dec 2005 02:04:04 -0000 "Andrus Chesley" writes:

> http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47645 > > I'd have a hard time following these guys on a Sherpa. Or DRZ400S I > used to have. > > It's the rider more than the bike. The bike will help out equal > riders > only. > > Too many years to wanna talk about it I used to do wierd things on > a > '69 Norton Commando and even broke the frame in half. > > Andy in SW Louisiana

[ron criswell]

Back in around 19 hunerd and 67, we used to ride at a place along the Trinity River levees in Ft. Worth TX. It wasn't tough dirt riding as most of us were on Honda 90's, Honda 160's, Suzuki and Duacati 250's that were street bikes. Just a place to climb the modest levee and drag race in the dirt. But there was a guy there on a beautiful Triumph Bonneville that impressed the heck out of me. He would stand on the passenger pegs and wheelie up the levee ........ and pull a beautiful wheelie down the levee. I only saw him drop it once. This was BMS (before Malcolm Smith) and on a roughly 375 pound bike. Criswell

On Wednesday, December 7, 2005, at 06:35 PM, Jeff Saline wrote: > Andy, > > You didn't happen to ride in CT back in '74 did you? I rode a few > times > back then with a guy on a Commando who would jump it sometimes 10 feet > in > the air. A few times he'd land and we'd hear spokes popping. I don't > think the rest of us ever broke a spoke on our bikes. > > Jeff Saline > ABC # 4412 South Dakota Airmarshal > Airheads Beemer Club www.airheads.org > The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota > 75 R90/6, 03 KLR650, 79 R100RT > > On Thu, 08 Dec 2005 02:04:04 -0000 "Andrus Chesley" > writes: >> http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47645 >> >> I'd have a hard time following these guys on a Sherpa. Or DRZ400S I >> used to have. > >

[Pat Schmid]

Stu, Running the B-t-V DS ride is not all that tough. Now if they had done that on say something like the Bass Lake 250 or Reno 250 I might take notice. But railing a F650 Dakar on a AMA National DS ride with a level of difficulty that can be mastered by a novice on a showroom new bike ... that's not saying much. Pat G'ville, NV --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Stuart Mumford" wrote:

> Hi Pat, > I'm going to have to agree with Al on this one. I reckon the riders

you have

> seen on F650s are the limiting factor. I too thought that the F650s

were not

> up to snuff, but I had my mind changed for me on LA-B-V a couple of

years

> ago. > Two guys on well sorted F650s absolutley flew the whole time,

including the

> tough stuff. > One of them I had seen on this ride a couple of times before, on an

older

> BMW P/D with a 9 gallon tank. Maybe the lighter weight set him free,

I don't

> know, but those guys were definitely far from "struggling". > > Cheers > CA Stu