BMW 650 and their variants

Greetings

A few people here from time to time have had one of the BMW 650 variants and
traveled about the place with little or no trouble. How are they going long
term?

I recall one in WA having radiators de=seeming, others saying that they have
had surging issues, oh and frames cracking.

I'm cognisant of Al's opinion on the marque (oh and Tim's), and one got any
other "idiosyncrasies" that make it a love it or leave it proposition?

Oh, Nev, how long does a belt last for on the CS?

Cheers

H

 

The good thing with these is that the running gear is not made by BMW, so it
should be free of clutch and gearbox woes.

Haven't heard anything bad about any of them Hammo.

Al

 

I know a few people in the Vic BMW club who have had 650s for a number
of years. So far I have not heard anything going wrong with any of
them.

SteveB

 

In 3.5 yrs and ~35,000km the CS has only let Jo down once. That was
last week when the bit that connects the gear selector shaft to the gear
shifter linkage broke or unscrewed and fell off or something.

No idea. Jo replaced her belt at 30K because it got a stone embedded in
it when we were in Qld last year... it survived the 6000km trip home
after we discovered the stone without deteriorating at all. AFAIK it's
an inspection item which is replaced when it shows signs of
deterioration. Replacement cost is on par with a set of sprockets & chain.

Nev..
'04 CBR1100XX

 

I had a Commodore that did that too. Easy road side repair?

Do you do the servicing yourself(well, Jo-self) or is it a BMW only affair?

Cheers

H

 

She was on her way to work and RACV total care. = free tow to the BMW
dealer a few blocks away. From the look of it a cable-tie or two might
have saved the day.

Nah, servicing is a BMW affair.

Nev..
'04 CBR1100XX

 

I've got one of the early ones...'94. I've had it about 6 six years and it
done a number of rough adventure rides around the South and North Islands of
NZ.

Radiator is fine.
Surging was a problem on the later injected versions in Europe and the US,
because apparently they were leaned back too far.
Versions here were set up to run a bit richer.
Frame seems fine.
Water pumps can be an issue I understand, but I've never done mine.
Gearing is a bit high in my opinion and seems happier with one less tooth on
the drive sprocket.
I had to replace all the carb orings last year, because of petrol purging
onto the garage floor. This has really been the biggest issue, but all the
new orings cost <$10 at the local seals shop.

Is this enough...?

..not concidered cool with some BMW owners.