BMW F650GS (2008 - 2013) Review

Year: 2011

The best features are its all round capability, it has great handling, economical, light enough to easy move around, fast enough to keep up with most other adventure bikes. Reliable, torquey motor at low revs. Worst feature is the gearbox is a little notchy, it doesn't have that light super smooth shift like a Suzuki. Some complain about a hard seat, I cannot agree, I have just spent seven hours continuous on the bike, no problems with seat at all. These complainers need to ride a DR650 for 7 hours to get some comparison. I also own a 1200GS so I can compare fairly.

Version: 800cc

Year: 2009

Annual servicing cost: £200

Not the most comfortable bike.

Year: 2008

Annual servicing cost: £140

Fantastic to ride as its so easy and flickable with its low down weight and as i've added the taller screen its even more motorway friendly and i can get off after a long ride with very little to no fatigue due to the neutral riding position. But I did add a comfort seat as the stock seat is awful on a long ride.

Buying experience: From a bmw specialist.

Year: 2009

Annual servicing cost: £100

Excellent reliable and well made bike 3 years of work commuting all seasons. Still looks like new just the odd bolt head with corrosion and abs sensor ring. Great in traffic lively riding position. Replaced original seat with Sargent seat original very uncomfortable after 30 miles.

Buying experience: Purchased from BMW dealer good experience.

Year: 2009

Annual servicing cost: £100

Outstanding mpg for its size, 75mpg+ at it's best, and around 40mpg giving it some stick, i love everything about the bike But the seat is a real let down (uncomfortable) but I'm going to change that.

Buying experience: I was lucky, I bought it new from a main dealership when the interest rates were in our favour, £6,300.00 all in, (bargin)

Version: 800cc twin

Year: 2010

Annual servicing cost: £200

Since 2013, over 20k miles, including UK - Italy return annually. Pulls in 4th from 1500rpm and 70mph low vibe cruising, with a margin for brisk overtaking. All day comfort, takes rubbish roads in its stride, plus viceless touring handling and decent ABS brakes. Utterly reliable and just light/low enough for oldies like me. If only it had shaft drive, but excellent vfm for £4000 from careful first owner.

Year: 2009

Great commuter still looks quite new great build quality a little underpowered

Buying experience: Dealer thunder rd Bridgend very good

Year: 2010

Not necessarily a bike that would be on posters adorning young boys bedrooms, but its looks have grown on me over the 12 months I have owned mine. But, it is utterly brilliant at everything it does. Comfortable (if you replace the standard seat with BMW comfort seat), handles fantastically, 65+mpg with ease, impeccable low speed manners, will boon around with the best of them if you want it to, excellent built quality. I have been riding for over 40 years, I've had sports bikes, retros, tourers etc, this is by far the most complete package of a bike I have ever owned, can't ever see me wanting anything else except perhaps the F700GS, I tried the new F750GS & didn't like it. I use mine for commuting all year round & rides around the dales on my days off, like I said, it's brilliant at everything.

Buying experience: Excellent service from Steve & Simon at Allan Jefferies, Shipley.

Year: 2010

Annual servicing cost: £180

The F650GS is my second BMW, I traded in an R1200RT for it 12 months ago, as 80% of my riding is commuting into the centre of Leeds, the RT was just too cumbersome. From the first minute of the test ride on the F650 I was hooked. The 800cc twin from Rotax is a delight, smooth, quiet & docile when ridden gently, but can also behave like a bit of a holligan when pushed to its limits. It's very comfortable if you disregard the standard seat & add the BMW comfort seat, I've also put 20mm handlebar risers on mine which helps due to the comfort seat being a little taller than the standard one, I have also added a taller screen which is infinitely better than the original. I'm 5'9 & can just get my feet flat on the ground, something I couldn't do with the RT even with the optional lowered seat fitted. The handling is sublime for an 'adventure' bike with semi off-road tyres, in fact it's sublime full stop. I've owned older CBR600's, Sprint ST's etc, & this this out handles all of them. I average 66mpg while commuting & regularly see 72+ on longer runs. Build quality seems excellent, I ride mine all year round & although it gets washed regularly, it seems to be made of very good quality materials. If you haven't tried an F650 you really should, you would be surprised.

Buying experience: Bought from Allan Jefferies, Shipley, cannot recommend them enough. Salesman Steve & manager Simon are genuine good guys.

Year: 2012

This is an efficient bike that does pretty much everything very well. It's low but roomy, frugal, easy to ride, has a very flexible engine that makes it a great commuter or tourer and it can even be thrown around a bit. It has no foibles, no weaknesses, no flaws. However, it's as fun as a staring competition with a nun. I can't find anything to hate about it, but I can't love it either. It's the ultimate in German efficiency. You'll be glad that you have it, just not ecstatic.

Buying experience: I bought from a BMW dealer. The buying experience was excellent. The bike was ex-BMW fleet, a test ride was no problem at all, the information was to hand and the price was right: £5K at 14 months old and 9000 miles, with the right extras. They even threw in a year's VED and a new rear tyre that I hadn't haggled for, all smiles and handshakes and nothing was too much trouble. I've never experienced anything like it at any other bike dealer. And then I rode it home and had a look at it. One fork seal was pissing oil. It was fine when I examined it before and after the test ride. So either it popped on the 3 mile trip home, or some spanner monkey had been getting his wheelies in on my deposit-paid bike. I know what my money's on. Asking around, it transpired that dealer has a reputation for never having a bike in that didn't "need" extra work doing to it, or at least billing for. Needless to say, they'll never see another penny of my hard-earned.

I've had mine for two years, nothing has gone wrong, and even the servicing is cheap! I get 200 miles from a tankful, and it'll cope with two-up touring (plus Stahlkoffer panniers) no problem. Part of the fun is adding accessories - I've tried to make mine crash-resistant with engine bars, pannier frame and handguards, plus a taller screen and a modified seat - yes, the original is a bit firm(!). If you're short of cash for a bigger BMW, and short of leg, this'un will do the job. Those who have ridden both, also say the 650 is sweeter than the 800...

This is a surprisingly good bike. I was pleasantly surprised at how nice it is to ride. It won't win any drag races, but it's got plenty of get up and go up to about 80mph. It's light, easy to handle and would make a great commuter or beginner's bike. Having just covered 25 miles to work (I have one as a courtesy bike), I wouldn't fancy going much further, as my rear end was already starting to get numb. This may be a personal thing, as I find forward biased bikes more comfortable, generally.

Had the bike about 6 months and I'm doing about 400 miles a month on it. Some people have commented on the saddle. Well I did 1200 miles over three days on it and it was fine. I tried an airhawk inflatable seat when I got the bike but found I didn't need it. Either the seat has moulded to my backside or possibly the other way around! The guy I bought the bike off had ridden it from London to Turkey and back. Handling is good. I am doing my Advanced Motorcycle training at the moment and I was able to follow my instructor through some very twisty bends at high speed, despite having knobbly TKC80 tyres fitted. My instructor said it was 'exceptional'. There have been one or two issues with the accuracy of fuel guages on this model but BMW dealers will sort this out for free if you have a problem. Similarly there was a recall on one of the radiator hoses, so if your buying, check that it has been replaced. BMW will do it for free. Otherwise I have added a new Wunderlich Ergo tall screen, Adenture Spec crash bars and a metal bash plate for off roading. The mileage is up to 15,000 now and love this bike!

It have to disagree with a few of "Anonymous's" points, I have had my 2008 650GS for just under 12 months now and it is a great bike. I ride up to Edinburgh from London regularly and the seat is quite comfortable for 7hours of straight riding, the engine is more than capable for cruising at 70-80mph whilst returning over 60mpg. That's over 200miles from a 16 litre tank! As for the Indicators, well this is an age old topic, but I for one think BMW's indicator setup is much better than that on other bikes. (Left button for Left, Right button for Right, what's so hard about that?) Yes it takes a little getting used too but after a few miles it becomes second nature to use. It's such a shame to see BMW cave and remove it from their new K-series range. Yes the fuel gauge costs extra, but it's only £100 and that includes a gear indicator and all manner of other digital info. It is expensive to fully pimp the bike out yes, but for me even the standard bike had a higher quality feel to it, even down to the handle-bar rubber and plastics used on the switches. All in all a fantastic commuter/mini touring bike for newer riders and to keep for a good while after. A solid 4 stars.

The new 650GS is indeed easy to ride and it has plenty of oomph. Clever design makes it look smaller and lighter than it actually is. It does have braided brake cables, which is nice, but only one brake rotor on the front where all the competitors in that power class have two. I am not saying this is a bad bike,9000 but it is overpriced and has some negatives. The three biggest: 1) The separated left and right turn signal controls are a safety hazard. If you've ridden almost any other bike, you will be confused hunting for the correct switch and for the cancel button. 2) Considering most people will use this as an on-road bike, the seat is too narrow and uncomfortable for anything but short trips. 3) The worst thing about this bike is that too many things are costly extras. You want a gas gauge instead of a warning light (at this price! even the cheapest stepthroughs and scooters have gas gauges)? You have to buy the dash computer. You want a decently tall windscreen instead of that stock joke piece of plastic? Fork over more dough. Center stand? skid plate? Pay up. What starts out as a slightly overpriced bike for what you get at 7900€ quickly ends up as a 9000-plus € bike. And then there's the price of BMW service.