2012 BMW G650GS Sertao Owners

No one does.

17.3 liters.

Sertao fuel cap. 3.7, at about 60+ mpg
200 miles per fill up, more endurance off road than my butt my Klr will do
230...I can live with 30 mile less.

sent from my 3D EVO on tapatalk

Awesome, sounds like the new engine is a rock- I havent been able to find anyone who has had issues with it.

What about the front forks, I know there was a thread talking about some defective front forks where the axle mount would 'break off', only a few isolated cases, but I wondered if the Sertao has different forks.

I have read all about the fork issue....im not concerned about it. What does give me pause is the price tag. My klr will do
Anything the bmw will, and probanly just as well...but if i get a 2012 klr i am sure the 2013 will have EFI with a different motor and be completley changed....thats the luck i have

^^^ Yeah, I owned an 04 KLR for a number of years, good bike, mine had lots of small issues (guzzled oil, electrical gremlins, liked to eat cables), but very easy to fix when it did have issues (nothing major). I really liked it, but I'd really like to try something a little more refined (EFI, ABS, Ergonomics etc..).

The more research I do, the more I'm liking the Sertao over the F800.

I have been searching for my next bike for some time now and my intent was an ADV bike. I actually pick up an KTM Adventure 950 on Saturday in Cali that I purchased here from an inmate. Anyway for me it came down to a few things. Budget being the first priority. I can afford to buy whatever I want for the most part but I have to be able to justify it to myself and with 3 kids and a wife at home that damn thing called priority gets in the way. I used to be able to justify two Ducati's in my garage but not anymore. My other concern was performance. I have owned a newer KLR for a short time and it was a good bike. Handled great, no problems and I did like it but it just didn't have quite enough grunt for me. Might have been the easiest bike to ride that I have ever owned. But I like to have that low end, pull a stump out of the ground grunt. Hence the reason I've had so many twins I guess.

That said I was still looking into smaller displacement 600cc style rides but I was hesitant because I felt that I might want more. If I was able to justify two bikes in the garage right now I am pretty sure one would be a smaller adventure bike with some other performance style bike to fulfill my needs. I agree with the sentiments that the smaller ADV bikes are better suited to off-road duty and the true essence of ADV riding. The Sertao was on my short list actually because its price was more manageable (Justifiable) The local dealer has one in since last week and I went to take a look at it. Not a bad looking GS except the anemic forks. The seat is more comfortable then the f800 in my opinion as well although I did not ride it. I have ridden the f800 though and that seat needs work.

Talking to the salesman about the Sertao he basically confirms it is a slightly reworked Dakar with a newer look and newer instrument cluster. Personally I think it looks significantly better then the Dakar but looks are subjective. I used to think the KTM Adventures were on the homely side but after some time I began to admire their purposeful rally look. According to Tom (Salesman) the Sertao should be just as bulletproof as the Dakar which is a good thing.

After checking out the Sertao and finding out that it would be about $10500 OTD I was more convinced the KTM was what I needed to get for now anyway considering my budgetary concerns. That price was for a bike equipped with the "optional" heated grips, accessory socket. I think its funny how BMW calls that stuff optional when you never see them without it. Thats a hell of a marketing ploy they have going.

It too bad that BMW just didn't put another 2K into the Sertao and make it a kickass ADV bike with good forks and a few more advanced alloys lightening it by 50-60 lbs. I think people would still buy it but I realize they need to keep the price point away form the f800. Maybe Yamaha will some day bring the little Tenere to the states then we might have something.

I'm sure whoever gets one of these will be extremely happy with it as overall it looks like a pretty good package.

I've had more than a few ADV style bikes, big and small, old and new and the Sertao is looking good to me. I'll snag a low miles used one in 2-3 years after an inmate takes the depreciation. Then, it'll be a cash buy.

Easy and cheap to wrench at home, farkle out, etc... are givens and nice to look forward to.

Just wait until the heat of the new model wears off....... You'll be able to get last years bike from a dealer or an individual whom isn't happy with their choice (for whatever reason in their mind, wrong color, wants a1200, can't afford it, is going a different direction, doesn't want to ride anymore, lost their job, is moving....etc) for a LOT less....or buy a 06-07 Dakar from someone whom upgraded. It's all a cycle that will come and go and come again.

+1

There's going to be A LOT of people who buy the 650 just to learn for a season
but really want a 1200.

And then they'll be another a lot of people who learn the 12 is pretty fragile off pavement and a costly bitch to maintain if they're not a wrencher. And so it goes...

I've already gone down that path and people want $7500-8500 for their 07 Dakar! For the extra grand I'll just go a new 'upgraded' Sertao.

How much would a front suspension upgrade typically cost? Your right those front forks look pretty skinny!

I agree with you 100%.......at least for a good one they want that much. That being said, I believe the prices will come down simply because people will think just as you and rather have something new for $1000-$2000 more. Maybe I'm wrong but if you look around, they will turn up.

I'm a new member of this forum and I would like to reply first time.

This new bike looks good however I believe, it never will achieve BMW G650 XChallenge sucess.

Is a shame that BMW stopped manufacturing XChallenge.


Best regards for everybody.

I can understand the desire for a new bike at that price point, but I wouldn't call a bike with two less hp and a 3.3 liter smaller fuel tank than the Dakar an "upgrade" unless the new cosmetics mean that much to you. I'd be whistling a different tune entirely if BMW had used the X Challenge's USD forks though. Talk about a missed opportunity...

You're looking at a ballpark $1,000 for a fork upgrade, including buying used YZ forks and triple trees, respring/revalving the forks to suit the BMW's much heavier weight, and buying the $500 Hawk Engineering kit to retain the stock wheel and brakes,

Xch forks were shite, worse part of the bike.

They've got to be better than the Dakar/Sertao forks...

Definitely a missed opportunity for BMW.

I did put 'upgrade' in quotes

I'm actually quite intrigued by the reliability aspect of the Sertao - I realize its too new to know that, but based on the feedback I hear from G650 owners the engine appears to have all its gremlins worked out from the Dakar days (namely the Water Pump).

I actually like the old Dakar syling better than the Sertao, but I just laugh at what some owners are asking for them, I've seen some for almost $9K CDN, that's less than $1K off a new one (albeit with some extra farkles).

I'm considering looking State side for a nice Dakar.

Glancing at Max BMW's fiche a few part numbers of the water pump have changed but most are the same. Have you heard that the problem's been resolved? Fwiw, no issues with my 2006 Dakar yet at 21,000 km, fingers crossed...