At least 1 cylinder and a few HP. then there's the ergos and other crap but mainly about an extra 150cc but really the F650 is an 800cc road bike with off road potential, an G650 is an off road bike with on road potential. Test ride both make up your own mind. everyone is bias towards what they think is the better type of bike.
I have owned both. About the same weight and gas milage..55-60. The twin has 21 more horsepower (71 vs 50) and you can definitely tell the difference. Off road performance is about the same. If you're looking to save money go with the single, if you do a lot of two up then the twin is the one. Both are great bikes. I test rode the F800 and the F650 when they both came in at AJ's and the only difference I could see was the F800 was taller, I think he still has a single there as well.
Thanks for clearing that up for me. Was confused by one 650 being a 650 and the other being an 800 when (AFAIK) there is also an 800 that is called an 800. As to why they called one of their 800s a 650, I expect it has been discussed, but maybe somebody can give the summary on that? Anyway, this is preliminary but I really don't "need" my V-Strom 1000 since I seldom ride 2-up, never pack large amounts of gear, and don't do much highway cruising. I use it as a mixed-surface road bike (paved & maintained dirt roads). I was wondering if one of the BMW 650s would do the same and be a smaller package. I like having hard bags on the sides for local errands and enclosed storage for laptop, briefcase and miscellany. I seldom put my topcase on any more since I don't need the addtl storage volume and leaving it off saves my having to swing a leg over or in front of it. So therefore thought of a BMW 650 (or an 800 that's called a 650), but I don't know a damned thing about them. I don't need a big dirt bike since I have a small dirt bike already, but definitely want a bike comfortable on mixed surfaces.
Sounds like the 798cc F650GS is exactly what you're looking for. Competent off-road as long as the going doesn't get too knarly and great on-road. The G650X-Country also fits the bill except that I think hard cases are difficult. Both are very good bikes IMHO. The F650GS being 798cc is just a branding thing. Some get frustrated and upset about it saying if it's got a 798cc engine it should be the F798GS. Others don't, realising that a Yamaha R1 has more than 1cc.
You can get racks and cases from Hepco&Becker and Caribou cases (I thing they use H&B racks) for the XCountry/XChallange.
Yes. Same engine but giving has more bhp, longer suspension travel, wire spokes, 21" front and more "aggressive" styling. It's more suitable to off-road than the F650. G650X-Country: F650GS: F800GS:
And just to confuse you more, if you look at used bikes, a 2007 and earlier F650GS is what is now called a G650GS. The primary difference is the old singles used a Rotax engine, the new ones use a Chinese model.
This thread may be the subtlest troll in the history of adv. You ought to really shop the older F650 (the one that became the G). That seems to be where the biggest bargains are to be had.
There is a reason for that. It's slow, has shitty suspension and weighs almost as much as the twin. If you want a Rotax single get one of the X bikes and buy a few farkles for it, it will be better in every way.
That's exactly what I did. Bought an '07 F650 yesterday. (So I guess I can't post about it in the Parralllllel forum any more.) It was configured how I wanted it (side cases but not top case, handguards, crash bars) right there on the lot. I did ride the 650 that's an 800 and it was a sweet ride. However the price diff was huge. They also didn't have a used on the line with the right configuration, so I'd be buying a more expensive bike PLUS paying a lot to buy new accessories for it. Both bikes had a different vibration from my V-Strom that tended to have me keeping the RPMs below 4500 or even below 4000. The Strom is hardly awake below 4000 but then lights up all the way to the top of the rev range. The 800 pulled just fine in low & mid range, pretty much like the Strom IMHO. The 650 that really is a 650 is obviously weaker at the higfh end than the 800 or my V-Strom. However, I don't "need" a bike with strong acceleration above 75 MPH any more. My whole point in trading my Strom was that, due to my illness, I am no longer as strong, nor do I have the endurance, or even the will to be as aggressive, as I used to be. I wanted a milder, easier to ride bike for local mixed surface riding, that I will ride more often, and will be able to ride longer as I get sicker (my condition is NOT something that I am going to "get better" from) than I would ride the V-Strom. The V-Strom had just become too much bike for me in my situation. So unlike many riders who want their next bike to have more, more, more than their last one, I wanted to downsize to a bike that had less. I think the 650 that really is a 650 will be fine. If I was still healthy and buying something to ride hard, I'd certainly have gotten the 650 that's an 800. I don't need the F650 to be a dirt bike. I have had a DRZ (sold), a street plated 2-stroke GasGas enduro bike (sold) and will be selling my Aprilia RXV-550 (sold as an enduro, set up as a dirt road dualsport) as soon as it comes back from repair. I instead bought an XT-225 for street-plated dirt use. I will use the F650 for mixed surface (dirt, gravel, paved) ROADS. It will hardly ever, maybe never, see an actual TRAIL. I don't want it to have (or need) knobbies. I used to be Vice President of an Enduro club. I do not intend to ride the F650 on enduro trails. Nowadays I hardly ever ride more than 50 miles from home anyway, so I don't need it to have awesomw power on the interstate. I think it'll do just fine. Maybe if it had a taller windshiled though....
I'm resurrecting this because I'm in the same boat as the OP. But what I don't understand is the above quote - the one that I am looking at is a 2001 F650GS and I checked the specs and it clearly shows it as being a 650cc single cylinder bike. I've read through the rest of this thread and I still don't understand how the F650 is really an 800 when all the specs I've read clearly show it to be a 650 :huh BMW noob as well, so humor me :)
In I 2008 or so BMW introduced the F650GS twin at 798cc. The F650GS single at 650cc, made for years, was rebranded the G650GS with a Chinese made engine. The "F-G single" has wire wheels--the F650GS Twin has cast wheels. To add confusion the 2013 version of the F650GS Twin is now called the F700GS with a little more power, but the same 798cc displacement, and dual discs up front. The F800GS is also 798cc but with even more power above 5,000 rpm, more ground clearance (and a higher seat) and wire wheels (with a 21" up front with dual discs). Go figure -- if there is some logic there it that the "F" means 798 twin. But only after a certain date! Clear????? Did I get it right???????
As JGoody said, the bike you are referencing is a 650cc machine. Disregard all of the other stuff you are hearing/reading about the 798cc engine, as it doesn't apply to that bike. In or about 2008, BMW got the bright idea that they should totally confuse the entire world by renaming a staple of their stable and create an entirely new bike under the old name. Hence the old F650GS (up to ~ 2007 model year) is now called the new G650GS (with the "same" 650cc engine as that 2001 bike). The new F650GS is a new (since ~ 2008) machine entirely (with the new 798cc engine). Don't worry, if it is still as clear as mud, BMW is really trying to screw with our minds by now renaming the new F650GS to be the F700GS with the same new/old 798cc engine. :huh
This is interesting... to add more confusion, I have an '07 F650 XChallenge. I like it, its light, strong and has a good suspension for trails and is reasonably smooth on the road for weekend rides. The "Challenge" I'm having is most everything I see online says I have a G650 XChallenge, the pictures, motor (Rotax 652 cc), blue coloring, air rear suspension etc... all look pretty similar. I'm trying to buy pillion (passenger) foot pegs and have a little fear that the bolt holes and clearance will be correct for my frame. I know I shouldn't even allow a passenger, yet I have to admit having my lady friend in the back country does have some advantages for stayin warm in the tent. Also, $300 is painful for the pegs, yet I knew I was in trouble when I did buy a Beemer. I'm tempted to put duct tape over the emblem. Good luck and live every day you're given. I have a brother who has Lou Gehrig's disease and is still going 10 years later. I'm ridin for him as much as I can. Jimmy Nevbro