So we've all heard/seen the 650 xchallenge...let's see your XCOUNTRY!

[jjmead1]

WTFF?

Seriously, are you people losing your minds? The XC ISN"T designed to go off road?

Perhaps it's not meant to be crashed hard into the ground. Just sayin.

What dual purpose bike is designed to go off road. Not many as they are DUAL purpose. Which to me means they are not designed to be good at any one thing. With it's sweet suspension and massive ground clearance this bike probably isn't meant for single track. But no dirt roads.....at this I think you doth protest too much.


Shit breaks. ALOT. That's what keeps me employed.

Anyways I hope you all get back on your wheels and come back and sip some more BMW XC koolaide.

I got a new tire and new rear Spring on my SUCHS to try out this weekend. Have fun and keep the rubber side down.

( oh and thanks a bunch for prompting me to order a new steel shift lever. )

[Niedz]

come on now, of course it was being said in jest not to take this bike offroad!!!!

personally i just need to keep it in check, and not ride really aggressive off road terrain (although i really want to).

i also need to get a steel shifter... but still it would be really nice if the bike didnt fall directly onto the shifter if it goes down, and if the shifter shaft was tougher than the shifter, whether it be aluminum or not. thats a big fuck up on BMW's part if you ask me. it would be nice if they fixed that! hehe keep dreaming.

[snooker]

jj - you said it brother! +1 also to Niedz and Mike

ok here's the deal... I've had my bike a year now, I've still never laid it down in a get off (even when the swingarm broke it just sat it's ass on the back tire and skid plate). I know my limits pretty well and try not to push it, but I guess I'm still learning the bike's limits.

I've known about the shift shaft and drilled out my OEM lever which we all know is just cheap insurance. Cheap as in low cost and low quality, just a band aid solution. So why didn't I get a bendy steel one sooner? I tried but not hard enough - I got the thick aluminum MSR one (YZ250/450) but it frankly sucks IMHO - too stiff, impossible to shape and sticks out to the side too far. I took it back.

So knowing this Moose Run rally would have A, B and C loops and miles of enticing narrow single track of varying difficulties... I tried harder to get a steel bendy shift lever. I looked at the Moose ones for YZ but the dealers can't return them so I didn't order one. I decided (like Mikey said) to go ahead and get the TT one but it was out of stock... Then I bot a used Funduro 650 one off eBay but it didn't arrive until the day after my ride (more on that later).

So I rode the B loop which was 5% narrow singletrack and pushing it for this bike a bit (mainly lack of clearance)...
Well... on the first real ST I think I've ever been on with my XCo, in the first 10 seconds (I wasn't dialed into thinking SLOW and stay to the right on left turns)... and BAM! right into a medium rock hidden by grass on a left turn. I was F'in pissed at myself! The pictures below tell the story... Bottom line, it was all my fault (ignoring the fact that BMW should have prevented this, but I knew the limitations)...

... and I have to keep reminding myself of the limitations of this bike in general and try not to push it too far! I am just thankful I didn't snap off the shift shaft, I just hit the end of the lever with a big clunk, looked down and the tip was gone and the rest bent back, so I walked back to inspect what the hell I hit!

The needle nose vise grips (from TopTul) saved the day, I put them on very carefully, wiggling them to dig into the aluminum lever deeply.. I rode another 10 hours on 4WD and even some singletrack (slowly and carefully), and they never fell off.

The bummer was... when I first put on the vise grips and was still pissed and not thinking calmly... I was back on a 4WD road and was looking down at how to position the heel of my boot at the end of the vise grip so I could pull it up to UP shift, and while I was looking down there instead of where I was going... BAM a big boulder caught my boot and twisted it sideways and slammed my ankle into my left footpeg. It was then I wished I had real MX offroad boots on with plastic ankle protection instead of my Sidi dual sport boots with leather ankles. I kept riding... I mean it hurt to walk so I just sat on the bike! The pain didn't get worse when standing on the pegs so I figured I didn't break it.

My ankle is gonna take months to properly heal - a bad bruise/sprain that keeps regressing...

ok anyhow here's the pics...



Then I went back to see the approach to the corner... I don't see any rock? oh there it is! I just did not stay right enough - idiot!

[snooker]

Originally Posted by Niedz

okay so can anyone supply a part number for the BMW steal one that comes on the 650 funduro, the one that has a folding tip???
looking at the parts fiche you cant tell which one has a folding tip.

Inconclusive. As you also asked here all I can say is I searched for 23417652942 like Colebatch said (but he didn't say it was a folding one), and I found one on eBay that I bought. It says it was from a 1998 F650 Funduro and has a folding tip with rubber slip on. But I can't say for sure it is really that part number or they just advertised it that way.

I bent it thoroughly to get the exact shape I want and it seems to fit fine and be a bit longer than the stock one. If you bend it enough (like I did) then you can mount it anywhere you want (height-wise). I haven't ridden with it yet but it should be fine. The only downside I can see is the the bolt goes in from the top instead of the bottom so I had to use a basic short L-shaped allen hex "key" wrench, as nothing else would fit in there (no allen in a socket, for example, as it is too long). I'll get some pics up one of these days.

Another gripe - I mean you have to remove the footpeg (or at least loosen both bolts) and with that fairly big allen wrench, in order to remove the gear shift lever? Thanks BMW for a trail-side double whammy.

[snooker]

Pics from the N. Colorado rally: more pics here.

[muddyrabbit]

When i first broke my stock shifter I had a shifter from a 1972 Honda CB350 laying around. Fit perfect and the bends were just right for easy shifting. I think the only reason i replaced it with the YZ shifter was I thought it looked stupid.

[plumber mike]

Snooker- Great Pics! Thanks for sharing....even though I'm really bummed I missed it now. Heal up fast. I'd be happy to come down and ride your bikes to keep them "fresh" while you heal.

[Janet from Joisey]

Nice pics, Snooker! Love the rainbow shot.

Quite amazing how far the arm of your shifter bent back!

I don't know if it would help in your situation, but I carry a few old L-shaped allen keys and plumber clamps to repair broken shift and brake tips on the trail, and road.

[leafman60]

Great pics ! Looks like a great ride !

Big question : Did you go around that big mud hole or through it ?

[snooker]

Originally Posted by leafman60

Great pics ! Looks like a great ride !

Big question : Did you go around that big mud hole or through it ?

Well you can see I had my enormous bag on the back - I've never tried to drag my camping gear with me before, but it was just 2 hours from home to the base camp so this time I piled it on (and yes Drone my aluminum subframe seems intact)... so actually I was on my way to camp in this picture and just decided to check out where the trail was going the next day.

So I didn't touch that big mud hole until the next day when I didn't have my big bag on - and I went on that skinny line on the left side, with one steep dip to survive -- no way I'm going down the middle. This whole North Park area is flooded out still with runoff - it is running 10x the average for this time of year so anything that looks deep may be who knows how deep.

Janet - that is a good tip - I had those spares on me but didn't consider it. Actually I'd be worried the side rotational force of an L-shaped key hose clamped to my vise grips would have tried to pop them off, so I just toughed it out.

Mike - you're always so willing to help a guy out. What a buddy. But I'm coping.

[snooker]

So I get home from the big adventure of 2 days with my vise grips shift lever, including heading off on my own on a never used 4WD road on my way home (ADV baby!)...

I park my beat up bike in the garage and hobble my banged up ankle into the house. The next morning I push the bike forward so I can get my V-twin out to ride to work, and ....

AAAUUUGHH!!! there is a ginormous pool of oil on the floor right where my motor was on the XCountry. Oh no, not my perty little Rotax leaking oil ??? - but I didn't take any big hits to it except the shift shaft? WTF? Oh no don't tell me it's leaking there? I check it - Ok good it's not.

I look it over and there are no major oil spots on the motor, just on the outside of the Scheff skid and only on the right side. My subconscious connects it to another mystery I noticed when I took off my boots. There was something on the right boot, I thot it was fuel from the gas fillup but that's funny, gas usually evaporates, so it must be oil too.

Then I looked in front of the motor - at the front wheel and yeah you guessed it, my right fork and wheel and tire were soaked in oil -- I blew a seal. (I love that monkey video!).

So I usually take my fork tube off and take it to a buddy to fix a seal, but I figure it's time for a fork upgrade, yeah it's not winter but oh well. I don't want to go the WP or Shivers conversion route, maybe just the cheap $100-ish progressive springs route? After some consultation with XCo gurus I was easily convinced by tbarstow to go with Javier at TrailTricks.com and blow some cash - the price has gone up but now for about $450 he is putting new springs in it AND he has a custom way to re-valve it (Edited to remove Javier's technical details, out of respect). He has done it to several XChallenges and 6 XCo's, and it includes new seals. I'll write it up when I get it back...

Money pit. You only live once and I plan on keeping this bike awhile.

[snooker]

[muddyrabbit]

All these tales of mechanical issues are starting to make me think i am phooking nuts for taking this bike into Baja (again) this winter. Iust have gotten tge 1 in a million that is perfect as i just dont have problems.

[lewiss66]

Originally Posted by snooker

Pics from the N. Colorado rally: more pics here.]

Thanks Matt,
I wallpaper this one:
Sublime!

[snooker]

Originally Posted by lewiss66

Thanks Matt,
I wallpaper this one:
Sublime!

C'est bon!
If interested... That pic was taken looking NE from a spot SW of Walden CO, looking at Delaney Buttes and a thunderstorm. Around N 40degrees 40.4minutes, W -106deg 30min, or:

Google satellite

Google earth plugin