The 650 Dakar Thread

[GSBS]

Originally Posted by racergirl479

Ok. what is the name of the little lever that the clutch moves, thats connected to the case??

Asking cause mine is cracked pretty bad and need to order a new one, cant figure out what the blamed thing is called. if need be i can take a picture...

Thanks!

Clutch release fork lever? See here (look under "clutch")

[Gravel Seeker]

Originally Posted by Barnman

They are great bikes. Keeps me smiling

Washed mine today after a shakedown ride. She's taking me to Africa next week
]

Ohh, link to ride report when it's done, yeah ?

[mothra]

My coolant is low and I need to top it off before a trip this coming weekend. I don't have time to drain and refill the system like I should. Can I just add any no-nitrite/non-silica coolant to the coolant BMW put in there?

[Hatley Rocket]

Hey,

Are there any known problems with an '01 Dakar? I am looking at a used one, but don't know if I should hold out for another model year. By the way, does the Dakar really have 8" suspension travel front and rear? I currently have an '08 KLR, but this '01 has caught my eye. Has anyone here gone from an '08 or later KLR to the GSD? Do they come with an accesory power outlet? I like my KLR for commuting and off-pavement riding. No jumps, stunts or anything. It looks like the GSD can do the same, with more suspension travel too. I like the idea of the fuel tank lower for better CG. I am 6'-1" tall, so seat height doesn't phase me usually. I think they weight the same, now that the KLR has added 50lbs or so with the new fairing setup. The fuel mileage blows me away, most of you get over 60! I think right now I am getting about 45 or so with my KLR.

Thanks for your input.

T

[PhilzLeads]

Originally Posted by Hatley Rocket

Hey,

Are there any known problems with an '01 Dakar? I am looking at a used one, but don't know if I should hold out for another model year. By the way, does the Dakar really have 8" suspension travel front and rear? I currently have an '08 KLR, but this '01 has caught my eye. Has anyone here gone from an '08 or later KLR to the GSD? Do they come with an accesory power outlet? I like my KLR for commuting and off-pavement riding. No jumps, stunts or anything. It looks like the GSD can do the same, with more suspension travel too. I like the idea of the fuel tank lower for better CG. I am 6'-1" tall, so seat height doesn't phase me usually. I think they weight the same, now that the KLR has added 50lbs or so with the new fairing setup. The fuel mileage blows me away, most of you get over 60! I think right now I am getting about 45 or so with my KLR.

Thanks for your input.
T

When you say known problems you need to be more specific. There are some issues with the bike that bother some riders and some that are just irritating. There is a website dedicated to the F650 bike, it just changed owners, here is the link---->http://f651.com/forum/forum.php

Basically, that year bike has an engine designed by BMW and Rotax and made in Austria. I have an '01 Dakar that I bought used. It runs very well. I did have to put an iridium plug in it to smooth it out a little. If you maintain it as it should be, it will give you years of service. Yes the water pump may go at 50k miles or so or you may want to replace the front forks with YZ forks, as some guys do or the rear shock. One thing that irritates me is the way all of the plastic around the headlight does not fit together as it should. But oh well, it doesn't affect how the bike runs.

I just got back from 760miles over the weekend, running some gravel and lots of country roads. The bike never missed a beat. 23k miles on it.

There was a post on the 650 forum if I recall correctly that one rider got 200k from a 650. Not sure which model.

As the original article asked that compared the BMW with Honda's XLR 650; do you want a little bit of dirt bike in your road bike or a little bit of road bike in your dirt bike? The BMW is the former.

How many miles on it? Is the seller the original owner? Service records?

[Hatley Rocket]

Thanks for your reply.

I guess with known problems, I meant stuff that would need to be attended to or replaced soon. I have a KLR, which everyone recommends replacing the balancer tensioner lever, as well as checking for a deep hole drilled too far into the engine case. I took care of them both. Also some of the '08 KLR's are known to be oil burners, using an excessive amount of engine oil at high revs. I have yet to notice this issue on my KLR, though I did preemtively install a 16T sprocket to keep the revs lower on highway. I am hoping this will help to stave off any oil burning issues. Things like that are what I was looking for. I thought 2001 was the first year of production, so maybe the later years they had made improvements over the earlier models if'n they had mistakes. I read the first year didn't have ABS as an option. I don't mind searching out a certain spark plug, or 50K maintenance. The bike I was looking at was being sold by a dealer, and had less than 1000 miles. I have a KLR now, so I don't think a GSD would be any less capable off road, and maybe better on road. Does the GSD need premium fuel? I noticed that the compression ratio was quite high, so I am curious about that. So, whats irritating, besides the plastic around the guages and lights not fitting up well? What is bothersome? I do most of my own maintenance myself, removing plastic panels and such is part of the therapy of working on your own.

Round 2

T

[Don Coyote]

One major issue witht he '01s is the integrity of the front forks. There have been a fair number of verifiable reports (6-12?) of the front wheel mounts snapping off under minimal stress and causing catastrophic crashes. Few enough for BMW apologists to point to flukes or possible preceding abuse, numerous enough that many seek piece of mind with upgrades (a good excuse for the YZ conversion). BMW never issued a recall or service bulletin, but did significantly beef up the welding around the wheel mounts in later models.

Also, the waterpump is more commonly a 30K service issue, with some owners experiencing increasing failure frequency over time. A chaingang member has recently become so frustrated as to attempt an external pump as a permanent replacement. Haven't kept up to date on that one.

One other minor issue I've noticed is that any minor tip over is likely to damage a turn signal, so converting to some sort of more flexible/smaller LED signals will soon be cost effective if you ever ride/live near your comfort envelope edges.

Other than that (and the iridium plug), it should be a very solid steed...

[GSBS]

Originally Posted by Hatley Rocket

Thanks for your reply.

I guess with known problems, I meant stuff that would need to be attended to or replaced soon. I have a KLR, which everyone recommends replacing the balancer tensioner lever, as well as checking for a deep hole drilled too far into the engine case. I took care of them both. Also some of the '08 KLR's are known to be oil burners, using an excessive amount of engine oil at high revs. I have yet to notice this issue on my KLR, though I did preemtively install a 16T sprocket to keep the revs lower on highway. I am hoping this will help to stave off any oil burning issues. Things like that are what I was looking for. I thought 2001 was the first year of production, so maybe the later years they had made improvements over the earlier models if'n they had mistakes. I read the first year didn't have ABS as an option. I don't mind searching out a certain spark plug, or 50K maintenance. The bike I was looking at was being sold by a dealer, and had less than 1000 miles. I have a KLR now, so I don't think a GSD would be any less capable off road, and maybe better on road. Does the GSD need premium fuel? I noticed that the compression ratio was quite high, so I am curious about that. So, whats irritating, besides the plastic around the guages and lights not fitting up well? What is bothersome? I do most of my own maintenance myself, removing plastic panels and such is part of the therapy of working on your own.

Round 2

T

My 2003 has been a great bike... just rolled over 76K miles and never an issure with the motor. In fact, mine has been the most trouble-free motorcycle I have owned.

The forks are the big bug-a-boo on these bikes IMO. I did the YZ fork conversion earlier this year after my forks failed and broke off at the axle during an accident two years ago. The YZ forks are much, much better!

I never liked the ABS on my bike so while I had it down I ripped that out as well.

The water pump seals can be an issue with these bikes, though mine is still on the original. The repair kit is not expensive (about $50 for parts to fix), but I've never done mine since it hasn't yet needed it.

These bikes run on regular 87 Octane gas. Mine has averaged between 60-65 mpg. Fast (80 mph or more) sustained runs on the slab will drop the mpg to the low 50s and poking along very slowly I have gotten as much as 73 mpg on one tank. They are gas sippers!

I'm planning to keep this bike for the foreseeable future. Best motorcycle I've owned. Here's a couple of recent shots of mine...

[trainman]

Anyone ever had a problem with the Oil Tank leaking ( 2001 Dakar). I have taken it off and replaced the hoses, all three and still have a slight drip coming from the vent hose ( the small one). I put on new clamps and hoses, but still a small oil drip there. I'm now thinking that there must be a small crack in the tank close to the vent tube where it goes into the tank. If I could see the back side of the tank when the engine is running that would help, but you just can't see behind there when the tank is in place. I have now ordered a new tank, thought about JB Weld, but it may or may not hold and I just tired of messing with it. One other question, how do you install the oil site glass in the new tank, I did order a new one of those also, because both tank and site glass have changed part numbers and the old one may or may not fit. Any input on this would be appreciated, thanks, John in Ft. Worth

[Odin69]

Originally Posted by GSBS

My 2003 has been a great bike... I never liked the ABS on my bike so while I had it down I ripped that out as well.

Hey GSBS, was it pretty easy taking out the ABS? Also, what kind of exhaust do you have, did you have to do some tweaking to get it on?

[GSBS]

Originally Posted by Odin69

Hey GSBS, was it pretty easy taking out the ABS? Also, what kind of exhaust do you have, did you have to do some tweaking to get it on?

Did you see the Tom Hanks movie a few years ago... Castaway? Extraction of the ABS modulator unit was about as easy as his extraction of his tooth, the one he used the ice skate to bust out. Woulda been easier if I'd gone ahead and removed the entire subframe/fuel tank unit. But it was worth it not to have to stop and turn off the ABS every time I got to a trail or gravel road!

BTW, if you remove the ABS you'll trim a few pounds off, but also have to get new brake lines. I went with a modular line for the front cuz I was going from the BMW/Brembo master cylinder unit on the bars to the caliper off a YZ250F at the wheel. The line I got was about $40 including the banjo connections, which screwed into a common threaded end at each end of the brake line. For the rear I ordered the OEM brake line for a non-ABS bike (the rigid one that goes between the rear master cylinder and the connector in front of the swing arm). I think it was around $20 and took all of 2 minutes to install.

The exhaust can is off a Honda RC51 sport bike. A buddy had it lying around and contributed it to the project. The header pipe is stock and I just took it to a muffler shop and had the guy fab a mid-pipe from stainless tubing. It has a tight crook in it so he ended up cutting about three inches of the header off to make it all fit right. That also saved a good bit of weight vs. the stock two-can with cat system! Sounds better too... not objectionably loud but now she growls low and mean when I get on the throttle.

[Parx400]

So I'm finally going to put my LED flasher on. Just to double check I unplug the 4 wires from the relay board, but off that plug and they hook the relay up to those 4 wires correct? Any one know which wires are positive and which are negative on that plug?

[albany23]

My brother has a Dakar '07, and i have a F800GS. I want to switch from regular to LED signals, but i was wondering if i can install the old ones on the Dakar? If not, what are his options? The standard ones are just hideous!
Thanks,
Mihai

[Hatley Rocket]

Originally Posted by Don Coyote

One major issue witht he '01s is the integrity of the front forks. There have been a fair number of verifiable reports (6-12?) of the front wheel mounts snapping off under minimal stress and causing catastrophic crashes. Few enough for BMW apologists to point to flukes or possible preceding abuse, numerous enough that many seek piece of mind with upgrades (a good excuse for the YZ conversion). BMW never issued a recall or service bulletin, but did significantly beef up the welding around the wheel mounts in later models....

Sounds like Kawasaki and their Doohickey, ever turning a blind eye. That was just what I was looking for. I may not get this Dakar, I may try to sell my KLR first and then see what is available at that time. When did they beef up the wheel mounts, was that in 2005? If I did get an '01, how much does the average YZ conversion cost? I figure I am about ready to put in $100 +/- $50 in front suspension on the KLR if I kept it, I'd like to see what I am getting into, since I have the KLR mostly set up and it suits me fine. Is the '01 able to have a centerstand mounted? I thought I read that the thread bosses weren't there except on later models. I think I am running out of questions needing answers. It's a 2001 white dakar with only 700 some miles. The dealer I called said his friend owned it and bought it for his wife, she never rode it,(duh) and more blah blah blah. I'm selling it for him, blah blah blah. I'll bet every other bike he sells was his "friends" bike too. Its almost new, execpt for sitting around for 11 years. No farkles, I don't think it has heated grips, or a powerlet or whatnot.

I sat on a Dakar at an IMS in 2003, when i was looking at Suzuki's new at the time V-strom 1000. I bought the Strom, I liked the Dakar then, but wasn't looking really for a small 1 up single. I wanted an "adventure bike" and the Suzuki was cheaper, more powerful and fit the bill. Now my wants have changed. Thanks you guys for your helpful replies.

T

[PhilzLeads]

My 2001 Dakar