New to the Marque...

[Cheddarhead]

Just pulled the trigger on a new-to-me BMW...

I picked up an '03 F650GS with less than a thousand miles on the dial...

http://www.sport-touring.net/forums/index.php/topic,59435.0.html

Now looking for a couple of simple farkles to make it all day / weekend friendly...a tank bag for sure...add'l lighting and a "manly-man" horn to aid those who can't seem to pick out a 'cycle in traffic....perhaps a tailbag or some saddlebags.  

Not sure if I'll go for panniers etc.  I like the very clean lines of the Thumper...but also find hard storage to be very useful.

Input / recommendations welcome...Thanks!

Cheddar

[mxvet57]

No reconditions here. but hey that's me.  

[falconati]

I put a huge topcase on mine.

[Lawn Dart]

congrats!  The Rotax thumpers are some of the most durable engines ever built.  Seriously good stuff.  My wife had one for a while.  I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Topcase?  Heck yeah.  Twisted Throttle sell a Givi plate for the tail rack.  I'd recommend a Givi topcase.  The problem with the F650 is that the high exhausts also melt saddlebags.  You're rather limited in that regard...Givi make the e21's and racks for about $320 or so.  They make GREAT crash bars btw.  

SW Motech crash bars really aren't that good - go with the BMW bars that look kinda like old-school round crash bars.  Good stuff.  

Pivot Pegs for replacement footpegs and TKC 80's for the tires if you like dirt.

Check out the Chaingang for F650 repair info and the like.  

Good stuff!  You're on a good machine.

[Z50a]

check out:

Aerostich
and
TwistedThrottle

Good luck !
Great bike !
Ride Safe !

[roadthing]

It's not a "THUMPER". A Thumper is a single cylinder/lung bike. What you have there is a super-sexy parallel twin  

Congrats, enjoy, and ride safe!



Engine

Type   Water-cooled, 2-cylinder, 4-stroke, four valves per cylinder, two overhead camshafts, dry sump lubrication

Bore x stroke   82 mm x 75.6 mm

Capacity   798 cc

Rated output   71 hp (52 kW) at 7,000 rpm

Max. torque   55 lb/ft (75 Nm) at 4,500 rpm

Compression ratio   12.0 : 1

Mixture control / engine management   Electronic intake pipe injection / digital engine management (BMS-K)

Emission control   Closed-loop 3-way catalytic converter, emission standard EU-3

[stromgal]

Not to be troublesome but what Charles has IS a thumper. Makes about 50 horse if I recall correct-like.

I have nothing else to add.  

[DangerMoney]

Through at least the 2005 MY the F650 was a single cylinder bike. This one is a 2003:

[marty2]

It's not a "THUMPER". A Thumper is a single cylinder/lung bike. What you have there is a super-sexy parallel twin  

Congrats, enjoy, and ride safe!

Dammm... and  I thought my 03 only had one cylinder . Learn something new here everyday.


+1 on the Chaingang site. There is a wealth of information on the 650 over there. Do become a member.

I have a Wolfman tank bag and a Givi E46 top box. I would also recommend some aftermarket LED brake lights as the OEM leaves much to be desired.

The 650gs is a fun bike.  Good Luck with it.

Marty

[marc11]

Dammm... and  I thought my 03 only had one cylinder . Learn something new here everyday.

Maybe that is why you got a good deal    I hear you can buy the other half of the motor on ebay...

[roadthing]

Not to be troublesome but what Charles has IS a thumper. Makes about 50 horse if I recall correct-like.

I have nothing else to add.  

Not troublesome at all

I haven't ever heard of anything but singles referred to as "Thumpers", and he's got a parallel twin. But then again, my information, and perspective is kind of um, "dated".  

[marc11]

Not troublesome at all

I haven't ever heard of anything but singles referred to as "Thumpers", and he's got a parallel twin. But then again, my information, and perspective is kind of um, "dated".  

Dude you keep posting wrong information.  What he has IS a thumper, it IS a single cylinder BMW.  Period.  Yes, BMW does make a twin GS they call the "650" which is actually 800cc but this is NOT that bike, this is the actually a single cylinder 650cc engine.

[marty2]

roadthing......... Here's a pic of my 2003 BMW F650 GS. It's the same model that Cheddarhead aquired and it is definitely a Thumper(single cylinder).




Marty

[Norwegian Blue]

Not troublesome at all

I haven't ever heard of anything but singles referred to as "Thumpers", and he's got a parallel twin. But then again, my information, and perspective is kind of um, "dated".  

BMW is likely to blame for this confusion, since they made their nomenclature very confusing for these particular models.

In 1997 BMW first brought the F650 to the U.S. market -- a single-cylinder (yes, a thumper) 650cc motorcycle with very light off-road capability. The engine was built by Rotax, and the bike by Aprilia. Here it is:



For the 2001 model year, BMW completely redesigned the bike and brought it completely in-house. This became the F650GS, a single-cylinder (again, a thumper) bike with a bit more of an off-road portfolio and image than its predecessor, even though it was probably more road-oriented than potential competitors (such as the KLR). It is pictured in the post immediately above, but here's another picture:



It remained in production until 2007, when BMW introduced the F800GS parallel twin, and shortly thereafter the F650GS parallel twin (which, to add to the confusion, actually has the same, albeit detuned, 800cc parallel twin as the F800GS). Yep -- the current F650GS has the same name as its very different predecessor. Here's the parallel twin:



IIRC, there was a year-long pause in production of the "old" F650GS until it was brought back as the G650GS.

IN SUMMARY:
--there was an F650GS thumper for many years. It is still sold, but it has a new name, the G650GS.
--there is currently an F650GS parallel twin being sold. It has the same name as the older thumper.
--the OP has the F650GS thumper.

[Cheddarhead]

Dude you keep posting wrong information.  What he has IS a thumper, it IS a single cylinder BMW.  Period.  Yes, BMW does make a twin GS they call the "650" which is actually 800cc but this is NOT that bike, this is the actually a single cylinder 650cc engine.

What they said...

It "is" a single cylinder F650GS.  Makes something 'round 50 hp...and it's still sitting in a garage in SE Pennsylvania waiting for me to bring her home.

Damn snow....

[DangerMoney]

BMW is likely to blame for this confusion, since they made their nomenclature very confusing for these particular models.

In 1997 BMW first brought the F650 to the U.S. market -- a single-cylinder (yes, a thumper) 650cc motorcycle with very light off-road capability. The engine was built by Rotax, and the bike by Aprilia. Here it is:


For the 2001 model year, BMW completely redesigned the bike and brought it completely in-house. This became the F650GS, a single-cylinder (again, a thumper) bike with a bit more of an off-road portfolio and image than its predecessor, even though it was probably more road-oriented than potential competitors (such as the KLR). It is pictured in the post immediately above, but here's another picture:


It remained in production until 2007, when BMW introduced the F800GS parallel twin, and shortly thereafter the F650GS parallel twin (which, to add to the confusion, actually has the same, albeit detuned, 800cc parallel twin as the F800GS). Yep -- the current F650GS has the same name as its very different predecessor. Here's the parallel twin:


IIRC, there was a year-long pause in production of the "old" F650GS until it was brought back as the G650GS.

IN SUMMARY:
--there was an F650GS thumper for many years. It is still sold, but it has a new name, the G650GS.
--there is currently an F650GS parallel twin being sold. It has the same name as the older thumper.
--the OP has the F650GS thumper.

.. and it gets even more confusing. The SINGLE CYLINDER F650GS has returned to production and is now called the G650GS.

http://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/us/en/index.html?content=http://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/us/en/bikes/endurobikes/g650gs/g650gs_main_1.html¬rack=1

[roadthing]

Dude you keep posting wrong information.  What he has IS a thumper, it IS a single cylinder BMW.  Period.  Yes, BMW does make a twin GS they call the "650" which is actually 800cc but this is NOT that bike, this is the actually a single cylinder 650cc engine.

"Dude" how about working on your reading comprehension  

I posted what I thought was the correct information ONCE, and acknowledged the correction. You might even have noticed that I gave the basis for my initial response. Had you taken the time to read what was written, you'd have caught that little tidbit of information.

Regardless, it's all good. I learned something new.

[bikerfish1100]

Not troublesome at all

I haven't ever heard of anything but singles referred to as "Thumpers", and he's got a parallel twin. But then again, my information, and perspective is kind of um, "dated".  

that was your "acknowledgement of correction" ??  funny, it does not read to me as any correction at all, just a restating of original wrong info.
you up to speed on this now? looks like 2006 was first year of the twin 800, 2007 for the 650 twin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_F650

[marc11]

that was your "acknowledgement of correction" ??  funny, it does not read to me as any correction at all, just a restating of original wrong info.
you up to speed on this now? looks like 2006 was first year of the twin 800, 2007 for the 650 twin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_F650

+1.  Which is why I posted what I did.

[jsanford]

My first bike was one of the '97 F650ST "Thumpers."  Sometimes I miss it!  Still see quite a few of them winter commuting around town.

There are some great sidecase options for the bike, from Touratech to Pelican Cases to ammo cans.

To confuse everyone even more, there was a design-updated G650GS at the Milan show: