Adventures with the F650 Funduro

Loaded and ready for bear?... bare?... Anyhow, It's all about an F650 Adventure called Funduro . . .

1997 F650 Funduro, color... Deep Black
Starting Mileage			F650 Adventure Plate
	Full Dress Panniers	F650 Profile	Stock F650 Windshield
Sans Panniers	Jesse Bags Stand Out	Stock Saddle	RKA Tank Bag	Ready to GO
Local on the Coast	Significant Presence	Loves the Sand	Taking in the Sights
Purchased from California BMW Triumph

This Adventure Touring machine arrived in November, 2001. Sadly, due to business financial obligations, I sold this Adventure Touring machine in June, 2005. I wonder who is touring on this beauty right now?! This Back-country Ready Funduro!

Mileage Tracking 1997 F650 Funduro  Nov '01 - Jun '05
Year (Dates)	Starting Mileage	Ending Mileage	Total
2005 - April 9 thru June 23	18,495	18,510	15
2004 - Feb 7 thru October	17,703	18,495	792
2003 - May 3 thru Oct 13	16,836	17,703	867
2002 - Jan 1 thru Oct 13	15,351	16,836	1,485
2001 - Nov 30 thru Dec 31	14,801	15,351	550
- - - - Total Miles - - - -			3,709

The 1979 BMW F650 Funduro is an excellent all around motorcycle. This particular motorcyle was equipped beautifully for on/off road riding and excursions. The bike is light at 450 lbs, nimble around town, and relatively stable at highway speeds. Not a bike I would use for extended highway speed trips, it does feel a little tentative on high speed passes. Though, if I had to, I would take this cross country without a problem. Part of the instability was probably the extra equipment that was mounted fairly high on the bike. With the tank bag(s) loaded and the top box with weight in it, it did tend to be a little top heavy. Load up the rear panniers and it settled down a little. This baby had Race-tech front fork springs, Ohlins rear shocks, heated grips, Jesse Panniers and top box, RKA tank bag w/panniers, throttle lock, custom Corbin seat, and Continental knobbies. Any real off-road riding usually required removing the Corbin for better reach. I loaded it up several times for rally trips with tools, clothing, camping gear and photo equipment. After that, there certainly wasn't any room for a passenger. Contrary to popular belief from the unknowing, the knobbies rode very well on tarmac and the highway. I cruised back roads and highway many times without feeling like I was riding on a washboard. That seemed a common retort that I would receive from people. Really, they have no clue. It also handled excellently in corners. The only problem that one could assert to the knobbies was a never ending desire to run off the road when a dirt road was spotted, or even just soft shoulder!! I never got a chance to put a large amount of miles on this baby while I owned it. I usually used it for weekend rides, any rough road excursion, and around town. This is only because I prefer my K1100LT tourer when spending any real time on the highway. And, for a few years, I spent most of my weeks commuting to Boston or New Jersey. I've sold this wonderful machine but would certainly like to pick up another to outfit for the same purpose in the future. It was really fun to ride, great to take offroad, and awesome to own. I have listed a number of pieces of equipment and information on this page regarding the equipment that was on this bike. This is for other F650 owners or wanna be owners. Hopefully, it will be useful for other Adventure Touring enthusiasts! Enjoy!

F650 Equipment
RKA 29.75 liter Tankbag/Panniers/Harness	The RKA tank bag has good space and includes two side panniers for plenty of on-tank storage room.	RKA Luggage
Jesse Panniers and Topbox	The Jesse panniers are a solid addition to the F650. The optional racks make tying down additional gear an easy alternative. Modifications required were an extension of the exhaust and moving the rear blinkers onto a bracket off the license plate. These babies are TOUGH and a must on any F650.	Jesse Luggage
Ohlins 46PRCS Rear Shock	The Ohlins rear shock installed gives a very solid ride! - Very Nice! Awsome Shock! Better ride than my K1100LT!	Ohlins
Race Tech Fork Springs	Reinforced springs in the front forks for serious on-off road, as well as the protective boots. This was so good, I added the Race Techs to my K1100LT forks.	Race Tech
Corbin Dual Canyon Seat	The stock seat lasts about 30 minutes before getting old. This Corbin lasted a whole lot longer. It can handle mud and water, but I never used it offroad. The stock seat is better off road and I didn't want to submit my $400 seat to that abuse!	Corbin
Continental TKC80 Tires	Installed the 80% offroad, 20% onroad TKC80 knobbies. Strong addition. They run great, both on and off road. Don't let anybody tell you that a ride on knobbies will shake your teeth loose! The ride on these tires was great on and off road. But beware! They make you want to exit the highway when sand and dirt have been seen!!	Continental Tire
BMW Accessories	This Funduro includes heated BMW grips, hand guards, two BMW accessory ports, floating rotors.	BMW
The Chain Gang!	No F650 is complete without a membership in the online F650 group called The Chain Gang. These people can answer any question about your F650 and even questions about things you really don't want to know! Worth the few bucks - lots of resources. With this and the Clymer F650 service book, maintenance is no problem.	F650.com

Helpful BMW Shops
Street Cycles Fun Center Falmouth, ME	Max BMW Motorsports North Hampton, NH	Dunbar EuroSports Brockton, MA	Bob's BMW Jessup, MD	California BMW Mountain View, CA

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