+ Click to Enlarge INSECTOID: BMW's Dakar GS650 is higher and rangier than the standard model.

April 12, 2002
By Dave Abrahams

When I tested the “street” version of the BMW F650GS earlier this year I said it was one of the great all-round street-bikes but limited in its off-road application. The F650 Dakar is far more dirt-orientated, both visually and in performance, but this is achieved with astonishingly small changes in its specifications and set-up.

The motor is the same Rotax 652cc four-valve single, topped by a BMW-designed cylinder head derived from the “M”-series car engine. It still breathes in through the superb BMS fuel-injection set-up, developed jointly by Bosch and BMW, and out through the silliest double-barrelled cat-cracker auspuff in the business.

A gentle right hand will make it pull without judder from just over 2000rpm all the way to the red line at 7500, making it the most rideable big single IOL has yet tested. The motor begins to feel a little strained and vibratious over 7000 but its peak of 37kW is delivered at 6 500rpm so there’s little need to rev it that hard anyway.

The engine management system has an endearing quirk: to start it you don’t touch the throttle at all, or worry about a “choke”. Just prod the button with a forefinger. The big single fires up after what seems like quite a lot of churning, spins up to 1 800rpm all by itself, then settles down to a steady 1 200rpm idle - hot, cold or in between. Within seconds the bike is ready to ride and the response is all that a spritzer should be - instant, strong and as crisp as a dry white.

As with all fuel-injected systems, it’s very sensitive at small throttle openings but is better damped than most and the bike can be ridden smoothly in heavy traffic.

I’ve mentioned before that Austrian motormaker Rotax builds its cogsets to very tight tolerances and they take a while to bed in. The test Dakar had less than 2000km on its LCD odometer and the gearshift was a little notchy and sometimes very vocal. In particular, it went down into first with a solid thump that reminded me of the old Boxer twins. Nevertheless, the lever throw is commendably short and, having re-learnt the very small throttle movements it needs, I was soon making seamless upshifts all the way from second to fifth.

Downchanges, however, remained a little rough so I always used the clutch. Top engine builders say most transmission damage is caused when changing down without it.

The only change in the drivetrain is the final gearing. The more dirt-orientated Dakar has a noticeably shorter ratio and thrums annoyingly at just under 5000rpm at 120km/h on the freeway. The “normal” F650 will reach 180 km/h, given a bit of a run-up, but the Dakar tops out at 168, with the rev-counter showing 6 900rpm, just past the power peak. The shorter gearing helps on rough going, where the bike’s strong mid-range is an advantage, but at the expense of relaxed blacktop cruising.

Given how different the stances of the two variants look, it comes as a surprise that the frames are identical. They share a rectangular-section steel perimeter chassis, big square downtube and shovel-shaped alloy bash-plate with the oil for the dry-sump engine is stored in the box-section behind the steering head. Their suspensions are markedly different, though: the Dakar has long-travel, leading axle 41mm Showa forks and a long rear shock from the same maker, adjustable for preload and rebound damping. These, together with the 21-inch front wheel, give the dirt-digger a vertiginous 890mm saddle height and a totally different feel.

The Dakar is so tall that a 1.8m test rider can only just tippy-toe the ground and that’s a little intimidating in car parks. I very nearly dropped the bike once when I tried to get off without perching it on the side-stand first. It’s quite a heave to get the bike’s 176kg off the prop and upright but, once on the move, the top-heavy feeling disappears. Like all Beems, the Dakar is superbly balanced.

On the road the bike is stable up to its top speed, although the steering becomes very sensitive above 140km/h. It tracks perfectly and turns in well, better than I would expect with that outsize front hoop, and the Metzeler Sahara enduro tyres seem immune to longitudinal cracks in the road and will allow surprising angles of lean without squirming.

The long-travel suspension is supple and soft by road standards, even in the top third of its adjustment, but well damped, controlling the worst that the New South Africa’s roads could throw at it without pitching or wallowing. The test bike was privately owned so we didn’t do any serious bundu-bashing but it was sure-footed on gravel and rough ground, when the suspension came into its own, giving a surprisingly steady ride, while the rider could feel the wheels moving over the lumps and bumps under the bike.

Normally a bike this tall, especially one with a four-stroke motor, would feel top-heavy and slow to react with a full tank of fuel. All F650s, including the Dakar, have their 17-litre fuel tanks under the saddle, lowering their centre of gravity and making the insectoid Dakar just as rideable as its street cousins. The tank-shaped plastic pod over the motor contains the electrics, air box, and coolant header tank while the filler cap is set at a jaunty angle in the right-hand cover - just right for the pump jockey to do his thing when the bike is parked on the side-stand.

Which is all well and good until you go load the F650 with soft luggage and go touring - then you could wind up unpacking the whole lot just to refuel. No such problem with the rear rack, which is common to all the singles and accepts BMW’s custom top box.

One thing the test bike does not have is BMW’s anti-lock braking system - the second generation of which was developed expressly for the F650. Generally, ABS doesn’t work out well on mud-pluggers because locking the rear wheel can be a useful riding tool. However, the Dakar has the same Brembo discs at both ends as the roadster and, without the computer’s protection, they are almost too powerful. The twin-piston floating calliper on the front wheel and single-pot item at the back might look like basic 1970s tackle but their action is razor-sharp and they deserve respect.

The Dakar’s distinctive look has been achieved with surprisingly limited cosmetic changes to the standard machine. The controls and instrument panel are identical, including the silver plastic instrument pod, which I didn’t like on the original F650GS but which Herself, who never tires of reminding me that my taste is all in my mouth, considers very stylish. It has the same comprehensive array of warning lights, a digital clock (great!) and LCD odo/trip meter, as well as the small chunky speedometer and rev-counter.

The fully enclosed hand guards are a neat add-on while the original silver plastic shield over the clocks has been replaced with a very neat and strikingly effective smoked screen. The front mudguard has been extended at both ends with bits of black plastic, which look a little scrappy, while the unique rear hugger remains unaltered - because it works.

The Dakar’s seat looks the same as that on the GS but I was not the only one to complain that after a couple of non-stop hours the saddle it seems to become too narrow, despite its deep and soft padding. Perhaps the difference is in the ergonomics; I don’t think it would even be noticeable if the rest of the package weren’t so comfortable. Build quality and finish are, as always with the products of the Blue Propeller Company, superb.

The Dakar, as its name suggests, is aimed at the more adventurous BMW rider. Get the GS version if you want to ride it to work but if your weekends are spent on roads less travelled then the Dakar ranks among the most comfortable of the big trail singles, despite my criticism of its saddle. It’s more a rough-country tourer than an enduro tool, even comparing well with heavyweights such as the Africa Twin and Cagiva’s Elefant.

Thanks to Johan Booyens at Auto Atlantic Motorcycles, Cape Town, for letting us play with his personal F650GS Dakar.

A new one will cost R54 500.

SPECIFICATIONS

Motor: Liquid-cooled four-stroke single.
Capacity: 652cc.
Bore x stroke: 100 x 83mm.
Valvegear: DOHC with four overhead valves per cylinder.
Compression ratio: 11.5:1.
Power: 37kW @ 6500rpm.
Torque: 60Nm @ 5000rpm.
Induction: Bosch-BMW electronic fuel injection.
Ignition: Digital Motor Electronics.
Starting: Electric.
Clutch: Cable-operated wet multi-plate clutch.
Transmission: Five-speed gearbox with final drive by 520 chain.
Suspension: 41mm Showa conventional cartridge forks at front, Showa monoshock adjustable for preload and rebound damping, at rear.
Brakes: 300mm disc with Brembo twin-piston floating calliper at front, 240mm disc with Brembo single-piston floating calliper at rear.
Tyres: Front: 90/90 x 21 tubeless. Rear: 130/80 x 17” tubeless.
Wheelbase: 1505mm.
Seat height: 890mm.
Dry weight: 176kg.
Fuel capacity: 17.3 litres.
Price: R54500.

Go back 

Useful TOOLS

Email this article       Print this article       Search Prices       Repayment Calculator       Set as homepage

Free NEWSLETTER

The latest motoring news - 3 times a week. Preview Sign up