F650 GS - any advice?

[BevH]

Hi
Looking at trading road bike in and currently looking at F650 GS or F800 GS. 650 is lower than the 800 so is good as I'm short - wondered whether anyone had any experience with either bike.
Tks
Bev

[Billy]

Triumph Street Triple.

[Dave]

What BusPass said those street triples sound sweet
Although if you're after an adventure style bike for the road I'd check out the Triumph Tiger.

It has the triple engine from the ST but 80% modified (i remember reading) for greater durability, mpg etc...)

I did a 3 hour test on both the Tiger800xc and the BMW F800GS and the Tiger spanked the pants off the BMW on the road. Literally no contest.

Suggest test drive, and tell them where to go if they say only 1 hour lol you need more for a good feel.

[Billy]

Street Triple has the 675 engine,really sweet bike for girls.Speed triple has the 1050 engine, absolute dream to ride, if i didn`t have my Blade i would definately have a Speed Triple. Bev,go for a test ride on a street triple,they are small and light and very nice to ride.

[Dave]

Edited my post. Saw I put speed instead of street. Oops

[burls]

Hi
Looking at trading road bike in and currently looking at F650 GS or F800 GS. 650 is lower than the 800 so is good as I'm short - wondered whether anyone had any experience with either bike.
Tks
Bev

My brother pootles around central London on a GS650. A mate borrowed it on one of our continental trips and it coped well with light off roading in Spain. Think the BMW off roads skills use them. I thought it handled well solid front end. Not much power for the weight but unbustable Rotax single in this one. I liked it.

[Stewie]

There's a few F650 owners on here http://www.adventurebikerider.com/forum.html, have you looked at the Aprilia Pegaso trail, low seat height runs the Yamaha 660 engine. , bit bias as I run an older model with the Rotax engine, very useful bike.

[BevH]

I curretly have a Suzuki Gladius and want to switch to a more adventure type bike. The bike is nice to ride, but is a bit uncomfortable when I need to do long journeys, also I would like a bike I can take on a tour and so that's why I thought of the F650. Have thought about the Triumph Tiger and know someone who has got one and loves it. Will definitely need to test ride F650, Tiger and Aprilia Pegaso.
Tks for advice
Bev

[Scutty]

KTM SMT - loaded with loads of orange awesomeness and great fun - MCN's best all-rounder.

[Dave]

Lol yeah get the 1litre KTM!!

Bev, do a test ride on those bikes for sure go to the dealers and demand at least 2 hours if they do it by time!

And while your riding think about how many miles you'll be doing on-road and what level of extreme you'll be undertaking if going off road.

If your doing 80% roads and dirt roads I think that should be considered.

You might find any single cylinder uncomfortable for touring. They vibrate a lot when cruising which is draining.

Another thing is the seat. A nice gel seat will help soak up touring miles

Other bikes you might consider are
Suzuki DR650L Weestrom
Kawazaki Versys
Yamaha Ternere (the small one)

All three are bulletproof. The Suzuki and Kawa are rated as being super economical, comfy and very, very good on road and all very capable of dirt roads, except maybe that Versys I'm not sure.

My Honda Transalp 600 has been extremely reliable over the years with its vtwin engine, its nice and smooth for long journeys. Its been fantastic on the lanes, though a little underpowered but for a 1994 bike it's got nice economy too

As with all the adventure/dual-sport bikes mentioned here they are all very capable at handling dirt roads.

When you start getting more extreme you might factor in that you need a more capable offroad/tourer, sacrificing bias road capabilities.

Would be interested to know your thoughts after your test rides!

[Billy]

For anyone doing beginners runs on a Beta Alp to even consider taking a 650/800 bike off road is total madness..........................................

Have a road bike,learn to ride off road to a reasonable standard and then in a couple of years buy a big dual purpose bike. Its all very well riding a big bike off road but picking it up when you fall off is a totally different story.

If this sounds a bit harsh sorry, only my opinion.(from experience)

[BevH]

I definitely will not be taking a bigger bike offroad and will stick to my Beta Alp for that. I kno my capabilities!

Dave tks for advice. I will certainly let u know how test rides go. I find my Gladius quite heavy and cumbersome too so will also be cs!ecking out weight of bikes. Bev