Why am I considering a F650GS twin?
I started biking again less than four years ago after a gap of 28 years. Since then I've covered almost 100,000 miles, much of which has been outside the UK. I've now done something like 3,000 miles of piste riding in North Africa. Much of this is solo, exploring areas that are unknown to me, and I tend to combine touring and offroad in the same trip.

Whilst it's brilliant as an intercontinental ballistic missile, the R1200GSA is somewhat big and heavy on unknown pistes so I bought a Honda XR400R to experiment. This was great fun and inspired me to greater things on the 1200GSA, but there were a number of drawbacks--the weak rear subframe means no pillion possibility and poor luggage capacity, the fuel range was extremely poor, the seat was relatively high and uncomfortable and there wasn't an electric start. Whilst it's a gutsy bike it was obviously not happy with travelling at speed on tarmac 'liaison' sections.

I considered the G650 Xchallenge and booked one of these for a day in the Brecon Beacons. It is much better than the XR400 at higher speeds and can take luggage, but the fuel tank is far too small for my mixed tour/trail purposes and it still has a high and uncomfortable seat. I looked at buying an XT660 and indeed the new Ténére looks like it be a good compromise road/piste bike, but with a single cylinder and lower power it wouldn't be that good on motorways.

The new F650GS seems to tick all the boxes for me. Good luggage capability, reasonable fuel range, lowish comfortable seat and electric start. With 70+bhp and two cylinders it would be fine for motorway blasts, and the pricing is extremely keen against the Ténére and other alternatives.

But why the F650GS rather than the F800GS?
For a start it's £1200 cheaper! If this was a replacement for the 1200GSA I would start off looking at the F800GS, but this will probably be a second bike. I have yet to ride the F800GS so my mind isn't irrevocably made up but I don't particularly value those items that differentiate the F800.
- yes the 800 screen is bigger, but probably not high enough.
- yes the 800 has a bash plate, but it's plastic and not big enough
- yes the 800 has twin rotors (discs) at the front but single should be OK
- don't understand/wouldn't appreciate USD forks
- don't value the different handlebars

I prefer the tubeless tyres on the F650 as they can be plugged without having to take the wheel off and mend the tube, they are also safer in case of a blow-out. I'm not fased by the idea of cast wheels, my 12GS had cast wheels and was fine.

The other two points are ride height where the 800 has better ground clearance (but higher seat), and the cosmetic looks where having an 800 sticker rather than a 650 means you have hairier balls, and female riders gain a moustache.

So, on to the ride. What did I think of it?
First impressions. I can get both feet absolutely flat on the floor with the standard seat. The engine is very smooth and quiet. The clutch is light, the gearbox smooth and the fueling is spot on--it's very easy to control at low speed either offroad or in heavy traffic. The engine pulls well from low revs with no obvious power step. It's a well-behaved bike for less experienced riders.

My hands were cold as handguards aren't standard on either the 650 or 800GS. The screen is low--especially on the 650--and I was feeling the wind blast, but then I looked down and realised I was doing 75 mph. Woops (and 4000 revs is 70 mph). If you keep to 60-65 mph the standard screen is fine, but for motorways a higher screen is needed. The screen from the F800GS is higher, alternatively TT sells both higher screens and clip-on screen spoilers.

I briefly took the bike up to 100mph and whilst there wasn't as much power as the 1200GS, it didn't seem that far off. It easily pulls from 35mph in top. There's less 'character' to the engine but it's very enjoyable. The switchgear is traditional BMW. The brake reservoir in on a flexible mount and tends to wave around in the rider's face in a distracting way.

I did about a mile offroad on some deeply rutted tracks and fields. At one time I stalled the engine going uphill in second, probably due to the engine not having quite the pull of the 1200, but otherwise I felt very confident. After seeing the amount of damage caused to non-boxer (Xchallenge) bikes at the Welsh offroad school I am concerned, however, whether the optional crash bars are enough to protect the plastics of the 'tank' area. On the positive side the handlebars were good and I wouldn't need risers.

The front brake is a single disc, as opposed to twin rotors on the F800. Someone on UKGSer suggested the bike would pull to one side, so I tried high-speed halts. Despite activating ABS there was no side pull. I guess the point of the twin rotors is to minimise heat-induced fade in places like the Alps.

The major surprise was fuel consumption. Travelling at 65-70 mph I would normally get 52-55 mpg on the 1200GSA; with the F650GS I got 71 mpg!

I haven't made up my mind whether to get the bike or not. I need to do a back-to-back next week with the 800GS to see what I would be missing by going for the 800's 'little sister'.

Tim

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"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)