I got an opportunity to put some distance on a BMW F650GS today. It was a good thing for me since I’d been getting the feeling of being cooped up at home. It also gave me the chance to get the branding tags off my new Tour Master boots, which I’ll write about separately.

This motorcycle was a demo bike from BMW Motorrad India. I rode this around first on Tarmac and bumpy broken tarmac. Later a smaller group of us went and rode it around on an unpaved stretch of road to get some shots.

Sitting on the BMW F650GS

Just sitting on the motorcycle, even when not in motion, feels very natural. The height is not too much (I am around 5’10”). While riding seated, I felt the pegs were a little too tall, but that may be a new bike syndrome. The seating position on this motorcycle would keep you happy for hours together on tarmac. The seating position also gives a clear view all around, which allows for the rider to exploit the power available.

On dirt however, if you see the standing photos, you will notice that I am a little hunched over. I would prefer the handle bar to be setup a little taller. That’s an adjustment that you would make on a bike that you intend to ride for a longer period of time.

Weight Distribution

The moto feels really light! I expected it to feel a little heavier, based on my past experience with the F650GS Funduro and BMW 1150GS.

The fuel sits really low, under the seat and the centralised mass from the engine placement does help with that overall light feeling that it gives.

Performance

I rode this motorcycle in a populated area with many cross roads in the beginning.  The twin cylinder 800cc motor on this, makes it very responsive compared to the 650cc single in the older models. I did not take the motorcycle over 5,000rpm, though it’s rev limit is up at 8,500rpm. I never had to, in these conditions, owing to the torque on the engine. The engine has been retuned and kicks in much earlier in the powerband.

People who would tour on this motorcycle would, most of the time, prefer the smooth power delivery to highway speeds. The twin cylinder does make it much more pleasurable to ride than the single.

When I rode this on dirt, I was a little more apprehensive given the ruts. But, the motorcycle can be ridden hard on dirt and the it does take what you throw at it, as was proven by some others that day. The gearing is quite tall and when ridden slow on dirt, this is very obvious.

I think this motorcycle would be a great purchase for people looking for the perfect balance, more than the Royal Enfields but less than the massive BMW 1200GS. I think having larger spoked wheels, would make a big difference on how this motorcycle handles in dirt. It still feels very road oriented as of now with the smaller mag wheels.

Braking

I got a good chance to test the brakes when a little Ford Figo jumped onto the main road. No drama here and the motorcycle slowed down comfortably from about a 100kmph to 0kmph without moving around. I really feel ABS is a necessity in India on big motorcycles, to survive the maniacs in cars.

During the little riding on dirt that I did, I did not have to use the brakes too much, and could get away by controlling the motorcycle with the throttle.

Conclusion

This is a motorcycle that I could see myself riding in India. I really think that its nicely suited for the type of roads that we have. I think this would be good highway munch-er, while allowing you to go off road confidently. But, the killer of all these fine thoughts is the price. At around Rs. 15,00,000.00 on road, that unfortunately puts it way out of reach in terms of what I would like to spend for a travel motorcycle.

Will have to wait and watch, especially given that BMW has already launched the BMW F700GS everywhere else and it will be good to see Triumph’s pricing strategy when they launch and open bookings in November 2013.

Thanks to Samarth for pulling me along and Sukesh from Let’s Gear Up for making his store the base, for everyone to ride.