Dakar Reliability

[Razor]

I am searching for a 05-07 Dakar and have found one that looks good but it has almost 40,000 kms on it (40,000 service done). Is buying a Dakar with this many kms recomended or should I wait to find one with less? Are there any maintainance issues I sould be aware of with this many kms?

[Razor]

Maybe I should have made the title Dakar Durability then I might get a response. Does anyone know of someone with a BMW 650 Dakar who has put lots of kms on it?

[tomcycle]

Not so sure about the Dakar 650 other than it is the old f650 engine but my G650X has been totally reliable. Anyone who knows the bike and myself, know this bike has been through the paces and then some. The bike has just over 20000kms, tough kms. Lots of hard single track where smaller bikes feared to go and some wide open Baja riding. The bike has been cleaned up and is about to start its adventure duties, I just finished a 1800km street ride to Oregon engine did not burn a drop of oil.
For more information follow this link
http://www.dualsportbc.com/forums/sh...k-and-counting

[Island Hopper]

The 650 Rotax is a pretty reliable engine which should go 100,000+ KM before rebuild if treated well.... However at 40,000 KM I would look at replacing or at least carrying a spare water pump and fuel pump as these items tend to be the achillies heel for travellers...

[Wick-Trimmer]

Owned a Dakar twin spark single, sold it at 30,000 km not one issue with the engine in that time including water pump though I did hear of some issues on Adv rider. Went through a few fork seals, found the old school forks a bit of issue for some. Some I know changed up to progressive springs. But overall that bike and engine in particular ran as well at 30K as it did new.

[Razor]

thanks Tom! how is the G650X on the road? have you riden with passangers often? is there luggage available for it? I missed out on the Dakar so I am still in the hunt.

[Razor]

Thanks Island Hopper the information about the spare water and fuel pump will come in handy when I find the right bike. Still looking.

[Razor]

Ya I've heard that about the front forks. I'll also check Adv rider for tips on what to look for. I missed out on the last Dakar 650 but sill looking

[bcfellow]

Mine has ran like a top. The engine is bomb proof. What I did notice as a weak point of the overall design of the bike is the steering head bearings. I'd argue they need replacement more often then other bikes, and most likely due to the long forks and BMW not using a beefier set of bearings than the standard F650GS. I'm up around the 40K mark and have replaced the steering head bearings once.

Other than that...tires, chains, and brake pads - the stuff you expect.

[clgrnt]

http://www.dualsportbc.com/forums/sh...kar-12.8k-km-s

Just sayin! Located on the island, dealer maintained, bmw fanboy owned and low km's

[Cariboo_JT]

If you have any doubts about the bike check out www.paulmondor.com , I know Paul and can vouch for his truthfulness and insanity. :-) Also if you are still looking, the one posted for sale by clgrnt is great, (the centrestand is a real bonus for flat fixin' on the side of the trail) IMHO. Mine's an '06 with over 20k. oil filter change is a pain and the bike is tall but other than that it's amazing! (again IMHO).

[bluebottle]

Mine has 40k km on it now - bought at 17k. I replaced the head bearings when I got it as it had a small notch at center - no such issues to date (suspect replacements bearings are either better quality or better lubricated - BMW doesn't go overboard with lubing moving parts). Had the water pump seal at replaced at 27k under warranty - sadly the shop just replaced the seal and not the shaft - hence it leaked again straight away - took it back to the shop and they replaced the shaft as well this time. If you can do the work yourself you can save significant $ (around $400 for the 20k service). Lots of good info out there on these bikes. See BMW 650 Forum

Motor is solid, valve shims are still in adjustment limits at 40K (in fact no sign of wear) - fuel filter is expensive at $250 because it has the pressure relief valve built into it and is supposed to be changed at 40k - trick is to put an inline filter in series and that filters the crap out first. Knowing what I know now - I'd not have a problem getting a 650 with 40K Km on it at the right price.

[In_Land_Sea]

I too would give a thumbs up for the Dakar.

I have replaced wheel bearings, SHB, fork seals, chains and sprockets and had to adjust a couple of valve shims (since valves get tighter with time, gently shaving down the shims allows you to adjust them without buying replacements).

I have not had any water pump issues and I like the Dakar so much I just could not see myself selling it. It has been so successful that BMW has brought it back as the G650GS for about $9K.

If BMW would have upgraded the front forks on the G650GS to the F800 forks I would have considered selling the F_Dak and going for the upgrade......but that is not to be.

The service history for a bike will tell you everything you need to know if it is a good buy and..........you likely know this, but check this site for the knowledge base :http://f650.com/index.php as the F650 thread on ADVRider is mainly about hard core alterations.



Here is a link to pic/documents for my Dakar :http://s737.photobucket.com/profile/OceanMtnSea

J