The October issue of Motorcyclist magazine reviews the new 2011 G650GS in a one-page article on page 44 of the magazine. The review seems to "damn the bike with faint praise". They say the bike feels agile and balanced, but the footpegs touch down too soon while cornering and the engine produces quite of bit of vibration at high rpms. The ABS system is effective but "overly cautious" and stopping performance improves with ABS turned off. They liked the bike's soft suspension and "tractor-like" torque when riding off road. They comment that ground clearance is "nowhere near as good as on the bigger GS models and the stock Metzelers (tires) are decidedly road-based, but the 650 holds its own and is plenty capable of satisfying your desire to explore dirt roads." The bike's seat height of 30.7 inches is said to accommodate even 5-foot tall riders, who will be able to plant both feet firmly on the ground at stops. A taller seat is available with a height of 32.2 inches, but the article, written by Al Henning, comments that it would be unlikely to provide enough legroom for a 6-foot rider.
However, what really got my attention was the comment under the small photo of the bike under their 3 1/2 star (out of 5) rating "Verdict" box. Here is what it says: "For 2011 BMW brought production of the 650cc engine back to Germany. The previous model's mill was assembled in China to cut costs. Prior to that it was built in Austria by Rotax."
It sure seems like the factory equipment needed to build the G650's engine must be able to fit into suitcases as it sure gets moved around a lot. I would love to know why BMW yanked the 650's engine production away from Locin in China and returned it to Germany. I'll bet there is an interesting story there.
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