In their November issue, starting on page 48, Rider magazine has a review of the 2011 G650GS titled " The Little Bike That Could". The article contains some photos and two pages of text, along with a few specifications. A few things are worth noting:
The bike's base price in the U.S. has been lowered to $7,350, but the previously standard ABS ($500) and $250 heated grips have been deleted and now are extra cost options. However, since BMWNA will only import motorcycles with ABS installed, the actual showroom price in the U.S. has been increased to $7,850. Kind of tricky, huh? Rider put their 2009 test bike on the Jett Tuning's Dynojet dynamometer (with presumably the same motor and tuning) and it made 43.4 hp @ 7,300 rpm and 37.7 lb-ft of torque @ 5,000 rpm. The article states that the G650GS took a lot of shifting to keep the motor on the boil and it had a maximum indicated speed of 100 mph. They report that the single is "remarkably smooth". Fuel tank capacity has been reduced this year to 3.7 gallons. Their gas mileage ranged from a low of 48.6 mpg to a high of 64.2 mpg, with an average fuel mileage of 57.3 mpg. The "Reserve" light shows up when you have one gallon left in the tank and the low fuel countdown tripmeter would typically kick in after the 150-mile mark.
Suspension travel is 6.5 inches in front and 6.7 inches in back.. Handling was said to be very good under all conditions. Tire widths have been increased by 10 mm front and rear and the bike now has a 110/80-19 front tire and a 140/90(?) -17 rear tire. The rear wheel is now 3.5 inches in width and their bike was shod with Metzeler Tourance tires. The windscreen is taller this year, but they felt it was still not tall enough. Naturally, an optional taller screen is available for extra cost. Seat height is 30.7 inches and for an extra $250 you can get a factory-lowered model that reduces the seat height to 29.5 inches. An aluminum rear rack is standard. They comment that the "exhaust heat guards provide solid attachment points for bungee hooks". Wet weight is listed as 434 pounds.
The new LCD vertical bar graph tachometer was said to be too hard to read and the optional heated grips were "lukewarm at best". Get out your wallet should you want to add BMW accessories. Vario side cases and mounts are $714, a centerstand is $175, hand guards are $123, heated grips $250 and an accessory electrical socket is an additional $50.
One final item is that the caption under the engine photo on page 50 says: "BMW designed, Chinese-made 652cc single is liquid-cooled and has EFI and Twin Spark ignition". It would appear that Motorcyclist and Rider magazines have a difference of opinion as to where the engine is made.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Richard230
Your Privacy Choices
Bookmarks