Not one of FortNine's best videos ever, but as the owner of two BMW G650GS (the on road version of the generation after this one), this video tickled my heart:
I think anyone with a KLR/DR/CRF 650 will appreciate it as y'all just get the 650 thumper vibe (literally).
This is basically the bike I ride across Italy on every year. It can do anything you want it to (except go real fast).
Super easy handling. With the gas tank under the seat, and a switch to a lithium battery, the center of gravity on this motorcycle feels like it's 2 ft above the pavement.
The Sachs rear shock and plenty of front travel makes it a plush ride well beyond it's price-point (I paid $5k for one with 2k km, and $4k for one with 10k km, still keep them both).
Roomie enough for (slow) two up touring, before riding across Italy the missus and I took this thing to Quebec City and back as a practice run before shipping the bike overseas.
I keep mentioning it's slow but in truth it has plenty of power on the highways carrying all my stuff. It's very comfortable at 120, even 130 km/hr, you can go full throttle and get into the 160s if you absolutely need to. I'm told my gen with dual spark plugs is a little nicer, but it's definitely still just a 650cc single.
The only thing Ryan didn't touch on is that first gear is geared really low, for off-roady stuff, I guess. I've ridden the Amalfi Coast on this bike 2-3 times now, and I always feel like first gear is too low when I'm downshifting around tight corners, but that second gear is comparatively too tall.
Lucky for me when I mentioned this issue to the local Ducati club they had a quick solution for me, "Just ride faster and never go in first gear." Problem solved I guess? lol
I think anyone with a KLR/DR/CRF 650 will appreciate it as y'all just get the 650 thumper vibe (literally).
This is basically the bike I ride across Italy on every year. It can do anything you want it to (except go real fast).
Super easy handling. With the gas tank under the seat, and a switch to a lithium battery, the center of gravity on this motorcycle feels like it's 2 ft above the pavement.
The Sachs rear shock and plenty of front travel makes it a plush ride well beyond it's price-point (I paid $5k for one with 2k km, and $4k for one with 10k km, still keep them both).
Roomie enough for (slow) two up touring, before riding across Italy the missus and I took this thing to Quebec City and back as a practice run before shipping the bike overseas.
I keep mentioning it's slow but in truth it has plenty of power on the highways carrying all my stuff. It's very comfortable at 120, even 130 km/hr, you can go full throttle and get into the 160s if you absolutely need to. I'm told my gen with dual spark plugs is a little nicer, but it's definitely still just a 650cc single.
The only thing Ryan didn't touch on is that first gear is geared really low, for off-roady stuff, I guess. I've ridden the Amalfi Coast on this bike 2-3 times now, and I always feel like first gear is too low when I'm downshifting around tight corners, but that second gear is comparatively too tall.
Lucky for me when I mentioned this issue to the local Ducati club they had a quick solution for me, "Just ride faster and never go in first gear." Problem solved I guess? lol
