Thinking of trading my V-Strom 650XT for the new Himalayan 450 – need your thoughts!

[adri]

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The key points i agree with "hate being a BMW owner in Canada". Planned obsolescence is part of BMW engineering and the likes philosophy.

If planned obsolescence was really part of the BMW engineering philosophy, whoever designed the funuro 650cc/F650GS single/G650GS single that they made for a quarter century was surely fired, and then re-hired just so they could fire him again to get out of paying him severance.

Fortnine just did a video on it the off-road specific version yesterday that you should watch:

These things are bullet proof. Both of my 14 years old G650GS (650cc singles) have tens of thousands of km on them. They still look as good as new minus one or two scuffs and a hot brunette's even hotter shoe melting on part of the pipe.

Will a 14 year old Royal Enfield still look brand? Based on how my Interceptor 650 looked at 4 years old? Probably not. I bet a Japanese bike would though.

 

[FreeAgent]

If planned obsolescence was really part of the BMW engineering philosophy, whoever designed the funuro 650cc/F650GS single/G650GS single that they made for a quarter century was surely fired, and then re-hired just so they could fire him again to get out of paying him severance.

Fortnine just did a video on it the off-road specific version yesterday that you should watch:

These things are bullet proof. Both of my 14 years old G650GS (650cc singles) have tens of thousands of km on them. They still look as good as new minus one or two scuffs and a hot brunette's even hotter shoe melting on part of the pipe.

Will a 14 year old Royal Enfield still look brand? Based on how my Interceptor 650 looked at 4 years old? Probably not. I bet a Japanese bike would though.

There was a YT video last month about a BMW engineer who was a whistleblower on BMW practice (may be he was that engineer. Hopefully he does not end up as the Boeing engineer in the parking lot! I cant find the video anymore. However there is this one :

which shed some light on this practice.
My first hand experience with BMW is with their cars and i never own a BMW motorcycle. But i would assume the corporate policy of planned obsolescence would have trickle down to their motorcycle line.
I follow this Irish dude who is doing his SouthAmerica trip and he met another rider on a BMW 1300 GS (brand new) with some suspension issue. See the details here:

My current position is that, European manufacturers have mastered the engineering piece the same way as the Japanese did but corporate policies for profitability reasons has turned them into what they are now.

 

[TK4]

These things are bullet proof. Both of my 14 years old G650GS (650cc singles) have tens of thousands of km on them. They still look as good as new minus one or two scuffs and a hot brunette's even hotter shoe melting on part of the pipe.

Will a 14 year old Royal Enfield still look brand? Based on how my Interceptor 650 looked at 4 years old? Probably not. I bet a Japanese bike would though.

@adri: I love ya buddy but you've got to lighten up. RE's are built to a price, just like the new Triumph 400s and numerous other small and mid-displacement motorcycles from all over the world. What will the new BMW 450 cost and how many will they sell ? You own or have owned Vespas, Guzzis, even a Sportster (shame on you) and none of those companies sell a million bikes a year. Does RE have some problems - of course and I've shared them here on GTA and other places. RE North America is a joke, but I can get anything I want from Hitchcocks in England or direct from India in less than a week and the parts don't cost an arm and a leg. Plus, you can fix most anything with a hammer and a big stick - these are third world machines. The new generation bikes have only existed since 2017, what will they look like in 14 years ? Time will tell. Now tell us more about the hot brunette ???

 

[adri]

@adri: I love ya buddy but you've got to lighten up. RE's are built to a price, just like the new Triumph 400s and numerous other small and mid-displacement motorcycles from all over the world. What will the new BMW 450 cost and how many will they sell ? You own or have owned Vespas, Guzzis, even a Sportster (shame on you) and none of those companies sell a million bikes a year. Does RE have some problems - of course and I've shared them here on GTA and other places. RE North America is a joke, but I can get anything I want from Hitchcocks in England or direct from India in less than a week and the parts don't cost an arm and a leg. Plus, you can fix most anything with a hammer and a big stick - these are third world machines. The new generation bikes have only existed since 2017, what will they look like in 14 years ? Time will tell. Now tell us more about the hot brunette ???

As long as people are aware.

Thing is, and I say this with a Triumph Speed 400 in my garage, people get that the Speed 400 is a budget bike built to a price point with budget components, and no one's saying they're on par with the average Japanese street bike. Whereas many RE fanboys and their dealers will try to push that false narrative.

It's like when I warn people the Sportster is an absolute POS even when I owned and loved my Sportster. There are so many people who drink the Kool Aid and say the sportster is God's gift to motorcycling.

Sure, you can spend good money after bad and have a lot of fun on both bikes, but we need more voices being honest about the strengths and the weaknesses clear to help protect riders from advertisingdollar-induced disappointment.

 

[TK4]

As long as people are aware.

Thing is, and I say this with a Triumph Speed 400 in my garage, people get that the Speed 400 is a budget bike built to a price point with budget components, and no one's saying they're on par with the average Japanese street bike. Whereas many RE fanboys and their dealers will try to push that false narrative.

It's like when I warn people the Sportster is an absolute POS even when I owned and loved my Sportster. There are so many people who drink the Kool Aid and say the sportster is God's gift to motorcycling.

Sure, you can spend good money after bad and have a lot of fun on both bikes, but we need more voices being honest about the strengths and the weaknesses clear to help protect riders from advertisingdollar-induced disappointment.

You forgot the brunette story ?

 

[adri]

You forgot the brunette story ?

She's not home yet

 

[FreeAgent]

Anyone has any experience with either Lone Rider - Rackless 70L Adv or the MoskoMoto Reckless 80 L? I currently have hard pannier on the Vstrom but i want to get a soft luggage for my next bike. Black Friday deals ongoing.

​

 

[Lightcycle]

Anyone has any experience with either Lone Rider - Rackless 70L Adv or the MoskoMoto Reckless 80 L? I currently have hard pannier on the Vstrom but i want to get a soft luggage for my next bike. Black Friday deals ongoing.

I used the R80 on our trip across the country on the (TCAT) Trans-Canada Adventure Trail this summer. There's about two months worth of travel supplies in here, clothes, tent, camping equipment, tools and spares:

• Great mass centralization solution. Bags are as close to the bike as possible. We rode through some pretty tight sections of the TCAT and my wife's BC35s scraped by a lot of brush and bushes because they're mounted so far out. Never had a problem with the R80s.
• When negotiating twisty sections which required moving the bike quickly left and right underneath you, you never felt like you had huge outriggers on either side. Bike is very nimble as a result and won't loose footing even in the slippery stuff.
• Very durable. Had a couple of offs on the rocks and the holsters survived with no damage.
• Very well thought-out design with all the various straps holding the bags tight to the bike, minimal movement or flapping around even on the rockiest sections of the trails
• Molle panels on the top of the holsters and the beavertail allow you to easily add lots of additional storage and accessories. Great system.

All in all, great solution. I like it a lot.

I'm a big Mosko fan. Also have a R40 that I originally got for my enduro, but it can also be repurposed to fit my ADV bike for day trips:

 

[FreeAgent]

I used the R80 on our trip across the country on the (TCAT) Trans-Canada Adventure Trail this summer. There's about two months worth of travel supplies in here, clothes, tent, camping equipment, tools and spares:

• Great mass centralization solution. Bags are as close to the bike as possible. We rode through some pretty tight sections of the TCAT and my wife's BC35s scraped by a lot of brush and bushes because they're mounted so far out. Never had a problem with the R80s.
• When negotiating twisty sections which required moving the bike quickly left and right underneath you, you never felt like you had huge outriggers on either side. Bike is very nimble as a result and won't loose footing even in the slippery stuff.
• Very durable. Had a couple of offs on the rocks and the holsters survived with no damage.
• Very well thought-out design with all the various straps holding the bags tight to the bike, minimal movement or flapping around even on the rockiest sections of the trails
• Molle panels on the top of the holsters and the beavertail allow you to easily add lots of additional storage and accessories. Great system.

All in all, great solution. I like it a lot.

I'm a big Mosko fan. Also have a R40 that I originally got for my enduro, but it can also be repurposed to fit my ADV bike for day trips:

Thx. this is great feedback! Nice bikes by the way!

 

[85K100]

You forgot the brunette story ?

Pics of brunette, please.

 

[adri]

Pics of brunette, please.

Pics? Sure.

Location: Moto Guzzi factory museum - Mandello del Lario, Italy.
Time: Seconds before I made a stupid joke, our first ride across Italy, 2023.

Location: Same
Time: Seconds after I made a stupid joke.

You can do almost anything with a woman, except bore her, so grab her hand, tell her an awful joke, take her on a motorcycle ride across Italy, introduce her to good food and amazing places. And when her head's spinning from how much you've piqued all of her senses, you drop her off at the airport, kiss her goodbye, and continue the ride without her for two more weeks. She goes back home, wishing she was still with you, and wondering what the hell you're getting up to and who you're talking to over there without her.

Follow me for more tips on how to keep em keen, gents!

As for the melted shoe story... (and bringing this back on topic) I can't take a picture of the melted shoe on the exhaust pipe because that bike is still in Italy, waiting on my next adventure. But after three times riding across Italy, I'm thinking I'll ride across France next.

That's the real beauty of picking a reliable motorcycle to tour on far from home: You don't need to worry about where the dealers are or aren't, what support will or won't be like wherever you're going, or how long it might take to get parts far from home should something fail. You can just pick any direction and go, your bike will be just fine. Hard to put a price on that.

Buy the fun/eccentric/PITA/sketchy bikes for close to home, and the boringfuckingHonda/BMW/650thumper/japanese/etc. for far from home.

 

[Mad Mike]

@adri, you're getting cynical in your old age.
This story was about a trip to the Arctic, it was not an advertorial.
Point being, those two guys went north on 450cc, 40hp ADV machines, not 100hp, 650lb behemoths.

On free bikes supplied by RE?

 

[Mad Mike]

If planned obsolescence was really part of the BMW engineering philosophy, whoever designed the funuro 650cc/F650GS single/G650GS single that they made for a quarter century was surely fired, and then re-hired just so they could fire him again to get out of paying him severance.

Fortnine just did a video on it the off-road specific version yesterday that you should watch:

These things are bullet proof. Both of my 14 years old G650GS (650cc singles) have tens of thousands of km on them. They still look as good as new minus one or two scuffs and a hot brunette's even hotter shoe melting on part of the pipe.

Will a 14 year old Royal Enfield still look brand? Based on how my Interceptor 650 looked at 4 years old? Probably not. I bet a Japanese bike would though.

Funduros might be reliable, but they're only bulletproof if you do a couple of inexpensive upgrades and add a few procedures into your maintenance routine (things not typical for most motorcycles).

1. You must relocate (and ideally upgrade to aftermarket) the voltage regulator. If you ride in 30c or warmer temps the stock reg will output up to 17 volts which slowly cooks Funduros battery.

2. Change water pump seals every 25k km or 3 years. If not you'll be replacing them on the road - not maybe.

3. The stock dual Mikuni BST33 CV carbs require adding 2 fuel filters,100 micron pre pump and 40 micron post pump. Funduros come from BMW with NO FILTERS, just a petcock screen. Not maybe, BST carbs do not tolerate unfiltered fuel, they will clog without the inline filters. The post pump filter needs changing with LOF service to be safe.

BST 33s are also notorious for needing full carb service every few years.

Take care by tending to the minor upgrades and do the extra maintenance and you're Bulletproof.

 

[TK4]

On free bikes supplied by RE?

This was not a road test, it was the story of a road trip.
There's a YouTube guy that does stuff like this on beater Gold Wings and Hayabusas, he's fun to follow too.
Some people like big and fast, some people like smaller and nimble - I like other people's.

 

[Mad Mike]

This was not a road test, it was the story of a road trip.
There's a YouTube guy that does stuff like this on beater Gold Wings and Hayabusas, he's fun to follow too.
Some people like big and fast, some people like smaller and nimble - I like other people's.

If a couple of guys are able to get some free bikes for a road trip, methinks there is a marketing angle in there somewhere.

The review is implicit in this case, RE Hym makes the trek, nothing bad reported. That's good press.

Perhaps it was a smooth uneventful trip, I have my doubts as to whether any challenges would make the trip report (if they did, free bikes are off the table in the future).

 

[FreeAgent]

Thank you all folks for the great conversation on my question. I have made up my mind already on my next bike barring any new piece of info. I will share which model i think i will be going once i sell the V-Strom first. If anyone if interested in a 2024 Suzuki Vstrom 650 XT with pannier, heated grip, bash plate, crash bars, center stand, lowered footpeg, bar-risers, fork brace, GPS holder, kick stand extension and TPMS, DM me with an offer. Bike has 29K mileage and was bought new last year and was manufactured in Japan in Jan 2024. Here are some pics...there are some accessories that are not included.

 

[Lightcycle]

If anyone if interested in a 2024 Suzuki Vstrom 650 XT

I chuckled a bit at this.

You may not know the motley crew of characters on GTAM very well yet, but FYI, one out of every two users here owns a V-Strom.

You should actually have asked:

Is anyone interested in another Suzuki Vstrom?

 

[adri]

Funduros might be reliable, but they're only bulletproof if you do a couple of inexpensive upgrades and add a few procedures into your maintenance routine (things not typical for most motorcycles).

1. You must relocate (and ideally upgrade to aftermarket) the voltage regulator. If you ride in 30c or warmer temps the stock reg will output up to 17 volts which slowly cooks Funduros battery.

2. Change water pump seals every 25k km or 3 years. If not you'll be replacing them on the road - not maybe.

3. The stock dual Mikuni BST33 CV carbs require adding 2 fuel filters,100 micron pre pump and 40 micron post pump. Funduros come from BMW with NO FILTERS, just a petcock screen. Not maybe, BST carbs do not tolerate unfiltered fuel, they will clog without the inline filters. The post pump filter needs changing with LOF service to be safe.

BST 33s are also notorious for needing full carb service every few years.

Take care by tending to the minor upgrades and do the extra maintenance and you're Bulletproof.

Does any of this apply to the two generations of 650cc singles BMW made after the original funduro?

I rode for two weeks straight of 40+ celcius weather with no issues, and my voltage always in range (I have a little voltage display add on to make sure my android auto unit + charging my phone at the same time aren't drawing too much juice). It cooked my smart watch (Fitbit Charge 5) to the point of never working again, which is wild because I had previous had that thing in saunas, hot tubs, etc. with no issues.

Waterpumps on my BMW G650GS is 14+ years old. Pumps just fine for me but noted, and I'll keep an eye on it I guess *shrug*

Also, no stock carbs, because the last 15 years or so of 650cc single BMWs were fuel injected.

Again, not to say I'm endorsing my own model for OP, because, for North American touring, you're probably still better off going Japanese and getting more power, just curious for conversation.

 

[adri]

If a couple of guys are able to get some free bikes for a road trip, methinks there is a marketing angle in there somewhere.

The review is implicit in this case, RE Hym makes the trek, nothing bad reported. That's good press.

Perhaps it was a smooth uneventful trip, I have my doubts as to whether any challenges would make the trip report (if they did, free bikes are off the table in the future).

In short, big difference between a "ride report" of a sponsored ride, and a ride report of a couple of buds paying for everything out of pocket.
The difference is the money, and when the Marketing Dept. spends money, it comes with expectations.

 

[Lightcycle]

Does any of this apply to the two generations of 650cc singles BMW made after the original funduro?

Negatory.

They discontinued the Funduro around 2000.

Wife's first (real) bike was a 2004 F650CS Scarver, with the engine that came after the Funduro. 2004 was the first year of the twin-spark for smoother throttle response and better fuel economy. She put ~65,000 kms the two years she owned it, zero problems with the bike. Flawless.

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