by Paul Bissex, 2001-05-01

Abstract

The F650ST kicks ass. It’s light, nimble, stable, grunty, dead reliable. One of the best do-it-all motorcycles ever IMO.

Full Review

Motor

The first time I rode this bike, last year, I had just hopped off my inline-4 CB700SC. I immediately missed the smoothness and the steeper horsepower curve of the four. The single seemed almost silly, and not exciting. This time, having spent some time on an old parallel twin in the interim, I liked it much better.

The Meat Zone is 5K-7Krpm more or less. Running twisties in this range is very gratifying. The four feels like a turbo in comparison — lots of top end, but you have to wait for it to spool up. I grew to like the point-n-grunt. Redline is at 7.5K and you don’t get much by pushing it. Vibes are most palpable at 5K, but even there they are not bad — mirrors remain clear and pegs and bars buzz is negligible.

This particular bike was very jerky under 3Krpm in any gear except first, but that may turn out to be a tuning problem.

Handling

This bike is really nimble. It’s light and has fairly wide bars. Fun to toss around. Clearance is good, but I’m not one to grind hard parts. The weight feels high up; that’s my only complaint.

Amenities

This bike had the BMW top-box. Very nice! I kept it very lightly loaded so as not to upset handling. I loved the convenience. The latch is better designed than some entire motorcycles — one finger to open, one finger to clamp and close.

Highway

My ride home was a slab drone in top gear for two hours. Overall this was very comfortable, though crosswinds and turbulence from other vehicles were sometimes unsettling due to the light weight. Top speed can’t be much over 100mph; I didn’t try. This bike had a tall aftermarket plexi fairing which I hated on the backroads, but which was nice on the highway. So I can’t tell you how the stubby stocker feels at speed.

The, um, crotch interface turned out to be a little uncomfortable during this part of the trip, because it’s just a little too broad. This means you have to clench your knees to the tank to keep them from flapping in the wind. My groin muscles got sore.

Dirt

I’m not much of a dirt expert, and this bike was wearing street tires, but I did ride fifteen or twenty dirt miles total. The light weight was a nice factor here. The light-touch brakes were too, though those aren’t unique to the Beemer. The single’s substantial engine braking was important to mind in this situation.

Twisties

This thing rules in the twisties. The ride up Saturday included a great backroads section where a 50-70mph pace is fun and mildly challenging. The only times the bike felt wanting was during tight passing maneuvers where it’s nice to have extra HP on tap. But in the corners it was sweet.

The real shining hour was this morning, though. I knew the area pretty well and suggested an alternate route, which I ended up leading. It’s about 20 miles through some State Forest land. Beautiful, no cars, no side roads or driveways, tons of tight turns.

And… incredibly shitty pavement, much worse than when I rode it last year. The first sign we saw said “FROST HEAVES NEXT 8 MILES.”

I can’t tell you how confidence-inspiring this light, long-suspension bike was under these conditions — midcorner bumps galore, gravel, etc. I kept expecting things to get seriously unsettled but at all times the limit was my comfort envelope, not the bike’s.

The first guy few bikes pulled in behind me, a Ducati ST2, an R1 and a GSXR600.
“Ow!” “My back!” “My wrists!” Then a Ducati 748. “Fuck that road! Fuck! That! Road! If I didn’t have a steering damper I’d be dead right now!” Then another R1. “My fuckin’ wheel was off the fuckin’ ground! Jesus! And all that gravel!” A couple CBRs. “My kidneys!” On and on for a minute or two until everybody had arrived.

It really was more my idea of a fun road than anybody else’s, clearly (that’s why they don’t ask me to lead anymore!) and not really suited to a typical sportbike setup — but the more complaints I heard (and not just of discomfort but of tankslappers and loss of contact with the road surface) the more amazed I was at how unflappable, comfortable, and fun the BMW had been through the whole thing.

(I was also grateful that nobody had gotten hurt, of course.)

Plus

The quietness and kind of goofy looks provide some stealth against law enforcement attention IMO. Especially with an Aerostich, a big windscreen, and some retroreflective safety tape on the mudflap.

Too much plastic.

Too expensive.

Nice seat.

40-50mpg.