Bike Trader

It seems hardly a month goes by theses days without BMW Motorrad launching a new model and at last November’s International Motorcycle and Scooter Show, BMW launched in the UK a range of three new lightweight single cylinder motorcycles, the G series; comprising the G650 Xmoto, G650 Xchallenge and G650 Xcountry. BMW’s entry into this entirely new model segment being deisgned to attract new riders to the BMW motorcycle brand.

We were lucky enough to get our hands on the BMW G650 Xcountry for a day; BMW describe this model in their sales brochure as “an all-purpose go anywhere bike for the 21^st century”. It’s a bike your unlikely to see many of as we understand that the numbers allocated for sale in the UK are very low!

Not so new!

Really this is not such a new bike, the engine is taken from the long time BMW stalwart the F 650 (the Funduro). However it has been substantially reworked and now produces 53 hp at 7,000 RPM and 60 NM of torque at 5,250 RPM, up from the 50 hp it produced in the Funduro. BMW claim the engine sets new standards for smoothness, fuel economy, emissions and reliability. The engine has a lightweight alternator flywheel and has a redesigned airbox and exhaust. Apparently the engine electronics have also been adapted to improve responsiveness. A balance shaft is fitted to substantially reduce vibration. Now vibration is something that the F 650 suffers from when pushed and I was eager to see if BMW really have reduced this to a minimum in the Xcountry?

The power is fed through a 5 speed gearbox with a cable operated clutch. The engine is twin spark for cleaner and more efficient combustion.

The frame and many other parts of this bike are entirely new and whilst the Xcountry’s  main frame is only steel tube, it does have aluminium side sections and rear frame. Mated to this are non-adjustable upside down forks which have 240mm of travel  and at the rear the Xcountry has a height adjustable hydraulic strut with a fully adjustable spring pre-load and rear damping and is set with 210mm of travel. In line with its enduro pretensions it has a 19 inch front wheel and a 17 inch rear.

Brakes are usually a BMW strong point and the Xcountry has wavy discs complemented with Brembo callipers, the front having a 300mm double piston calliper and the rear a single 240mm calliper. Our test model was also fitted with the optional BMW Motorrad ABS system, which can be turned off for off-road use.

First impressions

When you first set eyes on the functional Xcountry, it’s quite unusual looking.  It’s not an out and out offroad bike, it’s let down in this respect by the close fitting front mudguard and only a plastic sump guard  with a fairly wide and comfortable dual seat. Yet its wide bars, upswept exhaust, wide pegs and Metzler Tourance trail style tyres suggest that off-road riding is a possibility. Interestingly the chain is on the opposite side to normal and it has rear fuel filler cap (car style) and a stylish LED tail light! I would have liked to have seen a better finish to the frame welds though; this is a BMW after all.

The Xcountry digital speedo and warning 1ights

The riding position is very upright and forward and the way the seat is angled tips you forward into the small 20 litre tank which has comfortable sculpted cut-outs for your knees. With its steep steering rake of 61.5 degrees and wide bars, this bike has a very, very tight turning angle which makes slow speed manoeuvring a delight! As the front forks have considerable travel, the ride feels somewhat bouncy and fork dive on hard braking is very evident, as I discovered when braking hard for a round about, I almost did a stoppie. Additionally the brakes are fairly soft in their application (unusual for a BMW) and have to be applied firmly, but they do work very effectively.

I found the cable operated clutch to be very light and smooth in application and the gearbox whilst still having  a very positive action  (another BMW trait) was not clunky and gear changes could be achieved with a fair degree of smoothness.

The exhaust note from the large silencer is pleasant but not outstanding, raspy but fairly muted, perhaps the optional and more stylish Akrapovic™ slip on sport silencer would improve this.

The revised engine is a big improvement,  at last they’ve done away with the vibration that is evident in the F650. This incarnation of the single cylinder engine is actually fairly smooth, this was a big surprise. Whilst the engines power delivery is quite punchy it did not seem to deliver the level of aggressive torquey response I was expecting from a 650cc single, it’s a little soft in its delivery! The engine does pull well in the mid range though and given a long enough stretch of road should reach its claimed top speed of approximately 105 mph.

The bike doesn’t have any form of mini screen or cockpit fairing and is 100% naked, this makes the bike hard work on motorways (not its natural habitat) with wind blast and turbulence.

At last someone has produced a digital speedo that’s big and clear and easy to read, the Xcountry has a small instrument binnacle that has a big digital speed read out and the normal range of warning lights. A further surprise is that this BMW has the normal design indicator switch as found on most other bikes and not their own idiosyncratic switch system, may be this is a ploy to attract more riders to the range?

Fun

This bike is all about having fun, so we took it to the countryside for a day’s fun. It’s instantly apparent that this really is a back roads bike. You can hustle it along twisty country roads and flick it in and out of bends with ease, aided by the wide bars and it’s lightweight of only 160kg. The single cylinder engine is very willing and I soon found myself really warming to the bikes ability to cope with gravely, muddy and downright potholed country roads as if they where a smooth tarmaced motorway. The engine spins up quickly in the lower gears and is very tractable which makes country road riding a delight. The Metzler Tourances providing ample grip for what can be impressive lean angles and are not easily thrown off line and the upright and slightly forward riding position soon seems to makes sense, once you get into what this bike is about.

XCountry is not a serious off-roader!

However fun is limited, in that this is not a true off road bike, light green lanes, gravel tracks, forestry shale trails are all with in its gambit, but the plastic sump guard, close front mudguard preclude real serious off roading, as I found to my cost when I got it stuck down a seriously rutted muddy country track! The wide rubber pegs, do allow you stand upright on the bike and it’s very stable; for serious off-roading though you need to consider the G650 X challenge. However I think it’s a missed opportunity that the Xcountry’s off road capabilities could not be extended a bit more.

After about 50 miles that seat seems to getting increasingly hard, but then this bike doesn’t have a massive fuel range, so you will be stopping for fuel occasionally and relieving your aching posterior. It only has a 9 litre tank and there is no fuel gauge, but a low fuel warning light comes on when there is approximately 2 litres left in the tank. BMW seem to have delivered on their promise of economy from this improved engine, I achieved a staggering 63 MPG and I wasn’t sparing with the throttle! So the bike has about a 120 mile tank range.

Verdict

The Xcountry - fun at a price.

A day in the country with the XCountry is undoubtedly fun and this bike delivers on its name, but at a price. The base model costs £5,795 on the road, but add the ABS and this jumps to £6,305. This makes the bike pricey against its Japanese competition, now one hopes that  residual values will be good and there is the exclusivity of that the blue and white badge, but this is fun at a price!

Specification Engine

Type                                        Water-cooled 4-stroke, single cylinder engine, four valves, twin overhead camshaft, dry sump lubrication
Bore x stroke                         100 mm x 83 mm
Capacity                                 652 cm³
Output                                     53 hp (39 kW) at 7,000 rpm
Max. torque                            60 Nm at 5,250 rpm
Compression ratio                11.5:1
Fuel/engine management    Electronic intake pipe injection/BMW engine management, twin-spark ignition
Emission control                   Regulated 3-way catalytic converter, compliant with EU3 emissions standard

Performance/fuel consumption
Maximum speed                   170km/h
Fuel consumption – 100km
at a constant 90km/h                        3.4 litres
Fuel consumption – 100km
At a constant 120km/h                      4.8 litres
Fuel type                                Premium unleaded, minimum 95 octane (RON)

Unladen weight, fully fuelled/
Road ready*                            160 kg
Dry weight**                           148 kg
Max, permitted weight                      335 kg
Max load  (with standard equipment)   175 kg

Relevant figures refer to the DIN standard definition of an unladen bike.

*    As defined in EU directive 93/93/EEC, filled with all operating fluids, filled to at least 90% of usable tank capacity

** Unladen weight without operating fluids

Article and Photos by Jon Booth – http://www.inter-bike.co.uk/ – The UK Biker Site

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Thanks to the BMW North Oxford dealership for the loan of the BMW G650 XCountry

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