wheels

“To get it right – you have to have it right” – With the aging and old bikes the challenge has remained for me to find the parts on this old BMW G650 XCountry.

The good part is, the parts can be found if you are able to source the matching bikes.
I swapped the original wheel sets of 19/17″ by selling the bike and getting one of the Walter Colebatch collections with 21/18″ wheels. I prefered to have the X Country than the X Challenge due to the taller height but it does make a huge difference in your leaning confidence.

Well, later to my own learnings – I found that 19/17″ serves you a better companion if you don’t have the true off-road situations and prefer to stick to originals. Over an year of wait for someone to sell me the set, I eventually found one in Belgium.

Just a missing front ABS Ring on the Front

Knowing that the wheels are sorted out and the search to find the missing ABS ring on the front wasn’t a huge challenge although my search took me to the forums and the much known fb group for XCountry. Helpful peeps – It came out that the front ABS ring is same as the much known other BMW bikes as F650/F700/C650/G650 so, it was a quick hunch through the Ebay and found one in EBay DE – the seller agreed to dispatch it right away.

The next set of work item was to get the right matching pair to knock off the distance and journeys with. For me it wouldnt have taken long to keep the same pair of Mitas E08, for road going bike but the options get interesting. I shelled out an extra hundred and decided this time to order the Michelin Anakee Adventures.
The front being a 19″ – the tyre size comes in at 100/90/19 and the rear of 17″ asks for 130/80/17, an original combo over my second pair that now will be a spare to store.

The interesting pattern of 80/20 on road/off-road while the ask winters shall suffice with the tread and hopefully the summer leanings will be enjoyable around the Alpine curves.

I now wait to put it all together and have the final ride ready.

Motorcycles, I love them to the point that I can actual feel connected to them in one small ride. To know the good depth inside and outside you need to know what you are all about. I have been given a loan bike for a little while and I felt I had to share this because there is a small wonder in this world made for those who actually feel there is not enough for them. I feel this is one motorcycle which is made just for the right people and right crowd who love to have something under them and make them feel confident. It is particularly not my kind of bike as I am tall and love to have something more powerful than what this 650 offers.

Suzuki Gladius, 645cc fuel-injected DOHC 90-degree V-Twin engine that has the grunt feel but much smooth. V-twin power plant has smooth delivery but sudden drop of power when changing gears, if you ride long enough you would either love it or hate it. It is what v-twins does to you – make them love or hate. Well, that said – the world still is mad about the DUCATI’s twins but here is what makes this competition smooth. Gladius is smooth but equally well balanced, low and perfect for all those who wants to explore the power of v-twins. The bike seating could have done with bit more cushioning as I feel this is really too much on cost cutting. My bum is totally angry because the seat absolutely has not enough cushioning in it and I wonder how it wants to cope with the bigger riders. Other thing, I really felt annoyed is, I could touch my riding boots on corners – leaning the bike even at the slightest angles – it really is meant for small people. I guess this is the best bike for beginners, female riders looking to get started with and those looking for city riding only.

Pros :
Excellent mileage bike – The Best in its class or 600’s
Light – good for beginners
Control – feels good and rider feels well on top.

Cons:
Low seating – bad cushioning
No front wind deflector
Not for tall riders
Brakes feel very soft

As my dear friend Adi Moto Foto said “This bike should only come in one color – PINK”