Vijay Parmar
The BMW 650 Funduro was not all fun, as the name initially suggests! Vijay recounts his experience of owning the bike and tells us how the F 850 GS in contrast is such a capable bike right out of the box
Ifirst saw the BMW F 650 Funduro at the Auto Show in Delhi and prayed that I might own one some day. Two years later a crate carrying the bright red machine was broken open, the front wheel fixed to the front fork, battery charged overnight and eureka — all ready to go!
The first disappointment was the exhaust note of the beefy single. Subdued and apologetic it belied the reports that this was the future. Anyway I had paid the half-price these bikes were finally sold at and there was no turning back. The acceleration was stump pulling and it raced through the straights like a champion only to balk at every corner. The steering would drop into the turns prematurely, causing an oversteer, and need correction at least four-five times every sweeping long corner. The rake angle was just too steep and took a long, long time getting used to. Even then, it had to be the worst-handling bike
I have owned. Period.
Forced by the handling characteristics I stuck a 21-inch front wheel which increased the rake. The rear shock was also propped up about an inch to balance the now slumped ride height — and the handling miraculously became world class!
Soon the electrics started playing up. The rectifier was married to the voltage regulator assembly and reduced overproduced current by bleeding it into a heat sink. BMW chose to pack this entire contraption under the seat with almost zero ventilation that caused it to overheat, and in one of the three episodes on my bike, actually melt the plastic fender which served as a mount for it.
The jugaad was to bolt it onto the back of the rear number plate, now fashioned from 5mm-thick billet aluminium and extend the wires to reach this airy spot! The number plate acted as a huge heat sink and the flow of air from the cruising motorcycle was enough to sort that problem out ― albeit `30,000 later!
By comparison, the new F 850 GS is a fighter aircraft. A deep growl emanates from the twin and it’s as surefooted as a marmot in the wetlands! BMW Motorrad sent up one for me for the second training session of the GS Trophy India Team and I have enjoyed riding every kilometre of the Zanskar trails that I pointed its 21-inch front wheel at. Water crossings, marshy grasslands, high passes, rocky trails and fesh-fesh — it tackled it all head on, swallowed the challenges and spat them out peremptorily.
Those obstacles are crossed by all bikes with a small degree of variance of ease or difficulty so nothing of import there. What was earth shaking was its composure in the deep mud of the Bijli Mahadev trail. Normally technical, the trail will test the expert biker in the dry, and demand the highest level of respect.
No one attempts it two days after a yellow storm alert has turned the entire 20km into a quagmire of mud, slush, wet leaves and moss covered rocks!
Leading the pack of young hungry wolves into the dense forest was intense. Until the first swamp grabbed the front wheel with its sticky fingers and attempted to wrestle me to the ground. The bike held and I throttled out. It had grunt once the revs went up but the microsecond delay when the throttle was applied in urgency, was unsettling. It pulled itself out of the gloop with a huge sucking sound as the mud let go.
It had been a long time since I had attempted the snow and ice covered ribbons of road on the Raid — so with nostalgia tearing away at my innards, I scheduled the ride to the lightning temple of Kullu.
Once we got into the ruts that were deep enough to trap the footpegs in an unrelenting half Nelson, bringing the bike to a furrowed halt, the fight began in earnest. Paddling, usually considered a last resort, became the survival tool at hand! Slithering, mud covered bodies reached the 5km mark, panting for breath and exhausted from the struggle. By the time we had completed 40km, six hours had gone by.
Okay, I had changed the stock tyres to knobbies and that made all the difference. I let the bike down gently twice, while standing, when the smooth soles of my TCX 2.1 Pro rally boots lost traction. But while moving, the F 850 GS showed great balance, amazing tractability and inspired great confidence.
Saying this, I would strongly recommend that BMW supply 50-50 tyres on their bikes. The bike is more than capable in extreme off-road!
Bravo BMW — well done!