opinion on the best bike out of honda or bmw

[africajim]

Kawasaki? Isn't that a Japanese swear word?

Horses for courses, Compared to the XR the Beemers highly outclassed. Agreed, big single, I'd go for the XR any day, although the Suzuki would be a strong contender. NO Kawasaki!
If it's for the road and covering a lot of miles I'd pick the TA or @T.
Confession time here, I've owned two KLR's, never again! Ok to nip to the chip shop in the summer time but no more!
I now run a Varadero so my opinion is unbiased, although I've had 5 @T's!

[GSPD750]

has anyone hear got an thoughts on the best out of the two to help me make my mind up. Thanks

As Chad sez...a twin beats a single any day of the week. If you plan
on doing any extended trips on the open hwy then the AT is your best
bet. If you want to knock it around in the bush, then yes you may want to consider the 650GS.

You win...with a twin.








In the end...its still a single.

[Simon]

I had a friend that tried the Bm and the Pegaso and bought the Pegaso cause it uses a 5-valve head and is therefore a good bit livelier. I bought it off him and it was quick but rather uncomfortable. A very lumpy engine. The @ on the other hand is like the difference between a Merc and a crapy lada. It just ozzes quality and is silky smooth and quicker again than the Pegaso.

[robelst]

I used to get a F650 loaner-bike whenever my R1100RT was being repaired (which was bizarly often, although slightly less than the R1100RS I had before, which was a real mechanical disaster).
Despite the poor reliability of the BMW boxers (at the time anyway, I had them from new between '94 and 2000 and have had severe and recurring transmission problems) the F650 never let me down. I was riding 2x85 miles a day to get to work and was also pleasantly surprised how well the F650 coped with that, being a single cylinder bike. I really like the engine, despite probably being a bit slower than the AT it made up with character and being extremely low on fuel (moped-like), 2 things that cannot be said of the AT.

I really like the AT's concepts and will keep it for a while because I have invested (too?) much in it lately, but I have been disappointed too often in reliabilty and overall build-quality (apart from the solid engine).

I'd probably go for BMW next time.
Still not sure about the boxers though, I recently read a long distance test in "Motorrad" magazine on the 1200GS and that bike still suffers from things like oiled-up clutches and shaft-drive problems, just like I had 10 years ago. So it will have to be the F650GS (preferably the Dakar), or maybe the twin version (F800) as soon as a GS version of that would be launched.

[iswoolley]

...I looking at geting a africa twin, but am also thinking of the bmw 650 dakar...has anyone hear got an thoughts on the best out of the two...

This is a question that can't be answered. You need to qualify what 'best' means to you, because everyone wants something different from a bike.

Do you want to go off-road? Do you want on-road prescence? Will you be taking a pillion often? Do you want a brand-new bike? Tell us what 'best' means to you, and we'll give you our opinion (well, we'll try hard, and then tell you to buy the Honda anyway!).

[Lord Stig]

It was a close run thing between a Dakar and an AT when I bought my present AT. The only thing that swung it really was the use I put the bike to. In its favour the Dakar is light at a wopping 35 kg less than the AT (dry weight 175 kg Vs. 206 kg for the RD07a - BMW quote the curb weight, which always fools bike journos), and you really notice it when you ride one. Also the fuel tank is smaller and lower (under the seat) so the weight distribution is good, and doesn't rise that much when you fill up. With up to 70 mpg you can also go almost as far as an AT even though the tank is smaller. Off road it's a different beast to the AT entirely, but has a much more comfortable seat. Coming off my 600 TA I didn't feel any real difference in power either, though the AT has a definite edge there.

Why didn't I buy one? Mostly because of the wind noise and lack of protection from the screen, though the second generation Dakars might have sorted this by now. Also (and probably more importantly) I wasn't sure it would be the best for shooting up the dual carriageway every day, and since I don't get to go off road much these days the weight aspect was not so important. There are also a number of issues I didn't like, and they have grown in number since I've learned more about living with a Dakar when a good friend bought one. The build quality is not as good as we're led to expect (much like Honda I suppose), and there are issues with some components that rapidly wear, such as wheel bearings. The rear sensor for the speedo (rear wheel) can become faulty when wet or dirty. The petrol tank can spurt petrol from under the seat! The chain adjuster is an internal excentric cam design that is a bit soft and strips easily. Worst of all the thing has no temperature gauge!

I could potentially go for one of these when the AT is no more, but that last aspect does put me off quite a bit. I like to know when a bike is about to boil over, not when it just has! Many of the most common gripes of the f650 are discussed on http://f650.com/website/ - check them out and make an informed decision....

Stig

[Taz]

Kawasaki? Isn't that a Japanese swear word?

Then again I probably would've said the same thing about Honda when I had my KLX-650, my KLR-250, and my KMX-125 (except my bone aching ZX-7 perhaps). Personally I don't have anything against Kawasaki, and would have probably bought a Kwak @ equivalent if they made one. But they don't, so I went for my very first Honda... the Africa Twin. Now if we're talking Suzuki, that's when we start swearing! I've had two Suzi's and both had crap electrics!

I wouldn't ever go for a big single ever again though, 'cause they just don't like the motorways. Once you hit 90mph they start vibrating like soda shakers. (OUCH!!!!)

[adventurer]

thanks for your thoughts guys very helpfull. think am leaning towards the @T

[Chad]

thanks for your thoughts guys very helpfull. think am leaning towards the @T

atta boy

[xrv_jim]

The Beemer is light ...

Light? According to BMW's own data...

F650GS - 192kg
Dakar - 193kg

I had a sit on both the GS and the Dakar at the NEC. In those demanding conditions both felt good though I prefered the looks of the GS. I'm really not keen on the Dakar paint job.