F650
ENTRY-LEVEL BEEMER
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN almost three decades, BMW will have a singlecylinder machine in its lineup. It took the efforts of three countries to bring about the F650, a dual-purpose bike that the company intends as an entry-level BMW.
About as far removed from the stolid R27 of 1966 as it is possible for a motorcycle to be, the F650 uses an Austrian Rotax engine installed in running gear assembled at the Aprilia factory in northern Italy, all overseen by BMW technical personnel. From initial concept to production, this product of multi-lateral engineering took two and a half years.
Targeting the F650 at re-entry riders, beginners and women, BMW says that the bike will be “highly attractive in terms of its low price,” though that price has yet to be announced. The bike, to be sold in standard, 48-horsepower trim or as a detuned, 34-horsepower version to satisfy new European Community insurance regulations, weighs a claimed 417 pounds with a full load of fuel and has a 31.9inch seat height.
Available in red or white, the 650 has a plastic, 4.6-gallon fuel tank that blends into a frame-mounted half-fairing.
Standard equipment includes a luggage rack and skidplate. On the options list are hard saddlebags, handguards, heated handgrips, a 22-liter top case and a catalytic converter.
Currently, BMW plans to sell the F650 only in Europe, where it should be available in dealerships by the end of the year, but an American appearance remains an outside possibility. “There are no plans to bring the 650 to the U.S.,” said a company spokesman, “but it’s not a totally dead issue.”
