1997 BMW F650ST review 

I wanted to like it more than I did but if it hadn't been jumping out of second gear I probably would have kept it. Carburation was shitty though, I managed to get it better but below 3,500 revs it was very woolly. Could have figured it out no doubt but the carbs were a pig to take on and off.

Yeah well, the fucker now jumps out of second so I'm pissed off with it, make me an offer......

@@lr882027 ha. I’ve got one in blue. I also had it jump out of second recently 🤔

@@elias_nichols You need this : Orange ones are faster.

I don't. Wife has to bring my dinner out on a tray.

lr882027 nice!

@@lr882027 I'm surprised you have a wife :))

I've been over here a long time......

@@lr882027 lol I bet, and I suspect there's more to that than meets the eye. Unless you were like 5.

@@tonebonetones I'm just highly skilled and sought after worldwide.

@@lr882027 Well, good on you, mate. I also, spent a lot of time in the US in my youth, and being an ex engineer now pro musician, I can work anywhere. Plan is to move to Portugal, next year. ....I'm getting too old for English winters in Newcastle. Anywho, after watching this, I went out and got me one of these last week! '99 ST for £900, 15k mileage. It's a tad more tatty than yours, especially the wheel rims, thanks to 20 years of the glorious English weather, but I'm going to gradually work on it over the winter. I hate the 18" front wheel on the ST model, though, a total pain to get sizes for. Also, I find it doesn't have the low end torque I'd have expected from a 650 thumper; got to keep it spinning 3k revs and above, and I think the carbs (why 2? lol) need removing and a good clean. But. I am well chuffed with it already. ......it's a great little bike.

@@tonebonetones You can put in a 19 inch front wheel from the F650 or the F650 GS, you will need to clear the fender with the tire but it may be OK. I've found the carburation to be shitty below 3500 rpm, I think it's too rich, I'm going to try dropping the needles. I did turn in the pilot air screws in 3/4 of a turn and that made a difference.

It was actually coming out of the overflow from the expansion tank, not sure why. Has ran OK for the last 2,000 miles, due to drag it out in Spring and give it a health check

@@lr882027 weird! Nice you're still hanging onto it. I'm picking one up today

@@SirCharcoal Good bikes, however mine has started to jump out of 2nd and the low end carburation needs some work but It will all get taken care of

@@lr882027 Jumping out of second sounds bad.. into neutral? How would you fix that, replacing the gearbox?

@@SirCharcoal Bent shift fork, not an unusual issue with these bikes

Go to race tech and use their spring calculator to get a recommendation on spring rate based on your weight and riding style.

Liked this bike until it started jumping out of 2nd gear, couldn't be arsed to fix it, sold it to someone else (with full disclosure). I'm from Northwich, went to University in Nottingham.

@@lr882027 thanks for the reply , that's put me off ,if there'common problems with 2nd gear I won't bother looking any further. I've not got time to start taking engines out !.Thanks anyway ,looks nice where you currently reside anyway mate .

I went to University in Nottingham in 1991 - back when Ye Olde Salutation Inn was a bikers pub.

@@lr882027 hey thanks for the reply. The pub is still there . Dont think bikers use it much now. All the heavy rockers used to go upstairs.

@@neilwiddison6529 Yes, you could only get upstairs if you had a leather on, there used to be a big fat biker on a chair halfway up the stairs

So jetting is all stock but I turned in the pilot screws 1 full turn which was a little too much, i'll turn them out a 1/4 but it's so difficult to do with the carbs on ill have to take em off to do it.. I removed the snorkel and fitted a uni air filter, like you above 3500 it's good but below that it's woolly. I am going to drop the needles one notch next, I suspect it's over fueling at low revs when you open the throttle.

When i got it it never needed choke to start so I suspected it was too rich, turning in the screws made the idle a lot better.

@@lr882027 got it - ill give that a try. Thank you.

Notoriously problematic. Often the source of misfires

I think the issue with low speed performance was the carburation. By removing the air box side snorkel and running a K&N I was able to get the low end performance better but as you say, until it hit 3K rpm it was lumpy. Getting the carbs on and off was a real pain in the arse - I wanted to try smaller pilots and lower the needles to try and lean it out but after the whole second gear thing, I gave up. Would have been much easier if it just had a single carb that wasn't shoe-horned in there. I won't ever have another.

Yeah exactly, but otherwise it's a great bike, just runs a little bit rough 😅

It chugs along just fine when you make sure the carb is tuned right and most importantly the spark plug caps have the proper resistance. And other than starting off all you need to do is ride it in the higher rev range.

Yes, it's started jumping out of second gear

@@lr882027 any idea why?

@@roamingeagle Likely the shift fork is bent, know issue, $35 to fix, takes about 16 hours, engine out, top end off, cases split.

No they are not, the carbs on the bike are both the same size.

@@lr882027 ah, slightly different arrangement, but the same principal applies. The first will handle idle and low rev operations, an the second will operate in tandem with the first in order to provide sufficient volume of fuel/air mixture to handle higher rev operations.

@@kenmclennan341 Not how it work on this one my friend, the 2 carbs are identical and each feeds an inlet tract to a single inlet valve. The carbs are nearly identical to the carbs that are used an the Suzuki GS500 twin. I understand what you are saying but this is not the case on the BMW F650ST. I think the Yamaha XT/TT 600s have the set up you are referring to.

@@lr882027 Thanks for the feedback, and how very interesting. And unusual. I can see I'll need do a little research on this one just to get an idea of why twin carbs. Kinda defies logic, and it seems like complexity and expense for what advantage. Curious. Currently toying with the idea of acquiring an F650, so the information will be useful. Cheers.

The carbs are different only in the fact that the choke circuit is only activated on one of the carbs.

A set of stock BMW F650GS handlebars I had lying about the garage.

@@lr882027 What are the engine crash bars you put on it?

Arse!