Aye Richard,
If it's the known one (MZ 4T/1) then it's had a gentle life.
BMW F650 early type are good but be aware of the fixings and hidden corrosion that maybe about. Thin plastic coating over impure aluminium alloys can prove to be a pain. My 1994 model would do 50 - 60mpg and thrum away all day at 70 - 80mph. Tourance radial tyres were good with 11K from the rear and about 12 - 13K from the front, with good grip wet or dry. I'm 6' 2" and 15 stone. Best mod I made was to fabricate two bars to bring the footrests back about 1" from the standard position which put the feet behind the nose of the saddle and made me less like a sail in the wind. Also removed a taller screen and fitted the standard one as the wind buffeting above 60mph was horrendous, blurred vision and noise. Good and roomy with a pillion. Ready supply of 2nd hand bits from Motorworks or MotoBins and dedicated club at : http://www.bmwf650.co.uk/ also the http://www.chaingang.com/ in the USA.
Cheers, off to kip before the 'RollOut' tomorrow and its thundering, lightning and raining hard! Bill
As many here will be sick of hearing, I loved by carbed F650 right up to the point the water pump and head gasket went in Morocco. If you look at these bikes dip the oil. Any hint of chocolate brown and the seal that is the water pumps only support is leaking coolant into the engine oil. Rotax should shoot somebody for this **** bit of design. It's an hours work to replace the seal, but ride with the leak and by the time the light comes on the head is warped and you are talking major cash to fix it. Motorworks and Motobins had a waiting list for second hand heads!
FI bikes are better for two reasons. First the fuel consumpion of an already efficient bike (I got 75 mpg for one bit in Norway) gets better. Second, it's idiot proof on a single, the only things that can go wrong are the fuse and relay. You've none of that grit in jets/ floats that don't associated with two carbs. If the fuel is bad the electronics sort it. The downside is that if things are that bad you are stuck, but you can do that with carbs too.
Andy
