Adventurizing a BMW G650 X Challenge

BMWs 650cc Rotax engine has been recycled loads of times, but I think its finest incarnation was in the 2007 G650X.

Its not a screamer like KTMs 690 LC4, it is rather more subdued and certainly smoother. It may not be as modern as the Yamaha XT660R, but its more economical to run. And its mercifully more reliable than a KLR650 and a DR650 (I owned the latter).

I bought mine in 2008 for R50,000 (the 2015 equivalent of 3,700 Euro or 4,100 US$). It was a great little bike but i t needed an identity. It was too soft for competitive riding and too hard for touring.

I entered the bike in a family-friendly enduro once (a real enduro race would have been silly on a 650cc four stroke) and the bike did very well. Some teenagers on 250s blasted me in the technical sections but I gave them hell on the open stretches.

I also did a weekend trip through the Karoo to see how it handled long roads. Also fine but I was concerned about the fuel range.

I had a choice to make: Competition or adventure. I chose adventure. Partly because Im not a talented racer and partly because it would take a lot of money to get it race-ready, and even then it wouldnt be able to compete against two-strokes.

Plus, adventure riding is my thing - I love touring.

So I started off with the bare bones bike pictured above. Keep in mind that this picture is from a press release. I will use it to Photoshop all my additions onto it. All the items youll see added to the original image are all pictures taken of actual upgrades I added to my bike.

When I purchased the bike I asked the dealer to fit the OEM hand guards. I liked the look of them. There is a detailed image further down.

Then I purchased swingarm protectors, frame protectors and a cover for the bash plate There I ordered from Hyde Developments. The plastic set is one of the best upgrades I made. They are pitted and scarred from my adventures but the metal underneath still looks pretty good.

The plastics are brand new in this early image. They look a little worn by now but still do a great job.

Reynard Schonken of Scorch Design builds great slip-on silencers. Mine has more bass than the original silencer and looks infinitely better. Unfortunately it isnt much lighter. I think I save about 1kg. Still, Reynard did great work and the metal stood up very well to abuse - zero rust and it only needed repacking once in its seven years.

The regulation tailpiece looks rubbish. Fortunately the South African government isnt too strict on reflectors, illumination and size of the tailpiece. As long as my number plate is legal, they dont mind. The tailtidy is not only there to look good. Its also less likely to be damaged by roost. The rear mudguard on a bike is often damaged by rocks flung up by a knobbly tyre.

The next thing I got was a set of handlebar risers. Im a tall guy at 1.98m (6ft 2 inch) and if I need to ride standing up my back really takes strain. 3cm (1.2 inch) seems to be enough. Obviously twice that would have been great whilst standing but then my bike feels like a chopper when Im seated.

These are the risers. In the set are spacing blocks of various heights. I can add more spacers to raise the bar, or fit smaller spacers to lower it. Its a neat little set I got from Trevor Scullard at ADVRider in Cape Town.

Next up was a luggage rack. My friend Wesley Reyneke from Rather be Riding was involved in making a rack for the X-Challenge. He donated the prototype to me once the final product went into production. You can buy the final properly engineered version at Flying Brick.

My X-Challenge now met the minimal requirements for touring. Everything I added hereafter would either be luxury items or stuff that would be greatly beneficial but not absolutely essential. 

The screen is from Kappa (Kappa 245A Universal Screen). It serves almost no purpose except as a convenient place to stick my bikes licence disc and a couple of pictures of my family.

A close-up of the screen. I doesn t offer adequate space to hide behind. It does however deflect some wind off of my chest on cold days. But really, it serves little purpose.

Next up: the tyres! I have tried various tyres over the years and its hard to recommend the perfect pair. Sometimes I buy cheap Maxxis 6006 for some dirt fun (they suck on wet tar/asphalt though) and sometimes I treat myself to a nice pair of Mitas E-09s.

Its a personal choice. Id rather not get involved in a tyre discussion.

The front mudguard is a bit of a snoz, so I added some graphics to break up the white.

And lastly: a Touratech tank. The standard under-seat tank takes 9.8 litres (2.5 gallons US). Im sure youll agree that this isnt much. Still I consistently got a range of around 220 km (135 miles) when touring with luggage.

The extra tank ads 13 litres which gives a total of 23 litres which in turns brings me to 550 km (or 350 miles). This is enough. If I absolutely must, I can always strap down a cheap 5 litre container which can be discarded when I no longer need it.

On a side note: If you fit a Touratech tank, dont drill holes in your OEM tank as instructed. Just connect the fuel lines to the breather of the OEM tank, the vacuum will draw fuel out of the auxiliary tank, no problem.

So this is my bike, all ready for action. The round thing you see below the tank is a tool tube. It takes short tyre levers, a coupe of spanners and wrenches - the things I need for minor repairs

The white chevron stripes on the front rim isnt there in reality. Im still thinking about whether I should add them. There is such a thing as going too far after all.