2010 BMW MOTORRAD G 650 GS Rider's Manual (in English)

Off-roading
After off-roading
BMW Motorrad recommendschecking the following after ridingthe motorcycle off-road:
Tyre pressure
Tyre pressures reduced foroff-road riding impair themotorcycle's handling character-istics on surfaced roads and canlead to accidents.
Always check that the tyre pres-sures are correct.
Brakes
When riding on loose sur-faces or muddy roads, thebrakes may fail to take effectimmediately because of dirt ormoisture on the discs or brakepads.
Apply the brakes in good timeuntil the brakes have beencleaned.
The brake pads will wearmore rapidly if you ride fre-quently on unsurfaced tracks orpoor roads.
Check the thickness of the brakepads more frequently and replacethe brake pads in good time.
Spring preload and shock-absorber settings
The off-road settings forspring preload and shockabsorber damping characteristicwill impair the motorcycle's hand-ling characteristics on surfacedroads.
If you have been off-roading, re-member to correct spring preloadand shock-absorber dampingcharacteristics before you returnto surfaced roads.
Rims
BMW Motorrad recommendschecking the rims for damageafter off-roading.
Air filter element
Engine damage due toclogged air filter element.
If you ride in dusty terrain checkthe air filter element for cloggingat shorter intervals; clan or re-place as necessary.
Operation in very dusty condi-tions (desert, steppes, or the like)necessitates the use of air filterelements specially designed forconditions of this nature.
Brakes
How can stopping
distance be minimised?
Each time the brakes are applied,a load distribution shift takesplace with the load shifting for-ward from the rear to the frontwheel. The sharper the motor-cycle decelerates, the more loadis shifted to the front wheel. Thehigher the wheel load, the more
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braking force can be transmittedwithout the wheel locking.
To optimise stopping distance,apply the front brakes rapidly andkeep on increasing the force youapply to the brake lever. Thismakes the best possible use ofthe dynamic increase in load atthe front wheel. Remember topull the clutch at the same time.In the "panic braking situations"that are trained so frequentlybraking force is applied as rap-idly as possible and with therider's full force applied to thebrake levers; under these circum-stances the dynamic shift in loaddistribution cannot keep pacewith the increase in decelerationand the tyres cannot transmit thefull braking force to the surfaceof the road. Under these circum-stances the front wheel can lockup.
BMW Motorrad ABS preventsthe front wheel from locking up.
Descending mountain
passes
There is a danger of thebrakes fading if you useonly the rear brakes when des-cending mountain passes. Underextreme conditions, the brakescould overheat and suffer severedamage.
Use both front and rear brakes,and make use of the engine'sbraking effect as well.
Wet and dirty brakes
Wetness and dirt on the brakediscs and the brake pads dimin-ish braking efficiency.
Delayed braking action or poorbraking efficiency must bereckoned with in the followingsituations:
Riding in the rain or throughpuddles of water.
After the motorcycle has beenwashed.
Riding on salted or grittedroads.
After work has been carried onthe brakes, due to traces of oilor grease.
Riding on dirt-covered surfacesor off-road.
Wetness and dirt result inpoor braking efficiency.
Apply the brakes lightly whileriding to remove wetness anddirt, or dismount and clean thebrakes.
Think ahead and brake in goodtime until full braking efficiency isrestored.
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Parking your
motorcycle
Side stand
Switch off the engine.
If the ground is soft or un-even, there is no guaran-tee that the motorcycle will restfirmly on the stand.
Always check that the groundunder the stand is level andfirm.
Extend the side stand andprop the motorcycle on thestand.
The side stand is designedto support only the weightof the motorcycle.
Do not lean or sit on themotorcycle with the side standextended.
If the camber of the roadwaypermits, turn the handlebars allthe way to the left.
On a gradient, the motorcycleshould always face uphill; se-lect 1st gear.
Centre stand
with centre standOE
Switch off the engine.
If the ground is soft or un-even, there is no guaran-tee that the motorcycle will restfirmly on the stand.
Always check that the groundunder the stand is level andfirm.
Excessive movementscould cause the centrestand to retract, and themotorcycle would topple inconsequence.
Do not lean or sit on the mo-torcycle with the centre standextended.
Extend the centre stand andlift the motorcycle onto thestand.
Refuelling
Fuel is highly flammable. Anaked flame close to thefuel tank can cause a fire or ex-plosion.
Do not smoke. Never bring anaked flame near the fuel tank.
Fuel expands when hot.Fuel escaping from anoverfilled tank could make its wayonto the road surface. This couldcause a fall.
Do not overfill the fuel tank.
Fuel attacks plastics, whichbecome dull or unsightly.
Wipe off plastic parts immediatelyif they come into contact withfuel.
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Leaded fuel will destroy thecatalytic converter.
Use only unleaded fuel.
Make sure the ground is leveland firm and place the motor-cycle on its stand.
Open the protective cap.
Use the ignition key to unlockfuel filler cap1and pop thecap open.
Refuel with fuel of the gradestated below; do not fill thetank past the bottom edge ofthe filler neck.
Recommended fuelgrade
Regular, unleaded
91 ROZ/RON
87 AKI
Usable fuel capacity
approx. 17.3 l
Reserve fuel
approx. 4 l
Press the fuel tank cap downfirmly to close.
Remove the key and close theprotective cap.
Securing motorcycle
for transportation
Make sure that all componentsthat might come into contactwith straps used to secure the
motorcycle are adequately pro-tected against scratching. Useadhesive tape or soft cloths, forexample, for this purpose.
The motorcycle can toppleand fall on its side.
Make sure that the motorcyclecannot topple sideways.
Push the motorcycle onto thetransportation flat and hold it inposition: do not place it on theside stand or centre stand.
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Risk of damaging compon-ents.
Take care not to trapcomponents such as brake linesor wires.
At the front, secure the strapsto the bottom fork bridge onboth sides.
At the rear, secure the strapsto the rear footrests on bothsides and tighten the straps.
Tighten all the straps uniformly;the motorcycle's suspensionshould be compressed astightly as possible front andrear.
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Engineering details
Engineering details
Brake system with BMW Motorrad
ABS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
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Brake system with
BMW Motorrad ABS
How does ABS work?
The amount of braking force thatcan be transferred to the roaddepends on factors hat includethe coefficient of friction of theroad surface. Loose stones, iceand snow or a wet road all havemuch lower coefficients of fric-tion than a clean, dry asphalt sur-face. The lower the coefficientof friction, the longer the brakingdistance.
If the rider increases brakingpressure to the extent that brak-ing force exceeds the maxim-um transferrable limit, the wheelsstart to lock and the motorcycleloses its directional stability; a fallis imminent. Before this situationcan occur, ABS intervenes andadapts braking pressure to themaximum transferrable brakingforce, so the wheels continue
to turn and directional stabilityis maintained irrespective of thecondition of the road surface.
What are the effects of
surface irregularities?
Humps and surface irregularit-ies can cause the wheels to losecontact temporarily with the roadsurface; if this happens the brak-ing force that can be transmit-ted to the road can drop to zero.If the brakes are applied underthese circumstances the ABShas to reduce braking force toensure that directional stabilityis maintained when the wheelsregain contact with the road sur-face. At this instant the BMWMotorrad ABS must assume anextremely low coefficient of fric-tion, so that the wheels will con-tinue to rotate under all imagin-able circumstances, because thisis the precondition for ensuringdirectional stability. As soon as
is registers the actual circum-stances, the system reacts in-stantly and adjusts braking forceaccordingly to achieve optimumbraking.
Rear wheel lift
Even under severe braking, ahigh level of tyre grip can meanthat the front wheel does notlock up until very late, if at all.Consequently, ABS does not in-tervene until very late, if at all.Under these circumstances therear wheel can lift off the ground,and the outcome can be a high-siding situation in which the mo-torcycle can flip over.
Severe braking can causethe rear wheel to lift off theground.
When you brake, bear in mindthat ABS control cannot be reliedon in all circumstances to preventthe rear wheel from lifting clear ofthe ground.
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