BMW 650 Sport Sheer Beauty Gone Before It’s Time - Mike Mas

[Low On Cash]

BMW 650 Sport Sheer Beauty Gone Before It’s Time - Mike Mas

Hey Guys - I recently acquired a BMW 650 Sport, which is my latest addition to my long list of motorcycles and wanted to share my thoughts and some pretty shots of my new girl. As most of you guys know, the beautiful Sport C650 will soon disappear from BMW way too soon, to make room for their new Electric Evolution and the soon to be released, C 400 X a light-weight with digital goodies.



I’ve always been both a bike and scooter guy - And watched BMW’s entry to the market with their Super line-up. While I was waiting for the 2019 models to arrive, once I heard BMW was dropping the Sport, I moved quickly to find one since the Austin Gold models have become very scarce now. While Cycle Trader spews “Fake New” showing hundreds available, there is only one other 650 in Gold that I know of. I’ll refrain from using the term Scooter to describe the Sport 650 since it really does not describe this bike. While I still own a few scooters such as my SMax and MP3, the Sport 650 is really just a regular motorcycle with a automatic drive which differs from a scooter both visually and performance wise.



The 650 Sport offers some great Advantages - Most CVT scooters are plagued with sluggish performance. However, this is not the case for the 650 Sport model. The Sport has outstanding “off the line” performance almost comparable to a standard transmission. Newer models now offer a new improved CVT that also offers high speed performance as well, since the clutch has the ability to hold its 2.41:1 ratio for speeds up to 80 mph then shifts to a 1:1 direct drive for top-end performance.






Balance and low speed Stability - I’ve found the Sport to be considerably more stable than many bikes I’ve owned. Slow speed balance is really outstanding, the bike wants to stay up. On the other end of the spectrum, during high speed freeway driving, the Sport is solid and feels more like a Goldwing at 60-70 mph than a scooter.

No bike is Perfect - If I could have a wish-list, I would prefer the Sport to be more quiet in operation. Myself, I would give up some low end performance to get a lower rpm range for slow speeds, say for tooling around town, or stuck in rolling traffic. Unlike a shift bike which could almost idle in traffic, the Sport’s engine continually runs at 3500-4000 rpm, even at low speeds around 5-10 mph, which is both annoying and wastes fuel.



The 650 Sport Is Noisey - Due to the excessive engine rpm and engine chain noise, combined with a whine of the CVT, the Sport 650 is a bit loud even with a full faced helmet. Fortunately, I’ll remedy this problem by installing some foil backed sticky noise mat to most every panel I can reach. Using my iPhone for recording sound, most of the noise is coming from the tunnel area. Thanks to the blunt flat area between the riders legs facing the rider, these plastic flat panels tend to become speakers to amplify the noise even further.

Terrible Access to Electronics - Not sure what happened here but BMW should begin talking to riders with regard to access of almost everything on the bike. The methods used are totally wrong. Starting with the dip stick, its crazy to have to pull off two body panels, with attaching hardware to check the oil, instead of enhancing the rider to check fluids its a deterrent - what were they even thinking.

Access to the Fuses - This task forces the owner to actually remove an “Outside” body panel (that could scratch the paint) to just replace a fuse or access the battery, what were they thinking?



Headlight Bulbs - This could have been so much easier if BMW would have used a “Twist-In” bulb mount instead of those goofy wire clamps. While the bulbs can be changed with or without removing the side panels, I found removing the right side panel does nothing for access, since the battery and tray completely block the headlight bulb access. Finally, trying to lock those wire goofy clips is nothing short of torturous. I almost forgot - hey BMW this is 2018 where’s my LED headlights, or at least a daytime LED running lights instead of those yellow bulbs?

Getting back to the Bike - It’s regretful that BMW would offer such a short life-span for the Sport model. While the GT model is a beautiful sister-ship to the Sport, with great comfort and options, not everyone wants to give up a more sporty appearance. In any case, deleting the BMW Sport will surely reduce their market-share in the US. Unlike Germany and Italy and the likes, here in the US, we have different needs, roads and terrain here. Most every popular motorcycle in the US has trended towards a more aggressive and sporty look, so why delete the only Sport bike with a CVT transmission.





In Conclusion - It’s my humble opinion BMW made horrible mistake dropping the 650 Sport. This bike is the only BMW model that could have opened a new Era for BMW in an automatic sport bike category. Companies like Honda which offer shiftless DCT transmissions with no loss, such as my NM4 pictured below, X ADV, and Integra using Honda’s amazing Dual-Clutch transmission will fill the void offering riders a sporty package that has both the ability to be fully automatic or shiftable. In any case, the 650 Sport will turn some heads and get a few waves from the other guys. What makes this bike so special other than her unique style is that great unmistakable color and now her scarcity. The Sport's special Austin Gold color has graced many of BMW's special vehicles such as the BMW Hybrid I8, M4 and even BMW’s M bicycle.

Regards - Mike

[Skutorr]

Beautiful Bike! Glad you got one of the last ones! Great review and pictures.

(Oh, btw, the Sport outsells the Gt 10:1 in Europe, and it's the OPPOSITE here in the States. Maxi's are for CRUISING here, as per Burgman 650, Silverwing 600, etc. because they aren't "real" motorcycles. Yamaha couldn't manage to give away Tmax 500/530's here, with horrible marketing and crap colors. BMW managed to sell some Sports on their own, but mostly sells the GT as a cheaper commuter/tourer compared to the rest of the BMW line-up. In Europe they go heads-up against the Tmax 530 and now Kymco AK550 for the enthusiast market.The American consumer is really ignorant. At one Yamaha Dealer the salesperson called Tmaxes "Mopeds".)

[Low On Cash]

Thanks for the reply Sku, I would like to start sound proofing the panels, does anyone know of an article or blog that shows how to get the center tunnel panels off. I noticed they are very thin so I'm sure they are transferring engine noise pretty easily.

Thanks in advance Mike

[cpallenjr]

Beautiful photography Mike and I also really like that color. You could study up on the parts fiche https://shop.maxbmw.com/fiche/Diagra...0&rnd=07242017 to get at least an idea about how the body parts come apart. Good luck and congratulations on the new bike!

[Low On Cash]

Beautiful photography Mike and I also really like that color. You could study up on the parts fiche https://shop.maxbmw.com/fiche/Diagra...0&rnd=07242017 to get at least an idea about how the body parts come apart. Good luck and congratulations on the new bike!

Thanks much for the link - it gives me an idea of the assembley and the unbelievable prices like $800+ for a headlight - Mine had a bulb blow up and burn some areas and fogged the inside, I'm thinking it will be covered under warranty though.

Mike

[edmond]

hi,
beautiful bike. I own a black 2014 C 600 and decided to trade it in yesterday for a 2018 C 650 sport only to find out that there’s apparently no new ones left for sale in the US and BMW isn’t going to ship any more to the states (even though they will still do so elsewhere). i’m completely bummed and shocked as I’m not a fan of the aesthetics of the GT. Does anyone know if BMW has stated whether this is a permanent decision? Does anyone know where i can purchase a black one?
thank you

[Low On Cash]

Looks like they decided to concentrate on their electric (waste of time) and the 400 (which will be over-priced they say the same as the 650 sport).

Glad I made my move on my gold edition wen I did.

Mike

[Skutorr]

There are 4 new 2018 Gold ones left in California:

https://www.cycletrader.com/Californ...alifornia%7CCA

Here is a CLEAN BLACK 2016 with only 1,700 miles in Minn. $7,500!!


http://www.moonmotorsports.com/--xIn...w-website-link

[Skutorr]

Or another 2016 Black in Montana with ONLY 214 MILES!!! $6,900 Private Party sale. Bought it last year:


https://www.cycletrader.com/listing/...ORT-5003944335

[edmond]

mike, your yellow model looks gorgeous in the pictures and i’m thinking about moving forward with that color as well even though i’m more of a classic black guy. if both colors were available, would you have still chosen the gold (i’m onky asking because i’ve never seen the gold in person)
thanks