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Changing the oil in the BMW 650 GS and the Dakar is very simple. The BMW shop in my neck of the woods wants $150 to do the job, which is why I took it upon my self to learn how to do this. While you don’t have to get the oil change kit from BMW, it’s probably best because they provide the copper ring for the sump plug, the o-ring for the oil filter, and the oil filter itself all of which costs about $15.

Some people make the job way more complicated than it needs to be, by removing the whole oil tank and getting every last drop out so as to remove all possible particles which may be suspended in the oil. I and many others don’t think this is necessary at all. After all, the oil filter is supposed to take care of that and if you have that much crude in your oil … you got other major problems.

So … let’s get on with it. Run the motorcycle to get it up to normal operating temperature, which means the radiator fan should should kick on. Turn the bike off.

Draining the Oil Tank

• Leave the bike tilted on its side-stand. There’s enough of a lean for the oil to drain. If you have a center stand, that is fine.
• Remove the seat by unlocking the rear compartment and pulling the cable release located inside. The seat will then lift up. The only reason we have to remove the seat is to gain access to one torx-head screw so we can remove the left side body panel (next step).
• Remove the left side body panel by unscrewing the oil dip stick and the torque screw right next to it, removing the 4 torx screws which connect the left hand turn signal to the body, and remove the one torx screw which is normally covered by the seat. You can let the left hand turn signal dangle by its wires, although it is easily disconnected by squeezing the plug and pulling gently. NOTE: The bottom part of the left side panel has a male connector piece that snaps snuggly into a rubber grommet. It’s best to pull the bottom of the left side body panel out just a bit, then lift up.
• Once the side body panel is removed, the black finned oil tank is now visible. Loosen and remove the oil drain screw located here. The oil will shoot out about 5 inches or so then slowly tapper off. I found it best to use a funnel to collect and direct the oil in a pan of some sort. If you have the bike on a center stand, just lean it over a bit to help the oil drain. Again, you don’t have to get every last drop.
• Once the oil has finished draining, replace the drain screw. Don’t crank down on the drain screw too much, but it should be snug.
• You can now replace the left side body panel by inserting the male connector into the rubber grommet (bottom of body panel), re-attaching the turn signal, replacing the torx screws, and attaching the seat. The top of the left side body panel snaps into the top body panel in three places.

Changing the Oil Filter

• To remove the oil filter, you have to also remove the chain sprocket protector to gain access to one of the torx screws.
• Reposition the black neutral wire so as not to get oil on it. You don’t need to disconnect it, just move it out of the way.
• Now that the chain sprocket cover has been removed, you can remove the 3 torx screws on the oil filter cover (one of them looks different and sticks out a bit). Be prepared for a bit of oil as you start to loosen the torx screws. It’s not like a liter is going go gush out, but there will be a few ounces. There’s no perfect way to prevent a mess. Some people cut an aluminum can length-wise to catch the oil and direct it away from the bike. Remove the filter by pulling it straight out with your fingers (did you think you were going to stay clean?!).
• If you want, you can clean out the oil filter housing, but it’s not necessary. If you do decide to do so, make sure you use a clean lint free cloth or something that won’t leave lint or threads behind.
• Remove the old black o-ring from inside the filter cover you just removed. If you bought the oil change kit, you will find a new black o-ring. Lube the oil ring with fresh oil and insert it into the oil filter cover. Put some oil on the rubber ring inside the oil filter and insert the oil filter into the motorcycle. It should push in snuggly, but not hard.
• Reattach the oil filter cover, re-route the black wire in its correct position (if you moved it), and reattach the chain sprocket cover. The specs on the torx screws for the oil filter cover are 10 nm. However, the one torx screw that looks different and sticks out a bit should not be tightened that hard. Snug, but not super tight (you may break it).

Sump Plug for the Crank Case

• Under the bike is the sump plug for the crank case. To gain access to the plug you need to remove the bash/skid plate. This is held in place with 3 hex bolts.
• I used a long-arm crescent wrench to remove the sump plug bolt because it has a lot of leverage. The sump plug is on there really tight (spec is 40 nm). If you have a 15/16″ sprocket that is small enough to fit in there, great! But you might need some additional leverage. Again, position an oil pan beneath the plug because quite a bit of oil will drain.
• Once you remove the plug, clean it off. It’s actually a magnet so you might see some very fine metal shavings stuck to it. This is normal. Take off the old copper ring/washer.
• In the oil change kit is a new copper ring/washer. Put the copper ring on the sump plug and re-insert the plug into the crank case housing after the oil has finished draining. You want to tighten the sump plug pretty good (spec is 40 nm of torque). Don’t go tighter than this though. The last thing you want to do is strip the threads on the crankcase.
• Re-attach the bash plate to the bottom of the bike with the 3 hex bolts/washers.

Filling with Oil

• Once everything it put back together, somewhat slowly fill the bike with just under 2 liters of oil. A full 2 liters won’t quite fit if the bike is tilted on the side-stand.
• Start the bike and let it run for about 30 seconds. This will pump the oil through the filter and into the crank case. Turn off the bike and add another 0.25 liters or so.
• Check for leaks near the oil filter and sump plug. If the oil level is still a bit low, add more oil. Don’t over fill the tank though, otherwise you may introduce oil in your air box.

That’s it! It took me awhile to change my oil for the first time. The second time went 10x faster.

Now … what oil should you use? That the source of HUGE debate. It will never hurt to use regular non-synthetic oil in your 650 GS or Dakar. I switch between SAE 15W50 in the summer and SAE 15W40 in the fall/winter. Finding SAE 15W50 non-synthetic oil is tough as all the auto parts stores only carry the synthetic version. Only a couple bike shops carry it, and of course the BMW dealership does as well, but it’s like twice as much. I can’t speak for synthetics because I have never used them. Just keep in mind, this bike has a wet clutch which means synthetic oils that have friction modifiers or other additives can cause the clutch to slip.

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• Battery Maintenance – BMW 650 GS or Dakar

When I bought my 2005 BMW 650 GS Dakar, I quickly realized I was going to need a top case for carrying some of my gear. The question was, do I go with the BMW case that is made for the bike or do I go with a 3rd party case? After speaking with some co-workers who have BMW motorcycles, none of them had many good things to say about the BMW top case. The two biggest complaints I heard were it was very compartmentalized which made storing larger items difficult and that it sometimes leaked water. That latter surprised me.

So instead of taking a chance on the BMW top case, I decided on the Givi v46 Monokey top case which had rave reviews. It actually turned out to be a bit less than the BMW case (no surprise there), looks nicer and was a little bigger. These cases won’t mount on the BMW 650 GS out of the box so you have to also buy the universal mounting bracket (part#: SR685) which is very easy to install. I had the case mounted on the bike in 15 minutes.

The top case can hold my XL Scorpion full face helmet, rain gear and a few other small things like a tinted visor, second pair of gloves and bungee cords. It’s very solid, easy to use, has a key lock, and forms a nice air tight seal which I know won’t leak water. I could of gone with a bigger case which might of held my jacket as well, but I was afraid it would have looked too big on the back of the 650 GS Dakar. You can also add a rack that mounts on top of the case for added storage or a 3rd brake light. I’m very pleased with the case and have no complaints.

I decided on the 2005 BMW 650 GS Dakar for my first motorcycle over some other comparable single cylinder motorcycles for a couple reasons; looks and performance. Bottom line … I LOVE this bike! Some of the other bikes I looked at were the Kawasaki KLR, BMW 650 CS/GS, and the BMW 1200 GS (a bit much for a first bike).

I wasn’t interested in buying a brand new first bike so I shopped around for a used one. And I shopped. And I shopped. And I shopped some more. Not because I was picky, but because I could not find any used 650 GS/Dakars anywhere. I found a few used bikes but they were all in other states. After looking for 4 months, the BMW dealership in Denver said they had two. I told the sales rep I would be up there on a Saturday to take a look and he said they would be gone by then. I figured it was salesman bull crap and let a couple days pass. I called back and sure enough, one was already sold. So I put a refundable $1000 deposit down just to hold the Dakar for 2 days until I could get up there and take a look. The bike was only 6 months old and they were only knocking about $1500 off what a new one would cost. It had the ABS brakes, heated hand grips, and a transferable warranty. The cost is probably why it didn’t sell as fast. Anyhow … long story short … once someone buys the 650 CC/GS/Dakar, they rarely get rid of them. That’s how well-liked the bikes are.

I’ve easily gotten her up to 90 mph but it’s not that much fun at those speeds. They say the bike will do 100+ mph and I believe them, but I’m not sure why you would want to go that fast on this bike in the first place. Because the gas tank is located under the seat, the center of gravity is lower which adds to the bikes stability and agility. So in all, around town this bike is awesome!

The BMW 650 GS Dakar is very gas efficient. So far my gas mileage has been better than I was hoping and far better than my Ford Explorer. I financed the bike but the savings in gas almost makes up for the monthly payment. The explorer costs me about $40 to fill up each week while the BMW 650 GS costs me about $10 (4 gallons at $2.50). That’s a $30 savings each week and I can travel the same distance on 4 gallons as I can with 16 gallons in the Ford Explorer (about 260 miles). Below is a table of some of the gas mileage readings I’ve been getting under normal city (non-freeway) driving conditions. The gas mileage is not quite as good as it used to be because I’m riding the bike a little harder than I was when I first bought it. Nonetheless, it’s still pretty impressive.

Along with the great gas mileage, you can put just as many accessories on the BMW 650GS Dakar that you can on any other bike of the same size. Whether it’s hard top case, saddle bags, tank bags or 12 volt accessories. The alternator is a bit on the small side so don’t think you can plug in a whole bunch of electric warm weather gear, but it can easily handle GPS, extra lights, and intra-bike communications. After all, this bike is meant for off road touring!

I have added the following accessories/options to my 2005 BMW 650 GS Dakar:

• Heated Hand grips
• ABS Brakes
• Lower Front Fender
• Brake! LED Tail Light
• Givi v46 Top Case
• Toura-tech Fork Guards

Although the bike is a bit heavy for its class at 425 lbs wet, the bike stops incredibly well with the ABS option. On one occasion I have had to really bear down on my brakes to avoid a car who didn’t see me while making a left turn across traffic. The first thought I had was pure fear. The second thought was … wow, I’m totally going to stop in time. Without the ABS brakes, I know I would of locked the front wheel which would of ended in bad news. So if you decide upon the BMW 650 CS/GS/Dakar, plan on getting the ABS brake option. It is so worth it.

There is only one thing about the Dakar that has me frustrated. I guess BMW motorcycle transmissions are notoriously noisy/clunky when engaging and disengaging the gears. While I struggled in the beginning with the shifting, I’ve become a lot better to the point where gear shifting is nearly seamless and quiet. First and second still clunks, but I found if you quickly accelerate the engine to about 5500 rpm in first then shift into second, it doesn’t clunk as much. This makes sense because first gear on this bike is a grunt gear. At 5500 rpm you’re only going about 20mph. Second gear is much deeper. So if you are not going fast enough when you shift into second from first, the wheel speed doesn’t match the engine speed and the gears don’t mesh nicely. All the other gears shift nicely between about 4500-5000 rpm range if you gently pre-load the shifter (lift up with your foot and apply a little bit of pressure … the gear almost slips in by itself). As for down-shifting, if you blip the gas and gently depress the shift lever on the down rev after (during the blip if that makes sense) the clunky sound nearly goes away. Speed also makes a difference. At 45mph you can easily go from 5th to 4th with a little blip of the gas. At 35mph you can go from 4th to 3rd. At 25mph you can go from 3rd to second. From 2nd to first you have to be going pretty slow. Otherwise you can get a big clunk and a little jerk as well.

Related Entries

• Changing the oil in a BMW 650 GS or Dakar
• Battery Maintenance – BMW 650 GS or Dakar