BMW has had a busy fall, with the newF900 GSandR1300 GSseries both coming out in September—a new parallel twin platform, and a new flat twin. But, no new 650 singles. It’s unfortunate—these were once a foundation of the BMW lineup, with models like the Funduro and the F650 GS. It’s too bad that BMW has abandoned these machines because even the less-common thumpers, like the G650 XCountry seen above, had a lot of good points, and there’s nothing really equivalent today.

Made in China, sold by Germany

BMW’s 650 series were always built around engines made outside Germany. At first the big singles were made by Rotax, in Austria. By the time the G-series models came along in the late 2000s, BMW had moved production… to China! Sort of.

Ever since these models debuted, there were conflicting stories about who was doing what, but after a decade-and-a-half of obfuscation has ceased, it seems the arrangement was that for much of this production run, Rotax made the engine components in Austria and shipped them to China, where Loncin assembled the engines and shipped them to Germany for installation in BMW’s frames. It was a convoluted arrangement, and a lot of customers complained about problems with their engines. Were the problems real, because of the complicated production process, or were they exaggerated simply because customers didn’t want Chinese-made bikes? The truth was probably a combination of both answers…

When the X-series singles debuted in 2006. the engine was only a slightly-updated take on the liquid-cooled 650 four-stroke that BMW had been selling since the late 1990s, with DOHC and four-valve heads. Max output was 52 hp at 7,000 rpm and 44 lb-ft of torque at 5,250 rpm; a five-speed gearbox was standard.

The bikes with this engine included the G650 XMoto (a supermoto), the G650 XChallenge (a hard-core, off-road oriented dual sport that Walter Colebatch made famous in his travels) and the G650 XCountry.

The XCountry was something different—it shared the same steel frame as the other two bikes, and the same fuel capacity (around 10 liters). But while the XMoto was definitely street-oriented with its supermoto wheels and the XChallenge was built for flogging in the dirt, the XCountry was made to split the difference between those two worlds. It had non-adjustable suspension and a 19-inch front wheel. The kind of kit you’d expect on a budget-friendly ADV touring bike, except it was a 650 single, not a bigger twin. And if you planned to use it as an adventure tourer, the stock gas tank was wayyyyyyy too small.

However, there weren’t many machines like this on the market, and owners could build the XCountry up as they pleased. Add better suspension! Add an auxiliary gas tank! And so on.

Results were mixed. You can find several inmates’ tales of their XCountry adventures in the ADVrider forum. Motorcycle.com had an overview of the series in 2007—seehere. At that time, MO said after its test:

With dozens and dozens of miles of rugged dirt roads in store the Xcountry never faltered or winced at anything in its path. This bike welcomes a rider eager to go on for hours and hours with its comfortable saddle. Where it might start to take its toll though is when the going gets a little too rough. Being the budget bike of this trio means that it will be lacking in one area or another, to wit, the front suspension. On the street this isn’t an issue, but start getting ambitious with some serious pot holes, rocky sections or even air time and you’ll notice the deficiency in the front. Often times the bike sounded like it was taking quite a beating; in reality it’ll probably be the rider who takes the abuse.

One of the best write-ups is Chris Scott’s comprehensive 10,000-kilometer review of his XCountry. He built it up quite a bit, used in Morocco, then sold it—read morehere. We also had a write-up on X-series bikes a few months backhere.

A short run

BMW’s X-series singles had a production run that echoed Chris Scott’s ownership of his machine: It was very, very short. The X-series bikes were out of production by 2010. Whether the 2008 financial crisis killed sales, or whether it was customer apathy, I don’t know. But I do know these machines are far less common than earlier F-series singles and later G-series bikes. Does that mean parts would be hard to find? I will say that aftermarket parts are very, very rare at this point, and even if factory parts are available now, I don’t know if that will last forever.

It’s too bad. These bikes had EFI and ABS was an option; they had enough power for easy highway cruising with luggage, and enough zip to be fun if you stripped them down and hooned along a back road. The XCountry might not have been particularly adept in the dirt, but it could handle the off-road, and owners could improve it a lot if they wanted. Really, it was a very useful and accessible all-rounder, the likes of which has not been sold in North America in the years since.

This bike here

The machine here is sold by longtime ADVrider inmate rockydog, and it might be a great fly-and-ride option for exploring Europe.

2009 G650 xcountry in Ireland, registered in USA, 13,594 miles, custom racks and Happy Trails panniers, .8 gal Acerbis aux gas tank, led headlamp and aux lights, Renazco Racing seat(comfy).
Registered until Feb
you can title the bike in Oklahoma by mail, need a copy of your drivers license and proof of insurance…

Contact me @[email protected]or Stephen @ 580-554-6227(Oklahoma), More photos available
自行车是located at Motofeirme, storage available

Asking price is $3,000. See the adhere. Note that the bike is currently in Ireland, at well-known motorcycle hub Motofeirme. If you want to tour Europe,that is a very good place to start.