Author Topic: So I got a Dakar... for Free!  (Read 4839 times)

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Offline laser145

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So I got a Dakar... for Free!
« on: December 08, 2010, 03:28:32 PM »
In the annals of unbelievable... a friend of mine gave me his Dakar!

For the story... A friend of mine in NYC has had the bike for years. He's been talking about getting rid of it for at least 2. Every time I talk to him he seems frustrated by it... battery is dead again, tires have gone flat, front fork seal developed a leak, parking tickets, etc...
One day he writes me an email and asks if I want to take it. I told him I didn't have any money, but he said he didn't care, he just needed it off his shoulders.
I rode my moped into the city and pulled the battery off of it (pain in the ass), took it home and filled it with fluid and charged it... the next day I hooked the battery bike up and it started right up. I had to ride real slow for a block until I could get to a shop with air for the tires... then I hauled ass into Brooklyn!! He told me to ride it, sell it, whatever... he's over it!

As far as the bike goes... 2001 BMW F650GS Dakar, 5800 miles, mostly stock from what I know (which is nothing)... he sprayed it black, but did an OK job... It does have a slight leak in a front fork, but it's been so cold here that I haven't taken the time to look closely at it.

I think I just found the bike I'm going to take to the Pacific and back!

Cheers!
Taylor

Offline Bob Wessner

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Re: So I got a Dakar... for Free!
« Reply #1 on: December 08, 2010, 03:41:05 PM »
Great friend, great score! Hope you're getting him a special Christmas gift.  ;)
We'll all be someone else's PO some day.

Offline kirkn

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Re: So I got a Dakar... for Free!
« Reply #2 on: December 08, 2010, 03:53:09 PM »
Great friend, great score! Hope you're getting him a special Christmas gift.  ;)

At the very least, a very lovely card...  :D

Great score!

Offline laser145

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Re: So I got a Dakar... for Free!
« Reply #3 on: December 08, 2010, 08:22:57 PM »
It's unclear to me at this point what exactly is going through his head... but I do understand the potential frustrations of owning anything on the streets of NYC. Street cleaning, parking tickets, hassle, hassle, hassle... I'll keep riding the bike, but if I get rid of it, the majority of the cash will have to go his way.

As far as riding it goes... wow, I really like it. I've never been on a bike of this type and I really enjoy the height and upright stance of it. It felt instantly comfortable and competent. I am afraid, however, of the cost of replacing anything on it... an damn... the price of hard luggage for the bike is out of sight!!!

Offline Stev-o

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Re: So I got a Dakar... for Free!
« Reply #4 on: December 08, 2010, 08:27:13 PM »
Great friend, great score! Hope you're getting him a special Christmas gift.  ;)

At the very least, a very lovely card...  :D



And a half gallon of Crown!!  That's a good friend!!!
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Offline Old Scrambler

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Re: So I got a Dakar... for Free!
« Reply #5 on: December 09, 2010, 02:06:06 PM »
Plus 1 on the gift.............and if you want to sell the Dakar.............let me know!!!  I'll be in Brooklyn over New Years and / or my daughter lives there for her to ride.
Dennis in Wisconsin
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Offline laser145

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Re: So I got a Dakar... for Free!
« Reply #6 on: December 09, 2010, 02:27:45 PM »
Plus 1 on the gift.............and if you want to sell the Dakar.............let me know!!!  I'll be in Brooklyn over New Years and / or my daughter lives there for her to ride.

After riding it for a few days I think it will take quite a bit to pry it out of my hands... even in this cold I've really enjoyed it!

Although... it did let me down today in a major way! It was 15 degrees this morning and I decided to ride to work. The bike started fine and idled well but it would die easily at stop lights after a few min. After hard acceleration, if I pulled in the clutch and let the rpms drop, it would die...

It did this today about 7 times until finally, on the bridge into Manhattan, the battery no longer had any juice!! I had to coast down the bridge and ditch the bike on the sidewalk.

I think it's just a weak battery, I bought a new one today so I'll be sure of its history... I'll see how it behaves over the next few weeks.

Cheers

Offline andy750

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Re: So I got a Dakar... for Free!
« Reply #7 on: December 09, 2010, 02:50:22 PM »
This guy rode his Dakar round the world with minimal problems - great bikes!

http://dickysworldadventure.blogspot.com/

good luck with it
Andy

Current bikes
1. CB750K4: Long distance bike, 17 countries and counting...2001 - Trans-USA-Mexico, 2003 - European Tour, 2004 - SOHC Easy Rider Trip , 2008 - Adirondack Tour 2-up , 2013 - Tail of the Dragon Tour , 2017: 836 kit install and bottom end rebuild. And rebirth: http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,173213.msg2029836.html#msg2029836
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Offline vanillagorilla

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Re: So I got a Dakar... for Free!
« Reply #8 on: December 09, 2010, 04:13:39 PM »
Lucky dog! I am jealous! Have fun with it!!!
1978 CB750K 1976 Z1 2 Trail 90s

Offline laser145

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Re: So I got a Dakar... for Free!
« Reply #9 on: December 09, 2010, 05:04:08 PM »
This guy rode his Dakar round the world with minimal problems - great bikes!

http://dickysworldadventure.blogspot.com/

good luck with it
Andy



Nice reading!

I really hope the new battery straightens me out... after that I'll have to do a little maintenance then I'll be ready for an extended voyage!

Offline Jordan

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Re: So I got a Dakar... for Free!
« Reply #10 on: December 09, 2010, 05:07:12 PM »
really excited for you. Re: battery, there is probably a short somewhere. Enjoy it and definitely do the work yourself as the shop rates are obscene, compared to them the parts prices are reasonable! LOL. I had to pay 400 for fork seal replacements on my 98 K1200RS, BMW plant outsourced them to Italy for about 8 months in 98 hence the difficulty finding the seals anywhere in stock. But I absolutely love my Beemer.

Offline laser145

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Re: So I got a Dakar... for Free!
« Reply #11 on: December 09, 2010, 06:43:38 PM »
really excited for you. Re: battery, there is probably a short somewhere. Enjoy it and definitely do the work yourself as the shop rates are obscene, compared to them the parts prices are reasonable! LOL. I had to pay 400 for fork seal replacements on my 98 K1200RS, BMW plant outsourced them to Italy for about 8 months in 98 hence the difficulty finding the seals anywhere in stock. But I absolutely love my Beemer.

Well, it's been super cold here, well below freezing... I pulled the battery(dead) out of the bike last week, topped off the fluids in it(they were very low), then charged it overnight... My charger never clicked over to the little green light indicating it was done... so anyway, the bike ran fine for a couple of days, sat outside at night, etc... Battery was probably getting a little weak...

There is a chance I didn't get the battery terminals on securely which could explain the issue, but I'm wondering if the cold had something to do with it...

I really know nothing about the bike and BMW's in general... I'm going to get a manual and see what's to see!

Offline Stev-o

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Re: So I got a Dakar... for Free!
« Reply #12 on: December 09, 2010, 06:46:19 PM »
I bet it's just a bad battery.

Good luck.
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Offline laser145

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Re: So I got a Dakar... for Free!
« Reply #13 on: December 09, 2010, 06:58:59 PM »
I bet it's just a bad battery.

Good luck.


And I hope you're right!

As an aside... I really want to get some luggage, but that stuff is expensive! Anyone know of some good options?

Offline Stev-o

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Offline MoMo

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Re: So I got a Dakar... for Free!
« Reply #15 on: December 09, 2010, 07:04:54 PM »
Friend had one, he loved it and never had a problem.  Seems to me  like a bad battery, have it checked.  Nice bike, enjoy.  Larry

Offline Damfino

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Re: So I got a Dakar... for Free!
« Reply #16 on: December 09, 2010, 07:09:42 PM »


Damn, I want friends like yours... ;) ;D
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Offline laser145

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Re: So I got a Dakar... for Free!
« Reply #17 on: December 09, 2010, 08:08:51 PM »


Damn, I want friends like yours... ;) ;D

I'm pretty sure my facebook albums of my upcoming adventures are going to make him jealous!

I think I'm also going to want to repaint the plastics... I'm thinking a dark steel gray... Anyone know anything about painting plastic?

Offline Damfino

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Re: So I got a Dakar... for Free!
« Reply #18 on: December 09, 2010, 08:16:08 PM »
Anyone know anything about painting plastic?


It's all in the preparation... ;)
Your Message Here!
You can still call me 'Schmitty'

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You know, a long time ago being crazy meant something. Nowadays everybody's crazy.
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You've got to watch your back in the SSDB, this is where the clever guys get bored with bike talk and make poo jokes.
I like my women a little big. Natural. Now, they shave this and wax that. It's not right. I love natural women. Big women. This trend in women has to go. Bulomia, anorexia. That's just wrong. You know what will cure that? My special sticky buns. One lick of my sticky buns and your appetite will come right back. ~ RIP Mr. Borgnine  01/24/1917 - 07/08/2012  :'(

Offline Jordan

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Re: So I got a Dakar... for Free!
« Reply #19 on: December 10, 2010, 06:34:00 AM »
http://marketplace.ibmwr.org/ is a good place to find things people are selling for Beemers.

Offline laser145

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Re: So I got a Dakar... for Free!
« Reply #20 on: December 21, 2010, 05:47:31 PM »
So after a couple of weeks I've made progress...

I bought and installed a new battery which gave me the juice needed to restart it all the time... b/c it kept dying when I would pull the clutch in while decelerating. After some research I tried a few things and I think I've finally fixed the issue...

The issue seems like it was my starting procedure. I would simply turn on the key, hit the starter, and give it a little throttle bump....wring thing to do I guess.

From what I've heard... you must turn on the key, but don't touch the throttle. Wait for the temp light to go off. While the temp light is on, the computer is gathering data about engine temp, etc... once it goes off, don't touch the throttle, but hit the starter until it starts, and continue to hold the button for 2 more seconds... Someone said the computer memorizes your idle from when you crank the bike and that if you give it throttle then, you'll throw off it's data, which means it will die when you pull in the clutch suddenly while riding...

Sheesh! Remember when all you had to do was clean the carbs and your bike would run!

So after 2 days of riding in below freezing temps I've got no more stalling... I'll keep a close eye on her though!

Also, the PO gave me a little more history... he's upgraded the front and rear suspension to stiffer springs for off road riding, new exhaust, as well as handlebar risers, footpegs, turn signals, and I think, headlights... all from Touratech...

Here are a couple of pics from this weeks riding...



Cheers

Offline andy750

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Re: So I got a Dakar... for Free!
« Reply #21 on: December 22, 2010, 01:09:32 AM »
Great update and good example of how modern bikes have their quirks as well. Bikes looking good and I liked the photos. Keep those updates coming - plenty of interest here.

have fun
Andy
Current bikes
1. CB750K4: Long distance bike, 17 countries and counting...2001 - Trans-USA-Mexico, 2003 - European Tour, 2004 - SOHC Easy Rider Trip , 2008 - Adirondack Tour 2-up , 2013 - Tail of the Dragon Tour , 2017: 836 kit install and bottom end rebuild. And rebirth: http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,173213.msg2029836.html#msg2029836
2. CB750/810cc K2  - road racer with JMR worked head 71 hp
3. Yamaha Tenere T700 2022

Where did you go on your bike today? - http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=45183.2350

Offline Stev-o

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Re: So I got a Dakar... for Free!
« Reply #22 on: December 22, 2010, 09:19:02 PM »
nice...
'74 "Big Bang" Honda 750K [836].....'76 Honda 550F.....K3 Park Racer!......and a Bomber!............plus plus plus.........

Offline Damfino

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Re: So I got a Dakar... for Free!
« Reply #23 on: December 23, 2010, 06:23:45 AM »


That really is a great bike, I still can't believe he just gave it to you... :'(
Your Message Here!
You can still call me 'Schmitty'

1976 CB 750
2014 CB 1100DLX
2015 Harley Davidson Freewheeler



You know, a long time ago being crazy meant something. Nowadays everybody's crazy.
Charles Manson

You've got to watch your back in the SSDB, this is where the clever guys get bored with bike talk and make poo jokes.
I like my women a little big. Natural. Now, they shave this and wax that. It's not right. I love natural women. Big women. This trend in women has to go. Bulomia, anorexia. That's just wrong. You know what will cure that? My special sticky buns. One lick of my sticky buns and your appetite will come right back. ~ RIP Mr. Borgnine  01/24/1917 - 07/08/2012  :'(

Offline tango911

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Re: So I got a Dakar... for Free!
« Reply #24 on: December 23, 2010, 06:28:01 AM »
very cool,  love the photo's.
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