• Radiator guard
• Chain guard
• Mounting for Enduro mudguard
  
• Roadbook and Tripmaster

[ Top | End ]

Radiator guard

[ Neccesary parts | Skill ]

An all-road or dual-sport motorcycle as the F650 is fun to ride less paved tracks. The imagination you participate in the Dakar rally is intensified leaving large dust clouds behind... Dirt tracks have one disadvantage: they attac the radiator of the Funduro. Some bent lamellae can be straightened with a screwdriver. Over a longer period of time the radiator might not survive this stoning. BMW does not have a radiator-guard for the F650 with their accessoiries. According to BMW in Munich it is not to be expected in future. BMW oriented retailers like Wüdo and Touratech do not have a solution. Spare parts of the 'Schalber F650 Superproduction' do not fit because this bike has in fact two high mounted radiators of the KTM. It is very awkward that nearly all Japanese motorcycles - cruisers included! - have a radiator-guard.

Armed with a tape measure and some manipulative skill I came with a very good solution. The spare parts of the nearest Kawasaki-shop is essential. With only minor changes the radiator-guard of the Kawasaki ZZR can be used on the BMW F650. After modification of the mounts the guard is mounted 'upside-down'.

[ Top | End ]

Parts to use...

• radiator-guard, Kawasaki-part 14037-1171 (costs DFL 84,-)
• bench vice
• little hammer
• iron saw
• HSS-drill 6mm (plus boring machine)
• iron file (evt. Leathermantool)
• metal plate 1mm thick
• rust protecting paint (eg. paintingpen)

The use of a bench vice is recommended. Because the mountings of the guard are soldered to the rim it is important to pinch rim and mounting firmly during the bending and knocking. This way the used force does not directly affect the soldering, which reduces risk of damage.

ALWAYS PINCH THE MOUNTINGS IN THE VICE DURING SAWING, BENDING AND DRILLING!

[ Top | End ]

Skill to build the radiator-guard...

The eyelets on the upper side have to be bent. With these new hooks the guard is hung to the top of the radiator.

1. Pinch the guard in the vice, the upper side of the rim should be pinched. Knock the eyelet in the direction of the soldered side until it is square to the grid.
2. Remove the guard from the vice.
3. Knock the eyelet further inside. Put the 1 mm metal plate between the soldering on the rim and the top-end of the bent eyelet. This prevents the hook from being closed.
4. Repeat this with the other eyelet.

The original hooks on the guard are straightened and provided with a hole or notch for mounting at the lower radiatormount of the F650.

1. Straighten the upper bend of the original hook with the use of the vice. Flatten the metal piece with a hammer. Let the lower hook as it is.
2. Remove the grey sidepanels of the F650 under the fueltank (three bolts each) and the grey piece under the radiator (four bolts).
3. Hang the guard with the new made hooks on the top of the radiator and push the guard downward firmly.
4. Mark the positions where the two center bolts of the grey part below the radiator come on the lower mounts.
5. Drill holes in the mountings of the guard. The metal is very soft. Mark the exact spot for drilling with a nail. Drilling first with a 4 or 5 mm drill works fine. The holes in the mountings are on the outher sides.
6. Finish the hole or notch with a file.
7. Remove the original hook of the mount (only the hook part!) and finish the edges with a file.
8. Clean all adapted parts with sandpaper and add rust-protection like paint.

The radiator-guard is ready now and can be mounted. Hang the guard on the radiator. Secure the lower grey part, starting with the center two bolts. When fastening the bolts push the guard downward for the best position. Finally put the grey sidepanels in their places.

[ Top | End ]

Chain guard

When riding with knobbly tyres the standard chain guard of the F650 is unpractical. Lots of dirt cling to it and certainly the knobbles will destroy it within minutes. The biggest problem with chain guards from other manufacturers is that the F650 has the chain on the right side and most other bikes have it on the other side. Only KTM and Husaberg have the chain the right way. From the KTM guard only the outher side can be used and that part can not be bought separately. Besides 80 guilders is a lot of money for a piece of plastic. The Husabergs never seem to have a chain guard.

With some Enduro sense and a couple of pictures of a KTM Adventure I made sturdy a chain guard. The part is made of very strong plastic gutter (do-it-yourself-shop) of 1,5mm thick. For mounting the original bolts can be used.

[ Top | End ]

Mounting for Enduro mudguard

Certainly a high front fender is better. Because the headlight is attached rather low an Acerbis mudguard can not be attachet directly to the lower forkbridge. At the metal store I got a 3mm thick plate of aluminium of 9 x 27 cm. This plate I bent to a horseshoe shape with legs of 3 - 6 - 9 - 6 - 3 cm. In the upper 9cm part I drilled four holes to attach the mounting to the forkbridge. The lower two 3 x 9cm legs got two holes each to attach the fender, horn and stabilizer. I used M6 bolts, fastening rings and self tightening mutters to secure it all.

The dimensions for the mount on the new model F650 are 3 - 9 - 9 - 9 - 3cm because the front bodywork reaches lower than on the first type.
This part also can be bought at Louis (German motorcycle equipment) article # 10026019.