Sainct Elsewhere

Sainct Elsewhere

Riding the Dakar-winning BMW F650

JIMMY LEWIS

WITH ENOUGH WORK, ANYTHING is possible. Take, for example, BMW's 1999 Dakar Rally-winning F650 Funduro. Judging by all the Paris-to-Dakar Replica GSs out there, there's a reason BMW returned to Africa, and made it a point to come home a winner.

Gearbag in hand, I caught a flight to Budapest, Hungary, to meet with the BMW rally team at a secret suspension test. There, I got a rare opportunity to ride the number-12 Dakar-winning Single of Richard Sainct.

No stranger to the rally scene, I already suspected what was in store for me. The BMW is reputed to be faster than the fastest KTMs, and a bit heavier. Dakar has a history of favoring that combination-just look at the success of the Yamaha and Cagiva Twins over the past decade.

At first glance, it’s obvious that the Funduro-based racer is a pure works bike sharing only its name and a few motor parts with its production brethren.

The perimeter-style chromoly frame and bolt-on titanium rear subframe ooze trickness. Purpose-built for the rigors of rally racing, the F650 was designed to be as light as possible, and to carry plenty of fuel. Twelve gallons of gas are contained in four low-slung tanks-two front and two rear-contoured to fit around the rider’s legs. Dual Mikuni flat-slides suck air through a filter located where the gas tank ordinarily would go.

There’s surely a secret or two lurking inside the liquid-cooled, four-valve Single, as displacement has been boosted to nearly 700cc. The clutch and fivespeed gearbox have been beefed-up to handle the added stress while retaining the necessary durability. Navigation aids include a Global Positioning System, map-book holder and ICO odometers, all electronic to keep the rider heading in the right direction. Suspension consists of a special WP inverted fork and PDS linkageless shock, each with 12 inches of travel and springs that would hold up a semitruck. All the bodywork is carbon-fiber, and every fastener is titanium. When I inquired about the price tag following a spill during our photo shoot, race team director Berti Hauser replied only with a whistle and spiraling eyes.

Ordinarily, you don’t just hop on a gassed-up rally bike and start popping wheelies, but thanks to the gusto of the factory BMW, I did. The bland, deceiving power and low-slung weight made maneuvering the heavy bike relatively simple. Compared to KTM rally racers and even CWs long-term Adventurer, the Beemer was agile, strong and precise.

I headed out onto the rainy and wet test loop-which if it had been dry, would have been similar to Central Africa’s Sahel desert-and the potent motor quickly got me going way too fast! At speed, the 300-plus-pound rally bike felt enough like a regular dirtbike that I forgot it was basically a two-wheeled Exxon Valdez. That is, until I hit the first big ditch, and caused a jolt that probably registered on the Cal Tech seismograph! But the F650 sucked it up and kept on mowing down the bumps-the mark of a good rally bike. Another appreciable trait is the excellent performance of the super-

strong Brembo brakes, which haul the big bike down from speed like a motocrosser-a nice safety feature out in the rapidly approaching unknown.

Turning, which you don’t do much in Dakar, is compromised by the wide front fuel tanks, which call for an exaggerated, stand-up riding style. And while the seat foam is plush enough for multiple all-day rides, the seating position is hampered by the bike’s thick overall layout. The windscreen could stand improvement, too, as it let a stream of air blast my arms while I was standing-surely something that would get tiring while “Maching” across the desert at 100 mph. Funny thing, though: Every complaint I had was echoed by team riders Sainct and Oscar Gallardo, and will be addressed on the next-generation racebikes.

So, how does the SuperFunduro rate? Obviously, you could win Dakar on it, as Sainct proved. The standout feature, to the dismay of the KTM crowd, is the Rotax-built engine’s copious power output, backed up by its trouble-free durability. Just the type of publicity BMW aims to gain from racing in Dakar.

Might we see the lessons learned in rally racing transfer into changes to the production F650? Surely some of them, as BMW is said to be taking a long, hard look at applying its newfound knowledge to an upcoming revision of the F650. A Dakar-Replica Funduro, anyone?

Meanwhile, BMW’s renewed commitment to off-road racing has put it firmly in the driver’s seat for the upcoming Egypt Rally and Dakar 2000, in which the company allegedly will debut an all-new racing Single, as well as a GS-based Boxer Twin.