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Full Road Test – BMW F650 CS Scarver - I’ve always had a thing for single cylinder engined motorcycles. My trade and interest in engineering, has always believed in simplicity of function. I’ve enjoyed the riding experience of Norton ES2, Royal Enfield, and even my son’s old Honda FT500. The big ‘thumpers’ are basic, there’s only one of everything, piston, carburettor etc. well at least until recent years anyway. The Germans have always been past masters of the ethos of "keep it simple stupid". Even their language is devoid of multiple descriptions of single words, for example, "gross" can mean big, huge, large, enormous, gigantic and many more which can save a lot of time when you’re trying to find the right words, it can make writing a little boring though.

The first thing you notice about the Scarver is, how quiet it is. So quiet in fact that you believe the engine is ‘rattly’. However, these aren’t ‘rattles’ and are a consequence of the fact that the quiet exhaust note is not drowning out the normal noises produced by a large single cylinder 650cc engine. The next thing you’ll notice is (providing you’re sitting on the bike) how smooth the bike is, there being very little vibration usually associated with "big thumpers".

Right, now pull in the very light clutch, select first gear (so easily you need to check that you’ve actually done it) and move away to find that the steering is quite quick. The handle bars are set forward of the headstock, which means there is an advantage in leverage to control the front wheel and unless you’ve got really short arms will give you supreme traffic manoeuvring confidence. The gearbox is an easy to operate 5 speed type with a belt final drive to the rear wheel, that is as close to a shaft drive for smoothness of power transmission as I have ever found.

Stop for a moment and look at the style of the bike. The colour scheme of metallic gold/orange and blue won’t appeal to everyone but then there are other combinations that are less brutal on the eyes. It’s different from anything we’ve been used to in the big Oz, but, not unusual for Europe where the Super Motard has been a big seller for years now. The design is very practical, useful and ergonomically comfortable. The style also extends to the clothing accessories shown in the same sales brochure for the bike, street suits, tee shirts, sunglasses and even street sneakers, all designed to compliment the Scarver. BMW seem to be taking particular aim at the young designer set with this bike if the brochure is any guide, however because of the versatility of this motorcycle, you should look beyond the glossy pages and envisage what it can do for you.

I used the bike for a trip to the Oran Park Formula Xtreme races and found it very adept at freeway touring, overtaking as well as heavy city traffic assault. My old Tank bag fitted snuggly into the ‘well’ that would once have housed the fuel tank and now accommodates accessories such as a ‘Boom Box’, hard storage unit or lockable helmet area. Wet weather confronted my ride but the ‘little’ Beemer was sure footed and inspired confidence. Excellent non ABS brakes (available as an accessory) rear carry rack and heated hand grips which I used to great effect on the day, complete the extras on the test bike. The small fairing offered adequate protection from the elements, however, were the screen some 7 to 10cm taller it would allow a taller (183cm) rider to experience a more comfortable buffeted free high speed journey.

On the instrument nacelle, the ‘idiot’ lights are behind what appears to be a tinted lens that assists the rider to see them when they are on and not give ‘false’ alarms when hit by direct sunlight from over the shoulder. The speedo is highlighted on the 50kph & 100 kph markers and this assists the rider when moving through those suspect suburban areas that councils deem unsafe for the normal 60kph. The controls are setup more akin to Japanese machines than it’s BMW family origins and apart from hitting the voluble horn instead of the blinker cancel, I adapted to them very quickly.

Fuel economy was very good, with an achievement of 245 kilometres before the fuel warning light flickered on and I looked closely for any vibration of the mirrors and was pleased to see very little distortion of the rear view at any speed. The twin-mounted headlamps are superb in their task of illuminating the dangers of night riding, dangers all too obvious on a recent trip outback to Broken Hill.

The very nicely finished seat has an ample amount of storage area for all sorts of nick nacks (first aid kit?) underneath it, plus, there is that excellent high quality tool kit you’d expect from BMW.

At $14634 on the road, the Scarver may seem a bit steep for the average motorcyclist to climb. Then again, as one of the most affordable BMW’s available, with all of the usual Beemer quality and durability, I am sure it will find it’s way into many a garage giving the owner countless hours of pleasure and enjoyment. It’s a great bike and on the fun factor scale form 1 to 10 it rates an 8. It is important to note that from September 6^th the new Learner Approved Motorcycle Scheme was introduced and the Scarver is listed as one of the choices, which makes it a very sound investment....May your lid never skid.