New forks for the Beemer

Here's the write-up for replacing forks on a F650GS.

Why'd I do it?  From the write-up:

"As of this writing (November 2008), there have been multiple reports of catastrophic fork failures on the 2001-2002 model F650GS. BMW refuses to officially acknowledge the problem; however, for the 2003 model, the fork lowers were significantly reinforced. There have been no reports of failures from 2003 onwards.

Whether these '01-'02 forks should be subject to a BMW recall is a topic well outside of the scope of this writeup. However, I chose to preemptively replace my fork lowers with the '03+ model. Please note that the part number has not changed, but if you order a fork now, chances are that you'll get the new style."

For the curious, here are some comparison shots between the 2001-2001 fork lowers and the 2003+ models. It's very obvious where BMW has added substantial material around the axle mount.

The dirty ones are my '01 forks. ;)

Right side:

 

Left side:

Comments

[Ken Haylock]

Another great write-up, Carolyn!

I expect that if a lot of people start following your example (pending BMW being forced to do a recall, anyway), that could become a very widely read page among F650 owners indeed!

[Red]

Better safe than sorry. Or should I say - really, really sorry?