Very few people would pick a mid-90s BMW F650 Funduro as a donor for a flat track-style custom build, but Georg Godde reckons the idea has merit. He runs the BMW specialist workshop Cafemoto in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, with his partner-in-crime, Holger Maninger. And even though the Cafemoto portfolio mostly features BMW boxers and K-series bikes, Georg has a soft spot for older BMW singles.
Cafemoto’s last single-cylinder build was a BMW G650 Xcountry street tracker, and Georg was keen to build another Rotax-powered Beemer. So when his son turned 18 this year and could finally step up from 125 cc bikes to bigger machines, he talked himself into the project.
So why choose the humble Funduro this time around? “There are a lot of really beautiful Honda Dominator conversions, and the BMW F650 has a similar frame design behind its fat and boring fairings,” Georg answers. “It also has a better, liquid-cooled engine, with more torque and horsepower than the Honda.”
“There aren’t many custom F650s—and those that have been customized often have really bad proportions. And the price of the Funduro is really low—even compared to the BMW G650 series.”
Turning the bulbous BMW F650 Funduro into the zesty street tracker you see here wasn’t exactly a walk in the park though. Cafemoto’s first challenge was the fact that the bike’s subframe is welded directly to its main frame, which limits how much modification is allowed under Germany’s uber-strict TÜV standard. The guys trimmed off as much as they could, then devised a plan to hide the rest away.
“We decided to take a modified fiberglass flat track tail section with large side panels to hide the ugly rear frame away,” explains Georg. “To create a slim profile, we then customized a beautiful Yamaha DT400 gas tank to make it fit the BMW frame. It was not easy.”
Resisting the urge to simply zip-tie a generic number board to the front forks, Cafemoto shaped a custom unit out of aluminum instead. They then built a boxy mounting bracket that not only pitches it forward but also helps to tidy up the bike’s cabling and hosts the gauges. An LED projector pokes out the bottom, with slim LED turn signals sitting higher up.
Cafemoto swapped out the handlebars and grips but kept the OEM controls and switches. Out back, combination taillight and turn signal LEDs flank a custom license plate bracket.
Next, Georg and Holger shifted their focus to the Funduro’s stance. A tried-and-tested suspension lowering kit from Touratech helped them bring the ride height down to where they wanted it, with progressive springs improving the ride quality.
The BMW F650 Funduro wears 19F/17R wheels in stock form, but this build called for a more balanced look. So Cafemoto re-laced the wheels with aluminum Akront rims, bumping the rear wheel up to 18 inches, and spooned on Avon Trekrider tires. “We didn’t use a 19” rear wheel, because there are only a few tires in that size on the market,” says Georg, “and those tires that you can get are not competitive for street use.”
A custom-made titanium exhaust from G.P.R. Exhaust Systems in Italy adds a thumper-worthy bark to the build. Keen eyes will notice that the muffler now sits on the right of the bike instead of the left—a deliberate move to add even more flat track flavor to the bike. The guys trimmed the bodywork to accommodate it, doing such a tidy job that it looks factory.
Stealthier details include a custom chain guard, a tidy front fender, and a beefy bash plate to fend off the shower of stones that an 18-year-old is likely to subject it to. Cafemoto also swapped out the chain and sprockets, going up a couple of teeth on the rear.
Since the fuel tank came from a Yamaha, Cafemoto decided to stick to Yamaha styling for the livery. The Funduro looks resplendent in period-correct Yamaha ‘Competition Yellow,’ with subtle tweaks to work the shop’s name into the tank graphics. Matte gold powder-coating adds extra vintage style to the wheels.
“Due to the color and the fact that it is really hard to recognize it as a transformed F650 Funduro, our project is named ‘Bumblebee,’ after the Transformer,” Georg quips. “Although it’s a really light street bike, it has the soul of a flat tracker.”
Not only has Cafemoto proven that you can turn the BMW F650 Funduro into a street tracker, but they’ve given Georg’s kid a much better runabout than anything we owned at 18.
Cafemoto | Facebook | Images by Michael Larssen
