Single disc brake, diameter 265mm, single-piston floating caliper
More to come on this Adventure Motorcycle
User reviews
Average user rating from: 5 user(s)
Overall rating:
8.6
As a Long Distance Tourer:
8.2
Off Road Capability:
8.0
Around Town:
8.6
Additional Equipment Availability:
9.0
Reliability:
9.0
Handling:
8.8
Engine:
9.0
Value for Money:
8.2
Going round the world? – Buy one!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
In 2009 I did the "Long Way Round" pretty much following Charlie and Ewan's route. The outfit running the "tour" recommended the 800 so I bought one in March 2009 and had 4000 miles on the clock before we left from the Ace Cafe on June 4th.
It came with the "accessory package" including "trip computer", ABS (essential to switch it off when off road) LED indicators which are small enough to avoid getting damaged when you come off - and you will! - and heated grips - not a lot of use in the Turkmenistan desert at 40C but bloody useful in the early mornings up in the Artic Circle in Canada.
Essential add-ons include a decent sump guard (the standard one is plastic and comes in the chocolate teapot category) crash bars and panniers all courtesy of Metal Mule. Their panniers are not cheap but they are immensly strong and even bouncing down the road at a ton in Canada after a disagreement with a low flying Canada goose and more offs in Mongolia in deepsand and gravel ruts than I can remember they are still in one piece and functioning perfectly.
Dont go on your travels without a centre stand which is not standard kit. Changing wheels and chains which on a 21,000 mile trek you will be doing a lot of is much easier with one fitted. The standard seat is a plank and about as comfortable. Fitting an Air Hawk is the answer. It does add more height to an already tall bike but you wont get arse ache. After a four month trip everything else aches but not your bum! Maaarvellous!
I also fitted Pivot Pegs which have a larger and more grippy surface area and do actually pivot when standing up (you will be doing a lot of this off road ie all od Mongolia and most of Siberia!) making it easier to change gear which latter function is further aided by fitting an extended gear lever courtesy of Touratech. Size 10 Alpinestar MotoX boots just wont fit under a standard lever.
If you going to be doing a lot of high speed touring then a bigger screen will help but for round the world the standard one is fine. In hot weather 30C plus the larger screen stops airflow over your body and you need to stand up to cool down!
There is no adjustment in the front forks and they can dive alarmingly, unlike the 1200's, but they soaked up most of the bumps and potholes without bottoming out ditto at the rear which can be adjusted for preload (essential with the extra weight carried) and damping although the latter didnt make any noticeable difference to handling.
For a bike with a big 21 inch front the handling on the road (even on Conti TKC80's) is remarkably good. We ran road tyres as far as Asghabat in Turkmenistan and then switched onto TKC's which were pretty much shot by the time we got to Vladivostok. Fuel consumption is awesome and 60mpg is easy to achieve but as the cruising speed rises much above 70mph it does start to come down quickly. I managed to run out of fuel at midday in the Turkmen desert with 263 miles on the clock. We had been trickling along at 50mph as we knew we might be close on fuel and that averages out at 74mpg!
The 800 engine is susceptible to an oil leak from the rocker cover and all 9 of the 800s on tour suffered to some extent. The cure is a tube of silicon gasket cement, which necessitates removing the air intake covers over the engine which look like the fuel tank which is in fact under the seat. Then the air filter and battery compartment comes out and you can get to the top of the engine.
We had some various fuelling problems which came and went but having run the bikes on fuel down to 80 grade in Mongolia and filling up with what looked like agricultural diesel in Siberia that is not really a surprise. Wheel bearings as standard are cheap and not very cheerful Chinese items and replacing with SKF or similar is well worth doing of you are going on a "Long" one. one of our team had one let go in Canada with about 25000 miles on the clock and mine were repalced under warranty by BMW when I got back at about the same mileage. Chains were not a problem probably because we lubed and adjusted them every day. We changed them (and sprockets ) in Canada after about 17,000 miles which is pretty good after the terrain they had covered.
I could go on and if anyone wants more info on the trip or help/advice with planning then visit my website and leave me a message www.clivesworldbiketour.com
Review Information Motorcycles
Time owned
18 months and counting
I liked
Adventure touring abilities, fuel consumption, reliability (21,000 miles doing London to New York via Siberia and only had two flats and a headlight bulb go!)
I Disliked
Seat (buy an Air Hawk), cheap wheel bearings, instant throttle response makes it a handful off road - well for relative novices like me it does!
I didn't buy this bike because I wanted it or even because I liked it. I bought one of these because there really is no choice. 650 class machines are not powerful enough for a man of my size and big machines like the 1200GS and Tiger are too big for using properly off road on challenging trails. I wanted something with this much (or more) power without paying the price by riding around on a whale of a bike with lousy fuel economy. There is nothing else with a tough enough chassis and enough power to be useable so I bought this with no testdrive, sight unseen on the grounds of believing there is nothing else on the market that fits the bill.
It is an expensive machine but the build quality is excellent with a durable finish on the engine and frame which is as good as any i have seen and far better than most. The gap between these and Japanese bikes is narrowing these days making these a far more attractive prospect. BMW are simply not as reliable as legend has it but I've had no issue whatsoever (so far) so have had to award mine full marks there.
Off road it has plenty of capability handling modest green laning with far more confidence and poise than I do and on the road it handles quickly. The first problem is a lack of adjustments in the front forks making the bike hard to set up. Well, you can't so if the bike won't suit you you can't make it suit you. Luckily mine works ok for me so no problem there. The engine is a rotax parallel twin and runs reasonably smoothly and with a good output in terms of power. A lot of people moan about the vibration but let's establish what this bike is, it's a 650 class offroad bike with more power. At its heart it is a 650 single with a modern twist and people should go into buying one of these with that expectation and they'd be a lot happier for it. There is enough power, more would always be nice but there is plenty here although it likes to cruise best at around 50mph. It will cruise faster but uses more fuel to do it and the vibes do start to build as you climb the rev range.
The one major snag against long distance touring is the seat, it's lousy. BMW always build a great bike and then compromise or lose interest at the last minute and make a lousy job of the seats and screens. The screen is pointless but the seat is easily upgraded by nailing a plank of wood to the frame and use that instead.
Fuel econoy is top notch, this is an example, and the first I've come across of good technology being invisible. Mostly everything works and you don't need to worry about it. Fuelling is brilliant, she starts first time every time, runs perfectly in all conditions and whether you're blatting about at full throttle or green laning you can be sure that no bike in this class will give you more for your money.
The looks are impressive and people can't wait to tell you how nice your bike is, the headlights are bright and the level of equipment is ok even as standard. Being a BMW you can spend a fortune adding all the parts you really need and should be standard equipment and also, being a BMW you can add a wealth of useless crap that will break your bank and make your bike prettier, uglier, faster, slower stronger, weaker or just ever so slightly different.
My only nag is that ABS is about as effective as a chocolate brake pedal and is, in my opinion £800 worth or pure life threatening danger which kicks back against you every time you have the audacity to go over a pothole. If i could change it I would not bother with ABS which mine came with but at least you can turn it off with a button on the dash. The trip computer should be standard kit as charging you extra for it is meaner than a rat in a damp sack. I would like to see the bodywork being cheaper and more easy to replace which would suit the bike's enduro leanings better as well as enduro riders pockets when the panels have suffered a plastic to tarmac interface.
Otherwise the bike is pretty close to perfect. I have no regrets and expect myself and this bike to have a long and happy relationship.
When reviewing any bike you have to also consider what else is out there, For this reason the GS range in my opinion has become a leading bike in its various guises not because its the best, infact there are almost always very good arguments for other bikes in each area that are better, but its the overall effect that being just about the best in some most areas and a contender in others that evens out and makes it the solid option it has become, Jack of all trades and perhaps master of none.
I like mine and still struggle to find an option that offers me more across the range of key areas that are important to the type of riding i like to do.
It’s my first BMW after lots of Ducatis.
Now maybe I have been spoilt by fifteen years of Ducati service (Snells of Alton in Hampshire), but when I am told my bike will be Serviced and ready to pick up first thing in the morning I expect that to be the case.
So at 9:30 my wife drops me off at Barnstormers in Farringdon Hampshire I’m a little miffed to have to wait for a couple of hours. The miserable git behind the “service”(sic)desk did apologise and explain that they were very busy....
Now Robert at Snells Ducati would have rung me to tell me if there was a delay but Barnstormers don’t do that.
They are “very busy”, after all.
Review Information Motorcycles
Time owned
7 Month so far
I liked
I got my F800GS in Sept 09 It hasn’t missed beat, its fuel economy is amazing and I like it a lot. I have ridden it through winter conditions that my Ducati road rocket would not have got ten yards in. I dropped it twice in the snow…not a scratch...but its very hard to get out of a ditch and upright again on your own(in a blizzard)its heavy any one who says it isn’t is either Superman or is just plain wrong.
I Disliked
My one and only criticism, is that it is heavy and that the forks....My only two criticisms are that it is heavy and that the Forks could be a tad stiffer or even adjustable and that the chain is of poor quality....My only three criticisms are....etc.
I took a test ride on the BMW F800GS on Thursday 23rd July '09. I had the bike for over 2 hours and gave it a run over B roads , A roads , dual carrageways , motorways and town speed stuff.
I think most of the modern "adventure" style bikes are grossly overpowered for their intended purpose, BMW1200GS , KTM990 etc and I wish bike manufacturers would get back to basics and build a well designed adventure bike around 70-80 hp. So I had high hopes of liking the BMW.
So what did I like ..........
It's a very nice bike to approach for the first time , a very comfortable layout (apart from the BMW indicator switches) and quite a nice height for a shorty like me. I had asked for the no cost option low seat to be fitted taking the seat to a stated 850 mm. The bike feels very "planted" on the road , I think a lot of that may be down to the Bridgestone Battlewing tyres fitted to the test bike - it really should have had Trailwings or Pirelli Scorpions or the like if it claims to be a dual purpose bike as Battlewings are purely road tyres. There is ample power from the engine and it pulls strongly , I was often surprised to find myself in the 6th gear thanks to the dash indicator when really my head was telling me she had plenty of grunt left and another gear could be snicked. The test bike was fitted with an excellent touring screen , with not buffeting - other bike makers could learn a lot from BMW screen/fairing designers. The bike had an entertaining ride computer fitted (£123) option and there are hours of innocent fun to be had watching the "to go" tank range indicator changing in real time as you change speed / gear, but a little uncomfortable to see your range change from 120 miles to empty , to 45 miles to empty just by dropping a gear and accelerating for an overtake. I had a few interesting roundabouts and junctions at first trying to get used to the indicator switches , cancelling and trying to maintain a steady throttle while turning takes a bit of practice, but apart from that the throttle felt relatively smooth , for a twin with FI !!!.
What did I not like.........
There is the most annoying and in my opinion , badly designed , front brake master cylinder, it's on some sort of elaborate rubber mount and shakes around violently all the time , distractingly so !! It was bouncing around so much on the test bike , I was sure that air would end up going down the line !!!
The seat got uncomfortable after about an hour , I did have the optional low seat fitted , and noticed that there were also low peg mounts that could be used , so maybe both are meant to be used in conjunction.
The rear shocker has absolutely no guard to prevent it getting whacked by grit and stones if you were to venture on to a track - a huge omission in my opinion - most other dual purpose bikes a least have a bit of plastic fitted to keep the worst abuse away.
My lower legs got caked in dirt a minor issue I know but annoying for a all year commuter like me.
All in all - quite a nice bike. But not for me. It did not move me enough to be considered as a potential replacement for the KTM.
The basic cost for a non ABS version is going to £7200 ish in august and after heated grips, trip computer , mainstand and luggage rack are fitted it comes in around £7700. Then there would be rails for my touratech panniers and crashbars to be fitted, probably around another £500 . So we arrive at £8200 and for anyone wanting the ABS option - another £600 thankyou !!!
Thought this was really close to my view of the BMW, which I hired for three days in NZ (see trip review). Interestingly I am 6'-2" and felt the bike fitted me really well, so must have had the tall seat option. I can only assume that the tall seat has more padding, as it was only after 5+ hours in the saddle did I start to feel slightly uncomfortable. For me the riding position was really excellent and the small screen reasonably effective.
Like Wee Jack, the things that he disliked were top of my list; in order of annoyance ... 1) Indicator switch positions. Why no self cancelling ? Even after three days I was still searching for that off switch. 2) The gearing. Kept trying to find a seventh gear. 3) Cruising at 120-150 kph, the engine seemed very "buzzy" - not as smooth as I would have expected from a BM. 4) The stupid wobbly rubber mounted brake cylinder. Couldn't see the need for the rubber mounting.
Positives were many. Not having owned a bike for many years (only weekend hires), I was pretty in-experienced when I picked up the bike, but quickly found it very easy to ride, putting in about 1000 km over three days. More than quick enough for me, it was pretty comfortable eating up the miles on the straight bits, but really came into its own on the really twisty NZ roads - very sure footed with masses of ground clearance and quick steering. Seemed quite comfortable with the dirt roads as well, and I would put my little incident on a steep dirt track down to my inexperience rather than any fault of the bike.
All in all I loved the bike (or maybe I would have loved anything on the NZ roads in sunny warm weather) and am definitely looking to try one again in the UK.
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