Prepping F800GS for a long trip

[gspod]

Did just over 5000 miles in the summer in the USA - my wife on her F800gs.

The stator went on the last day - since, we have found out that it's a known consumerable that goes around 50,000 miles, which is the mileage on her bike. There are a few theories.
One is that the regulator packs up first. Now, since your bike has lower miles on the clock it may well not be a problem .....but from now on we will change the regulator every 40K and see what happens, so you might want to do the same.
Head bearings as everyone else has said.

Personally when we go to Europe we just have the bikes serviced well (Mikeyboy) and get good breakdown cover. Things are a bit different in the states.

Enjoy (thumbs)

[OnHellas]

Did just over 5000 miles in the summer in the USA - my wife on her F800gs.

The stator went on the last day - since, we have found out that it's a known consumerable that goes around 50,000 miles, which is the mileage on her bike. There are a few theories.
One is that the regulator packs up first. Now, since your bike has lower miles on the clock it may well not be a problem .....but from now on we will change the regulator every 40K and see what happens, so you might want to do the same.
Head bearings as everyone else has said.

Personally when we go to Europe we just have the bikes serviced well (Mikeyboy) and get good breakdown cover. Things are a bit different in the states.

Enjoy (thumbs)

The main theory, and one supported by BMW updating the flywheel, is overheating.
What year is your wife's F800GS?
The update was from 2013 bikes onwards, I think. The new flywheel has holes in it to allow better oil flow and therefore cooling.

We had a complete new unit fitted as I'd tried rewinds and they only lasted 15,000 miles. The original went at about 40,000 and a secondhand unit lasted another 12,000 or so.

www.sidecartravels.co.uk

[COULTERMAN]

Defo check the shim settings

[herman]

Get a stock of spares and leave them with a mate. Then if you are stranded somewhere and can't get a replacement locally you have access to the bits which whilst they may be spendy to ship will not mean a stalled trip? Companies like Wemoto will ship abroad but quite a few suppliers will not, Touratech springs to mind I believe. Other than the usual good servicing and normal travel prep/supplies then crack on. There appears not to be a jealous smiley above

[PaulinBont]

Did just over 5000 miles in the summer in the USA - my wife on her F800gs.

The stator went on the last day - since, we have found out that it's a known consumerable that goes around 50,000 miles, which is the mileage on her bike. There are a few theories.
One is that the regulator packs up first. Now, since your bike has lower miles on the clock it may well not be a problem .....but from now on we will change the regulator every 40K and see what happens, so you might want to do the same.
Head bearings as everyone else has said.

Personally when we go to Europe we just have the bikes serviced well (Mikeyboy) and get good breakdown cover. Things are a bit different in the states.

Enjoy (thumbs)

Did a 6000 mile trip to Turkey last summer. Big Al did a major service before I went: wheel bearings, Steering Head bearings, Fuel filter, Air and Oil filters, new plugs, checked shims........and the stator went in Croatia!!!!!


Just go, if it breaks down it breaks down.

I'm with Simon re the little black dress (I'm a size 14) (thumbs)

[Helicoptermanr22]

Did just over 5000 miles in the summer in the USA - my wife on her F800gs.

The stator went on the last day - since, we have found out that it's a known consumerable that goes around 50,000 miles, which is the mileage on her bike. There are a few theories.
One is that the regulator packs up first. Now, since your bike has lower miles on the clock it may well not be a problem .....but from now on we will change the regulator every 40K and see what happens, so you might want to do the same.
Head bearings as everyone else has said.

Personally when we go to Europe we just have the bikes serviced well (Mikeyboy) and get good breakdown cover. Things are a bit different in the states.

Enjoy (thumbs)

The main theory, and one supported by BMW updating the flywheel, is overheating.
What year is your wife's F800GS?
The update was from 2013 bikes onwards, I think. The new flywheel has holes in it to allow better oil flow and therefore cooling.

We had a complete new unit fitted as I'd tried rewinds and they only lasted 15,000 miles. The original went at about 40,000 and a secondhand unit lasted another 12,000 or so.

www.sidecartravels.co.uk

I did a fair bit of research. from 2012 onwards they had changed the flywheel and ceramic coated the stator.. paste 2011F800GS Electrical heat issue and all the info is there

[OnHellas]

Did just over 5000 miles in the summer in the USA - my wife on her F800gs.

The stator went on the last day - since, we have found out that it's a known consumerable that goes around 50,000 miles, which is the mileage on her bike. There are a few theories.
One is that the regulator packs up first. Now, since your bike has lower miles on the clock it may well not be a problem .....but from now on we will change the regulator every 40K and see what happens, so you might want to do the same.
Head bearings as everyone else has said.

Personally when we go to Europe we just have the bikes serviced well (Mikeyboy) and get good breakdown cover. Things are a bit different in the states.

Enjoy (thumbs)

The main theory, and one supported by BMW updating the flywheel, is overheating.
What year is your wife's F800GS?
The update was from 2013 bikes onwards, I think. The new flywheel has holes in it to allow better oil flow and therefore cooling.

We had a complete new unit fitted as I'd tried rewinds and they only lasted 15,000 miles. The original went at about 40,000 and a secondhand unit lasted another 12,000 or so.

www.sidecartravels.co.uk

I did a fair bit of research. from 2012 onwards they had changed the flywheel and ceramic coated the stator.. paste 2011F800GS Electrical heat issue and all the info is there

Perfect. That's what's in our bike now. It's done 13,000 miles ish and there's another 1500 to get us to Ushuaia.
Fingers crossed.........oh, and another 2000 to Buenas Aires to ship home. Double fingers crossed.....

[Bionic Billy Nav]

Mines on 38k and the wheel bearings are perfect, I shouldn't worry about them. I'm currently on a little 2200km ride to the Agnellotreffen in Italy, I did the usual, Oil + Filter, Air Filter (upgraded to a K&N) plus plugs. I changed the tyres from road biased to Contintental TKC 80's but only because of potential snow. One thing I have noticed on my journey, 700km so far is that the head bearings definitely need changing, and that will be done when get back. But generally these bikes are very reliable and will do 150k km no problems...

[*Touring Ted*]

Hi..

If you're doing any off-roading, you might want to consider upgrading your Rims.

They tend to suffer badly and bend when anyone takes these off-roading. The rims are a cheap budget item on the bike and were never intended for off-roading.

Like someone said, the stator is a weakness on these too

The ignition switch is a also known to go bad. So intermittent electrical problems are often solved by changing it.

Ring antenna is known to go bad too. Worth keeping in mind.

And of course, like everyone said , the head-bearings.. Change them before you go even.

I work for BMW as a tech. These are the things I usually have to fix on F800GS's.

[gspod]

The main theory, and one supported by BMW updating the flywheel, is overheating.
What year is your wife's F800GS?
The update was from 2013 bikes onwards, I think. The new flywheel has holes in it to allow better oil flow and therefore cooling.

We had a complete new unit fitted as I'd tried rewinds and they only lasted 15,000 miles. The original went at about 40,000 and a secondhand unit lasted another 12,000 or so.

www.sidecartravels.co.uk[/quote]

It's an 09. Heard that therory, I'm no mechanic, but as it runs in oil surely that would dictate the running temperature. Be interesting to check any high mileage 2013s on. I hope the rewind lasts longer than yours