BMW F800GS...am I missing the obvious?

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

He does, and I'm going to watch the vid tonight.

[petecam]

I had a 2012 bike. Bought from a fellow forum member.

Toured France and Lux. Green laned in the Peaks and the east of England. Commuted to London on occasion. Did it all with ease. It’s a really good bike.

Simple and reliable.
Great on the trails.
Slim and light.

Bad points.
The engine runs out of puff for touring, especially with luggage. Forget a pillion.

Forks need Hyperpro springs to make them do anything useful and they are not adjustable.

It’s not a sexy or exciting ride.

Definitely test ride one.

Cheers
Pete

[g00ner]

Currently riding a DCT Africa Twin…Lovely bike but beginning to notice the weight more. Been to see some possible replacements.
Tenere 700 - tall and wasn’t lighting the internal ‘want’ bulb in my head
Desert X - even taller. Lovely….but not really much lighter than the AT
Aprilia Tuareg - haven’t seen one near me for sale but maybe more off road biased than I want. £10k too
Tiger 900 Rally Pro - really thought it was the one. Had a test ride, lovely responsive engine, not as plush as AT but better suspension. Very good TFT. Looked great. Light(er). Did a good 75 mile loop. Straight after did the same loop on my AT…which I preferred (those mentioned vibes on the Tiger @ 80 plus are real too, very intrusive)

Now like the OP I’m wondering if I’ve overlooked the F800GS. Bought a 2008 model a couple of years back which I enjoyed (once I’d changed the tyres, how the previous owner hadn’t noticed they were shocking I don’t know). It needed the forks sorting as already mentioned but was a good bike. Maybe I should go see one again

[scooby]

Hi, i've only had my F8gs since feb tis year but love it, good on and off road , like others have said its similar weight to the T7, Aprilla etc, better power and personally speaking i would'nt be as annoyed dropping my 2011 £4000 GS as a £10000 + new bike , but each to their own i guess.

[Magnusson]

I tested the F800 in 2014. I did not like the power curve, or vibrations, from the engine. At that time I was riding 4 cylinder Japanese bike that made the BMW feel like a tractor in comparison. If I remember correctly the F800 engine is made by Bombardier/Rotax, that also makes engines for snowmobiles and water jets.
Fuel tank shows full until you've used up half the fuel.
I seem to recall that the first gear was rather tall. That might also be because of comparison with the Japanese bike.
Overall not a bad bike, but I decided against it.
Tuareg seems to me to be the smartest option for a new midsize adventure bike today.

[LOFTYLAD]

Gsa 800,
Traversed the Pyrenees with ease.
To be honest didn’t keep the bike long
enough for it to show up any faults.
( had a itch to scratch) but if the itch comes
back I’d have another no problem.
In saying that of course horses for courses.
She’s quite heavy but very capable on the
Easier going trails and to be fair in the right
hands the Bmw can manage the more challenging ones.
Great trip.
Thanks again Mark.

[richardbd]

I’m recently back from a Nairobi - Cape Town jaunt on my 850. It coped with everything remarkably well, including the corrugated and sandy Namibian gravel roads and some tough, broken roads in South Africa, including Die Hell.

Bike coped admirably, though it does have a full Tractive suspension package (front and rear). Mechanically sound and I like the 21” wheel on the rougher terrain. The only things that failed were (predictably) the OEM auxiliary lights.

Next year I’m doing Colombia to Patagonia and have decided to use the 850 again. I guess that’s some kind of positive endorsement…

[Flipflop]

I’m recently back from a Nairobi - Cape Town jaunt on my 850. It coped with everything remarkably well, including the corrugated and sandy Namibian gravel roads and some tough, broken roads in South Africa, including Die Hell.

Bike coped admirably, though it does have a full Tractive suspension package (front and rear). Mechanically sound and I like the 21” wheel on the rougher terrain. The only things that failed were (predictably) the OEM auxiliary lights.

Next year I’m doing Colombia to Patagonia and have decided to use the 850 again. I guess that’s some kind of positive endorsement…

Have been riding with a couple on an 850gs for a few days in Colombia. My wife had an 800 a while back and neither of us really liked it, she ended up doing a fair few miles on it anyway as it coincided with some long trips, but I preferred my 1100gs on and off road.

However the 850 looks to be a different beast and one section of steep incline mud was no problem 2 up with luggage - I struggled with my 1200gs and ended up taking nearly all the air out of the tyres to get up. Looked impressive