I think i'm interested!

The Mattus

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Hi all,

So i'm pretty interested in the whole adventure riding thing and looking at purchasing a F800GS.
I currently have a 59 reg Honda hornet 600 which isn't adequate enough and really fancy trying something new.

I find myself scrolling through everyone's posts thinking, yeah! that's what I want to do.
I am a complete newbie when it comes to adventure riding and what I need to take etc but that's kind of why I joined to gain pointers and ideas of where I can go and also where an F800GS would suit me.


Cheers
Matt
 
Hi Matt and welcome to the forum.

I’m intrigued to know what your definition of adventure riding is - that will help to determine if an F800 is the bike for you.
 
Welcome Matt, Enjoy the bollocks, then make up your own mind. It you really want to try some 'Adventure Riding' You could try one of the traiining schools. The BMW off road course is justly famous, but there are others (using other bikes). Have a look at the desert rose academy. I am sure others will want to recommend.
IMHO the F800 is for those committed to off- roading. I am sure others will disagree.

Whatever you do enjoy.

Path.
 
I have sent you a private message, however until you have five posts you might not be able to read it / reply to it.

But an 800 GS can do anything you want it to do, the limitation is your imagination.
 
Hi Matt and welcome to the forum.

I’m intrigued to know what your definition of adventure riding is - that will help to determine if an F800 is the bike for you.

I'm not really worried about too much off road. I started riding at 4 on my first TY80 and went from there until i passed my driving test and kind of fell out of love with bikes for a while. So i'm pretty much happy riding most terrain and discovering hidden gems etc.
 
Mattus, the problem with "Adventure riding" in the UK is that Englands greenlanes are are hit and miss as to whether they are good for large adv bikes.
a lot of fun can be had with taking big bikes offroad but you really can find yourself in deep shit quite quickly.

If your going to go offroad then you need to be sure that you can legally ride that lane and a TRO hasn't been slapped on it....don't expect a sign though one should be there.
Many walkers despise motorcycles and are quite happy to let you know it whether their vitriol is legally correct or not.
Its really not a good idea to greenlane a big adv bike on your own because of the weight, though many do.
Some have found the F800 to be quite top heavy for offroad use, but I suppose it depends a lot on the rider.

However, much fun can be riding a good distance to go and ride some lanes then ride back. From castleford the north yorks moors are a good playground.
Wales offers a great playground for greenlanes, for this purpose the big adv bikes are ideal as you can ride a good few hours to an area ride around all day then ride home in comfort. No messing about with vans and trailers.

There is not a lot of off road related activity on here...most of waffle is along the lines of whether this or that widget is better in pink or pink and yellow stripes and I'd wager the vast majority of GS owners on here have road tyres fitted and the closest their bikes get to mud is from the nearest puddle which they didn't manage to avoid.

The F800 is very capable more so than its bigger brother, but I'd rather have the cylinder poking out, it makes it easier to pick up on your own. Downside is deep ruts are a problem.

Just ignore anyone telling you your insane and its too big and heavy for offroad use...yatter yatter yatter..

"Adventure riding" is not something you can really do in the UK as there is no free space, it used to be called touring or Long Distance Trials....but over on the continent those places do still exist.

This whole adventure riding thing is all bollocks to be honest. Its just a big money making scam for all the manufacturers and magazines and shit. Buy bike, go ride bike, choose gear that works properly for you forget all the paraphernalia which goes with the tag. There is some good quality gear which makes things a bit easier.

In my experience, offroading big bikes comes with the expectation that you'll hit some obstacles that you have to lug the bike over/through, that's why its better done in a group to share the load. The fun comes from mucking in together to get past what ever it is helping each other out.
 
Mattus, adventure riding is a very broad spectrum. I have been to Morocco riding with a group ranging from a KTM 450 EXC (me) to a BMW HP2 and one on a 800 GS who passed his test just before the trip. We all got round. As an average off road rider (some say that's high for me) I would happily take an 800 GS on gravel tracks, took my Africa Twin on gravel and some deeper mud in Poland with no problem (luck over judgement). I find the best thing about an adventure bike for me is I can still ride 500 plus miles a day even with the back injuries I have had and can do easy trails. Others on the same bike can ride the same tracks as I would on a proper off road bike (my Husky) and ride rings around me (they did - the Ba@*ards). 800 GS is a great all round bike and if you get serious about off road riding its a great excuse to get a smaller proper off roader.
 


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