2 years old.

[Sooty09]

My GS800 is two years old next weekend.

It has been a bike which has performed well above my expectations, and has despite my original doubts been 100% reliable.
Its covered 32000 miles now, touring and long weekend rides with the occasional commute, in all weathers.

Its comfy except for the saddle, and I have not modified it yet so it cannot be so bad. Weather protection is OK made better with the Wonderlich deflector. Its a standard bike except for hand guards, a home made rear rack and a fender extender.

I have here some facts and figures about running the bike.

Average fuel consumption 69mpg.
Just finished 4th set of tyres so 8000 per pair min. I had to change 2 pairs early as they did not have enough life left for touring Europe.
Oil to top up- 0
Water to top up- 0
The clutch is original and has not given any trouble.
Rear pads replaced at 18000.
Front pads replaced at 22000.
Original chain swapped at 11000 due to a tight spot.
Second chain still OK, I just clean the chain with a bit of old bed sheet and brush on a bit of Scott oil every few hundred miles.
Front sprocket changed at 25000 when I finally extracted the old one.
Rear sprocket still original.
Rear wheel bearings replaced as a precaution only.
Silencer rattled - changed under warranty.
Ignition switch faulty - changed under warranty.

600 mile service (Jefferies) Free, negotiated oil with the purchase.
6400 mile service (Jefferies) £114 including loan bike.
13816 mile service (Barrie Robsons) £214 including valve check and loan bike.
20431 mile service (Jefferies) £190 including fork oil and a loan bike.
26284 mile service (Jefferies) £224 including valve check and loan bike.

I ran the bike into a wall and dropped it at 9000 miles, damage to the front bottom yoke, left hand panel and radiator, all repaired with super glue and the local garage sprayed the panel with Renault bumper gray, hard to see the damage now.

I have nothing bad to say about the bike, I feel it has another 32000 miles in it before I need to get the spanners out.

Top bike in every respect.

 

[dogman]

Nice little summary there and will no doubt give much relief to any owners wondering if the 800 is going to a reliable purchase.
You also need to be awarded the OBE for doing 32k on that stock saddle! The only time I rode with that on was the test ride, after which it was swapped for the comfort seat pronto!

 

[JJH]

Nice post JJH

 

[Dean]

Very nicely put , and another good one! heres to your next 32,000 miles

 

[Ross Dean]

Thanks for that - a very worth while post. It looks as though the F800GS is proving itself to be a robust and worthy adventure bike after a perceived rocky start with those chains etc. Its the best bike I have owned to date and I intend to keep mine for the foreseeable future.

 

[Sooty09]

I did not say in the write up my wife Judith has a three and a half year old F650GS.
Totally standard except for the home made carrier, Touratech hand guards and a fender extender. Its an ex demo bike, we purchased it a 4000 miles six months old, its now at 30500 miles.
Guess what, Its been 100% reliable, nothing has broken, its never failed to start, uses less fuel than my F800GS and dare I say it, Its better on mountain bends than my 800.
Tyre wear is lower but pad wear much worse, we are on the 4th set of rears and third front.
It had a new set of steering bearings under warranty at 22000 miles and the original chain was swapped at 24000 as a recall.
I was so impressed by this bike I purchased my own.

 

[Dave Ett]

You must ride very gently to average 69! I get 61 from mine, though admittedly that's a lot of 10 mile commuting, and always with boxes on.

Great post though, and some interesting numbers. I'm on 26,000 now and just fitted the first new chain - it was running a DID from new. Never topped up oil or water either, on third set of tyres, though have some Heidenau K60's part worn to go back on when I next travel off road.

Not as reliable as yours, but fortunately all failures covered under warranty. )

Can't see me changing any time soon!