F750GS or stick with the older ones?

[ubermick]

Hiya lads,

So been riding for 10 years or so, and recently moved back to Ireland. First bike was an F650GS twin that I upgraded and customised to within an inch of its life to where she was absolutely perfect for me. Like a fool though I was seduced by the Triumph engines though, and sold it for a Tiger 800 XCA. Massive mistake, as I'm short and the bike was not only far too tall, but also far too top heavy. That bike lasted maybe three months before I sold it and went for an XRT... with the same result. Better seat height for me, but still veeeery top heavy. So sold that and got an F700GS. Happy days.

Now though, here I am. Moved back to Ireland (America was going a *bit* mad) and sold the bike, so now find myself starting all over again. (In hindsight could have and should have brought the F700 with me, but hey ho). Started looking at used F650s and 700s, but am being a bit... tempted by the F750GS. The dynamic suspension looks light years from the stock bone rattlers the F700 had (to be fair, had a Wilbers on the F650 but that's another story). Big worry there though is the top heaviness given how much it bothered me from the Triumphs.

Was wondering if anyone gone from the old under-the-tank twin to the newer bikes here, and what your opinion? (Can't currently test ride one, since am going through the licensing saga AGAIN since my US license isn't recognised here).

 

[beemerboy9]

I've only had a 750GS as a loan bike, but thought it had a much nicer engine that the F700/F800.

 

[dp66]

I did that exact swap. I only recall noticing the weight when pushing the bike around in the garage when it had a full tank. The ride was nicer and I don't remember wanting to go back. The 750 definitely had more go.

Never ridden the Triumphs so can't compare it to those.

 

[Matty589]

I think the 750/850 is a much better bike than the older 700/800. I’ve had a few of both ranges and the newer bike has more punch, less vibes and more comfortable. I had 72mpg average over 5,000 miles commuting so an easy 200 mile range. I also tried one back to back with an LC 1200GS and I thought the 750 had just as much go up to 60mph.

 

[ubermick]

This is great feedback lads, really appreciate it. Going to try and get down and at least throw the leg over some of the new 800s (which were the 750s and not the 800s. Because now the 800s are 900s, and not 800s. Well they are, but they're not any more, but they used to be but they're most certainly not 800s...)

 

[moody]

I have had a 650GS twin and 700, GS, Tiger 800 XCX and now have the new 800GS (2024) which is very similar in weight and height to the 750 (I have also ridden a 750).
I would say the 700 feels lighter and is easier to ride slowly if you are not confident.
But the new 750/800GS is a much better bike - I prefer it to the Tiger which was more top heavy and too high for me. I am also short so the height of the Tiger was my main problem with it.
The advantages of the newer BMW outweigh the lighter weight and manoeuvrability of the 650/700 for me.
I love the TFT screen and the magic wheel on the bars and the dynamic suspension is great! The extra power makes a lot of difference and it is a much better bike on longer rides. I have never had a problem with it being top heavy, but I do need a low seat, and it does feel heavy when pushing it around the drive etc (short legs mean I cannot sit on the bike and paddle it).

 

[ubermick]

I have had a 650GS twin and 700, GS, Tiger 800 XCX and now have the new 800GS (2024) which is very similar in weight and height to the 750 (I have also ridden a 750).
I would say the 700 feels lighter and is easier to ride slowly if you are not confident.
But the new 750/800GS is a much better bike - I prefer it to the Tiger which was more top heavy and too high for me. I am also short so the height of the Tiger was my main problem with it.
The advantages of the newer BMW outweigh the lighter weight and manoeuvrability of the 650/700 for me.
I love the TFT screen and the magic wheel on the bars and the dynamic suspension is great! The extra power makes a lot of difference and it is a much better bike on longer rides. I have never had a problem with it being top heavy, but I do need a low seat, and it does feel heavy when pushing it around the drive etc (short legs mean I cannot sit on the bike and paddle it).

That's what I love to hear, moody. I think my issue before was that I got convinced by evil voices in my ear telling me I was "riding a girls' bike" with the F650GS which made me get the Triumph XCA, which I could never enjoy because every time I came to a stop my arse was scrambling around on the saddle like a cat in a roomful of rocking chairs trying to get a leg down without dropping the beast, so now that top heaviness is planted firmly in my head. So there's the lure of going back to the comfy oul' low centre of gravity. Have an appointment with the local dealer to plant said bum on that new 800. Been reading a lot that the seat height - even though the same - feels lower because the saddle is narrower, so might even get away without needing a low seat. Will see.

 

[ubermick]

Well, colour me surprised.

Went to local dealer, they had one F800GS in stock to throw my leg over - absolute base model. Have to say, found it similarly top heavy to the Triumph Tiger XRT I had, which wasn't promising - took a bit of grunt for me to just get the thing off the side stand!! (That said, I've not sat on a bike in two years, and I am HORRIBLY out of shape, haha) Felt tall, but did have the standard height seat on there.

 

[moody]

Well, colour me surprised.

Went to local dealer, they had one F800GS in stock to throw my leg over - absolute base model. Have to say, found it similarly top heavy to the Triumph Tiger XRT I had, which wasn't promising - took a bit of grunt for me to just get the thing off the side stand!! (That said, I've not sat on a bike in two years, and I am HORRIBLY out of shape, haha) Felt tall, but did have the standard height seat on there.

That’s a shame!
I don’t have a problem with it - despite being 5’4 and having a (weak) replacement left knee.
Have you thought about an R9T Scrambler or Urban GS? - I had one last and it was much easier to get off the stand, and had a much lower centre of gravity. And the engine is awesome!
Or even a 1200 GS - again a very low centre of gravity.
By the way - there is nothing wrong with a “girl’s bike!”

 

[ubermick]

That’s a shame!
I don’t have a problem with it - despite being 5’4 and having a (weak) replacement left knee.
Have you thought about an R9T Scrambler or Urban GS? - I had one last and it was much easier to get off the stand, and had a much lower centre of gravity. And the engine is awesome!
Or even a 1200 GS - again a very low centre of gravity.
By the way - there is nothing wrong with a “girl’s bike!”

Haha, I'll try a month of core exercises and will go back again when they have one with a low seat available. I don't want to give up on them, they've got plenty of new gubbins that would be hard to walk away from in favour of an older F700 or F650 - especially when there's a (relatively) minor price difference between a used F700GS and something like a 2019 or 2020 F750GS.

 

[Matty589]

Seat height makes a difference. The “comfort” seat (it’s not) makes it feel a bit too top heavy unless you’re tall and/or strong. The std seat with a cool covers seat cover was best for me. It is surprisingly heavy to get off the side stand but fine once moving, even at walking pace. Low seat has naff all padding so could be painful for anything other than a Sunday morning bimble. Some like the Wunderlich seat but after trying a few times I found it’s too hard and jarred my spine (suspension is OK but not really plush).

 

[ubermick]

Seat height makes a difference. The “comfort” seat (it’s not) makes it feel a bit too top heavy unless you’re tall and/or strong. The std seat with a cool covers seat cover was best for me. It is surprisingly heavy to get off the side stand but fine once moving, even at walking pace. Low seat has naff all padding so could be painful for anything other than a Sunday morning bimble. Some like the Wunderlich seat but after trying a few times I found it’s too hard and jarred my spine (suspension is OK but not really plush).

Yeah, the seat on it was the one and only thing that gave me a bit of hope about my rampant midgetness (haha) - that it felt *that* much higher than my F650GS or my F700GS (both standard height, low seat) that it may have been the comfort seat on there instead of the "standard" since every review I read said the seat height's actually come down since the F700, and with the more tapered saddle the standard felt more like the low on the older bikes.

(Or I could just be fat, out of shape, and out of practice!)

 

[dp66]

Yeah, the seat on it was the one and only thing that gave me a bit of hope about my rampant midgetness (haha) - that it felt *that* much higher than my F650GS or my F700GS (both standard height, low seat) that it may have been the comfort seat on there instead of the "standard" since every review I read said the seat height's actually come down since the F700, and with the more tapered saddle the standard felt more like the low on the older bikes.

(Or I could just be fat, out of shape, and out of practice!)

Interesting feedback. My setup was the opposite to the above and for context I'm 5'6 with a 29" inside leg.

My 650 was low suspension with a standard seat but for the 750 I decided that standard suspension with low seat was better for me primarily so I could have Dynamic ESA, center stand etc, but I had the Wunderlich Aktiv low seat rather than the BMW one. My recollection is that the two had equal levels of comfort, I certainly didn't notice the low seat being any worse. Although I did think I was going to dislocate my hip swinging my leg over the pillion seat hump

Here is a pic with the Wunderlich seat

 

[ubermick]

Interesting feedback. My setup was the opposite to the above and for context I'm 5'6 with a 29" inside leg.

My 650 was low suspension with a standard seat but for the 750 I decided that standard suspension with low seat was better for me primarily so I could have Dynamic ESA, center stand etc, but I had the Wunderlich Aktiv low seat rather than the BMW one. My recollection is that the two had equal levels of comfort, I certainly didn't notice the low seat being any worse. Although I did think I was going to dislocate my hip swinging my leg over the pillion seat hump

Here is a pic with the Wunderlich seat

View attachment 390054

Love that option. I'm the same height/inseam as yourself so good to know.

Yeah, the first F650GS was low suspension/seat, which I could flatfoot, just about. After I got comfortable riding, since it was my first bike, I replaced the low stock shock with a standard height Wilbers and ..... oh my, that was an upgrade and a half. At that point though, couldn't flatfoot but could get balls of my feet down? Which I didn't think I'd care much about as I got better, but it definitely became an issue with the tippier nature of the Tigers I had.

I think I'll be just have to be patient and wait for one to come into stock locally with a low seat (or for them to get a low seat in stock that they can swap) so I can head back over there and try it. As I said, really don't want to discount getting one based on a brief experience and have to revert back to a 10+ year old bike that I'd be paying over the odds for.

 

[ubermick]

LADS I THINK I FOUND THE SOLUTION:

 

[moody]

Interesting feedback. My setup was the opposite to the above and for context I'm 5'6 with a 29" inside leg.

My 650 was low suspension with a standard seat but for the 750 I decided that standard suspension with low seat was better for me primarily so I could have Dynamic ESA, center stand etc, but I had the Wunderlich Aktiv low seat rather than the BMW one. My recollection is that the two had equal levels of comfort, I certainly didn't notice the low seat being any worse. Although I did think I was going to dislocate my hip swinging my leg over the pillion seat hump

Here is a pic with the Wunderlich seat

View attachment 390054

I have the Wunderlich low Activ comfort seat as well, and it is quite firm but very comfortable. I really did not want the lowered suspension model because I also think Dynamic ESA and centre stand are important.

 

[steve hughes]

Yeah, the seat on it was the one and only thing that gave me a bit of hope about my rampant midgetness (haha) - that it felt *that* much higher than my F650GS or my F700GS (both standard height, low seat) that it may have been the comfort seat on there instead of the "standard" since every review I read said the seat height's actually come down since the F700, and with the more tapered saddle the standard felt more like the low on the older bikes.

(Or I could just be fat, out of shape, and out of practice!)

Mick I had a F650 with a low seat , and my current bike is a F700 low chassis so I like them looow! However yesterday I took my neighbours 2019 F750 with ESA out. I believe he has a low seat on his. In fact it looks just like DP66’s above as I believe its the same spec and colour.

On single rider on the ESA I could just get the balls of my feet down one at a time or tip toes on both sides. When I stupidly hit the ESA and had two riders plus bags I could feel the back end rising and even on one side down it was touch and go! Im 5’5” with 29” leg

What really was the torque of the 850cc engine. I would describe the F650 and the F700 as accelerating in a similar manner. The F700 stops better with the twin disks. The acceleration of the F750 was night and day different, the engine is more urgent, the intake roar more pronounced. I was really impressed.

 

[ubermick]

Mick I had a F650 with a low seat , and my current bike is a F700 low chassis so I like them looow! However yesterday I took my neighbours 2019 F750 with ESA out. I believe he has a low seat on his. In fact it looks just like DP66’s above as I believe its the same spec and colour.

On single rider on the ESA I could just get the balls of my feet down one at a time or tip toes on both sides. When I stupidly hit the ESA and had two riders plus bags I could feel the back end rising and even on one side down it was touch and go! Im 5’5” with 29” leg

What really was the torque of the 850cc engine. I would describe the F650 and the F700 as accelerating in a similar manner. The F700 stops better with the twin disks. The acceleration of the F750 was night and day different, the engine is more urgent, the intake roar more pronounced. I was really impressed.

Ooooo. So height aside, did it make you want to sell the F700 and get a new one?

 

[5jms5]

This is great feedback lads, really appreciate it. Going to try and get down and at least throw the leg over some of the new 800s (which were the 750s and not the 800s. Because now the 800s are 900s, and not 800s. Well they are, but they're not any more, but they used to be but they're most certainly not 800s...)

My Long Haired General has just traded in a three year old 750 for the new 800gs she really likes it. It is a low chassis model but decent engine. The newer ones have lots of modes and TFT screen She is happy with it.

 

[ubermick]

My Long Haired General has just traded in a three year old 750 for the new 800gs she really likes it. It is a low chassis model but decent engine. The newer ones have lots of modes and TFT screen She is happy with it.

I thought the 750 and the 800 were basically the same bike but with a bit of a HP difference? I know a lot of the 750s I'm looking at all have ESA, rider modes, cruise control, and all the bits?

The worry I have is basically buying one sight unseen and without a test ride. State of dealers over here...