Mods please move if its the wrong section.
I have just spent the morning out on a F800GS Adventure ‘T’. What can I say….. bloody loved it!
The bike had just over 3.5k on the clock and was the first BMW I have ridden, I have read loads of reports on the bike, both 800 and its adventure big brother. It didn’t disappoint. Ok so I don’t have another benchmark to set it against but as a potential next purchase I will be giving it some serious thought.
Throwing my leg over the bike for the first time shows what a tall bike it is, I stand at 6 foot, but I must have a long body and short legs because I was on my toes both sides. This was a bit worrying as the last thing I wanted was to drop the damn thing at off camber junctions etc.
Pulling away in first, I went for second….where the fook is it?? I was wearing Sidi Adventure boots and couldn’t find the gear shift. I know it’s there I engaged first. Feeling around with my foot it felt like the shift was low and set under the engine casing. I found it and off I went.
As I started to familiarize myself with the feel of the bike and controls the more I started to relax and enjoy the bike, the first few junctions I was very wary about putting my feet down but throughout the ride I worried less as my confidence grew.
Out on the open roads overtakes were effortless, just wind it on and it pulled, even in 6th there was more than enough grunt to pass vehicles. On a few occasions I had to check the speed and was doing over erm………. Legal obviously.
Even on a short section of dual carriageway the bike sat comfortably and solid at 75-80 with hardly any wind buffeting around the body. The taller screen and wider fairing on the adventure do a great job of controlling wind around the body, but I was still getting a lot of buffeting around the head. (Again long body).
I would be interested to see/hear how others get on with different screens.
One small thing that took a bit of getting used to was engine breaking, go for the overtake and wind it on and it goes, as soon as you close the throttle the speed drops. At one point I had to visibly check I wasn’t trailing the rear brake. I am lead to believe this is a trait of the engine and due to the way the pistons fire? I soon got used to this and must admit I liked it, I found it made for smoother riding, just roll on and off the throttle and overtake with ease.
I returned the bike with another 115 miles on the clock. Not the longest test ride, but enough to give a good feel of the bike.
Likes.
1) Presence on the road, yes I know the 1200 is larger and heavier, but I like the tall riding position which gives a good view of the surroundings
2) Throttle response and engine breaking, once I was used to it
3) I like the kit on the Adventure, spot lights, larger tank and rear luggage rails (see dislikes) and taller screen.
4) The all-round feel of the bike, it felt planted and sure footed
Dislikes
1) Gear shift, would look and getting a larger one or reposition the original?
2) Front engine bars, I think they look naff, I would change for Adventure Spec which come up higher and I believe would afford better protection and look a hell of a lot better
3) Height of the bike, OK so I started to get used to it, and I believe in time it wouldn’t be a problem, but I would possibly try the lower seat first.
4) Luggage bars, ok so BMW say they also act as extra protection for the fuel tank and rear plastics. But are you also tied in to BMW luggage?
5) Slight pins and needles in my right thumb, bike was on off road tyres so could be the cause?
There are probably loads more points both good and bad that I could add, but reading what I have written I have come to the conclusion I want a F800GS. I can put on a higher screen, the bars of my choosing and luggage to suit the bike and my budget.
Oh and save my a few quid over the Adventure.
As you can see i am in no way an expert and these observations are from a few hours out on the bike, i would like to hear from others who have these bikes and how they find them in the real world.
Thanks for reading.
I have just spent the morning out on a F800GS Adventure ‘T’. What can I say….. bloody loved it!
The bike had just over 3.5k on the clock and was the first BMW I have ridden, I have read loads of reports on the bike, both 800 and its adventure big brother. It didn’t disappoint. Ok so I don’t have another benchmark to set it against but as a potential next purchase I will be giving it some serious thought.
Throwing my leg over the bike for the first time shows what a tall bike it is, I stand at 6 foot, but I must have a long body and short legs because I was on my toes both sides. This was a bit worrying as the last thing I wanted was to drop the damn thing at off camber junctions etc.
Pulling away in first, I went for second….where the fook is it?? I was wearing Sidi Adventure boots and couldn’t find the gear shift. I know it’s there I engaged first. Feeling around with my foot it felt like the shift was low and set under the engine casing. I found it and off I went.
As I started to familiarize myself with the feel of the bike and controls the more I started to relax and enjoy the bike, the first few junctions I was very wary about putting my feet down but throughout the ride I worried less as my confidence grew.
Out on the open roads overtakes were effortless, just wind it on and it pulled, even in 6th there was more than enough grunt to pass vehicles. On a few occasions I had to check the speed and was doing over erm………. Legal obviously.
Even on a short section of dual carriageway the bike sat comfortably and solid at 75-80 with hardly any wind buffeting around the body. The taller screen and wider fairing on the adventure do a great job of controlling wind around the body, but I was still getting a lot of buffeting around the head. (Again long body).
I would be interested to see/hear how others get on with different screens.
One small thing that took a bit of getting used to was engine breaking, go for the overtake and wind it on and it goes, as soon as you close the throttle the speed drops. At one point I had to visibly check I wasn’t trailing the rear brake. I am lead to believe this is a trait of the engine and due to the way the pistons fire? I soon got used to this and must admit I liked it, I found it made for smoother riding, just roll on and off the throttle and overtake with ease.
I returned the bike with another 115 miles on the clock. Not the longest test ride, but enough to give a good feel of the bike.
Likes.
1) Presence on the road, yes I know the 1200 is larger and heavier, but I like the tall riding position which gives a good view of the surroundings
2) Throttle response and engine breaking, once I was used to it
3) I like the kit on the Adventure, spot lights, larger tank and rear luggage rails (see dislikes) and taller screen.
4) The all-round feel of the bike, it felt planted and sure footed
Dislikes
1) Gear shift, would look and getting a larger one or reposition the original?
2) Front engine bars, I think they look naff, I would change for Adventure Spec which come up higher and I believe would afford better protection and look a hell of a lot better
3) Height of the bike, OK so I started to get used to it, and I believe in time it wouldn’t be a problem, but I would possibly try the lower seat first.
4) Luggage bars, ok so BMW say they also act as extra protection for the fuel tank and rear plastics. But are you also tied in to BMW luggage?
5) Slight pins and needles in my right thumb, bike was on off road tyres so could be the cause?
There are probably loads more points both good and bad that I could add, but reading what I have written I have come to the conclusion I want a F800GS. I can put on a higher screen, the bars of my choosing and luggage to suit the bike and my budget.
Oh and save my a few quid over the Adventure.
As you can see i am in no way an expert and these observations are from a few hours out on the bike, i would like to hear from others who have these bikes and how they find them in the real world.
Thanks for reading.
